Alternate title: Breaking Out John’s Painting Belt
It was like old times. For those who don’t get the painting belt reference, check this out for further explanation. Anyway, as we mentioned yesterday, we painted Clara’s nursery. And instead of cloning the exact space that she enjoyed in our old house, we took the move as an opportunity to switch up the wall color. We figure since we’re working with the same furniture and even the same light fixture and curtains (since I was too sentimental to leave them behind) we thought a new wall color would make things feel a little fresher- like the room is subtly evolving over time as opposed to being totally reinvented (since many of the major pieces are staying the same) or a carbon copy of the last room (just because we’ve been there and done that).
When we were chatting about what colors we could do, we debated a few options: some shade of blue (but we thought it would be too much with the blue bedding, changing pad cover, capiz chandelier, and the blue in the curtain fabric), some shade of green (too similar to the past version), some shade of yellow (not present in the curtains or any other items already in the room so probably too random), some neutral color (too safe for a kids room, we wanted to have some fun), some shade of pink (hmm, but is that super girly? we’re scared). And guess what we went with?!
Since there were soft tones of pink in the curtains as well as in our DIY mobiles (that we have yet to hang) we thought it would fit in nicely – as long as we kept things on the subtle side so it didn’t get too bright and overwhelming. But we didn’t just want a soft ballet pink (or a baby pink like the swatch in the photo above). We wanted something with gray/lavender undertones. It’s hard to explain, so we’ll let the swatch cards do the talking:
See how the one with the arrow towards it seems grayer and more lavender than the others? We thought it had a nice muddy sophistication and hoped that it wouldn’t look too pastel-ish and girly, since we’ve always loved that Clara’s room is full of greens and blues and other non-gender specific colors. Not to say that the room isn’t clearly a girl’s room now, but we just wanted the color to have a bit more dimension than just a soft pink. Plus you might remember this whole-house-color-scheme post, where the second swatch on the top row was a little bit pink, a little bit gray, and a little bit lavender. That was what we were going for.
And in person it really does look dimensional and full of subtle gray and lavender undertones! The color is from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line and it’s called Proposal (sweet, right?) but you know we’re too cheap to get BM paint for the most part, so we had it color matched to Olympic’s No-VOC paint at Lowe’s (which now not only has no-VOCs in the base paint, it also has no-VOCs in the colorants that they add, so it’s perfect for a nursery). Thankfully, we love how it turned out. It’s a hard color to capture in photos though (the subtleties and varied undertones aren’t always super apparent) but we did our best. Here’s the room before:
Here’s the room during painting (just so you can see our process, we pushed the big pieces into the center of the room and tossed a plastic tarp over them):
And here’s the room now:
Of course it’ll look a lot more finished (and less pink-washed) when we hang the art, shelves, curtains, mobiles, etc. And when we switch out the ceiling fan for the blue capiz chandelier it’ll hopefully feel nice and complete for the beanette. And now for an obligatory look-how-cute-my-kid-is photo of Clara sleeping on her daddy. Is there anything sweeter?
But back to her freshly painted nursery. Her room was always the priority for us because we’d like her to feel settled and we want her room to always be a place where we can escape the chaos of the rest of the house (especially since most of it will be “in-progress” for a loooong time). So stay tuned for pics when we get our act together and hang everything up in there for a more finished look. Until then you can find us staring at about thirty swatches on the wall in the living room…
I love, love, love the colour. It’s subtle, but not boring at all. Gorgeous! And the picture of Clara is undeniably cute :)
Love the color! It’s calming without being too girly. I’m itching to repaint my daughter’s room as well. I went with a fairly bright spring green and want to tone it down a bit.
Looking forward to seeing more of your transformations!
Love this color – so gorgeous! I also envision this as a color she can grow into.
Did you know they also sell Benjamin Moore paints in pint-sizes? You can paint a huge test area of the room with that amount, and it isnt too costly. So when picking out your living room paint, if youre down to 2-3 colors, it could be worth it to test drive the color for what amounts to a small amount of money (about $7 each).
Thanks for the tip Amy! Good to know!
xo,
s
I Love it! I was hoping you would go a little pink in this one. I can’t with to see the room all put together.
Wow. Fantastic job choosing the perfect paint color, and so quickly! Do you usually get such good results when you color-match Benjamin Moore paints? I’m always kind of scared to try and color match across brands.
Hey Miranda,
Yes, we’ve found that Lowe’s and Home Depot are excellent at color matching all sorts of swatches. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’m normally not a pink kinda girl, but I love this color! It’s so sophisticated, and yet completely fitting for the nursery. I might even consider it for a project… I can’t believe I’m saying that about a pink!
I never comment, but I had to, because I love that color! Great choice. Can’t wait to see it with everything else in place.
looks great and while I loved the orginal nursery, it will be lots of fun to see you do it all over again – with subtle changes! I love the color you picked. And those jammies Clara is wearing…ADORABLE!
I think you guys picked a great pink. All of those options, my head would be spinning.
That picture of Clara and John is priceless :) Awww…
Wow, so impressed that you guys have already got to painting! Oh and the photo of Clara and John is just priceless. She will cherish that photo someday!
Very pretty color!! Can’t wait to see it all pulled together.
I’ve moved ALOT!! I always make sure my daughters room is pulled together first so she has a place of calm to retreat to and play in. :)
I really love the pink! You all have a knack for picking the perfect color. I have such a hard time with paint chips. Do you have a trick? Is there a certain rule that people should consider when picking a color?
Hey Nikki,
We just hang a bunch, look at them in different lighting scenarios (at night, in the morning, mid-day, etc) and compare them to each other (one will be too dark, too light, too pink, too gray, etc). And remember you can always use tester cans of paint to gain confidence if you’re still unsure!
xo,
s
I love it! It’s beautiful and colorful without being over-the-top.
I can not wait to buy a house!
Could you please publish a book of everything you did in your first house so I can bring it room to room with me when I’m ready to makeover my new house? kthanks!
Love the pink! It’s very cozy. (As is the sleeping baby!)
I am liking the scruff for some reason.
I really like your pink choice.
I love it! What a great color. We also tried to avoid the bubblegum pink effect in my daughter’s room and went with a pale peach-pink. Let’s see the living room wall covered in swatches!!
http://houseography.blogspot.com/2010/06/new-old-furniture-make-sweet-room.html
I love the pink! So cute and girlie :) And calming!
In a desperate attempt to avoid pink, I painted my daughter’s room (actually my sister-in-law painted it!) lavender with a nice dose of gray in it. The gray helps to make it not to ‘sweet’. I really like the pink you chose. I have now come to realize (now that my daughter is 2) that I might as well embrace pink because there ain’t no getting away from it if you have a girl! :)
Nice color choice…not over the top girliness…can’t believe you go-getters have a room painted already!
Love it!
p.s. Scared is misspelled…just a friendly heads up….
That’s a great shade of pink – good choice! It’s neutral enough to use for rooms other than a nursery, too, I think.
Aww, it looks awesome! Was she able to sleep in the room the night you painted? Do you guys have a trick for quick drying and getting the fumes out? Or does the no-voc paint not have fumes?
Well, the no-VOC paint is a lot less smelly than most paint, but we still ran the ceiling fan, the table fan, and cracked the window to vent the room so that it was dry and odorless by the evening (so she could sleep in her crib).
xo,
s
Love the new color!
You are correct…there is nothing sweeter than your lil one sleeping on daddy :D I’ll never forget when Emma was a few weeks old & she was asleep on her daddy; you could see their silhouettes while the sun just coming up in the window next to them. Ah it still melts my heart!
are you painting the ceiling?
Hey Margie,
We actually were going to paint the ceiling the same subtle color but on the ceiling it looked super dark (different planes can make paint a lot darker or lighter) so we opted not to. Perhaps in the future we’ll get a much lighter shade for the ceiling so it doesn’t look too dark. We also want to add crown molding down the line…
xo,
s
I like the text on the sleeve of Clara’s PJ – “Daddy loves me” among the rest of the loving sentences :) Very appropriate :)
Ohhhh, so sweet. And the room’s pretty too. :)
Simply beautiful! I love that subtle shade, and you can never go wrong with pink (my favorite color).
Love the pic of Clara. She looks so much like you, Sherry.
I really like the pink! We are thinking of moving this year and I have already starting thinking about paint options for the nursery (since like you, pretty much everything else will be the same).
And Clara is gorgeous! That little chubby baby wrist is my favorite :)
Thanks for the reply! And yes, it DOES help!! I think I might have to sample a bit on my walls…I grew up in an all wood, post & beam home, so I never got to have a true girly room with pink walls or any wallpaper. This little room at my house will be my “girly” room, just on a more grown up scale!
Wow, I can’t believe how fast you guys work! We moved to our house in 6 weeks ago and have yet to paint a single wall (even though I have been dying to do so, I am waiting for the holidays to be over). I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that you have a new house to tackle. This play-by-play format is so much fun to read, and since we are in the same situation, it’s awesome to watch how everything unfolds in your home.
The house is beautiful… can’t wait to see how it evolves!
Love the soft pink!
love it! i was a “no pink” kind of mama until I actually *had* girls. then I realized that within every little girl, there’s a little bit of pink!
I love it!!! Its such a beautiful color and the blues and pink together look amazing. I can’t wait to see the finished room!
p.s. you just saved yourself from having to repaint in 1-2 years anyhow, when she goes through her “pink phase”–which my 3 year old is SOLIDLY going through right now, LOL!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shade of pink you chose. My younger daughter’s room is a little pepto but my husband isn’t a do-over type so I’ve just learned to love it for now and will re-paint in a year to year and a half when she’s out of her crib and into a bed.
We used Olympic paint in our girl’s nursery too, and throughout our home b/c it’s low VOC! We love that paint!
And I agree, nothing sweeter than a baby girl sleeping on your Hubby’s chest! :)
That onesie/top that Clara is getting me weepy with all the “loves me” messages. TOO SWEET. Seriously.
Love the color!
I was a little scared when you said it was going to be pink, but of course I shouldn’t have been; it looks perfect! I have been looking at nursery color schemes a lot lately, and several of the pink rooms end up looking like the victims of a terrible Pepto Bismol accident, but you guys managed to get it just right. I can’t WAIT to see the completed room!
Emily @10:53 am:
Don’t beat yourself up too much! We’ve been in our house (3.5 bedroom Colonial–the .5 is the little room I referred to in my previous comments on this post, lol) about 14 months and we only have ONE room painted! And we’re not fully decorated…it can take time…we’ll ALL get there!
LOVE it! I think the color looks great and will look even more balanced once you add everything else in.
That picture of Clara sleeping with her daddy makes me melt! Those rosy cheeks are so precious.
So pretty! Looking forward to seeing pics once the curtains and capiz fixture are up.
After two boys, when I found out we were expecting a girl, I was totally thinking pink. Then, I found a gorgeous muted lavender paint color with a pink undertone. It’s kinda hard to explain. In some light, it looks more gray/lavender and, in other light, it definitely takes on a gray/pink tone. Four years later, it’s still my favorite wall color in our house. It’s a sophisticated base that keeps girly flourishes from looking too hokey. I honestly can’t see ever changing it!
I am guessing you’ve answered this in previous posts, but what was your inspiration for naming her Clara? I really like this name and might name a future baby girl Clara, too. For me, I am a musician and Clara Schumann was one of the most renowned female musicians and composers in the 19th century. She was married to Robert Schumann, who is better known today.
Clara was actually John’s grandmother’s name! We love a name with meaning. And her middle name (Kenley) honors my father (Ken) and my great aunt (Lee).
xo,
s
What an absolutely gorgeous baby girl! Thank you for sharing.
In the pink hmmmmmmmmmmmm that means feel good and that is what that room is like. Good job. susan
Oh gosh – I LOVE the color! It’s perfect!
A sweet room for a sweet girl! The color seems to enlarge the room as well. It’s a great choice with her dresser. I like how It brings out the cherry tones in the stain. Now if only my husband would let me paint our room pink.
lovely! the colour reminds me of the kids’ bunkroom in my parents summer house many happy memories ago.
i saw christmas tree ornaments this weekend in the shops that made me think of you two: white ceramic powerdrill, white ceramic hammer, etc etc,… a whole household tool collection!
That’s amazing! What store was it? They sound perfect for us!
xo,
s
Congrats on the new house! My husband and I just purchased a 1940’s cape and moved in on Monday! We’re getting ready to paint as well and I was wondering how you guys prepared the walls? We tested them and there is no lead in the paint. Did you use an electric sander or do it by hand? Also, I can’t WAIT for the posts about knocking out the other side of the fireplace. We have a similar configuration and our contractor said it couldn’t be done without completely replacing the fire box, which I don’t actually believe, but I wasn’t going to argue. I may follow along with you guys step by step. AMAZING SITE! Thanks so much!
Hey Lori,
We don’t sand the wall before painting at all! Here’s what we do: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/09/email-answer-how-to-paint-a-room-yhl-style/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
What a beautiful color! I can’t wait to see it with all the details hung up to add in more color.
Jennifer B.
Changing that light fixture will make all the difference!
Love your paint choice. It’s wild how much the new nursery looks like your old house?? Excited to see what changes you make!
erm, well, a small shop in Belgium, not so easy for you to get at I guess. If I’m in the neighbourhood again, I’ll pop in to see if the company that made them sells online aswell. Sorry not to be able to help more!
Haha, thanks fdr. They sound so perfect! Here’s hoping I can order them online somewhere…
xo,
s