Bedroom Makeover: Paint Walls

Guest Bedroom Makeover

Day 2: Paint Walls (and also: How to Repair a Hole in the Wall)

 

**Note: This is part of a 12-step bedroom makeover series. Find the previous steps at the bottom of this post.**

 

Before we get started painting the walls, I had a minor repair job that needed to be done. Hole in the wall from the doorknob's being kicked in a little too "firmly" a little too often. Because I think my 8-year-old son runs an unaccredited underground ninja training camp around here.

 

The hole is too big for a little spackle. Unfortunately.

 

I'm by no means a professional, but we've repaired several drywall holes around here (due to said ninja training and also, well, just life in general), and this is what has worked for us.

Fill in the hole as much as possible with original drywall. Because it was still attached on one side, I pulled out the circle of original drywall from inside the wall and kinda rested it in the hole.

 

Take some drywall mesh tape. It's sticky (like tape, hence the name) on one side. Cut it to be a little larger than the hole you're repairing.

You want it to stick well on all sides. The hole I was working on was almost too big for this strategy, but I just went for it anyway. 

Once tape is secure, use a putty knife to apply drywall mud. You don't want it too thick or too thin here (hah! how's THAT for great direction-giving?). You can always do more coats, and you'll be sanding it each time, no don't stress too much about the thickness.

 

I actually smear it on there in about the thickness of peanut butter on a sandwich.

(Note: My husband actually prefers to make his own PBJs around here because he says I don't put on enough peanut butter. Which I totally do, but he likes his peanut butter, like, 1/2" thick. Eww. No thanks on having my mouth glued shut. "But what's the point of a PBJ if not the peanut butter?" he wonders. "A palatable balance of sticky & sweet," I say.)

(Can you tell this is a point of marital "discussion" around here?)

(But we just celebrated our 11th anniversary, so I think we'll make it through.)

(As long as any picnic we have involves fried chicken rather than PBJs...)

What I'm trying to say is, maybe the peanut-butter-thickness isn't a helpful analogy.

 

Here's the first mud layer:

 

 Now we wait for it to dry thoroughly, then sand it a bit before applying the second coat. Mostly, I sand the edges of the mud area and any outstanding lumps in the middle, but you don't want to sand too far down on the tape.

 

 

Spread on another layer of mud if you can still see the tape lines.

 

 

Let it dry.

 

 

Sand the last of the bumps down. If your wall is flat, you're ready to prime and paint. If your wall is textured, then use spray-on texture (found at any hardware store with the wall repair items) to match it. Prime, then paint.

 

One thing: It's really important to prime over this stuff before painting. Otherwise, your paint over the mud will have a different sheen than the paint everywhere else. Trust me. I speak from painful experience.

 

(Haha, I just accidentally typed "paintful.")

 

Anyway. The End on repairing the hole in your wall. Hopefully you'll be pleased with your results. As for our newly hole-free guest bedroom, it's now a lovely shade of serene bluey-grey ("Husky Grey" by Glidden).

 

 

For your comparison pleasure:

 

 

It's a little less cave-like now, no?

 

 I hope you'll come back for Day 3: Ikea Malm Dresser Makeover. Nothing crazy-intense like you sometimes find Ikea hacks to be, but (I think) it's just perfect for what this space needs.

 

Check out the previous steps to this bedroom makeover:

Day 1: Inspiration Board

 

{shared Boogieboard Cottage, Cedar Hill Ranch, Domestically Speaking, I Gotta Try That, Ladybug Blessings, My Girlish Whims, Not Just a Housewife, Pinkapotamus, Skip to my Lou, The Girl Creative}