DAY 1: Prep = 80% of the work, 0% of the fun

Alright! Let’s get this “Make Stuff Up” Challenge going.

I’m super psyched and ready to…

PREP.

UGH.

Ok, so yeah, maybe this isn’t the most exciting way to kick off my creative challenge but this basement project has been hanging over my head for awhile so let’s start big. Truth be told, the real shout out should go to my husband Mike who did 99% of the work on this basement with new walls, trim, ceiling, doors, etc. It’s been 2 years of chipping away between work, family, and poker commitments and now it’s my turn to finish it off.

GOAL: Make the basement into a playroom.
MY PROJECTS: Prep, paint, decorate.
TODAY’S GOAL: Sand, wash walls, tape for painting

Ok, so I do a lot of small scale stuff… painting, crafts, the occasional baked good, etc. so truthfully I am a little intimidated by the scale of these larger construction projects. I know I can do it but I won’t lie, it does place a challenge on my attention span. Seriously, everything takes 4 times longer than it really should.

Case in point: today’s project.

BEFORE

AFTER

Yep, I know… I hear your collective WOW! It really bowls you over doesn’t it? I mean, how could one possibly effect so much change in such a short amount of time? Well my friends, it took focus.

This is what I mean about scale, 4 hours and the visual change is so dang boring! It kinda looks like it took me 4 hours to put up 20ft of painters tape. But I promise there was more involved…

Sanding
I started with “roughing up” the paint on the trim and yellow poles in the middle of the room as painting prep. My plan is to cover those ugly poles so, in hindsight, I am regretting taking the time to sand them. Especially as I sit here tonight hacking up freaky lung stuff. I don’t think those little dust masks work well. Anyhow, lesson learned… paint over things like this. Who cares how it looks if you’re going to find a creative way to cover it in the end with fabric. Plus, it’s the basement!

Sweeping/Vacuuming
Yep, pretty much how it sounds. Dust + Dirt = Shop Vac

Wash Down all Walls
Again, not much more needs to be said about washing down walls. Tip: Great task for all those old cloth diapers we pretended to use.

Blue Tape
Ok, strategy time. Where to tape? I will be doing primer next and the concrete uses a different primer than the walls and wood so that’s where I drew my blue line.

And that’s it. 4 hours. And you could literally play a Daily Diff with the before and after pictures.

But it’s progress.
Here’s the start of the design phase: My Playroom Inspiration Pinboard on Pinterest

NEXT UP: More prep, primer, paint.