Painters Tape and Orange Peel Walls

When I was a kid growing up in New England all the walls were smooth and the art (yes, art) of achieving a smooth wall was alive and well. It seems that every new house being built now has the orange peel wall. I know it is less expensive and hides a variety of sins but trying to get a straight paint line between the ceiling and wall using painters tape is near to impossible. Sure, I could go back with an artist brush and both colors of paint and make it look neater, better, but why don’t I do that up front and skip the painters tape?

Well as it so happens most professional painters don’t use painters tape unless they have a tricky area or can get a smooth, straight line by taping the baseboard or some other trim. They feather the brush and pull the paint in a straight line. My task for this weekend is to paint the master bathroom since our plan is to vacate the master bedroom and make that room available for the B&B. It also so happens that the bathroom was originally painted in a deep dark red (ceilings included) and no matter how bright you could make it by lighting it different ways, it still felt like a dark cave.

In my previous post, I mentioned liking landscaping, the transformation, etc. I on the other hand detest painting, there is no creativity in painting a room there is only the desire to get this done and done quickly. I also detest prepping the room – laying down painters tape – with the knowledge that I am going to have to fix the paint “leaks” afterwards anyway. It also lengthens the process making an unwelcome job more painful.

So here I go, wet rag in hand, no painters tape, and the opportunity to improve a skill set I know I will need to use again (and again). Wish me luck!