I just primed, and painted my ceiling with Farrow & Ball primer, and Wimborne White in the Estate Emulsion. It's a nightmare. It's flashing after a third top coat. The primer went on beautifully, and looked better than the Estate Emulsion. At this point, I don't know what to do. I'm considering the BM Waterborne paint, but I've read that flashes, too. Any thoughts anyone? For my time, and money, I definitely won't be using Farrow & Ball on a ceiling again. I'm hoping a professional painter can salvage the Blazer Red, I've put on the walls. So far Farrow and Ball for me has been a huge disappointment.

The cabinets I think were Cypress. I live in Louisiana & I have the remodel plans from the person that built the pool house addition & they call for cypress. That is a wood that is native to here but, the grain is much like an oak so maybe it is cypress or maybe it is oak. Anyway, there is definitely a grain to it. DH and i argued about the primer coats & how many to put. I won that won (not that it got me anything) because the ones I did don't show any graining with 2 coats of primer. The ones he did do. So if you have thick coat of stain and/or any top coat on oak, you have to sand really well first. Then 2 coats of primer are a must - IMHO. I can see the grain in the ones that DH did and it drives me nutso. Like the underneath of the upper cabs for example. If he had sanded better & done 2 coats of primer, I don't think you would see it since I don't see the grain on the other surfaces. Who knows though because they were custom cabs, the cabinet guy could have used other woods too. They are 8 years old. Don't be afraid though. It is a lot of work but, if you follow the advice on this forum, the result is worth it. The cabs are not that shiny, it's just the lighting in the pool house is not great. They are very pretty. To the poster that asked about DIY cabs, there are some, mostly though people rip out old and put in new. I think that totally depends on the age of the cabs and the condition. If you can save what you have you are technically "going green". How in vogue is that? If they are nasty and have no character to them, then you have to start over. I have seen several posts for people that re-did therofoil or whatever it is called. It is more detailed what needs to be done but, nonetheless, less than new cabs are. I have friends and have seen many posters whose cabinets were $75k. Wow, that's a ton of money. So if you can figure it out, use what you have! Go for it. A little at a time is fine too. If you hate your cabinets, paint them. There are many posters here that have black, blue, brown or white cabinets. All look good. If you can use what you have then a little paint is so cheap compared to new. To be honest, I have the same types of cabinets in my kitchen, laundry, DD bath in my 1950s/remodeled in 2000 house that are 8 years old. All of those cabinets, I will either paint or have painted professionally, the wood is not really nice enough to restain. The ones in my Master bath & guest bath that are original to the house and then painted from 1950, they are out. They are just flat front wood nothing cabinets. There is no saving those. Anything in the last 20 years thougth might be savagable. There are so many options for colors. I can post some colored cabinets from my inspiration file if you would like to see them. that will show you paint grade cabs that are just beautiful.

ICI's Velvet Sheen and Lifemaster are two products I've painted with and spec'd - A LOT. Velvet Sheen and Lifemaster are comparable to Sherwin William's Super Paint in one specific way and that is ease of use. Everyone can paint successfully with Velvet Sheen and Lifemaster. Coverage is excellent, yadda, yadda, yadda. Course with ICI you can get Ellen Kennon's full spectrum color. I love Aura. I've painted with several colors including most all of the reds. Caliente is stunning (as a side note) :-) The palette and the colors are good. Not full spectrum, but they are rich and the final finish is luxurious. Aura in satin is not my favorite. However, the Matte is super chic. Aura is not easy to paint with for all DIYers or as I've recently found out not all pro painters are good with Aura either. You can do a search and find many posts about how it's a little different and what you can expect. Best thing to do is get samples of both. Roll them, brush them, look at them and then decide what fits your skill set and aesthetic the best. Have to admit I am partial to Ellen's palette and full spectrum color.

Do you trust the BM color matching? What if I mixed a few sample paints to come up with a custom color? Would you trust the BM color scanner to match it? I ask because I have been testing color samples on my house and can't find the right color. One is close but just a tad too orangey on the front of the house that gets all day sun.