Decided to have a go at painting the nursery today. There's a large wardrobe on order for the room and it makes sense to get the painting done before large pieces of furniture need to be moved and juggled in order to get to the walls. Also, we have someone coming to sleep in that room in a week's time so if we don't do it this w/e it'll be another 3 w/e's before we can get in there and the wardrobe is likely to show up within that time.
Buying paint in Canada is not easy. Something which should be so simple, is infact a complete nightmare. Firstly, no tester pots. All kinds of horror!!. How is one supposed to find the 'perfect' colour if one cannot apply various different shades in advance to see how they look in ones home? Choosing a colour from a piece of paper is less than ideal, to say the least. Secondly, paint is not pre-mixed. You have to choose your 'finish' from all these different types of white, go to the counter, and have them mix up your colour to order. So, once decided on your colour, instead of grabbing it from the shelf and heading out, you end up standing there for hours while you wait for a) your turn b) 5 mins while they mix your paint c) 10 mins while it all gets mixed. Then you get it home and of course, it's not *quite* right (except in this case it is, for once)! All in all, a generally unsatisfying experience.
This time we went for a different brand of paint than the rest of the house is done in. The house is painted with 'Benjamin Moore' paints & we were told originally they were 'really great'. I don't think they are, infact, because everywhere that was painted not all that long ago is beginning to wear off or chip off or be dirty and uncleanable (despite the advertising). Since having it painted in BM, lots of other people have said how bad the quality is too. Hopefully this paint will be better.
I should clarify, when I say 'we' are painting, of course I mean G is painting. I have helpfully supervised with comments like 'you missed a bit' or 'you don't have enough paint on the roller'. Eventually the fumes got a bit strong for me though so I retired downstairs with D (who was also 'helping') and G continues to labour!
Posted by katie at April 3, 2004 06:15 PMBut but but but there are thousands of shades of paint, and several different bases. You'd need to stock probably ten thousand different combinations of them in order to avoid mixing! Times several cans of each, to make sure you have enough to meet demans ... that's a freakin' huge store just for paint!
Have to agree on the little pieces of paper, though; awfully hard to get a good idea of how a whole wall will look from them. I cheated when I painted my place - I got a girl whose opinions I trusted to pick the colours for me :-)
As for the paint - I'm not one to comment on how good various brands of paint are, as I don't have a clue. I do know that just about every paint manufacturer has a bargain-basement line that's really cheap and is shite - needs two or three coats, and comes off easily if you try to wipe up any stains or marks on it. And higher-end paints that cost more money but are worth it, as they work properly with just one coat and tend to be durable. Maybe the previous paint was the bottom-end one? If it's what the builder used, it probably was; builders tend to use dirt cheap paint.
Betcha I know a store where you didn't buy this paint :-)
Posted by: Steve at April 4, 2004 09:08 PMIn the UK you can get paint mixed, no problem. Each DIY store has a mixing desk, it's just that for the most part you don't end up needing to use it because they do actually stock hundreds of different brands and colours (and finishes). There's like shelves & shelves and aisles and aisles of the stuff, lol.
We got the 'good' quality BM stuff last time, and it's really been crap. We bought it and then had painters in to paint... so not builders stuff. Alot of people have said to me though, that they've had similar problems with it so I reckon it's not just me!
Posted by: katie at April 4, 2004 11:05 PMRemembers an incident whilst Jones' painting in London...
Seem to remember a new carpet was required.....
Posted by: neil at April 5, 2004 09:05 AMLOL yep, that was ........(whispers) ... me. I dropped a can of blue gloss from a ladder and it fell, burst open, and paint ran all the way down the stairs. Then the dog ran through it and trampled it in further..... an entire new carpet for 3 flights of stairs and landings was required, fortunately covered by insurance!
Posted by: katie at April 5, 2004 09:08 AM