I’m finally going to show you how I’ve been updating wood trim in my bedroom. Prepare yourself, these are not pretty pictures!
It is amazing how much different a room can look with updated trim/baseboard/window frames, etc. A room will look brighter, cleaner and fresher with just this simple little change!
Here is the dreaded before. Orange shellac windows, 30 year old aluminum mini blinds, ancient cold air return vent, and a lack of baseboard on this side of the room.
Yep, NO baseboard. How fashionable is that!
The other side of the bed. Some baseboard on the right of the cold air vent, and only 1/2 of a piece on the left side of the vent. ???? what’s up with that you ask? I have no idea! This house has been through a lot of renovating, not exactly sure why I have been baseboardless right there.
This spot however, I can tell you why the baseboard is pieced. This is a spot that used to house two closets. One for this master bedroom and one for Jamie’s room. Both closets were removed and new drywall patched in. Replacing the baseboard in this entire room was sort of expensive (about $80) but that is no excuse for having such bad baseboard for SO many years.
There were quite a few holes that needed to be patched on the window frame where over the years many curtain brackets had been installed. I used drywall mud to patch these holes. I wiped all of the window frames down with TSP. It is a cleaner/deglosser.
I painted on two coats of Kilz primer.
I then painted on two coats of semi-gloss.
The new baseboard was pre-primed. I painted on three coats of semi-gloss paint.
This is how I painted the baseboard. OUTSIDE, thankfully! You see two pieces of the baseboard were very long, and when I reached to the far right to get the end of one of the long pieces I accidentally knocked over this paint.
This is one of the registers (floor) and the two cold air return vents. I straightened out the bent corners and spray painted all three of these.
However, when I went to re-install the cold air vents, there was some wall that was chipping off. We’re talking plaster here folks, not drywall. I decided to go to the extra expense of buying two new cold air return vents that were a little wider, to hide the bad plaster.
The floor vent painted up really nice!
Another shot of the cold air return vent after the carpet was cleaned.
Look at this pretty window with the pretty new mini blind! Hindsight, I wish I had gone with the wider blinds, but I’m still happy with the new look.
Tomorrow I will show you how I updated my ceiling fans. Also, check out my headboard update.
gail
. . . the urbanhen says
July 11, 2011 at 7:39 pmLooks great!
What type of primer did you use? Oil-based or latex Kilz?
Amanda@The Hand Me Down House says
August 9, 2010 at 3:12 pmGail, thanks so much for your expertise on this subject! Your instructions were fantastic for updating trim — and I finally took the plunge and painted some of my own trim. 🙂
Sylvia says
July 21, 2010 at 5:10 amLookin’ good. Can’t wait to see the finished room. Wait. Are rooms ever really finished?
Makalani Adolpho, PLC says
July 21, 2010 at 12:55 amLooks good gail!
I am thinking of changing up my room just a tad bit and was thinking about just adding molding around my sliding doors and the one window for a change.
~Makalani
Makaz home
Kathy says
July 21, 2010 at 12:14 amNicely done! I just repainted our bedroom and what a difference a coat of paint makes.
Joanne says
July 20, 2010 at 11:36 pmEnvy! This looks great! I can relate to the trim though mine is white and needs repainting badly. I feel so inspired I think I might just start my own long term trim painting project! Thanks!
Joanne
Denise says
July 20, 2010 at 11:06 pmLooks great, can’t wait to see the finished project. I have to add color to my bedroom someday, but I will do that when I have my quilt finished and decide on window treatments then I will pick wall colors. Probably a project for next spring/summmer or even fall!
Homemade Quilts by Granny says
July 20, 2010 at 9:09 pmIts looking good. Trish
Jill says
July 20, 2010 at 8:29 pmLooks beautiful! Great call on the wider vents to hide the bad plaster. I’m learning about the fun that is plaster. My bf bought a house almost a year ago that’s all plaster walls. They’re in pretty good shape though. The most frustrating thing about the house is that the former owners decided to slap some white paint EVERYWHERE to make it look nice before selling it. I mean everywhere. Hinges, door knobs, and the air vents are super painted on. *sigh*
~ Regan says
July 20, 2010 at 8:03 pmlooking great!! Cant wait to see the rest!
Elizabeth says
July 20, 2010 at 7:41 pmWhat a big difference! Our new-to-us home has all oak trim on the windows and baseboards, something I am not used to, and I like it…I think. I’ve played with the idea of painting them white, but not sure. Thanks for posting and giving me some inspiration. It’s a great transformation.
Lisa says
July 20, 2010 at 6:51 pmWhat a mess with the paint! I am currently trying to do this with every room in my house and it’s a LONG process. Glad to see someone else knows how I feel! Looks great now!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
July 20, 2010 at 6:24 pmso far so good! but what a tease- i want to see the rest!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
July 20, 2010 at 6:24 pmso far so good! but what a tease- i want to see the rest!
Suzanne@Meridian Road says
July 20, 2010 at 5:07 pmIt looks good! I love the color you chose, and it does look so fresh and pretty.
brown paper packages says
July 20, 2010 at 4:47 pmThis is my first time here, and I just wanted to say hi, and what a great blog you have!! Can’t wait to look around more!
- Brittany says
July 20, 2010 at 2:41 pmWhat a huge difference. I know you love it, and the window sills will be so much easier to clean. We had the exact situation at our old house. I was so excited when we finally painted the last old brown window!
A big pat on the back from me.
Brittany
http://www.prettyhandygirl.com
Lenore @ Lather. Write. Repeat. says
July 20, 2010 at 1:55 pmThat looks great, what a difference!
XO
Lenore
Proper Prim says
July 20, 2010 at 1:35 pmIt is sure coming along… so much work but the pay off is so worth it. I am sure you are getting to the excitement level to get it finished off… I know I am.
Great job Gail.
Hugs, Deb
StepThruCrazy says
July 20, 2010 at 1:33 pmThis is one of those projects that I need to do in my house… love the change! So much brighter and fresher.
Amanda@The Hand Me Down House says
July 20, 2010 at 1:28 pmThank you SO much, Gail, for your expertise on this project! I’ve been just DYING to paint and update our ugly oak trim, but I’ve been too nervous to try it. I’m glad you made the point that you can do a room at a time — it makes it seem more tolerable than doing the whole house at one time. 🙂 It looks absolutely wonderful by the way!! 🙂
Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. says
July 20, 2010 at 12:38 pmOh my goodness, what a difference! Your room looks great! Paint is amazing. And yes, we’ve all had a spill – very messy!
Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. says
July 20, 2010 at 12:38 pmOh my goodness, what a difference! Your room looks great! Paint is amazing. And yes, we’ve all had a spill – very messy!
Granny J says
July 20, 2010 at 10:59 amThat looks great. Grampy always paints our floor vents to match the floor. I like yours better though.