Don't Smoke, Especially Inside the House
As soon as I walked into this empy house in this Center City neighborhood (Logan Square), it was clear that the previous owner was a smoker. The odors of Pine Sol and other cleaners could not mask the heavy, sour, musty mix of oil, ashtrays, and stale, damp char. Walking around during the initial walk-through before I even wrote the estimate and secured the bid, I was reminded that it was possible to smell color. The yellow stains on every surface had a hue and scent that meant only one thing. The previous owner of this home was a heavy smoker.
It was my pleasure to take on this project to bring it back to life.
We started by washing every paintable surface of this 1,700 sq ft house with TSP, an alkaline product used to degrease areas. Then we used Kilz Restoration Primer on the celilings, walls, tim, and doors to block the stains. It is an expensive product, but I highly recommend it over oil primer for large projects like this one. It's a water based primer that does the job of oil, but without the toxicity for those using it.
The owner used several bright and exciting colors, most of which I have never used before, from Sherwin-Williams for the 2nd floor. He chose Flyaway for his office.
His guest bedroom was a similar, but deeper blue called Blue Mosque, which required a light gray primer to ensure even coverage.
The hall bathroom was painted with Bora Bora Shore
He chose Forever Lilac for the primary bedroom and Euphoric Lilac for the attached bathroom.
With those great colors in the rooms upstairs, he chose the very clean Pure White for the rest of the house. Following are before and after photos of the hallway/stairwell, living room, kitchen, laundry room, and basement. Take note of the yellow stains and the repairs that we did. We also stripped and refinished his beautiful handrail in the stairwell to the 2nd floor.
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