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The Paint Incident. Good and bad news.

by | Feb 2, 2011 | Decorating Inspiration

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The Paint Incident. Good and bad news.

An unfortunate incident.

So there was an unfortunate post-Blissdom incident at my house yesterday.
You might as well sit down for this. It isn’t pretty.

The incident involved:
  • A high ladder.
  • A bucket of Studio Taupe paint.
  • My husband.
  • A sofa and two ottomans with white slipcovers. Yes.
  • And our carpet.
The good news is:
  • My husband was painting our living room!
  • My seagrass rug was not in the room.
  • I hated my wall to wall carpeting anyway (it is now covered with paint).
  • In spite of being completely covered with paint, my two cute little ottoman white slipcovers washed pretty well and only have a few remaining splatters. I guess they wanted to experience their past life as paint drop cloths.
  • One more wall of swine is GONE.
  • I am COMPLETELY IN LOVE with how Studio Taupe is changing the way my whole house feels.
  • Having all the furniture pulled out has given me some new ideas for how to re-arrange my now paint covered furniture.
  • Winston was not in the room or he would no longer be a white dog.

The Paint Incident. Good and bad news.

Swine walls. Before the incident.

The Paint Incident. Good and bad news.

Behr All in One Studio Taupe.
After the incident (sorry about the dark night time photo, more photos to come when we finish)

The bad news is:
  • My sofa slipcover will always have a smattering of paint stains on one arm and the skirt, and one cushion will have to remain upside down forever more.
  • My favorite (and naturally most expensive) bird pillow will have a few token paint smears to remember this incident by.
  • My jeans have paint on the knees from kneeling on the floor in a puddle of paint, trying to rescue my slipcovers.
  • The paint splatters unfortunately did not cover the remaining swine walls and more painting and high ladders will still be required. Darn.
  • I did not have our video cam running at the time of the incident.
Inquiring minds want to know:
  • Yes, we had a drop cloth down, and no paint fell on it. Of course. The paint went right for my drop cloth SLIPCOVERS instead.
  • Yes, we had pulled the furniture away from the painting wall.
  • Yes, the paint fell from the top of the ladder and splattered across the room to the furniture and floor.
  • No, my husband was not physically hurt in the incident.
  • No, I don’t have pictures of the all the damage from in the incident. I ran to save my white slipcovers and bird pillow.
  • Yes, I know that not running for the camera first was NOT a normal blogger reaction.
And, more importantly won the last two weeks of giveaways?
Longaberger Basket Giveaway

The Paint Incident. Good and bad news.

Home Depot Giveaway

The Paint Incident. Good and bad news.
Congratulations to both winners!

Want to win a $100 AmEx card? I’m asking for advice on my dining room light, leave a comment to enter! There is still time to win that one so don’t delay! You do NOT have to have a blog to enter or win.

Have you ever had an unfortunate paint incident?

Related incidents:
The Pre-Blissdom Super Glue Incident
The Pre-Thanksgiving Dead Rodent Incident
The Post New York Plane Incident

95 Comments

  1. Estela

    Oh no! I can’t believe that happened. I guess paint splatter has a mind of it own.

    The color looks beautiful though :)

    Reply
  2. Cha Cha

    I poured a bucket of paint on our hall floor, some how my husband was able to save the carpet. All other paint accidents happen to my clothes, I don’t know why I think I can just paint this little bit and not get it on my clothes–IT NEVER WORKS, yet I keep doing it. So glad you are getting the color you want–enjoy

    Cha Cha

    Reply
  3. Nicole

    If you were to ask my husband, everytime I paint there is a paint incident! I love to paint, but I’m not very neat about it. I want to be, but somehow there is always a splatter of paint on the floor, ceiling or woodwork. I dropcloth, tape and have rags at the ready, but it always happens.

    Love the Studio Taupe! Even in the night photo, you can see the difference!

    Reply
  4. Jess

    Oh no!!! Glad no one was hurt! Sounds like you have a very good reason to replace that carpet now!

    Well beyond the remaining paint splatters that color is GORG! It reminds me of Behr Castle Path which we had the main living area of our last home done in! Your white molding will just POP now!

    Reply
  5. Marm

    So sorry this happened. It really can ruin a day. It’s a good thing you can see the positive side of things.

    Reply
  6. Richella at Imparting Grace

    I’m so happy for your carpet! Isn’t it grand when wall-to-wall carpet can be put out of its misery? If I ever build a dream house, it will have absolutely no carpet. None.

    But I’m so sorry for your slipcovers. I’m glad you were able to rescue them with as little damage as possible.

    I’m also glad to know that we’re not the only home that’s incident-prone. :)

    Reply
  7. Tara G.

    Murphy’s Law, naturally! Are you smiling yet?!

    Reply
  8. Annie

    I am so wishing that I was there to help you rescue stuff, even though it pains me to say it but no one was hurt. I am so glad your seagrass rug was not there. When my five year old was a baby and roaming around unattended, he found not one time but twice gallons of lavender and cream paint. I ran to get the camera before I cleaned up. It happens.

    Hang in there.

    Reply
  9. Linda

    My unfortunate incident – I was painting the living room ceiling, it has that ridiculous ‘popcorn’ finish so I had to put a bit of pressure on the roller. As I was almost done, I heard a ‘SNAP’- the extension handle had snapped and the roller landed right on my upturned (and unsuspecting) face! Being all alone, I started laughing thinking how funny it was, I laughed – stepped back, right into the roller pan full of paint. The roller pan flipped up,spraying paint on my legs and, of course all over the floor. The upside is I had just ripped up all the carpet so it really didn’t matter on the bare wood floor.
    All I can say is, I sure am happy no one was there to witness it!

    Reply
  10. Elen

    Melissa!That is truly an incident. Maybe an epic incident! So glad your husband wasn’t hurt. The new color is so yummy.

    Reply
  11. Stacy

    oh my! no pictures necessary, the visuals in my own mind paint (no pun intended)the whole ugly scene. :)

    first, hooray for getting rid of carpet! second, awesome that you were able to get your slipcovers mostly clean! imagine if your furniture weren’t slipped, it would have been a total loss! third, sorry about your jeans, hope they weren’t your faves! lastly, your perspective on it all rocks!

    Reply
  12. Loribeth

    What drama!!! I’m glad no one was hurt.

    I know how you feel on a much smaller scale. When we were painting the kitchen, I had a small pint of paint in my hand, and I swear it jumped out of my hand. Half a can of paint on the floor, and the two of us rushing to scoop it up before it spread all over the floor. Luckily for us, not soft surfaces were nearby.

    Reply
  13. Janell Beals

    Shocking, you didn’t run for the camera first?! Glad everyone and most everything is okay…too funny about the slipcover drop cloths.
    Jaenll

    Reply
  14. Michelle

    Oh my goodness!!! Hahaha, isn’t it crazy that nothing EVER lands on those darn drop cloths? We were drywall mudding this past fall and dropped a huge vat of the stuff from a ladder. It bounced off of our drop cloth and straight onto the carpet. Sheesh!

    Reply
  15. Kathleen Grace

    Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry about the spill, just last week my husband was bringing paint upstairs so I could prime the kitchen cabinets and at the top of the stairs he dropped the open can! Fortunately it wasn’t full to begin with and there was no carpet down in the (dungeon) basement. We both stood there in shock for a few seconds though, so i think I know what was going through both your minds right after the spill!

    Reply
  16. FairfieldHouse

    The only unfortunate incident I’ve had was agreeing to paint a room red. It took five coats plus two different primers! Of course now that I am going white, I have to paint over the red.
    Glad your husband and Winston weren’t hurt in the painting incident.

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

    Reply
  17. Shelley Davis

    Oh dear! I have had that happen at our house too! Luckily we had a carpet cleaner and it pulled the paint out of the carpet. We did however miss a few splatters here and there. Through trial and error, I found two things that helped remove those, Simple Green and for the tough ones finger nail polish remover followed by lots of water.

    I love the new wall color. Great choice.

    Blessings,
    Shelley

    Reply
  18. Dawn Camp

    Oh, no! Years ago I was trying to get nail polish out of the carpet and came upon this page: http://members.tripod.com/barefoot_lass/carpet.html

    If you go to the bottom of the nail polish removal section, there was a tip that involves ammonia and hydrogen peroxide; it worked. When we were getting our house ready to sell, I spilled paint in the carpet (not as much as you) but that trick got it out.

    Reply
  19. Arianne

    Unfortunately, We’ve had two incidences. One time my husband was painting outside with a 5 gal. bucket of red barn paint and it tipped and landed all over my 3 y/o son. I did get pictures! The other one involved red paint and beige carpet. Looked like a murder scene, but it led to my beautiful wood floors that were begging to come out!!
    Love your website!

    Reply
  20. Karen

    Hi Melissa,
    Oh dear! Well, there is lots of good news in the sad news (thankfully your sweet husband was not hurt), but you already know that. It’s a lesson for me as Hubby and I are planning to begin painting my reading room after we remove the totally faded wallpaper in mid-February. I will buy one of those plastic drop cloths and cover the furniture! So sorry for you white slipcovers and darling bird pillow. :-(
    Karen

    Reply
  21. gail

    ohhh gee! He must feel awful! :(
    I’m glad it wasn’t worse, and… how DARE you not run for the camera FIRST! heheheh

    So sorry. good luck with the rest!

    gail

    Reply
  22. Sarah

    If I remember correctly, we were once painting a room and my grandmother’s dog somehow ran through the roller pan leaving little pink footprints up the carpeted stairs, thankfully we were able to get it up.

    Reply
  23. Ban Clothing

    One of my co-workers’s wives accidentally kicked an open can of paint down the stairs to a finished basement. It got the walls, ceiling, stairs, and carpet at the bottom. They had JUST renovated the basement and were at the ‘touchup’ stages. They filed a claim through their homeowners insurance who paid for all the damage. Not sure if their premium went up after but it’s something worth looking into.

    Reply
  24. IAMSNWFLAKE

    Glad no one was hurt! Wouldn’t you like a matching colored dog? ;-) The new wall color is really nice with lots of character.

    Reply
  25. laney

    …will household insurance help you out…or would that just be another problem…

    Reply
  26. Vee

    And this is the good thing about blogging…everything becomes blog fodder. What a truly nasty event. Any chance that insurance will cover the damages?

    Reply
  27. Etta

    I currently have a VERY large brown paint spot on my bedroom carpet from about 5 years ago. It’s covered by a rug currently. Sadly, this is not my first paint mishap–my previous home had a RED paint stain on the hall carpet. I do not have good luck with paint. :( SO sorry this happened to you!

    Reply
  28. maggie

    I’m glad it was only the paint that fell off the ladder and not your husband. Sorry about the slipcovers and pillow. :( I had to laugh about the past life of your ottoman covers, though.
    My husband and I have an on-going ‘discussion’ about painting procedure. I hate to say that your experience supports his position that ‘everything MUST be moved out of the room before you start’. I’m just a ‘shove everything into the middle of the room and have at it’ girl.

    Reply
  29. Miss Mustard Seed

    Oooooo no! I’m glad everyone is ok and the damage was controlled, but I know how horrible that is. I actually fell off an eight foot ladder straight into a bucket of red paint when I was painting at our church. I single-handedly broke the ladder, smushed the paint can and ruined the carpet.

    Goof off works really well on dried latex paint, so that may help with some of the splatters that are left.

    Reply
  30. Stephanie

    RUN to the grocery store and grab the biggest bottle of LESTOIL you can find…then pour it full strength on the ‘spots’ on your pillow and slipcovers then wash as you normally would. The paint should come out….

    The bird pillow might have to be coaxed into releasing it’s paint spatters. Daub on the Lestoil and then let soak a few minutes and then take a clean, wet cloth and gently rub off the paint.

    Should work….been using Lestoil for years to remove paint. Hope it works for you! Pour it on your jeans too!

    Reply
  31. kelly

    Awww. I’m sorry to hear about your birdy pillow! I hope you get to use this as an excuse to tear up the carpet you hate! I once spilled burgandy paint on pieces of freshly painted white window trim that were drying on the floor! ugh, spilled paint can be such a pain. :)

    Reply
  32. Cheryl

    Oh, my. We, too, had a painting spill, it is not fun.

    When my youngest (now in her twenties) was just under 1 we were painting the living room in our first house. I have a habit of cleaning up as I go. My husband was just finishing up the trim so I started picking up the drop cloths, laid the lid of the pain can on top of it without sealing it tightly. It was still on a small cloth.

    My little one crawled over to it and tried to pull herself up to a standing position–she didn’t make it. Our brown carpet was now peach.

    Our washing machine was right around the corner and there were a few old flannel shirts laying on it(we were wearing them while painting and had gotten warm so took them off).
    I grabbed them and started slopping it up (it was almost a full can). Then I remembered the wet vac. My husband ran to get it and I started pouring water on it to thin it down and eventually I threw on a little dish soap. The wet vac worked like a charm and other than having a cleaner spot, there was no paint.

    Reply
  33. elz

    Oh no. I saw your tweets about it and imagined so much worse…not, that it isn’t bad. But, I thought that your whole room, furishings, everything had been ruined. The new paint color is wonderful. And, you’ll always have a story to tell about this one.

    Reply
  34. Eileen

    Yikes! That is awful! On another note, just yesterday I finished painting our master bathroom “Tobacco Leaf” and absolutely love it. Great suggestion!

    Reply
  35. Eileen

    Oh, and a gross carpeting incident—-when our 125 pound Bernese Mountain Dog got sick one night with some intestinal distress all over the much despised blue carpet in our music room, I actually cheered. I knew there was no way we would try to salvage it. I adore the new oak floors.

    Now that I think about it, I may feed Olaf something questionable and lock him in our bedroom…..where there’s more of the hideous blue carpet.

    Reply
  36. sarah

    we use shot spot for just about every stain in carpet you can think of, and even on our furniture….try that….it is amazing. it pulled coke stains out of our carpet that were 6 years old.

    Reply
  37. Roberta

    OMG…you had me on the edge of my seat reading this post..ahhhhh! Bottom line…what are you gonna do…no cryin’ over spilt milk right? Your hubby’s intentions were the best and now you get to replace your wall-to-wall carpet. Like you I would have been in rescue mode and not blogger mode…lol You go girl…wish you all the best in your painting adventures.
    Fondly, Roberta

    Reply
  38. Loren

    We had some latex paint on our hardwood floors that I couldn’t get off. Was at Home Depot yesterday and found this stuff called Motsenbocker’s Lift Off – Latex Paint and Overspray Remover. It’s water-based & biodegradable – and it took the paint off the floor without damaging the finish. It says it will work on clothing, carpet, upholstery, furniture, etc. It was around $5 and was on one of the paint aisles. Small white bottle with a yellow top – hope that helps!

    Reply
  39. Amber

    Paint accidents aren’t fun, they’ll make your heart stop! My 2 year old girl and 4 year old boy decided to stand on top of a mostly full, not-quite-closed can of paint in our kitchen. Yep, I ruined quite a few towels and a dustpan getting the mess up. =oP I feel your pain.

    Reply
  40. Georgie Joseph

    Sorry for your accident. When I found some yellow paint on a white thrifted couch cover I bought, I was able to cover the spots quite well with a small bottle of white fabric paint from Jo-Annes. I just used a small paint brush and put it on with that. Sure hope this could work for you. Your attitude toward it all is to be admired!

    Reply
  41. meg

    For a humorous perspective on spilled paint, you really should listen to David Wilcox’s song, “Leave It Like It Is”

    Here’s a link to a live performance on youtube.com

    http://youtu.be/_CyhD61B_Lc

    (The taupe is FAR SUPERIOR to the swine.)

    Reply
    • Melissa

      So funny!! ha.

      Reply
  42. Sherrie

    Oh dear! I wish you’d have postedit when it was wet! We had a similar indicdent in our first Victorian (you know the kind with the winding stairs?) Long story short I was painting the hallway above them while also potty training a toddler in a 1 bathroom house…he came barreling out of the bathroom proud of his accomplishment and kicked over a half gallon of paint, onto the carpet in the hallway, which ran into the bedroom, and it dripped over tha landing onto the stairs below. The hall & bedroom carpet was saved by diluting the paint with water and sicking it up with a shop vaca repeatedly. The paint was a pale yellow (90’s fad-eek!)and the carpet was tan. Silver lining was that it was a perfect excuse to get hubby to help me pull the carpet off those stairs!

    Reply
  43. Deanna

    Once I knocked a nearly full can of sage green paint over onto my parents dark green carpet while painting my grandma’s bedroom for them. I quickly scraped as much as possible up and blotted and blotted! It was miraculously barely visible.

    I am a messy, though usually it just ends up on me!

    Reply
  44. Fiona's Mosaic

    So sorry Melissa!! Sorry about the slipcovers, pillow and the carpet.

    I have had an unfortunate incident too. It involved white paint and two kitty cats……..and a million paw prints all over the house that I had to clean up.

    D left the door open on the room I was painting, the kitties got in, ran through the paint, and then he started chasing them. LOLOL It was like a movie!

    Glad Jerry wasn’t hurt. We’re rather fond of him! lol

    Reply
  45. Heidi

    Oh no, that’s awful!! I would have done the same thing, run to check the furniture! So sorry about the paint damage. Makes me nervous since our next project is our high, cathedral ceilings in our living/dining room.

    I’m a fellow Seattlite as well, and we DO have the same flying saucer chandy in the entryway. I think it was from Seattle Lighting :). Love your Studio Taupe. I spent all weekend looking for a nice taupe that’s not too gray. Didn’t even think to look at Home Depot. I finally settled on BM’s Alexandria Beige, and it turned out perfect as an accent wall. I’ll have to go check out the Studio Taupe. Hope there’s no more paint incidents and that your swine walls come along. Thanks for “inspiring” me!

    Reply
  46. Jennifer Allwood

    OMGosh. No other words. I am soooooooo sorry! Since I own a painting company, I am always relieved when paint tragedies happen in MY house instead of a client’s. But in this case….I want to cry for you.

    Reply
  47. Cori

    Oh my! I gasped three times while reading this post. Once when I saw the photo of your poor carpet, once while reading about your poor furniture, and once when I saw that I am the winner of the Home Depot giveaway!! Thank you so much!! I am going to get some paint with the giftcard, and you can be sure I will try to be extra careful with the paint after reading about your unfortunate event!

    Reply
  48. Tasha

    Yikes!!!! You are handling this situation really well.

    I love, love, love the new paint color. Can’t wait to see the room when it is all painted.

    Tasha

    Reply
  49. Lisa

    I guess every cloud of swine has a taupe lining! Glad all is well, especially your husband! Great color!

    Reply
  50. teresa

    Oh man, I want to cry for you =( I know life goes on…but holy cow….the carpet.
    But, I too am glad no one was hurt and now you have a beautiful wall.
    You taught a great lesson on how to handle a not so great moment.
    Thanks

    Reply
  51. Tonya

    Oh no! Glad no one was injured! Very sorry to hear about your slipcover & bird pillow though!! Guess its time to start shopping for new flooring!

    Reply
  52. Katherine

    The exact same thing happened to me one time, late on a Sunday night. I panicked completely. I called a steam cleaning company AND THEN DIALED THEIR PAGER NUMBER. Oh yes. I am that girl.

    They told me to get up as much of the paint as I could from the carpet and quilt/shams (I was painting in a bedroom). Then I was to completely drench old bath towels in water and lay them on on top of the carpet/quilt that had the paint on it, to keep it plenty wet and pliable.

    They came the next morning around 7 a.m. and were able to ALMOST get the stains out of everything. It’s still noticeable but not worth crying over, by any means. I hope you fare as well!

    Reply
  53. Susan

    oh the things we will look back on and laugh…someday :) Love that color though!!!

    Reply
  54. Shannon

    Oh, I’m so sad about your slipcovers, pillow and carpet (even though you hate it).

    But I must say that this post was great! I loved your breakdown by the good news, the bad news and inquiring minds! So glad you included the inquiring minds section because all of those questions were racing through my mind!

    Glad it was just the paint and not your hubby that fell off the ladder!

    Oh, and I love the new paint color!

    Reply
  55. Emily

    Oh goodness, so sorry!! I have a paint incident just about every time I paint. And the ONE time I “let” my husband paint, about half a gallon of RED paint spilled on our carpet in the office, previously a dining room. We got it all cleaned up, but now there are funky yellow spots all over it, probably from the hundreds of chemicals I used. I’ll never forget that day. Bad, bad times.

    But the walls are looking lovely my dear!

    Reply
  56. Toma

    Oh, so sorry. But glad all is unhurt.
    Years ago, I had the bright idea to paint some openwork shelves in my 1964 Kitchen that opens up into the dining room – with a Wagner spray gun! I used drop clothes for the tile and the carpet, but didn’t count on the far reaching over spray! I finished the shelves and looked around at the carpet and tile and was mortified – just past my drop cloth area the flooring was the same color as the shelves!! Talk about panic – all came out of the carpet – thank goodness! Shelves looked great!

    Reply
  57. lisa

    We spilled paint (a whole GALLON) and then got new carpet and YES, we claimed it on our homeowners insurance and never looked back. We were advised by our agent not to use the insurance but sheesh, we have been paying it for years and never used it. In the end it all worked out and we had some lovely new carpet to match our painted walls.

    Reply
  58. Arlene

    A friend of mine had a whole bucket of paint spilled on her white carpet. Her insurance came to the rescue and replaced the carpet. I have had a few drops and splatters when I have painted but no major problems, for which I am thankful. As the joy of painting guy says…there are no mistakes, just happy accidents. Glad you have a good attitude about the whole mess. I am not sure that I would have been so gracious.

    Reply
  59. Betsy from Belly Feathers

    Bless your heart!!! I bought some Herby’s Fame carpet cleaner after reading the blog post below, and it is the best carpet cleaner EVER! The blogger said her mother used it to clean up a whole gallon of paint off her carpet successfully, so naturally I thought of you. Would love to know if you try it.

    http://tulsadetails.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-kid-you-not-worlds-greatest-carpet.html

    The only thing I didn’t like was that you have to buy such a large container of the cleaner, but once I tried it, I was excited to have a lifetime supply!

    Reply
  60. Crystal

    RIP, white slipcovers.

    Well, I guess they are not dead. Just handicapped.

    I love how you looked for the (humorous) bright side. Thank you for being an example :)

    Reply
  61. Patricia

    It really helps to have a shop vac in these situations. I once kit a gallon of peach paint across the carpet, accidently. Grabbed the shop vac and pitchers of water and sucked the paint right out.

    Reply
  62. Carmen

    Oh no! Well, I’m glad it wasn’t worse and that your husband wasn’t hurt. Painting is dangerous and messy. I always, always, always make a mess somehow. I have had MANY near miss incidents just like this. The good news is YES, your living room is looking much nicer. :)

    Reply
  63. the chatty housewife

    I agree about the shop vac. My mom spilled green paint all over her tan carpet once, a whole can. They cleaned it up with the shop vac. Just poured on water and sucked it up over and over and over until the carpet was back to it’s original color.

    Reply
  64. mimi

    2 words- Krud Kutter. Sold at the big box stores. Will remove paint from just about any surface. Good Luck!

    Reply
  65. Rhoda

    Hi, Melissa, so sorry for the paint accident, that is so terrible, but glad you salvaged it and made it a fun blog post. :)The new color looks divine.

    Thanks so much for your sweet words of encouragement. All the support has meant the world to me. So glad we got to catch up at Blissdom this year.

    Reply
  66. Talysa

    Oh Melissa you are my hero. I would have needed to be sedated I’m afraid. :-)

    Reply
  67. Liz

    Oh no! I did something similar with red wine. But on the bright side your room looks gorgeous!

    Reply
  68. nanne

    i so feel for you! however, very impressed with your good attitude and sense of humor about the incident.

    have you tried those dryel stain pens? they have performed stain removal miracles in my house.

    nanne in indiana by way of alabama

    Reply
  69. Mary Joy

    Oh wow! Melissa!!! This couldn’t have been an easy post to write. I can only imagine the heartbreak as you watched the paint fly across the furniture, pillows and carpet. I am so sorry that you had to go through this.

    I love your attitude though…wow! And once again you have inspired me to continue in being authentic about what happens in our home. Sharing your real life decorating disaster actually helps some of us feel more normal…like things like this happen to folks like you too! :D

    I will be praying that God will give you an extra special blessing so that you can afford to get new carpeting soon! And that an inexpensive solution will come for the rest!!!

    Building Home with Him,

    Mary Joy

    Reply
  70. Emily

    Oh no! That’s awful. I have had lots of paint disasters bc I paint do much and I’m impatient. One incident involved white paint on a new navy blue duvet. It was dried when I found it too.

    You might be able to save some of your slipcovers if you take a brush and WD40 to it. Once the paint is out then dab it with Dawn dishwashing soap and throw it in the washer. Took the paint on my duvet out completely!

    Reply
  71. Gina

    exactly why I never use slipcovers! so glad you’ve got a great attitude about it all!

    Reply
  72. Joan Patzer

    I have removed latex paint off rugs and fabric with a product called Goof-Off. It smells wicked, but takes out old paint, pen marks, marker, and lipstick. Good luck!

    Reply
  73. Robin

    This happened to my daughter also. She was talking and shaking a full can of blue paint when she dropped it…right in the middle of her carpet. Of course the can came open and the whole can emptied itself on her carpet. It became known as the smurf crime scene

    Reply
  74. Eileen

    Charlie’s Soap All Purpose Cleaner removes paint from carpet and fabric. You can order it online. It’s a must have when painting… just in case.

    Reply
  75. Carla

    I hate to laugh at your “mess” but you sure made me chuckle with your good and bad points…great post. You’ll be recounting that story for years to come!!

    Reply
  76. Donna

    I had a similar tragedy in my new car. I was making a quick trip to the paint store and an open paint can in the back of my SUV tipped over spilling nearly a quarter of a can of white paint into the carpet and hidden third seat (leather)! What a mess! I drove to the Stanley Steemer location nearby and they disassembled the rear of my vehicle and removed all the paint. They are miracle workers!

    Reply
  77. susan

    Melissa, I honestly dont know whether to laugh or cry for you! Between the paint,plumbing, pet, and cooking disasters,explosions, general FUBARs, etc.,i dont know which is worse! Incidents include mini-showers all over my basement as the one new solder connection heated all the old ones “upstream”; using a power sprayer on the fence,bacing up slowly&stepping in a 5gal bucket of the *best* stain and falling over backwards with it while I sprayed my jeep in a lovely arc; or having a full trowel of paint&joint compound splatter on the opposite wall&loveseat as I got my leg hung in the ladder&hung upside down till I shrieked loud enuf for the neighbor to hear over ex-lawnmower,,,i guess the worst was the oilbase stain I laid in and cried/laffed till I didnt hurt so bad&could get up. Loveseat,tho newly reupholstered,cleaned up fine(ThankGod for latex); and sitting in the puddles howling with my Dad in the basement at 4am is *such* a precious moment. So-I always laugh once it’s happened,you cant stop it. -s-

    Reply
  78. ann

    you have such a good attitude!! i would be in the corner, crying!! also… i *love* *love* *love* the incredible effect on the walls!! can’t wait to see it when it’s all done!! :)

    Reply
  79. Jackie

    First time to comment, but have to say I LOVE the new color so much more than the old one! And I love those windows!

    Reply
  80. kasey

    damn girl….i am so sorry.
    btw…you look so pretty in the blissdom photos.

    Reply
  81. Laurie

    not sure if it will help, but Krud Kutter, which you can purchase near the automotive area and sometimes paint areas, of Walmart or Target, can remove dried paint. It just depends…on how much you need to work at it. It has removed permanent marker and shellac based paint from clothing and duvets! :) (OH…I just saw someone write Krud Kutter above! Yes…it is a staple in my laundry room!)

    Reply
  82. Jeanie

    So sorry. I have stepped into a paint tray – only to ruin or further ruin a pair of socks. But was able to get it off the wood floor before any real damage. Glad no one or Winston was hurt in this (unfortunate) incident. Wishing you all good luck!

    Reply
  83. Shelly

    Glad nobody was hurt!! Not sure if your up to it…but I am having a little Giveaway and would love to have you come on over for a chacne to win.
    Cheers!
    Shelly

    Reply
  84. paulette

    I am LOVinG the color pallet you’ve chosen !

    Reply
  85. Amy

    And I was feeling sorry for myself because my ceiling paint that I painted to day is totally the wrong color! I don’t want to have to paint a ceiling again! Now I will happily paint knowing I haven’t spilled any paint today! (I have spilled many paints in the past, but it has always landed on something cleanable.) So sorry!

    Reply
  86. kel

    OH YEEEEEEEES! Just last summer, as I was perched on the edge of the tub, painting the wall over top of where the shower install ends, I put my bare foot right into the BUCKET of yellow paint, which I KNEW upon it’s precise and careful location JUST THERE would never be a PROBLEM! Who knew paint was so SLIPPERY?! My ribs and lower back, upon their impact w/ the top edge of the toilet top,theat’s who…Oh.the.joy. Yes, I laugh about it quite a bit. Now… Your walls look awesome!!!

    Reply
  87. Condo Blues

    After carefully taping my stained wood molding, I painted my bedroom. It was a bear to paint because of the pitched ceiling. The job took days to complete. When the job was done and we were cleaning up the room I found splotches of paint on my moldings! Which were dry and I can’t remove without removing the stain on the molding.

    Reply
  88. Gayle

    Oh dear…not that bad! Today I painted the stairs a beautiful high gloss white. They were painted with oil based paint and are taking forever to dry. I took the dog to “doggy daycare” to keep him off of it. It is now evening, the paint still a little tackey feeling, and I noticed little brown paw prints on the two lower stairs. Despite barricading the little mut decided to step over on it.

    Reply
  89. Sue

    My husband was painting our foyer last summer on a TALL ladder and dropped the bucket of paint which fell onto a HUGE fan (positioned up blow up on him.) The paint “hit the fan” and blew paint onto our wood floors, furniture, etc. We still find paint to this day.

    Reply
  90. Lisa

    Oh Melissa, so sorry for your slipcovers & bird pillow! I think every DIYer has a story like this…..dogs stepping in the paint and walking around the house, little kids putting their hands in the paint…it’s the kind of pain-in-the-butt-funny stuff a life is made out of isn’t it? :)

    Reply
  91. Dana

    Ouch!
    Glad he’s ok.

    Yep, we had an unfortunate incident. Burgundy paint on old weathered windows, unstable ladder, cream Berber carpet.

    It was 8:45pm at night.
    Horrified, we mopped up most of the quart or so that spilled and splattered from on high.

    Then we called Menards.
    He asked how long ago it happened. 5 minutes. “Oh,great, then you can use Krud Kutter.” What’s that, we asked. He said his name was Joe, they closed at 9 and he would be there waiting. He was. It worked. And, MOST of the carpet cleaned well. (There were still some pinkish areas from paint smear that was ground in.) But, all in all Krud Kutter saved our carpet!

    *Disclaimer. There’s nothing on the bottle that tells me this would have been the perfect solution for this problem. But, it was. Your mileage may vary.

    Reply

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