Patching, Painting and Decorating!

This post is a bit of a mis-mash of the last couple of months work in the smallest bedroom. Although each job took quite a lot of time, there wasn’t really much I could really write about each job, (it was truly dull and boring work!) so I’m combining everything into one giant post which is mainly going to be super duper photo-heavy, so get prepared!

Patching, Sanding, Filling… And Dust.

After I had painstakingly fixed the numerous cracks in the ceiling (which by the way took around two weeks of going back and forth, sanding, filling, sanding, filling….) the next job was to fix up any cracks and imperfections in the walls. Being a 100+ old house, it’s needless to say that there were many imperfections. The plaster on the walls is in fact the original lime plaster (so we believe) which is pretty darn incredible considering its in reasonably good condition. Although yes, it was far from that new fresh perfect plaster look. Lumps, bumps, cracks, holes, it wasn’t exactly a pretty sight and being a bit of a perfectionist, I wasn’t going to let this slip through without being attended to.

But… I kinda had my work cut out for me…. There was a lot of imperfections…

Just look at that floor… It was mega mega dusty work! I used an undercoat plaster on some of the larger holes (such as where the previous plug socket had been) before going over with some filler.

Windows: Meet Architrave.

The old architrave on these windows was plastic with no moulding and just freaking damn ugly. So instead I fitted a new architrave in the same style that we have in the bathroom. I had to use use glue to affix it as our windows have about a 10cm gap around them of expanding foam, which means there’s basically a hole of nothingness to drill/screw them into. Glue is obviously much easier anyway, but a bit of a pain when the architrave is twisted (as these were). We ended up having to fit a few pieces of leftover thin strip wood underneath parts of the architrave to get a flush join at the corners.

I haven’t done an update yet on how or what we’ve done with the chimney opening after we opened it up. So you’ll see some ‘sneak peaks’ here, but I’m going to go into more detail with my final fireplace post (coming soon)…

If you remember my post about moving all the electrics in this room, you’ll know we saved the job of plastering the chased out brick for when we did the fireplace. This was super duper easy to plaster over, however when it dried there was quite a few hairline cracks that appeared so I had to go back over with some filler.

After months of working up to this moment, I could barely contain my excitement. You know a room is pretty much finished when the paint’s going on! I did the skirting first, using Laura Ashley’s White in Eggshell. It’s the same stuff we’ve used on the doors and architrave in the bathroom, although I did need to buy a new pot.

As for the ceiling, I wanted a white that wasn’t a bright white. We’d used Dulux Pure Brilliant White in our last house and I found it discoloured really badly and was just a bit too bright. I wanted a subtle white that wouldn’t make the ceiling stand out, so I went for Laura Ashley’s Paper White which was PERFECT. I didn’t buy a tester so it was a bit of a gamble, but I’m super super pleased with it.

I have a MAD obsession for grey at the moment and this room wasn’t going to escape it! After trialling a couple of testers, I found Farrow and Ball’s Cornforth White to be the absolute perfect solution. I’m not sure why it’s called ‘white’ because it’s 100% totally grey. I usually have those indecisive moment of “did I pick the right colour?” “is it too dark” “is it too cold” right after painting a room… But as soon as this colour went on the walls, I was absolutely certain it was the right pick and that I was truly in love with it. I absolutely LOVE it.

Sadly I couldn’t paint the bottom corner against the window as it’s still too wet from the overspilling gutter on the outside. The paint just kind of went gloopy and it didn’t stick to the wall. Hopefully it’ll be ready soon though.

I am so thrilled with this room. It’s not finished yet, but yes, I have already moved in! The chaotic lounge is no-more and my ‘office’ is now a relaxing chilled out modern space. I just need to fill it a little bit more stuff… watch this space!

Total Costs:

(rounded to the nearest pound)
(excluding fireplace plastering, which was a whole £6 if you’re wondering – but will be priced in a separate post soon!)

New Tools Purchased:
2x Paint Brushes £6
Roller and Tray £4
Disposable Tray Inserts £3

Materials Used:
Polyfiller £5
Plaster Undercoat free from previous jobs
Architrave £5
Paint for Ceiling £25
Paint for Skirting £14
Paint for Walls £68

Total Cost: £130