kgwlisa, I don't know what is "normal" but we painted first (maybe to not have to be concerned about paint on the tile walls or floors?) Then we tiled the floors and wall (up to chair rail height). The painter was here this week doing what little touch up there was. Happy (and relieved) to say that our master bathroom remodel is officially COMPLETE! Monica

Green: I probably agree with your pov but DH has his heart set on the knotty pine and I want him to be happy... I'm getting carte blanche on almost everything else. Actually, the KP suits the little house we are remodeling quite nicely. We are unable to go to 10', 9' is the limit for a flat ceiling OR we talked about a vault from 9' up to 12' (or so) across the 15' dimension.. it would follow the pitch of the roof. Not sure how to pull that off within the existing building, though. LauraJane: dang! Nice pics! Thank you for posting those... As I stated above, we were talking about doing a vault ceiling... would go from 9ft up to about 12ft across the 15' dimension but DH isn't sure how to pull that off with trusses. Maybe someone out there knows or can point to a website with pertinent info? Hate to make a mistake on something like that, lol. Lavender: you're over here, too! I can't get the cream or whitewash past DH. He's in love with the honey pine. We are stepping away from the honey pine on the walls, though, so that helps a bit. I was just afraid that the honey pine with beams would make the ceiling feel like it was coming down on our heads and I don't want that. Also thought that just flat planks with no beams might be too...well, flat and boring over the whole ceiling. I'd really like the vault option if we could figure out how to do that...

Ceilings are the most difficult to paint; sometimes you can do your best work, but still end up with a so-so looking ceiling because the sheetrock installations wasn't done well. I've painted some really ugly ceilings, but I've picked up some really good tips over the years from pros that produce better results. Sheen A dead flat ceiling paint is best as it is non-reflective, thus will not show as many imperfections in the ceiling. I prefer white for the ceilings, but that is just a personal preference that developed after I painted some really ugly colored ceilings :o Kitchens and bathrooms require a sheen for stain and moisture protection, but technique and equipment (speed and a longer roller) will help give you a will give better result. Too Dry a Roller The most common mistake we DIY painters make is we wipe all the paint off the roller after we dip it in the paint tray. Go figure! In order to paint, we must leave paint on the roller. DIY ugly roller marks are more often than not from a dry edge due to our applying too thin a layer of paint. DonÂt be afraid to load that roller. Too much paint on the roller and it will splatter all over you; not enough and you will roll a relatively thin layer and need to re-load almost immediately. Size of Roller & Speed Use an 18â³ roller cover instead of a 9â³ cover--the more space you cover with each roll, the better. Besides, why anyone would torture themselves by painting a ceiling with a 9" cover is beyond me. For best results on a ceiling, you need to work in a FAST and SMOOTH motion; you want to cover your roller tracks and even out the paint before the edge dries. Speed is of the essenceÂpaint quickly. Direction of Roll is Extremely Important! ALWAYS roll the paint in the direction PERPENDICULAR to the MAIN SOURCE of LIGHT FROM WHERE YOU ENTER THE ROOM. If you have two sources of light pick the light source you see as you enter the room and paint perpendicular to that light source. My best tip: shop at a real paint store run by a paint dealer who actually knows something about paint products and tools. There are many people on this site who think that paint dealers are overpriced and not worth it--I don't agree. Many paint dealers are very knowledge about the products on the market. I may pay $2 more for a brush or a tool--but what I gain in knowledge and receive in assistance is worth a lot more. When I have questions about paint products, problems, techniques, etc. I just go in or call--questions asked and answered. When I ask the kid at Home Depot a question about paint products, I get a "I'm not really sure about that." All of the above tips come paint dealers--dealers who actually spent years as painters! Besides, I would rather support my local paint dealer than the big box corporation.

That's the amazing thing about milk paint -- it's gorgeous in all lighting. Radiant even. The color shifts a bit, as with all paint, but it's always pretty. My LR is painted in pumpkin & sometimes it's coppery, sometime tomato soup red depending on the season & sunlight. At night it's just a fabulous warm burnt orange under the incandescents. Same thing with my BR painted w/ a mix of oyster white & a touch of sea green. So what colors did you purchase? How exciting! Your home is so beautiful. Will be fun to follow your projects.