One Room Challenge | Week 3: Prep Work & Skim Coating the Ceiling

Katie Walker
Oct 15
3 min read

Week 3 of the One Room Challenge is here! After two weeks of planning, pulling together the vision for this jewel-box powder bath, and sourcing products, it’s finally time to roll up my sleeves and start the real work. On a typical Slate Studios project, this is when the trades come in and things start to get real!

I thought to myself, it's a 24-square-foot ceiling, how hard could it be. Well, let me tell you, I quickly learned skim coating a ceiling is not for the faint of heart.

Without anyone to do it but me, it meant waking up early on Saturday and Sunday, working straight through the day, and collapsing after a nice loooong shower, with a sore back and aching feet (or as my husband likes to say, “my dogs were barkin’”). By the time I sat down to relax, the only thing left to decide was which takeout menu we’d be ordering from because I certainly wasn't cooking!

From Planning to Action!

Here’s the truth: before anything glamorous happens, the room has to be taken out of commission and properly protected.

This step isn’t flashy, but it’s essential. I removed everything from the walls, covered the floors with brown paper, and wrapped the vanity in plastic sheeting. Blue painter’s tape went around the countertop backsplash and vanity cabinet, as well as all the little spots where one wrong move could ruin the finished product.

It might sound simple, but prepping takes effort, precision, and more patience than you’d expect.

The Messy Middle

With the room prepped, it was time for the main event: skim coating the ceiling. Why skim coat? Because in order to apply gold leaf (and trust me, you’ll want to stick around for that transformation), the surface has to be perfectly smooth.

Skim coating is not glamorous. Applying the joint compound is one thing, but sanding it smooth? Absolutely miserable. Dust was everywhere, in my hair, my eyes, all over my shirt. No matter how careful I was, it felt impossible not to track it through the entire house. (If you’ve ever tried to clean drywall dust, you know it gets into every crack and crevice!)

This is the point in the process where I regretted doing this myself. This is exactly why

trades are worth it.

They not only have the right tools (power sanders with vacuums attached, protective gear, drop cloth systems), but also the technique to make it efficient and less messy. Meanwhile, I was doing my best with hand tools, all while embracing being covered in drywall dust.

Why Skilled Trades Matter

Here’s the connection I want to highlight: when you look at a finished ceiling covered in luminous gold leaf, it’s easy to forget the hours of prep that made it possible. But it’s the behind-the-scenes labor, the work our trades do every day, that separates a good design from a great design.

At Slate Studios, we always tell our clients it takes a village to orchestrate their project.

This week gave me a small taste of what our painters and finishers tackle on a much larger scale, and it left me with even more respect for their skill, patience, and efficiency. It’s also a reminder that when clients experience “sticker shock” at a labor quote, this is exactly what’s built into it. The unseen work is just as valuable as the pretty reveal.

One Room Challenge: Looking Ahead

So that’s Week 3, not the prettiest phase, but definitely one of the most important. Between the prep, the dust, and the endless sanding, I’ve got a whole new appreciation for the trades who make this look easy. Next week, the fun (and a little more color) begins with painting. Until then, I’ll be washing drywall dust out of my hair and reminding myself that every messy step is bringing me closer to that jewel-box glow-up.

✨ Don’t forget, you can follow along here, at One Room Challenge, and on Apartment Therapy to see more transformations each week!

If your home could use a refresh or you’re dreaming of creating the perfect powder bath, I’d love to help bring your vision to life. Let’s hop on a 30-minute Discovery Call, it could be the start of something life-changing for your space!