The last time I uploaded this picture to Insta I was wildly optimistic about the amazing progress of our attic and so excited to see it take shape!

Hold on to those happy thoughts because it gets less energetic with each additional coat of paint. 

The whole attic is a large space filled with weird angled ceilings & walls.Essentially, the space is 3 rooms: front room pictured above, back room behind the chimney and the laundry room which is to the right of the stairs. 

Focusing on the laundry room (more on the DIY details, blood, sweat & tears in the other rooms later) this is the progression.

Starting out as a scary child torture chamber with black coal soot floors & floral scratch marketed wallpaper I was terrified to even enter the space. But I knew converting this attic to livable space would function so well down the road and make a great laundry room (because the original laundry in the basement was even scarier!). 

Then it looked like this when we removed the wallpaper and it also smelled like clean laundry since we used fabric softener to remove it. Double win.

Next we sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded AND SANDED, until neither of us could move. We rested and then white washed & polyurethaned the floors. Love the result! The light floors brighten the space and make it warm and inviting. 

Getting the floors evenly sanded and stained was hard. It was physically tolling, tedious and difficult to get perfect. Since the look is more unfinished/ rustic the little imperfections don’t bother me, but in a main living space I recommend using a pro. Basically, I will never refinish floors myself again so don’t ask me to help you. I wish you so much luck though. 

I promise this is going somewhere, stick with me. Now the dilemma. 

This is the current state of the laundry room. 

“Oh but it’s so bright white and beautiful in there Victoria whatever could possibly be wrong?!” If you thought that, get A Color Story to edit your pictures because it lies and makes everything look beautiful! 

The issue is as follows, the contractor skimmed and sanded the walls, we used TWO coats of drywall primer because that skim coat sucks up paint like you wouldn’t believe. Then while I proceeded to what felt like the last coat of bright white flat paint I discovered nothing was covering. Two types of white paints later, I switched to two coats of Kilz. STILL UGLY ORANGE WALLPAPER GLUE STAINS SHOWING THROUGH!! Is this a curse of the ghosts that live in my attic? 

In addition to the orange showing through my millions of coats of paint I also have a weird discoloration between the edging where I used different white colors and the rest of the wall because I didn’t finish full coats. Begin hair pulling out. 

Now, with so many different white coats into this project and no end in sight I’m not sure what to do! Do I suck it up, do it (right?) and complete with one coat Kilz and one coat finish bright white? Or do I just try the final coat of bright white, cross my fingers and hope that ends the painting saga? Honestly, I’m not sure what the right course is and probably have at least two more coats.

Oh and by the way I still have half the back room to paint with drywall primer. The front & back room plus the stair case also await a final white coat after they were primed previously. SO MUCH PAINTING. 

Happy Monday people, hope yours was better than mine!!! Painting advice welcome!