Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Painting Brick To Lighten Up A Dark Office

Jolie is a woman after our own heart. Just check out how she too took a dark office / laundry room and lightened things up with a bit of paint on those red brick walls. Here’s her letter:

Your den transformation was such an amazing inspiration to me that I decided to paint my brick walls, too. It’s my laundry room with an office over to the side. Before the makeover, this room used to feel dark and gloomy and it just didn’t flow with the rest of the house.

Reader Jolie Before

So I painted the walls a light color and it transformed the room! It doesn’t feel gloomy anymore- as a matter of fact it’s one of my favorite spaces in the house now. It actually makes me want to do the laundry!  And it was very easy and inexpensive. Here’s what I did:

  • Painted the walls Sherwin Williams Antique White
  • Painted the built in cabinets Olympic Light Sage
  • Picked up bamboo shades from Lowe’s
  • Hung white curtains from Ikea
  • Hung sea coral art on the wall from your shop (love it!)
  • Made a burlap cabinet curtain from fabric.com

I hope you enjoy the before and after pictures. And thank you for all the wonderful work you put into your blog. It’s truly inspirational. – Jolie

Reader Jolie After

Of course we love the touches that Jolie borrowed from our own den makeover, but we’re even more excited about those painted built-in cabinets. What a charming dash of color they bring to the room! Thanks for sharing your makeover, Jolie. And if you guys want to see more pictures of Jolie’s recently purchased and already transformed brick ranch, hit up her blog to check ’em out. Talk about style to spare.

Comments

  2. Jennae @ Green Your Decor says

    This is a really gorgeous redesign! I am always amazed at how easy it is to completely transform a room with nothing but paint. The tone on tone wall paint and curtains really make the room feel a lot lighter and brighter. And I imagine it is now a much more inspiring place to sew!

    Reply

  12. Amanda says

    This room is amazing!!!!! What a major change without spending a huge amount of money, gotta love that!!!

    Reply

  13. nue says

    makes me a little sad that the red brick almost NEEDED to be painted over…but i can appreciate the amount of love that went into this room.

    Reply

  14. Lisa in Seattle says

    What a great transformation! Her house is super cute.

    Jolie, if you stop in here, do you have any plans to paint your living room fireplace? I ask because we have one just like that downstairs, except it’s 10′ long and looks like a gigantic pizza oven. Not the look I’m going for. I was wondering what your thoughts are on the subject.

    Reply

  20. Jim says

    Fantastic job, I’ve never liked the look of brick on the inside of the home and the pain job makes it look a lot nicer.

    Reply

  24. Katie says

    wow….that is amazing and makes me wish even more that I had laundry/craft room like that! LOVE IT! and I reallly am loving that coral print of yours! Might just suprise myself with one. :)

    Reply

  27. Laurie says

    WOW. I never comment on posts, but I had to on this one – that transformation literally made my jaw drop. Well done, Jolie!

    Reply

  28. Jolie says

    Thank you Sherry and John for featuring my makeover :) Your home makeovers have been a huge inspiration to me! I love everything you’ve done with your place.

    Thanks everyone for all your wonderful comments.

    Lisa, I have no plans to paint my fireplace. When I first bought it I considered it, but my dad gave me some wise advice. Live with it for a year first then decide. So I did and am glad I didn’t paint it. I love how it gives the room a rustic feel and I also like the character of the multicolored bricks. I give my dad’s advice, live with it for a year and then decide. If you still hate the brick then, I would paint it :)

    Reply

  29. Aimee says

    Wow, that is a fantastic transformation! Such a beautiful space!

    I am purchasing the sea life prints from your shop, too! I do have a question: there aren’t any Ikea frames that are 11 x 14, but they do have frames that measure 11 3/4 x 15 3/4. Sadly, I couldn’t figure out if those frames would have an 11 x 14 opening in the mat, or not. :) Do you know which frames would fit?

    Thanks! Aimee

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Aimee,

      We designed all of the prints in our shop to fit Ikea frames so it they should fit just perfectly! Granted they change things from time to time at Ikea but we’re fairly sure they should still be the same basic size (or you could just add a mat). And maybe Jolie will stop in to let you know where she got her frames. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  31. Ashley Sullivan says

    This looks great! I love the sage color she chose for the cabinets. It adds just the right amount of contrast and looks so classy.

    Reply

  35. Chelsea says

    Any idea what the countertops are made out of and how she got them white instead of cream? I have NASTY laminate counters in my bathroom, on my vanity, and in my kitchen. How do I fix this without replacing the entire countertop? (I’d love to replace, but it’s not in the budget.)

    Reply

  36. ann marie says

    I love this room. And I am so jealous of all the windows in her laundry room AND the room for a desk.

    Reply

  37. nancyk says

    I WISH I had the nerve to paint my knotty pine in our den like she painted the brick!! It looks so nice, clean and fresh (just like your den). We have some people who say paint the knotty pine and others who tell us we would be crazy! My husband told me to go with what I want.. how sweet.. but I am still torn!!!
    Great transformation!

    Reply

  38. Blair says

    Loving the makeover, but I’m loving the new layout of this before & after post even more! Having the “before” picture stuck in the middle of the note was perfect for setting up the dramatic “after” picture! Way to go, you creative youngsters. Please keep this new format around for the long haul!

    Reply

  39. Jill Stigs says

    Whoa……..what a transformation…………I just kept going thru Jolie’s posts and she’s done ah-mazing things to a cute little ranch! GREAT JOB JOLIE!!

    Reply

  41. Diane says

    Oh to have a laundry room with big bright windows like that!
    Great transformation!
    Love your blog and that baby is sooo sweet!

    Reply

  43. neena says

    The built-in cabinet color and the burlap curtain definitely make the room.

    I also love that hook rack with the hanging broom. Does anyone know the source?

    Reply

  44. Jolie says

    Aimee, The lower picture is the 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 Ikea frame. It is a little larger than the picture, but I just put a white paper behind the photo and centered it. I think it looks great. I can’t remember where I got the other frame, I’ve had it for a while.

    Chelsea emailed me and I replied to her, but I thought I would answer here, too. The counter tops were laminate. I peeled the laminate off and there was plywood under it. I primed and painted it white, then put a coat of polyurethane over it. Most laminate unfortunately has particle board under it, so you may not be able to do it in that case. I luckily had the thick plywood under it. http://shoppingcandy.blogspot.com/2010/03/laundry-room-in-progress.html

    Erin, feel free to do my laundry! LOL

    Reply

  45. Jen Appleberry says

    Oh yes, oh yes! Please tell us how those countertops got to be white instead of beige!
    Ohhh, maybe a post on that?!?!

    Reply

  50. Crissy says

    Wow! This looks like a totally different room! I love how they painted the little bit of non-brick wall above the windows a different white. I could sit there and fold towels all day.

    Reply

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