It has been awhile but I am back with an update. And for me, this is a really exciting update. I have been procrastinating on completing the baseboard project. Why, you ask? Because I knew it would be back breaking work and that it would test my skills. I finally decided to buckle down and just get it done.
And for the record, it was back breaking! This is work that is done mostly on your knees-measuring, securing, nailing, etc…The only stand up work is cutting the boards to size. It took a few hours to get the first part done-measuring, cutting, installing and caulking. I was in fact very sore that evening and the following day. I knew that I should wait at least a day for the caulk to dry before painting and boy was I glad!
Enough whining! Let’s see how it came together.
BEFORE
The cabinets are painted with a chalk finish and I wanted the baseboards to match. My goal was to make it look like it is one piece! I had enough of the paint I used on the cabinets to paint the baseboards-just enough!
Now, the wall baseboards need to match the wall color. If you’ll recall, the paint color is the same (Behr Bit of Sugar) but the wall paint is in a satin sheen vs. the chalk sheen of the cabinets.
Installing a long piece of baseboard is tricky by itself but when it’s behind the toilet (and you are not moving the toilet), it’s doubly so.
I ended up cutting the piece behind the toilet in half to install it.
Making Life Easier
I can be honest and tell you that another reason I procrastinated on doing this project is that I absolutely loathe laying down painter’s tape. And this was going to be a project done entirely on my knees!! Even though I knew it wouldn’t take super long, I just didn’t want to do it.
So I came up with another idea:
Instead of using painter’s tape, I used a piece of cardboard and just moved it along as I painted! I still had a wet cloth handy to wipe up any mistakes. It was so much easier and I am glad that I thought of it!
AFTER
It only took one coat to get it all to match. At this point, the really hard work was done. My goal was to work carefully and not make too much of a mess!
Before I started this project, I did quite a bit of research (YouTube watching). One of the pieces of advice given is to paint your baseboards before installing. I however did not take this advice. I was convinced that I would make such a mess that it wasn’t worth it to paint before hand.
I was wrong! Dealing with this area around the toilet would have been much easier if it was pre-painted. And now I know that it’s much easier to touch up paint then it is to paint fresh. Plus, touching up is more cleaner and neater work especially when you’re trying to keep paint off of the floor!
Lesson learned!!!
We’re going to leave this here for now. The large projects are all now complete. I have a couple of decor projects to complete before I can call this project done and do a complete start to finish wrap up!
Stay tuned to see some new decor! Yay! The end is so very near! Thanks for hanging in with me.
How do you handle projects that would be super easy with another pair of hands but those hands aren’t available to you (thanks COVID)! Share in the comments.
