Under Stair Closet Redo

Remember this closet? The one I stated I was going to redo, like four years ago? The plan was to gaffer tape the walls and build some shelves. 

Clearly, somewhere along the way, I lost all enthusiasm for this project. There was probably something else more pressing or interesting, and also I started to doubt the gaffer tape. It started to look too clownish to me. Instead of changing course, I ignored. 

No longer. Really the driving force behind tackling this little closet is that I sure could use some more elegant storage solutions for odd kitchen items. I have a couple weeks before Kit's summer break, and I'm trying to wrap it up by then.

Peeling away the gaffer tape destroyed the walls. The paint layer and part of the primer pulled away, leaving all kinds of pits and patches. This is a very similar situation to the one in the laundry room, where I really cut my teeth learning how to skim coat a wall. The situation in here was far more manageable because it was only three smallish areas that needed patching.

Because I am planning on doing some shelves in here, I removed the baseboard first. Then, prior to doing any patching, I vacuumed the walls and primed with Zinsser Zero.

After patching the walls, prime again to seal the compound. Pass quickly with the brush and roller, the compound wants to soften with any moisture. 

That yellow door. It's time for a change and I will miss it. It has to go because I am painting the interior of the closet a pretty vivid robin's egg blue and I want everything to be monochrome (other than the shelves which I'm hoping to build in raw cedar), so the door is getting the same treatment. To get a nice finish, I sanded with a random orbit with 150 grit and I'm painting with that Advance line from Benjamin Moore, which I first used on the black trim in the top floor bath. 

Peace and Love.