Trim Paint and Outlet Covers

 August 24, 2013

 

Small Changes, Big Impacts

Hey there!  I hope you all are having a FANTASTIC weekend.  It's been a pretty busy one for me and my family so far. But, in a good way. :-)

We're getting ready for a family boating vacation next week.  (Eeee!  So excited!!)  We haven't had much time for home improvements.

BUT.

We did get a few small things done, and I think they're the kind of changes that have a big impact.

I'm talking about redoing trim paint, and replacing outlet covers!

That's some exciting stuff, right?

Actually, no.  Who am I kidding??  It's really not.  It's actually pretty boring stuff.  And, honestly, that's why I overlooked the tasks for so long.

BUT, now that I've finally finished doing both ... I wish I'd gotten around to things sooner!  Everything looks so much nicer!

First, let's talk outlet covers.

I just had the plain, cheapo, lamo ones in my kitchen:

And no offense if they're the ones you have.  Trust me, I'm not judging.  I had them up until yesterday!

They just don't say much.  You know? 

I knew I still wanted white ones.  Mainly because I wanted them to fade into my white beadboard backsplash, that you can kinda see here:

I just didn't want them to be all like, "HELLO! LOOK AT ME! OUTLET COVER IN DA HOUSE!!"

But I definitely wanted some more character out of them.

So, I decided to go with these guys:

They're still pretty plain.  But, like I said, I wanted that.  I didn't want my outlet covers to be movie stars.  

I just wanted a tiny bit more detail and charm. 

And these do that for me.  Here's a before and after:

Don't you just love how my old ones had paint marks on them and everything?  

LOL!!

I am sooooo classy. 

Here's another before and after:

So much better.  I think they're just the right touch of that extra little *something*.  

But, ok, enough of that ... let's talk redoing trim paint now.

This work also took place in the kitchen.  The trim in there needed a redo in THE WORST way.

So, I whipped out the semi-gloss, Ultra White paint.  Semi-gloss is the most durable, so I always use it for trim.  And I'm a Valspar kinda girl:

Of course, I used painter's tape ... because I'm messy:

Sure, putting it up adds prep time, but I never regret doing it.

I always wipe the trim clean before painting.  Definitely DON'T want to paint over dust.  Or spilled food.  Etc.

OOH!  And, for trim work, this is my FAVORITE brush:

It allows me to be as careful as I need to in the "un-tapeable" areas:

And speaking of tape, this picture shows *just* how much it's needed:

Holy white stuff smeared everywhere!

Also, did you see that little dent up there?  Here's a shot of it, before and after painting:

Isn't it amazing how much better it looks, just with a little bit of paint?  I swear, you can't even see it anymore from a normal distance.

YAY!

The space looks much cleaner now:

So, like I said at the start:  Small changes, but big impacts!

A FULL kitchen reveal is coming one of these days, I swear ;-).

And until next time ... enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Hugs and love.