The Solarium

O my lordy...never deceive yourself into believing that just because a space is small, it won't take long to fix up. In fact, I think this project was the most lengthy out of all of them.

It seemed like the usual solarium. But then, as you look closer, you realize the impending doom that is upon you.

Corner of the window ledge

The wall damage below

This is the power of allowing moisture to remain around your windows, and not ensuring that you have enough airflow in your home. Ugh. Why. Why. Why.


The first decision that had to be made was "to popcorn, or to not popcorn".

Well, in that case...you should always Popcorn! hahaha


Seriously though...

The solarium, like my living/dining area and bedroom, has the dreaded popcorn ceiling. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is about having a popcorn ceiling. I would say the only time it becomes an issue is when there are stains on it. Which is what happened with my solarium. The previous renters of the property...well, they weren't too bright. They seemed to lack the sense to open a window when there was a lot of humidity going on. Thus, it resulted in black mold along the top of the window. I cleaned the mold, but the damage was done. A long black stain remained. So the question remained - repair it (and risk the repair not matching the present ceiling and it looking like crap), or delving into the art of popcorn removal and making the ceiling flat. As I mentioned in a previous post, I chose the latter.






Suit Up! (definitely do not skip the face mask, goggles, and some kind of hat)

*cough*

Not that anything will prevent you from eventually looking like this>>

Now, if you've never removed popcorn before, I would suggest a Bing search...lots of great videos out there. Might have been a thought for myself before I dove in. Might have been good to know that I should dampen the popcorn first... Yeah, epic fail on my part to not have realized that. Thankfully, I didn't get far before I thought that there must be an easier way. So, yes, use a big sponge, or a sprayer of some sort, and slightly dampen the ceiling before you scrape off the popcorn.

I also should have been a little lighter on my scraping...kind of caused a few gouges here and there. I then spent a few days putting up some spackle to repair said gauges (it was "a few days" because being a person that is prone to back spasms - I could only stay with my neck tilted in the awkward position that is necessary to do such repairs for a limited amount of time). I then gave it a thorough sanding, a quick prime and then I applied some ceiling paint. Not my best work, but it will do. Besides, with the wonderful views I get from my solarium...

 

 

...you won't care how imperfect the ceiling is...( I get some rather dazzling sunrises, eh?)

Ugh - so glad to have that part done.


Another issue was broken vertical blinds. Now, I certainly didn't want to have to replace the entire blind because of a few broken blinds, so I sought out a fix. "Vane Savers"!

The kit is called the Nien Made, 3 1/2 Inch Vertical Replacement Parts Kits - retails for $5.97 at Home Depot

Not the easiest thing to get a hold of. I actually stumbled upon them by accident in an online search being referred to as "Metal Vane Clips" in a blind repair kit that I could pick up at Home Depot. It only came with 5 of them (and, unfortunately they were not sold on their own), so I had to end up buying a couple of kits (thankfully they were cheap), but they worked beautifully.

Just slip it on...grips instantly

There, that's better:

 

The other kafuffle is the accidental breaking of one of the clips. I was trying to shove one of the blinds back into place - months ago, when I was using a different method to fix the blinds that turned out to be completely ineffective - and I managed to break the clip that holds the blind up. Now, in the repair kit there was some replacement clips...however, apparently, clips are not universal in their size and design. It was the right size (sort of), but wrong design. The base of the clip was too big to fit in the "clip reservoir" (made that name up). Well, I wasn't about to let a minor detail railroad everything. So I got all "Dr. Frankenstein", and morphed myself a new clip - using the bottom of the new clip, and the base of the old clip (thank goodness that I didn't throw it out). I used a sharp x-acto knife and made the cuts, then glued the two pieces together with Hard As Nails glue.

< < < took one of these

I developed this > > >

Well, aren't I a smarty pants? Worked perfectly! (much to my surprise)






Now, on to the relatively easy stuff. (sort of)

I decided to use the rest of the pail of Smokey Glass that I had (why I bought a full pail, I have no idea...should have just bought a small can for the bathroom stripes...oh well, it will work just fine in the solarium). This solarium gets drenched with light every morning, so it can handle a dark colour, no problem.

So a little spackle, sanding, and a couple of coats of paint - and it's all good to go.


Yeah...no...not so much. I wrote the above sentence before I actually did the work. Ha...yeah...sounds like a simple job just painting a few walls, doesn't it? It is...if it's a square room with limited windows and doors. Not so much in my solarium. On one side, I have a huge, recessed window with a ledge, a strip of wall below, and professionally installed vertical blinds (thus, not easy to remove); and the other side, I have sliding glass doors. All around the bottom of the room, I have white baseboards. What took so much time was the cutting. For those not familiar with the term, "cutting" is when you use an angled brush and paint all around the edges. So I cut the edges of the ceiling, all around the top of the baseboard, all around the sliding doors, all around the window (including necessary acrobatic moves to get paint behind the vertical blind brackets, and trying to "motivate" the blinds to stay out of the way while I carefully painted each side of the window area), and around each side of the sliding glass doors. Not to mention, painting each corner of all the walls. All of this was in prep to break out a roller to fill in the rest. With minor breaks to quench my thirst, and to give my aching arms a rest, it took me 3 1/2 hrs...and I still hadn't touched the roller! Now, normally I would have used my edging tool, but I haven't always been very happy with it's results, so I decided to go more "pro" and get the angled brush. So it took a lot longer because I was trying to master the art of using the new brush - how to hold it, how much paint to have on the brush...it took a bit of practice. But, finally I had roller in hand and the remainder only took 1/2 hour. But, by that time, I was pooped and I left the second coat until the following day.

Beyond that, with the assistance of my trusty friend - namely Tremclad, and some spackle - I repaired and repainted the window ledge, and painted baseboards and trim, with Flat White (which was time-chewing too...and stinky).

Layla was unamused during this project. Moving things around does not bode well with her, and neither does the smell of stinky paint. She had many unkind words to say as I moved her litter box and food dishes into the dining area. But she did grace me with her presence while I labored away with the cutting and painting.

She is not amused

But once finished - and after a quick review and sniff - I believe I have attained her approval...or at least tolerance of my latest project.


So here we go:


BEFORE

 

Total Snoozeville, eh?

And now...


AFTER

Looks so glamorous with the mutilated cat tree, doesn't it?...lol

Now that's more like it.

I have to say, I love the dark colour. It works so well in this space and looks really good in low and bright light. It gives the place warmth and depth, and I found that the window stood out for the first time since I moved it. The window was finally framing the view...instead of just disappearing.

So, moral of the story is, don't be afraid of a little dark colour...cuz it looks dang good!


Love, Laugh, and Make it Gorgeous!


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