Saying "No" to Crack Isn't as Easy as Nancy Reagan Would Leave You To Believe

Apparently, repairing substantially damaged historic plaster is kind of a big deal.




The problem is, that stuff is expensive! In addition, it does really seem to cut down on the work. I still have to drill in the wall and then follow-up with the standard plastering process.

Instead I chose to go old school TOH: LINK

Charm... in Off-White.

One thing that was great about or real estate transaction was that our house was being used as a rental. This made things quick, as there was no waiting on either party to sell/buy another house. On the flip side, one thing that was bad about our home acquisition was that it was a rental. Though in good shape, our home was painted and cared for like what it was – income property. So while we love the period details, everything is, well, off-white. Walls and woodwork are all the same color in the great majority of the house (minus the kitchen and bathroom). I even found a 5 gallon bucket of off-white paint in the basement just in case I had the urge to paint the rest of the house.

The problem is that we’re colorful people (literally and figuratively – I hope). So, the idea of living in off-white, first-time-homeownership bliss was not exactly appealing. Put simply- we need some color up in here. So I ask myself “WWTOHD” (What would “This Old House” do?). Here’s some of their ideas on interior paint:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20161202,00.html
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,1195208,00.html
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20314260,00.html
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20318232,00.html

I found Lowes has good website material as well:

http://valsparatlowes.com/explore-colors.html
http://www.preservationnation.org/about-us/partners/corporate-partners/additional-resources/TrustBrochure-SINGLGE-PAGE-for-web.pdf

So, do I go historic, or trudge off on my own?