Friday, October 9, 2009

Questions & Answers

I get asked questions on my comments and I figure the best way for me to answer them is to do a post of all of the questions that I get for the week. So if you have asked me a question, check back here on FRIDAYS to see what my answer is.

Also, if you do have a question for me, can you please EMAIL it to me instead of leaving it under the comments section of that post? Sometimes I may not see the comment and won't get your question answered. Send me an email to budgetdesigngirl@gmail.com and if your question is about a certain project, leave me the title of the post.

Now, onto this weeks questions!

*What kind of stain did I use to stain (glaze) my walls? What prep work did I do?

I did absolutely NO prep work people!!! I can't explain to you how incredible simple this is. My walls were painted a very simple light tan already when it was built and I just went straight over it as it was. I didn't even wipe it down, I didn't want to take the time to do that. In my living room, I did paint one wall before I glazed over it because I wanted an accent color. I painted this wall 2 days before I stained over it to give it a curing period. (This wall did take a little longer to dry after I stained it, just so you know) Don't be surprised if your wall is still a bit tacky for a few days.

The stain that I used was an OIL STAIN by Minwax. Here is the thing with the stain..... I am sure you can use water base stain and it would turn out fine. If you are afraid of doing this and it is a big step for you, I actually would probably use water base and here's why... If you use an oil base and want to paint over it, you will more than likely have to use an oil base primer over it before you can repaint your walls! I don't think that a water base paint will adhere to an oil base stain. But, I don't know if you will get the sheen with a water base as you will with the oil base. The oil base I used was also a sealant so I have a beautiful sheen to mine and I believe it is more durable on your walls than a water base.

An IMPORTANT note on Oil Base vs. Water Base..... Oil base is VERY smelly!!!!! When I stain my house, I open up all of the windows surrounding the area and then we avoid that room like the plague. When I did my master bedroom, we went and stayed at my parent's house one night and then slept in the spare bedroom another night just to be safe. Make sure that you wear a mask when doing this and that you wear gloves to protect your skin so that it doesn't get into your pores.

So..... now that you know the pros and cons of each, you decide what works best with you.


*What is KSL?

I have mentioned this before, but for those who have just recently started following this blog, KSL is a local classifieds website that you can buy/sell pretty much anything you want. I have an addiction to it, I buy and sell stuff on here all the time. You can find some amazing deals, you just have to be patient waiting to find that perfect deal. F.Y.I....I live in Utah, so this is a local website for Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.

This could actually be compared to Craigslist, but I don't like Craigslist as much as KSL. If you live in another state, check around to see if you have something similar to this in your area.


*How do I work (mainly paint) on my home with a baby?

For those who don't know, I have a 13 month old daughter and I am 6 1/2 months pregnant with my second daughter. (If you find me talking about Kenidi in any of my posts, that is my daughter on the way). This is definitely not an easy task but I get A LOT of support and help from my husband (and mom).

Everything that I do is in sections. I pick a small area that I can work on either in an evening or on a Saturday morning. My daughter goes down around 7:30 for bed, so I usually will try and paint a small area while she is sleeping. (lighting isn't always the greatest but I haven't had a problem so far, also, it goes much faster if you can get your husband to help you :)
If I need to STAIN a little bit larger area, my husband will take my daughter out and run errands or go for a hike on a Saturday morning or my mom will take her on a day that she doesn't have anything going on. On days that I stain, I keep my daughter out of the house ALL DAY just to be safe that she isn't breathing anything toxic. When I paint, I keep her away from it but I'm not as worried about the paint as I am the stain.

I definitely couldn't do what I do around the house without the support of my husband and my mom, but I am bound and determined to get every room painted and stained the way that I want it before I have my second little one. I can do the decorating with a little one, but it would almost be impossible to get the walls done the way that I want with a newborn.


4 comments:

  1. Hi Lindsi...My name is Kimberly and I married Tracy (Candace's uncle). You were actually at our open house we had when we got married. Anywho, what a GREAT Blog you have here! We are trying to remodel rooms in our home and I can't wait to read through your Blog and check out the great ideas you have. I love what I am seeing so far in your home as far as colors and design elements.

    You are quite the talented girl! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. I love your mismatched chairs, and bold use of color. Neutrals are out baby! (Congrats on the new baby btw!!!)

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  3. Lindsi,

    Perhaps I can help answer some of your paint questions. The smelly stuff you refer to when using paints is called a volatile organic compound, or VOC for short. Many paints, both oil paints and latex (or acrylic) paints, have these VOC's.

    However, there is great news! Many paint suppliers have low-VOC or even no-VOC paints available. What this means is that you will have less of the smelly stuff, keep your family safe from those harmful vapors & chemicals, and even provide a fire barrier to your walls. Yes, that's right...you can add a fire rating to your walls by using a no-VOC paint.

    Among the best paint suppliers are Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. Yes, they cost more compared to the paints that you buy in the big box hardware stores.

    But here's the difference. Without going into tedious details about the chemistry of paint, a hardware store paint is, basically, "watered down" so that while a gallon of paint will cost less than the fancy brand paints the painter will need to use more of it to treat the surface one is painting.

    You will pay more per gallon of paint for the higher quality brands, but in the end you won't need to buy so many gallons.

    As for water base and oil base...again, basic chemistry states that oil and water doesn't mix. If your home is an older home you probably have an oil paint on your walls. It's mostly a generational occurance since that's what our parents and grandparents used. It's also due to technology since quality latex paints have come around only recenly.

    Again, you can remedy that by using an oil primer before using a new coat of latex paint. I recommend a latex paint for environmental safety and for resale value.

    Hopefully by now your readers have a better understanding of paint. For anyone who has more questions about paint, stains, and so forth please refer to your local paint store. Again, go to a quality paint store rather than a big box hardware store for quality painting advice since paint stores focus on only one thing...paint.

    I hope this adds to your blog and also keeps your families safe while painting.

    Andrew Warby, Allied Member American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)

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  4. I am familiar with the VOC in paint, but I was focusing more on the STAIN which you can't help the smell with stain.

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