This is the Smurf Room, named for obvious reasons. The picture actually makes it look WAY more subdued than it was in real life (the one time I don't want my camera to make things bright and lovely). Trust me when I say it was eye-watering. It screamed at you as you came up the stairs. Also note the alphabet border attached to the wall with 3M strips. If that sounds foreboding to you, you're spot on.
The border was the first thing we axed, because while the Eric Carl pictures on them are cute, borders aren't my jam. Plus, it would have been super annoying to paint around every. single. one. So down they came!
Oh dear. Bad 3M strips! Bad! We tried several removal methods (gently peeling, popping with the spackle knife, ripping in fury, etc.) and all of them pulled off the surface of the drywall. In the end, we had drywall boo-boos all the way around the room which needed to be patched before we could paint. I spackled and smoothed, using a Magic Eraser instead of sandpaper. It worked like a charm and I didn't have to vacuum up any dust afterwards, so that was a slight bonus.
Then we pushed the furniture into the middle of the room and got ready to paint.
Two coats of primer and two coats of paint later (I told you Smurf was an intense blue) we were officially neutralized. The new color is Camel by Olympic:
AAAH! Every time I see it now I smile. This will eventually be a nursery (no rush, though) so we aren't going to finish it for real until there's a little tater tot running around. Sure it's a little boring without any artwork or curtains, but this is a giant leap in the right direction. I'll take this over the BLUE! any day.
Have you renewed anything around the house lately? Painted over any wacky wall colors? Anybody else have a run-in with 3M strips?
Linking up with My Repurposed Life.
Paige! what a difference! we name rooms and closets around here....
ReplyDeletenope, not battled with 3m strips, and haven't had to cover any bright colors lately.
Love the color of your new room!
gail
No 3M but the paint in our bathroom had a sand add in - and that's why I still haven't painted it. I don't really want to keep the texture - dust collects on it it's so rough! But I'm scared to make the mess of scraping it all down and skimming all the walls....
ReplyDeleteguess I should start on our guest room first ;-)
Wow! I can't believe you got that paint color actually covered! I had an apartment once with horrible walls that I kept trying to cover, but the pumpkin orange still kind of glinted through =(
ReplyDeleteWe used a primer that's designed to cover bright colors. (I can't remember the name, and of course I poured out the front of the can so I can't read it anymore...) It was from Lowe's if that helps!
DeleteLove the new colour! How will you name the room now that's it's not Smurf-coloured anymore?
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm not sure! Maybe the library, since a lot of our books are in there. That makes it sound kind of fancy. :-)
DeleteI like this much better than the blue too. Some colors just aren't mean to take up an entire room, yikes!
ReplyDeleteAhhh! SUCH an improvement!! Serene. A place to RELAX!
ReplyDeleteI have used 3M strips before and will never again because they are impossible to take off without damaging the walls. Who thought that it would be a good idea to attach all of the alphabet letters that way?
ReplyDeleteWhat a completely different feel you get looking at the first and last picture! Looks great and matches the pillows and couch perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAny Smurf would have been happy in that room (maybe Smurfette more so than others...) but it sure looks good now in its neutral tones! I'm going to remember than hint about the Magic Eraser -- and 3M strips seem to do the exact opposite of what they're supposed to! Years ago we had to paint over a PURPLE bedroom in a house we rented.... including louvered closet doors -- what a pain!
ReplyDeleteWe totally named all of our rooms too, and for the longest time, the blue room was the blue room and the pink room was the pink room even though they were no longer blue or pink. I love love love how it looks so far, and it's going to be super versatile for whatever purpose you use it for, plus the gender-neutral aspect is great.
ReplyDeleteI've got no experience with either wacky paint job paint overs or 3m strips. But your post confirms my suspicion of these strips.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with you: borders are...something else.
Ps: tater tots would like camel. For real. They don't care what colour their room is...
ha! smurf room ... wow I would have to paint that too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief!
ReplyDeleteI've never used a Magic Eraser after spackling. I'll have to try that.
Hubby and I have re-habbed a few houses to flip, and yes there have been rooms that were amazingly ugly. At the last house I battled with the kitchen wallpaper.
I wonder if they used the 3M strips meant for outdoor use only. I've used 3M (or similar) strips in every apt I've lived in and never even had so much as paint come off when removing them. It's not that hard to follow directions, people.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, the room looks great! The blue doesn't actually look that bad in these photos, lol (it looks sort of Miami?) But I can also see how it would be too smurfy, and you'd get sick of it. :)
And I'm with Kristen, we call the room we painted med/darkish blue-teal "the blue room" and I keep telling Peter we have to come up with another name for that room. Haha.
Have a great weekend, Paige! xoxo
Those strips are supposed to come off without ripping the wall but it has never happened to me. And I like the part/tip about the Magic Eraser--I will have to try that trick for less mess when we paint our son's room next month.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I'm jealous of your ability to paint over whatever you want! Someday I'll have my own house, haha. I wonder how the previous occupant managed to live in such a bright color??
ReplyDeleteMackenzie
www.heybirdfriend.com
Wow, what a difference! I've got a paint job on my to-do list as well :)
ReplyDeleteGreat selection of cushions!
Your room looks fantastic! I love your new calming color. You and your husband did such a great job, it looks like you had professionals do it.
ReplyDeleteValerie
Everyday Inspired
Ooo! I've got a midnight blue to cover over in our guest bedroom... I'm thinking it's going to take a few coats, I'm going back with a linen white color...
ReplyDeleteIt's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it, huh?
found this post via CCC @ MRL!
So, how do you call the 'Smurf Room' now? If it had been a more vibrant shade, it can be the 'Minion Room.' But, of course, it's not just all about the name. It should give you comfort. And a nice neutral shade can definitely give you that. :) Leeanne@ProMaster
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