Because this was all to be a surprise for Dan (so he doesn't have to do something for a change and to prove that I can actually do something), I didn't really get the chance to vet paint samples like I normally do. Usually those suckers are on the walls for weeks, if not months. You know, to be thorough, not because I'm ridiculously lazy. I had narrowed it down between these four colors, though, based on paint chips we had in the house, Behr's online paint photoshop tool, and blog reviews.
I call it "Very Light Slate Blue". Originally, I was just going to pick one and hope for the best. I quickly gave up on that idea, bought the ceiling color on the way home from work on Day 1 and bought a test sample of each.
When the idea to surprise paint first occurred to me, I wasn't supposed to paint by myself. My sister constantly wants to help me paint when Dan's out of town. I figured between the two of us, we could easily get it done in two days. However, she had to go out of town, too!
So, I made a list of everything I needed to do and realized if I had someone to help me move around furniture and determine the correct fuse, I could probably do it in three days. I set up some time in secret with my mom so she could help me move things because, let's be honest, that weight equipment is damn heavy and I don't use it enough to have the strength to move it.
All was great in my plan until she couldn't help me either. She had plans reschedule on her and she couldn't help me after work on the first day. Fortunately, she did spend an hour at my house, by herself, moving around the furniture while I was at work. Love that lady. So, I came home to this:
First things first was to prep the ceiling. My goal was to have it painted by the end of Day 1. Let me start by saying I have never removed a ceiling fan before. It was to be my White Whale. Finding the correct breaker to flip? Easier than I expected. Removing all the blades? Psh, I'm a mechanical engineer, baby. Removing the hooks that suspended the chain? Biggest pain in the ass!
Apparently the stupid little hooks were secured using those fasteners that expand when they are installed, making them virtually impossible to remove. So, I didn't. After wrestling with them for over 20 minutes, I ended up snapping all the hook part of the fastener off, so I just shoved them up in the ceiling. Some spackle and, poof, they never existed.
Last task, removing the flush mount ceiling fan. This is where I'm pretty disappointed with myself. After working on it for over an hour, it still remained. This stupid sucker is defying gravity. I removed all the screws. The housing refuses to budge. I refuse to budge about painting without first removing the fan. And the internet is anything but helpful. "Remove the screws at the base and have someone help you when the housing drops." Umm, no.
By this time, it was growing dark and without power to light the room, I wasn't going to make much more progress. I caved, flipped the breaker back on, and moved onto picking a wall color. Here are the samples on the wall.
UPDATE 7/9/2013: Oops! Typo! The top color is actually 'Dreamcatcher', not 'Sparkling Spring'. I didn't end up buying all four samples because that seemed like a lot at the time and 'Sparkling Spring' just didn't make the cut.
After examining the colors again in the morning, I don't think I'm happy with any of them. Because the room is so dark already, I want a light color and the bottom two are just too dark. And the lightest color is just too blue for my liking.
Summary at the end of Day 1: Bought ceiling paint, removed hooks from ceiling, moved furniture out of the way (thanks Mom), sampled slate colors, spackled holes in walls. I'd call it 50% complete for what I had planned. Good thing I have two more days to work...
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