The Dining Room Nightmare

I previously mentioned that I was enduring quite a trying time getting our dining room painted. I'm happy to say that it is finally behind me. Whew! Let's see if I can recap it all so you can, ahem, enjoy the transformation as I did.

Here's the dining room before we ever moved in.
Who are those children in my picture???

After hours and hours of messy and tedious work, the wallpaper was gone. There was also chipping and peeling paint that had to be scraped.

I meticulously taped off the floor and then primed the walls with two coats. I'm not sure from this picture if I had painted the wainscoting yet or not. That was no small task either and it took several coats to get it pretty and white.

After priming twice with one coat primer from Valspar, we saw that the places underneath were still showing through. Using plaster, I filled in lower spots where the paint had peeled and attempted to copy the existing texture on the walls. Once dry, I sanded it all down lightly.

I primed the walls yet again. And here goes the red.. Not so sure I like this color but the man really wants it.....

Bad lighting (it was the middle of the night - when else is a mommy of four supposed to paint!?!), but I think you get the idea. The red is intense (!) and the areas I re-textured are still showing through after multiple coats of one coat coverage.

Look at this next picture. Have you ever seen anything so ugly when painting??? These walls are totally dry and this is what they look like.

Here's the paint I used from Valspar (Lowe's signature paint).
I took both the primer and the paint and returned to Lowe's where they gave me exceptional customer service. My money was returned and after they saw the pictures and heard the story they said they would contact Valspar to see what we needed to do.

Valspar said that because it's a thick paint and fast drying you really have to paint a small section of wall and cut in. Then move to the next small section. You can't go back later and cut in around your trim. (???) They also suggested a flat paint. Valspar and Lowe's hooked me up with everything I needed to redo the room (on their dime) and I got right to work.

First I sanded the walls down. So ugly!

I didn't take pictures of all the next steps because I just wanted to be done! Next I primed it all again with a green tinted primer. I took this opportunity to change the whole red plan and go with my choice - green. My "Mark Twain House Olive" flat paint from Valspar went on beautifully. I did not use the one coat coverage again, nor will I ever!

I can't replace the light fixture just yet, but Home Depot was clearancing out their shades so I replaced those and took off all of the gold berry vines that were wrapped around the light. Some of the bulbs are too bright, but you get the idea.

I can't wait to make/find curtains and hang things on the walls.

So happy now.

P.S. John did admit that he does like the green better than the red. He really wants something to be painted red, but I've just had to explain to him that I do NOT like that color and it makes me unhappy. It also greatly disables me when it comes to decorating. I think he understands now. =)