Casing The Joint

Since we finished the basement I've moved my home improvement projects to the main level. There are three jobs, all involving trim, that I'm going to finish up this winter. Two of them involve the fireplace and television viewing area in the living room; the third, the openings to the dining room and office. As a side note, I'm typing this blog on my new iPhone 5 with a purring kitten in my lap.

The kids were entertained with markers on my materials. It was a good idea at the time. It wasn't such a good idea when I tried to paint over them. The areas where Julia colored took almost 10 coats of high quality paint. White paint just doesn't cover color very well, even at $60 a gallon.

Overall things turned out well, but I made many mistakes. Since the length of the openings were greater then the standard eight feet materials come in, each flat section has a seam. I was able to fill some huge gaps with wood filler, but I rushed the biggest one and didn't take the time to sand it down flat enough. If you look long enough in the right light it's pretty obvious. 

Initially I wasn't sold on how much white space it added, but over time it's really grown on me. It was something that hadn't been changed for over five years, so it took some getting used to. Next!