Paint

December, 2025: Aims

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December is a wonderful month to look back and dream forward. We’re working diligently this December on dismantling the kitchen.  We haven’t had to live without a kitchen at Christmas since 2013.

The kitchen is in the far corner behind the post.

In the meantime we’re still trying to enjoy the season and get to know new people.

In December I’d like to:

  1. Celebrate Christmas.

    The polar bears are protecting the scaled-down Christmas tree.

  2. Work on an inside project from my 101 in 1001 list.  Could be writing notes to friends (#4), scanning  the  Mommie photos (#11), old Christmas decorations that no longer suit us (#27),  and/or work on studio/office in back bedroom (#63) — so many choices, so little time.
  3.  Continue packing up kitchen items, removing cabinets, patching holes, and maybe even painting.  The painting will depend on how far we get with the tearing apart.  Much of the wall will not show when the kitchen is finished but I would like it to be fresh and clean before the cabinets are installed.

    The living room in Sherwin Williams’ Alabaster.

    I’ve chosen the color Alabaster like the living room.

  4. Get rid of a pile of clutter from the master bedroom.

    Most of the stuff on the left has got to GOOOOO.

  5. Choose new appliances: Stove and exhaust fan.

    This dinosaur has outlived its era.

  6. Make a dermatologist appointment.
  7.  Read a book.
  8.  Get a COVID booster.

    Glad we no longer are required to mask up.

  9.  Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: MARVEL.
  10.  Write a Do-it list for January, 2026.

Jo

Staining the House: The Tricky Parts

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When we began staining the house in June I was hoping we’d finish the job before the end of the year.  I still hope so.

The front is finished except for a few touch-ups to thoroughly hide the previous color.

By the end of August we have stained the front of the formerly peach (apricot, salmon?) exterior walls of the house.

Charlie on the extension ladder.

The western wall is finished.

We began on the western facing wall — the part you can see from the street — which is finished.

The house color is Cabot’s Federal Blue and the shed is Spruce Blue.

Then we moved around to the north side — the garage and front entrance — 2 stories of fun.

I can climb an extension ladder but I can’t move it.

I stain the lower areas and Charlie works from an extension ladder and hits the highest parts of the walls.

The southwestern corner of the house is difficult to access.

We plan to start working on the tricky spaces.

I have a special technique for behind the air conditioners.

Lots of ins and outs.

Behind the air conditioners, on the bedroom decks and niches.

We may only be half finished but now we have some experience staining this wood siding.

Finally, we have to stain the tallest part of the house.  The front walls are actually the lowest.

Now the neighbors see an all blue house — they have admired it.

Thus far I am happy with the project.

Jo

 

Rotten

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While we were staining the house we discovered that the wood siding under the front door was mostly rotten.

The wood under the doorstep was dark and mushy.

My first inclination was to stain it and fix it later.

The stained area under the step needed to come out.

But when we finished staining most of the front of the house Charlie decided we should replace the wood.

We were happy to discover that the deck board next to the house had not been screwed nor nailed into place — it just popped out with the encouragement of a crow bar.

Charlie removed the old rotted wood.  I found some long pieces of replacement siding in the garage which I stained the house color.  Pre-staining meant I would only need to touch up under the door after the application.

The tongue-and-groove siding needed to be fitted one piece at a time.

Charlie cut 7.5-inch length pieces which he applied with a pneumatic tacker.

Dash seems to get satisfaction from supervising every project.

Dash was startled by the air compressor and needed a little comforting while Charlie continued to work.

The boards were lightly tacked into place since they would ultimately be held in with a piece of trim.

The short boards slid just behind the framing for the deck.

The final opening.

The final opening to fill ended up being 2 and a half boards wide.

With a little maneuvering the final piece fit.

Charlie ripped one of the pieces and held it together with two others.  Then he finessed the entire piece into the empty space.

Charlie admired his handiwork.

Just one last item: the piece of trim that goes under the doorstep.

The trim nailed easily into place.

Now we can continue staining the remaining walls.

We’re making progress!

Such a small area — such a big deal! DONE!

Jo

The Blue Doors

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We have real wood doors both on the inside and outside of the house.

The new color on our house siding is Federal Blue stain by Cabot.

While Charlie stained the siding of the house I started on the doors — the front door and the garage door.  All the other exterior doors are sliding windows.

Newburyport Blue solid stain by Cabot.

I chose a very dark blue color — Cabot Newburyport Blue Solid Exterior Wood Stain and Sealer in One which was not as easy to work with as the siding and fence stain that we chose for the rest of the house.

The finish on the front exterior door had worn.

The front door took a great deal of patience since it has a high relief carved detail both inside and out.  I wasn’t planning to stain this door but when I cleaned it a new finish was needed.

I had to hold the door open to get all the edges covered with stain.

I started in the middle then worked down to the sill.

I used a 2″ brush and a thinner detail brush to cover all the edges.

The staining was slow going since a roller was not very helpful.

Before (left) and After

I liked the change to my color bias.

When the siding is finished being stained it will look even better.

When the entire exterior of the door was finished it looked stunning.

The garage door is all wood and needed to be protected.

I also painted the garage door the same color.

Before

After

Now I can concentrate on staining the siding.

The colors seem to harmonize.

Et voila!!

Jo

Staining the House: A Beginning

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One of the projects that will ultimately make a huge difference how the house looks is changing the color of the outside.

Our siding is a bland camel color — which looks orangish from the street.

When we moved in the exterior walls were “camel” colored.  The wood siding was missing stain in places where it had been repaired or something moved (note the lower right-hand corner of the house above the deck).

Here’s where I started with the siding washing which I completed all the way around the house.

The first task was to wash down the entire house with 30 SECONDS  Mold and mildew stain remover Concentrated Outdoor Cleaner which I order from Lowe’s in the 2.5-gallon size.  They delivered it free of charge.

The house (on the right) is just a little bluer than the shed (on the left).

After trying Cabot Solid Stain for Fence and Siding in Spruce Blue on the shed I decided to go a little bluer with the same stain in Federal Blue which I ordered also from Lowe’s in a 5-gallon container. I picked it up at the parking lot of the store where it was loaded into my car for me.

I painted the low parts of the wall and Charlie worked on a ladder.

While Charlie was still working on the shed I started staining the house on the west facing wall.

From the west side of the house we moved to the front which faces north.

Using both an 8-inch roller and a brush the progress was slow going.

I’m guessing this project will still be in progress far into autumn.

I’ll update our progress as we complete some cardinal points but for now we have a 2-tone house.

Jo

Staining the Shed: Last Half

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We started staining the shed here.

Both sides were covered with English ivy and Virginia creeper both of which are invasive weeds in Maryland.

Then we looked at the other two sides. In addition to not being convenient to access (propane tanks and more weeds) there were loads of poison ivy.

This was my view of the side yard when I first opened the gate. YIKES!

Both Charlie and I worked on the weeds behind the fence.

After we got rid of the pile from the previous photo there was still more to clear.

The job was more difficult because we had to clear out “stuff” that had been stashed there — dozens of planting pots, barbell weights, an old bed frame, etc. — all heavy.

Before

Coming to the end!

Even on days in the upper 90s Charlie kept staining.

Before

After — Hard to believe this is the same wall.

By the end the ivy crawling up the wall was tamed and the old boards renewed.

Before

After

Just before then end of the month the painting was finished.

Before

Happy (Blue) Gray Day!

Next on the list:  Stain the exterior of the house!!!

Jo

Staining the Shed: First Half

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On the street side of our bayfront property is an unattached shed.

The shed was brown and covered with dirt and moss.

It’s roof is brown just like the house so if the new color I pick works on the shed then we’ll use it on the house.

I was eager to start now that the shed was much cleaner.

I began this project by washing down 2 of the walls with Mold Armor house wash.  It looked a lot better and was ready for stain.

The back and gated sides of the shed are going to take more effort to prepare for staining.

The other 2 walls needed more extensive prep as English ivy was growing up the sides.

Cabot Solid Stain for Fence and Siding in Spruce Blue.

However, the sides that are finished look great with the brown roof.

This stain color definitely changes with the weather.

Sometimes the same color looks gray so I plan to go with a slightly bluer shade on the house.

Jo

Minor Furniture Zhuzh

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I inherited a little green metal table from my mother.

The tile-topped stand is useful since it fits almost anyplace.

It’s only one tile large. It used to be out on the covered porch but even so the metal base rusted.

Although the green frame looks good in the photo it was actually scarred with rust.

I carefully pried off the tile which I washed.  I also scrubbed the metal stand.

I gave it about 3 coats and let it totally dry in the sun and breeze before reattaching the tile.

The next step was to spray it all over with rust inhibiting primer. After letting that dry I followed up with gloss navy spray paint.

The tile is attached with a schmear of adhesive.

Finally I reset the tile with tile adhesive that I had on hand from another project.

I keep moving the table around.

The plan is to use it in the newly remodeled downstairs bathroom to hold extra toilet paper or towels or a plant or .  .  .

Jo

Downstairs Bathroom Renovation: DIY Closet

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Charlie demolished most of 2 downstairs bathrooms and I chose the new finishes.

The potential closet is on the left-hand side of the photo.

Since I can ever have enough closet space we decided to use the back of the bathroom as a closet area.

The hidey hole box has been trimmed with wood that holds it in place so it doesn’t need to be permanently secured.

In the area designated for a closet I have made some inset shelves where the medicine cabinet used to be.

The painted closet (from approximately the same viewpoint as as the first picture.

After the tile was installed I painted the entire room including the closet.

Salvaged wood painted white to freshen it up.

I painted salvaged wood from the closet we ripped out semi-gloss white.

This double board shelf is almost 24″ wide.

Using the newly-painted wood  I installed a deep overhead shelf for storing extra bedding.

I cut the pole with my handy pipe cutter much as I did in 2017 when I fitted out the walk-in closet at our previous home.

After the shelf I added a closet pole from wall to wall.

The Ikea panel curtains are on a triple track and can slide in both directions.

Finally, with Charlie’s help, we hung an Ikea VIDGA track from the ceiling without killing each other.  Thankfully it’s more forgiving than it seemed while we were installing it. (Watch a video tutorial before trying to follow the Ikea directions.)

From the hall entrance the closet panels can be partially seen just beyond the toilet.

From the triple track we hung 3 FÖNSTERVIVA white/beige panels that look a lot like grasscloth to cover the front of the closet area.

I have already filled the shelf with excess bedding — comforters, afghans, pillows, etc. — in flexible zipper containers.

This closet should be helpful for visiting guests using the downstairs bedroom and for overflow from my closet.

Jo

Downstairs Bathroom Renovation: Paint

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For some reason applying joint compound to the bathroom walls seemed to linger on and on.

Seems like a tremendous amount of joint compound for such a small space.

The original mudder called out for a week then the contractor took over on what started out as a sloppy job.

Before the contractor began I tested the color, Natural Tan by Sherwin Williams, on a large section of wall.

In the meantime I’m waiting to prime and paint the entire room before the fixtures are set in place.

I added some pale yellow (I had on hand from the primary bedroom project) to the Sherwin Williams Natural Tan to lighten it up just a bit and make it a little warmer.

From the start, painting the bathroom project was to be completed by me.  I have always done all my own painting.

The downstairs bathroom is ready for fixtures.

I started with the wall that would house the vanity and toilet.

I ran out of steam but painted along the bottom of the walls so I wouldn’t have to cut in the baseboard when it was applied.

Then I moved to the space toward the back of the room that will be a closet.

The entire room has been painted my amended version Natural Tan HGSW7567 Eggshell.

The room will look much smaller when all the fixtures are installed.  I can’t wait.

Jo