Paint and paint and paint

Everything was ready for me to paint today. The first thing I did was examine the cans of leftover paint I'd intended to use.

There were three cans, one almost full, one half-full, and one almost empty, the latter two the same shade of brown. I started with the nearly empty can and on the back wall.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the paint covered the chipboard (that is chipboard, right? I have no idea) quite well and looked good. The shade was listed as creme brulee and the paint was from 2009. It also happens to be the same shade in the living room and hallway of the house.

The painting didn't seem very difficult, not when I could work from section to section between those strut things. I emptied the first paint can and moved on to the next, only taking a break to bring an old CD player out into the garage to listen to. But the CD player was broken, with only the radio still working. It may be the crappiest radio ever made. Almost the only station I could tune in seemed to be the Alede/Mumford & Sons station. Finally I just turned it off and listened to birdsong and rain.

If I ever offer to help you paint, you might want to give me the task of holding the ladder. My middle name should probably be slapdash. I slapped paint onto the walls with more speed than accuracy.

After I finished the back wall and a few panels on the front wall to empty the second paint can, I took a break for lunch. When I came back, I opened the nearly full paint can.

It was labeled beige. Who buys beige paint on purpose? I think this was the shade on the bedroom walls, but I (okay, my brother and I; he did the edges and corners, I did the middles and held the ladder) painted those rooms pale blue before moving in.

Really it was just a few shades lighter than the creme brulee, but those few shades were enough to make it really unattractive. It was yellowish-green more than brown, reminiscent of infant diarrhea. And because it was so much lighter in color, it didn't cover as well.

It was also clear that even with nearly a gallon of the paint, I wasn't going to have enough. I put the beige away and went to the store.

I went for a darker, warmer brown but only got a gallon. I don't know why I didn't get two. I also got a can of copper spraypaint and three outlet covers--just unfinished wood, but practically the first thing I did when I got home was spraypaint them copper.

Then I went around and spraypainted all the exposed wires I could reach. Exposed wires, sure; that goes well with what my garage will eventually look like. But bright yellow insulating coating? No way. I sprayed that stuff. I also sprayed a piece of PVC pipe that was protecting a grounding wire, so now it looks like a piece of copper tubing.

It looks awesome. I love that paint. I would have continued to use it, on the ladder and the lawnmower and anything else metal, but I wanted to finish the walls. I opened the new paint and got started.

The dark brown looked great. I liked it even better than the creme brulee. Unfortunately, of course, I didn't have enough to do both side walls. By the time I'd finished one, I was down to a quarter of a gallon.

I considered going back to the store for more. But I still had that beige paint that I needed to use up. After all, I'd decided to paint the garage initially just to use up old paint.

I looked at what was left of the brown paint. I looked at the beige paint. What if...I mixed the paints?

I poured about a half gallon of the beige into the brown and mixed them well. I was surprised at the shade that resulted, darker than the beige but with a robust color more like a paler shade of the brown.

But I still didn't have enough. There were still seven strips to paint when I ran out.

So I used the beige for the rest. The effect is less than beautiful, but I think I can line up shelves or something with the change of color to make it less noticeable.

I had intended to stain the shelf boards today too, but it was past eight by the time I finished. So I just replaced the old outlet covers with the newly painted ones and called it a day.

Now that the painting is done, I need to finish decluttering and start arranging. And I have this copper spraypaint to use up.