Painting and using colors, help!

[Tiggeroo]

I have plaster walls in my apartment that have cracks needing repair. Once I do this, it means painting. I am always such a color coward and right now my whole house is white. I really want to try some colors and have the whole place painted before it's time to do the Christmas decorations. I am thinking of a med. sage green in the living room. I would also like to do a contrasting color for the trim and for the archway in the center and the fireplace mantel. Right now the bricks on the fireplace are painted white and this needs to be changed too.. I also have a long hallway that runs right into the dining room and right into the kitchen. I am trying to decide where I would stop one color and begin another. I am thinking of yellow in the kitchen. I am even going to paint those sad kitchen cabinets.
How long does it take to paint small rooms? Do you think I can realistically get this done by Thanksgiving?

 

[aprincessmom]

I don't know how small your small is but I usually tackle a room over a weekend starting on Friday night or, if I can, I do the prep work throughout the week at night so I can just paint and put everything back on the weekend.

First I take out all the furniture, take down drapes, pictures, etc. Then I remove the hardware (switch plates, electric plates) and do repairs -- fill holes, cracks, even out surfaces. Then I thoroughly dust all the woodwork and vacuum. Next I wash the walls and ready the surfaces for painting including all the taping off, spreading of drop cloths, plastic over windows and closet doors, etc.

The next day I apply the paint. Sometimes, depending on the room, I might have to prime it first. It may take two coats so give yourself plenty of time to let it dry. After it's dry I remove all the tape, drop cloths and plastic coverings, replace all the hardware, give another dusting and vacumming, hang pictures and move furniture back in.

Depending on the size of the room and the amount of repair/cleaning pre-paint it can take any where from 2 full day to 4 days.

Given the scope of what you need to do, I don't know if you can get it done in about 2 1/2 weeks time unless you are working on it every day. You mentioned painting the living room, hallway, all the trim, a fireplace (which can be tricky), the kitchen and kitchen cabinets (again, can be tricky and takes some time) before then.