First Steps of Progress in the Bedroom: Painting Window Trim

As part of my discussion of goals for 2014, I mentioned this charming space, above, otherwise known as my bedroom. 

Actually, that's what the room looked like a few weeks after we moved in. But with carpet removal, floor sanding, dry-wall sheathing, and painting, we've got it to a basic bare-bones room in this alcove: 

But it still needs lots of help in others: 

Before I can get on with taking care of the rest of the drywall work, I've got to move my bed into the alcove. But before I can move my bed into the alcove, I need to finish the alcove. To finish the alcove I need to: 

1. Paint the window trim. 

2. Paint the floor.

3. Put in baseboard molding.

Working in my new philosophy of "progress is progress," I took my first steps toward finishing the alcove this week: painting the window. Nothing more. 

You'll notice that in all of these photos, the window trim is dark brown. While I'm not against brown, in the case of these windows it seems to trap the light right there, and none seems to get into the room. As low-ceilinged as this room is, I want all the sunshine I can get. I'd also like the window trim to match the rest of the house, which is white. 

It took a while just to get all the years of window treatment hardware and weather stripping off it. It was like taking barnacles off an old ship. 

It was also a bit unnerving to remove the wasp's nest. I had no idea that was there. And um....how did they get in? 

I'm not blogging a how-to on this because everyone knows the drill---yawn. Scrape, sand, tape, prime, paint. Pretty tedious. Extra irritation points on this one for all the weather stripping adhesive residue. I used two coats of stain-blocking primer. 

I used Valspar's Cream Delight in soft gloss. It's not a stark white--it's got a little drop of yellow and a little drop of gray in it--so it seems in keeping with the trim in an older house. The gloss has a bit of sheen to it, but nothing harsh or glaring. And it's not as glossy as it looks in these photos.

I proffer my progress photo with these conditional statements: 

1. I know this photo is terrible. (Anyone with tips for shooting photos of windows and overcoming the backlighting, please let me know. Please.)

2. This is only a first coat, and a second, maybe a third will be necessary. So will touch-ups, because painter's tape is never quite perfect. (And I can see that I missed a spot in the upper left hand corner of the upper sash? Photos never lie.)

3. The fire safety sticker is coming off the glass when the weather warms up (it's on the outside). 

4. I left the holes in the wood so I could stick a few nails in them and clothespin a sheet to the window. I love my neighbors, but I'm not really planning on treating them to a burlesque show every evening until I figure out my shade/curtain choices. I'll go back and touch up with wood filler and paint when I'm ready to rock on those. 

5. I haven't scraped the paint of the glass yet, and I also need to remove and spray paint the window lock and sash lift. 

6. I really, really wish I'd gotten further on this. But.....progress is progress. Right? 

Another half day on this window, tops, will mean I'm onto the next step....painting the floor. I'd like to get started on that next weekend.