Just slap a coat of paint on

Lots of progress was made on the house this weekend. For starters, I hired painters! Woo-hoo! Certa-Pro actually showed up, gave us a reasonable estimate and a date they can start (July 24). This is the same company we used to paint our house in Minnesota, where they did an incredible job. Of course, now this means I have a deadline! We must have all the walls and ceilings taped and mudded and all the trim installed within the next 2 weeks. Luckily, the painter recommended a trim carpenter who may be able to help us out. Things might be looking up.

I admit, I abhor painting. Pick up any decorating or house magazine, and they all tout the same stuff: "Painting is DIY easy... quick... cheap... best way to transform a room..." Blah blah blah. What they don't say is that painting is a tedious, boring, detail-oriented job whose quality can either make or break the overall aesthetics of the finished project. Whenever we've painted, the results are almost always terrible. Just slap it on? Yep, looks like it. DIY painting is not for impatient homeowners in a hurry with a backlog of other projects. Maybe it was okay back when we were young and had more time than money and were less discerning about the results. But now? I'd rather build walls than paint them. Leave the finishing work to the pros.

Speaking of looking up.... We have ceilings!