Your Gift Cards at Work

Chris and I were the lucky recipients of several Home Depot gift cards over the holidays. This weekend we decided to take advantage of them to re-paint our bedroom!

Our bedroom is a continuing battle in this home and a bit of an embarassment to me. In the original scuffle over paint colors, I demanded having one red room to commemorate the beautiful red room that used to be at Chris and Liisa Field's house. I always loved that room and wanted one of my own. Chris (the one that lives here) was very patient and loving as I painstakingly chose my red, which was a dark brick-red called New England Barn from Sherwin-Williams that I fell in love with online. When I asked the gentleman at the S-W store what color primer I should use for such a robust color, I was met with guffaws. "Primer is for a paint that doesn't do its job," he cried. "Our paint gets the job done, ma'am." Away I went, happy as a clam and looking forward to my lovely red bedroom. I slapped that paint right up over the tacky green that was there before, and after FOUR COATS, was just disgusted with the low quality of the S-W paint. Evidence below:

Original icky green

Remember...this is FOUR COATS
of paint that was "Sherwin Williams Highest Quality"

...and was a whopping $50 a can!!! Those of you who knows me know that I DO NOT stand for these shenanigans. I marched these photos right down to the store and repeated to the manager what the fine salesman had said to me about priming. He turned a very similar color and gave me not one, but THREE gallons of the premium paint for free - one of the red and two of the living room sunshiny yellow. While I accepted his free paint, I also informed him that it was the last time I would be using their paint. It was. And I discourage you from using it as well. Just look at those pictures! FOUR COATS!!! Ugh.

Anyway, we lived in this room for the last few months until I finally got the courage up to do something about it. Thanks to your generous gifts, I was off to the Depot to buy my favorite paint, Behr Ultra Premium. Our bedroom now glows a fabulous Red Velvet:

Same wall as the last picture above, two coats Behr.

Few roller mistakes on the ceiling. Probably cut that in after the wedding. :)
Sorry I didn't make the bed, Mom...

Note Penny's bed in the closet. We've gotten her to move out of the laundry baskets but she still loves sleeping in the closet...

Even Penny is impressed! We are so relieved to have this all taken care of. And, thanks to Chris' birthday just passing, we have enough gift card money to prime and paint the hallway this weekend! Thank you all so much for your generous donations to the Emily and Chris Make Their House Look Less Ghetto Fund. :)