I only have enough energy to decorate small rooms – I did larger ones when I was younger! I am also very good at procrastinating over it……..
I have done 2 in the last couple of years and I start all keen and clear the room and take up the carpet and take it to the tip. I then realise that I need to do the preparation and that means rubbing down paintwork which is boring, tiring and needs a face-mask, which tends to make my glasses steam up! That means I put it off by finding any excuse for not having time to do it.
After a while (days? weeks?) I decide that rubbing down can be done in bits and start on the skirting board on one wall. Over time, with lots more procrastination, the rubbing down gets done. I then need to wash down the walls and ceiling with sugar soap. I usually assume this is easy and won’t take very long. Having started, I find it is hard work and will take much more time and energy than I expect. In the 2 rooms I did here, the ceilings have artex designs and destroyed the cloths I was using! I gave up on them, having decided they weren’t too bad anyway. The walls took long enough, so the next meal was very late!
Having chosen and bought the paint, it is “just” a matter of doing the painting. I start with the ceiling. This produces drips of paint everywhere – on me, my glasses, the floor…. I naturally walk in all the drips, so spread the paint further. I have managed not to walk out of the room and put it on carpets all over the house, by some miracle. Reaching up to the ceiling, is really tiring on arms that are not used to it and going up and down steps is not good for legs, either. Perhaps I should do the stepper at the gym! The other problem is painting a white ceiling white, it is impossible to tell which bits I have done and which I haven’t, especially as I have to keep moving the step ladder. In the end, I decide that if I can’t tell, it can’t matter and assume it is all done. It doesn’t seem to have been a problem since.
The woodwork and the walls also have to be done. I have major problems with joins – wall to ceiling; skirting board to wall….. I have tried masking tape and a metal shield, but in the end they don’t work any better than my unsteady hand. I usually give up and leave slightly wobbly joins where the paint goes into the wrong place. I doubt anyone will notice and if they do they won’t say anything!
The walls are very hard work and take much longer than i expect. The last (tiny) room I thought I could do in a morning, but in fact took most of the day. I suspect I really need a new roller, but as I am never going to do any decorating again, it won’t matter. If I say I am going to do some decorating, remind me I am not going to do any more!
Is it recommended? Well, that depends on you! You probably need to be better at it than I am and more energetic. There is some satisfaction in doing it yourself and it is certainly a lot cheaper than having someone in to do it. Personally, I find it looks rather neater if I have the painter in to do it!