The Demise of the Natural Woodwork, Continued

You don't realize just how much square footage you have until you choose to paint every inch of the baseboards in the house. I'm just concentrating on the first floor for now, although the upstairs will also need to be done. So my assault on the old, natural oak continues.

How did we do it? Sanding (more like scruffing, really), priming and painting.

Supplies:

• Sanding blocks (you can get these anywhere, even Dollar Tree)
• Rags or a vacuum to suck up all the dust
• A mask, so you don't breathe all that gunk in
• Primer (Zoom Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 1-Gal. Water-Based White Primer/Sealer)
• Paint (BEHR Premium Plus Ultra Pure White Hi-Gloss Enamel Interior/Exterior Paint)
• A small roller (hello, again, Dollar Tree)
• A quality brush
• Hammer
• Screwdriver

Begin by removing the door. Use a hammer and screwdriver or hammer and nail to remove the hinge pins. Throw your hinges, pins, and screws in a baggie and mark them. Whisk your door off to a luxurious location where it can be painted, and scuff up the frame with a sanding block.

You're gonna get to know each other

Remove the shine to the best of your ability using your sanding block without removing any color. This step is for adhesion, nothing else. It's a lot of elbow grease and boredom, but think about having chipping paint. That'll help you get through doing it right the first time.

Repeat the same on the door. I removed the hardware because I was replacing it, but feel free to tape it off or aluminum foil it up or whatever.

A once shiny door.

Once you're scuffed, paint the frame and the door with 1 or 2 coats of primer. Pretty Handy Girl has the correct way to paint doors, it's worth a read before you get going. Remember, use a quality brush! Roll where you can and pay close attention to keeping your brush strokes neat. It WILL make a difference!

Per the directions on the primer, wait until your door and frame is dry enough, then apply your paint. I always use 2 coats of the Behr paint, giving each coat ample time to dry. It's a brilliant, glossy white, and it looks gorgeous. It's super fresh and bright.

Give the paint plenty of time to harden. We gave the doors a few days of sitting before we'd attempt to bang them around while getting them hung back up :)

Unmask your hardware or install new, hang and enjoy! Your natural woodwork is a thing of the past. And with all the sanding and carrying doors... I just have to say... your pythons look sick.

Here's some picporn so you can enjoy seeing how awesome white woodwork looks compared to oak. Suffer, oak woodwork, suffer.

Bathroom: Probably the only piece of hardware I like

Sand me and paint me, the 70's are over