Welcome to my week 2 of the ORC.  My quest to update a room in just 6 weeks. If you missed last week’s post catch up here.  The week went by with the running theme of “what else can go wrong”? Computer crashes, paint fiasco’s and a few tears were on the agenda.  Let’s start with the Good.  Everything is bought/ordered/selected (big exhale).  I chose a rug from Joss and Main that I think I will love here and it was on sale, so bonus!  I was looking for something with an antique feel but that would stand up to some major wear and tear. I hate shopping for rugs online so fingers crossed that I like it in person.  The rope for the accent wall came in.  Love the color and the size.  It’s nice and chunky so the texture is going to be amazing (if we can make it work). :- 

On to the BAD (which is not really bad) just a hiccup. The leather bench I really really love from Pottery Barn will not fit. BUMMER.   I decided to use a bench I already have that is smaller and order a second one to fill the space.  It is a beautiful caramel colored leather and I think I may like the idea of two smaller seats.  Also it’s on sale!  Patting myself on the back and feeling good.  Bad turns good.

Now for the UGLY…

Yes, that is paint peeling off my cabinets in sheets when barely touched. We spent an entire weekend painting the boxes of the laundry cabinets.  We walked into the house the following weekend and bumped the cabinet this happened. I am not going to lie tears were shed.

What did I do wrong??  Well, I didn’t follow directions.  How crazy is that?!?!  I also went against my instincts. You see, I have this guy.  My paint guy.  He is crazy good at paint colors and we are on a first name basis. I trust him. So when he told me that he had this really AWESOME primer that would stick to ANYTHING and GASP you didn’t even need to sand. I was like COOL I am in!!!  

My paint guy steered me wrong.  🙁  It set me back an entire weekend.  It was a lesson learned (the hard way).  So we sanded (mostly just peeled) the paint off and started over. They now look great.  Here are the CORRECT steps I found by researching like crazy and reading the recommendation on the can <truly embarrassed over here>.

Step 1. Remove any hardware and clean the laminate surfaces with a TSP cleaner and wipe dry.

Step 2. Lightly sand the laminate with 120 grit sandpaper.  Just enough to rough up the top layer not enough to get to the bare MDF.  This is messy, a vacuum close by helps.

Step 3. Prime the surface with laminate primer letting the primer cure (a couple of hours). Lightly sand the primer. Apply a second coat of primer.  I ended up liking the extreme bond primer by Sherwin Williams when following instructions it worked like a dream.

Step 4. Apply topcoat to laminate surface.  I used SW Naval 6224 so it took a few coats to cover. 

Between painting the cabinets and doors we also started on the accent wall.  I’ll share that adventure with you next week (it’s not going quickly), but it’s looking sooooo good! 

Be sure to check on all of the wonderful participants in the One Room Challenge I have been so inspired by these amazing creatives!