As scheduled, our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore picked up our donation items yesterday. That, combined with us moving tons of frames and accessories into the future playroom (for now), meant the guest bedroom went from this:
To this:
Not exactly ready for the inlaws (who are arriving on Thursday – yikes) but at least it’s no longer a junkyard.
The reason that photo was taken after dark was because once Clara went to bed last night we decided to earn ourselves some brownie points and paint the room. Yup, we’re total suck ups who love extra credit. We figured it’d be easier to paint while it’s empty (the new bed is coming early next week- details on that soon) and with Clara asleep we figured we’d seize the day night.
So by morning the room was looking a bit more like this:
The color is sort of a stoney pale blue, that has hints of purple in some lights. We figured it was neutral enough to not offend any guests and if we ever had a baby boy down the road we’d already have the nursery walls ready. Gorgeous, right?
Okay, we’re totally joking. That’s not paint, it’s just tinted primer. Did we get you? Sorry, we just couldn’t resist the momentary fake out.
But as you’ve probably figured out already is that tinted primer = dark paint. We’ve been itching to try a dramatic dark color somewhere in the house so we figured we’d just go for it in this room. Why not be a bit adventurous for a guest, right? We figure a dark enveloping room would be nice to sleep in (some of our favorite hotel rooms have been deeply saturated), and thanks to having two walls with windows (plus another window in the adjoined bathroom) the room actually gets a fair amount of light.
Let’s just say the color is very dark and very outside of our comfort zone, but we’re geeky excited about it for some reason. Probably because it makes us want to wet our pants. Just a little. For now we’ll leave our choice a mystery (oooh, secrets) until we get the room painted this weekend and have pictures to share. Descriptions of colors can be tricky, so we’d rather just show it to you anyway.
Oh and this is actually our first time using tinted primer. With such a deep color on the agenda, we knew it would probably help with coverage and the richness of the color that we end up with, so we went for it. We chose Olympic Premium Primer because it’s 100% VOC free (and just $12 for a gallon). It was pretty easy to use – not nasty like the oil-based stuff, and not very smelly at all. But it was a little thin, so we had to be extra careful to avoid drips or wipe them up when they occurred (which might actually be the case with all water-based primers since we’re comparing it to our run-ins with the oil-based stuff from back in the day). Fingers crossed that it does the trick. You know, so we don’t find ourselves needing ten coats of paint to get the deep rich tone that we’re going for. We only got one gallon of paint so we’re hoping that’s all we need…
Andrea says
I like the new (to me?) feature that lets you reply to other people’s comments!
simplyblythe says
you had me fooled there for a bit, yes.
you two are amazing, working into the night like that, way to go.
Begoña says
hey, I was just trying this link, you put it on a post called something like let me help you or something and it’s not working. I thought you might know.
https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/03/category/diy-decor/
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! Off to check it out.
xo,
s
April says
I am going to guess… a darker green!
Jessie Bea says
Tinted primer is an absolute must! My dad and I painted our new living room a deep red wine shade many years ago, and I’m quite sure it took us somewhere around 5 coats of paint so that you couldn’t see the white underneath. It was terrible!
Sarah @ The Strength of Faith says
Mean! You should put up a “what color do you think we’ll paint the guest room” poll on the blog.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that would be fun! Consider the comments as a place to take a guess! We already have a few going on (dark green, eggplant, navy, etc).
xo,
s
Sarah @ The Strength of Faith says
Ha! Well in that case, I’m voting for something vibrant and modern. Like a deep red or purple!
Pam says
I’m guessing a super-dark grey. Or eggplant. Either would look fabulous.
Sarah says
It’ll be deep plum/aubergine for sure! xx
annabelvita says
Hmm, well it’s something that goes with yellow because of the bathroom and hints about your yellow rug… So my first guess is deep dark grey but maybe aubergine. Ack I don’t know but I know it’ll be great!
Shan says
I am going to guess you have chosen a lovely dark blue given the yellow bathroom and old blue duvet cover….
Lisa says
I think it’s chocolate brown…
Emily says
Can’t wait to see the new color! The tinted primer we used smelled awful. We’ll have to try this stuff if we paint another dark room.
Wendybird Graphics says
I love color! It can convey/evoke the kinds of emotions we want to feel while we are in that space. Powerful stuff! What I love about your posts is that you take the time to share your design process and all your thinking behind each decision you make. Thank you for allowing us to walk along side of your design journey.
Liz says
I love that you two are painting the room a dark colour! I’m hoping it’s a deep plum! :)
Whitney @ Becoming says
I can’t wait to see what color you go with! And I love tinted primer … most of our walls are very saturated and tinted primer is a lifesaver!
Andrea B says
You totally got me. I bought it hook, line, and sinker.
I was all ready to comment with an excited–hey! that’s almost the same color as my office!
And then you tricked me. :)
(Looking forward to seeing the new dark walls. I love dark walls, personally. It feels like a great big cozy hug when you walk in.)
carey says
Ooooh! Can’t wait to see! My guess is a deep eggplant. :)
Sarai says
HAHA! You guys totally had me going. I was thinking “hmmm…not the color I would have picked but these guys always pull off something amazing” before I saw the TOTALLY JOKING part.
Too Funny.
Can’t wait to see the end result!!
Amy says
This is off-topic, but wondering what you use for holding your recycling (cans/bottles & newspaper/junkmail) before you take them curbside. Any suggestions for cute in-home bins that can be emptied daily or every other? Thank you!!
~A New Reader
YoungHouseLove says
We just use a little plastic bin (I think it was a drawer at one time- we’ve had it forever). It’s easy to carry stuff in and out and it can be wiped down since it’s plastic (if a soda can drips, etc). You can see it at the pic at the end of this post: https://www.younghouselove.com/2008/08/younghouselovedotcompost/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Maggie Rose says
Yay, can’t wait to see the dark color :) I just painted my bedroom yesterday and it’s our first time with a dark(ish) color and I LOVE it. Valspar’s Winter Calm, but we used the no VOC Olympic paint. It’s a cross between a warm gray and a purple, and changes everytime you look at it. We LOVE it, and the painting process was virtually scent-free, so thanks for that suggestions! I’ll post pics on the facebook page when I get some.
karen says
you did get me! and your such teases!!
jen k says
Can I guess the color? I bet it’s chocolate brown…
ANyway, thank you for the tip about the latex primer. I’ve made note of it.
jodi says
you totally faked me out, because that primer color looks very similar to the color on my bedroom walls!
can hardly wait to see the final paint color!!
Dawn says
I hope the color is some eggplant or plumy (that should be a word)color. The luggage rack you just thrifted would look awesome in any one of the living room colors in there too!
Liz says
Just wanted to note that I’ve used some water-based primers that were not at all runny or watery. Miller Paints (I don’t think you guys have them back east) has a really sticky primer that has amazing coverage. It’s not low-VOC though, so we use it only when good coverage is absolutely necessary. Not sure about the consistency of low-VOC primers. I would think they would trend toward the thinner side, though.
Emy says
Sherry,
I notice painter’s tape on the ceiling of the room. I thought the use of your Magic edging brush made that step irrelevant… I was actually thinking about purchasing that brush you like so much because my worst nightmare when painting is the junction between the wall and the ceiling. I just can’t help cursing EVERY time, which is not too classy (!)
I thought about painter’s tape, but that step seems SOOOOO fastidious and long ! So, if I understand, I will still need to use painter’s tape even with THE brush ?
P.S. YEPS, you got me with the tinted primer, and my guess for the color is deep navy blue ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
The tape along the ceiling is the simplest edging method for me since I’m short and even on a stepladder it’s just not as easy to cut in. Even with the magic brush (which I still swear by, btw). So I use that fabulous little brush everywhere else and John quickly tapes off the ceiling so I don’t have to worry about standing on my tiptoes and attempting to make a perfect line when my head is two feet below my brush (I’m a firm believer in keeping your head level with your brush for the best result). I’m actually planning to make a cutting in video soon. Stay tuned for that excitement. Haha.
xo,
s
Emy says
Can’t wait for that exciting vid ! haha ! Btw, I’m only 5’1 so I know how it is to be crooked on the stepladder… ! I’ll give the magic brush a try next time, since I still cut in directly with the brush and no tape anyways, and I unfortunately don’t have a dear John to put the tape on (and I’m WAY too impatient to do it myself haha !)
Liz says
Only one gallon to do that whole room in a dark color???? I’m sure you’ll pull it off because you always do, but I’d be nervous!!
shana says
Wow, only one gallon? I’ll be interested to hear if that does the trick. Are you hoping to only have to do one coat, since you went with the tinted primer?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re hoping it will only be two costs tops (which we can usually get from one gallon). Fingers crossed…
xo,
s
Jennifer S. says
Let’s take guesses as to the paint color….I’m guessing either a magenta/violet/purple color or a deep teal/aqua.
Kelly says
Hi!
Can’t wait to see the new finished guest room! I also wanted to let you know that it is my understanding that Olympic brand paint is only VOC free if it is untinted (at least that’s what my Lowe’s paint person told me). Apparently the lightest paint color tints added to the Olympic base contain the least amount of VOC’s, but the darker the paint color tint, the more VOC’s. I’m hoping that the paint person I talked to was wrong, but just in case, wanted to let you know!
YoungHouseLove says
Nope they reformulated! Now colorants are also VOC free. Love it! Check out their website for more info. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
MeliseH says
Oh excited to see what you choose. I could never be that brave…but hey, you’ve inspired me before!
lilcg says
I see that you usually use the olympic no VOC paint, I am surprised that it is working so well for you. do you have any tricks? I tried using it in my house this summer and found it very difficult to use. we did only try the semi-gloss white for the trim, but ended up switching to sherwin williams for everything. SW cost twice as much but we were doing twice as many coats with the olympic paint! is the flat easier to deal with?
YoungHouseLove says
We have always had to apply two costs of paint (old houses and plaster walls usually call for that) but we haven’t seen any difference between Olympic Premium and other brands like Valspar or Behr or Glidden that we used in our old house (other than less of a smell). Olympic reformulated recently, so maybe that helped? We’ve been using satin paint (not flat) for all the rooms that we’ve painted so far (which hasn’t been an issue). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jenny says
Can you share where you got the Olympic paint? We’ve owned our house for a little over a year and I am DYING to paint! Love the No VOC! How much is the regular paint (not primer?) Thanks!
Nate Burkus, Sarah Richardson and Candice are my faves too!!! No wonder I love your blog.
How do you get anything done when people comment?
YoungHouseLove says
Lowe’s sells it and it’s around $22 a gallon for the paint. As for juggling actual DIY and responding to comments, it’s a bit of a scramble, but we love a challenge!
xo,
s
Melissa @ HOUSEography says
Very exciting! Can’t wait to see what the color is but I’m sure it will be interesting. I love how you guys are going for the gold in the guest room and using it as a testing ground for fun stuff. Most of our guestrooms are storage locations for furniture we don’t want or need any more!
Amy says
Hey guys – I’m excited to see the color, way to keep us in suspense!
But really the reason I’m commenting is because I just had to tell you that you two were (weirdly enough) in my dream last night! I ran into you on the bus, which was then hijacked by Mark Wahlberg. Yup, Marky Mark hijacked our bus and took us hostage. Hopefully everything was resolved peacefully, but I can’t say for sure – I woke up before I could find out what happened. I think that falls under the “you know you read YHL too much when….” category. =)
YoungHouseLove says
Best YHL related dream we’ve heard yet! Marky Mark + a hijacked bus = awesome.
xo,
s
erlfisher says
You will so not regret going with the tinted primer – we used it when we painted our house trim “Blackened Pine” (and you can guess how dark that is!). Can’t wait to see the rest of the room come together!
Jessica D says
We just painted our new nursery room. It was bare wood paneling so we used Kilz Odorless Oil to seal it off, then Olympic Premium No-Voc Flat in a pretty dark color (mocha-caramelish). The paint covered great over non-tinted whiter primer with two thin coats. The Kilz Odorless has a slight odor while wet but odorless after drying. Way way better then regular oil. PS if you buy primer without tinting it make sure you have the paint counter shake it for you!!! It will be super runny on top when you bring it home from sitting on the shelf if you don’t!
Krysta says
So excited for a Saturday post!! I didn’t think the primer looked too shabby at all. Can’t wait to see what the end result looks like!!
Laura L says
Oooh! You guys are such teases! :) Can’t wait to see the new color!
Jess says
Can I guess the color? I’m hoping for a real dark navy blue. I really want to paint an accent wall in our dining room navy, but I’m having trouble finding the best color- it’d be nice if you did the hard work for me :) So I’ll just cross my fingers (and toes) for navy blue in the meantime!
Care says
Can’t wait to see what it looks like.
My guess is a deep teal…..similar in color to the post you had up a little while back about a bathroom that you loved from lonny.
Rosa @ flutterflutter says
You guys inspire me to keep moving towards the finished product! Always feel so good to declutter, hey?!
Natalie says
Ooh I can’t wait to find out what color you chose!
My guess: A deep teal that goes with your new color palette :)
lilcg says
I spent every spare weekend this fall painting my “new” house
and after I switched to the sherwin williams harmony, I only needed one coat of flat for the walls and two of semi gloss for the trim. the colors are true in one coat without primer, over old cream paint (although I haven’t gone too dark–a pale lavender in my daughter’s room, a light ice gray blue in mine, two different shades of gray in the living room and dining room and white everywhere else). my house is a 50s bungalow with plaster walls. I don’t mean to pressure you, it just always surprises me that you guys use olympic when I found it so difficult to work with.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s just a cost and VOC thing for us. We love the price and the fact that even Olympic Premium colorants are VOC free. But we’ve heard nothing but great things about Sherwin Williams!
xo,
s
Monica says
Good idea on the tinted primer. After 3 coats of dark grey I know to use tinted primer the next time. Can’t wait to see your dramatic walls.
Felicity @ Our Little Beehive says
Quick painting question for you guys – are you having any second thoughts on the wooster short cut brush? I’ve been using it for at least six months now after getting sucked in by the packaging at the Depot. But when I was doing some trim work the other day it struck me that the coverage wasn’t so fab. I thought it was the paint, but switched out to my trusty Purdy 2″ angle and to my total surprise the coverage was night and day. I tried the two again today cutting-in on a wall with eggshell instead of gloss paint and noticed the same thing. Have you guys noticed a less-than-stellar coverage at all? Just seems like it was requiring two rather than one coat. Whew, long question! (totally thought the gray primer looked nice too)
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I’m still loving my little brush more than ever. I did recently invest in a new one (after two years of trusty use the old one was a bit bedraggled) and it’s like falling in love all over again. But Purdy makes great brushes too…
xo,
s
Laura says
I really thought that the tinted primer was the same color (moonshine gray or whatever it was) that you used previously!
Devon says
The exterior of my house, which was to be painted green, was inexplicably primed in the ugliest color ever — it looked like it was wearing pantyhose. Disgusting. (Even the trim, which is now white, was first primed in “nude.”)
http://greenhousegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/02/that-is-not-how-color-looked-in-store.html
The interior primer colors were a lot closer to the final colors.
suicide_blond says
yay … I love dark guest rooms … soooo cozy ..
xoxo
Erin says
The suspense is killing me!! Have fun painting.
Lindsay @ A Walk in the Closet says
Darn it! I thought I would scroll past the last paragraphs and see the finished product. :) Guess I’m too impatient! Can’t wait to see the color you two chose…I’m sure it will turn out fantastic.
Kristen says
You guys can NEVER stop blogging. I seriously don’t know what I would do at work without your blog! I might have to … (shudder) work! I look forward to your new posts and I love both of your writing styles. Not to mention the perfect spelling and grammar, I’m a freak about that kind of thing and can’t read blogs without automatically correcting things. Yours, I can just sit back and enjoy the great writing and beautiful pictures. So, basically … YHL ROCKS!
nik says
Are you guys planning on adding crown moulding anywhere? Just curious.
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, eventually we’d love to add it to all the bedrooms and even the bathrooms that are without it.
xo,
s
Sarah says
Can’t wait to see the color! I am painting my hallway/stairwell soon and I am playing around with colors right now, I am thinking a brown maybe a navy, I am not sure but I am craving something dramatic, can’t wait to see it :)
Suzanne says
We used red paint 2x in other homes – first house, we painted my son’s room a vibrant red. Took at least 6 coats (no primer). Hardware store paint.
We’ve since switched to Benjamin Moore paint.
In our last home, we did painted our kitchen BM’s Spanish Red and used their tinted primer. 3 coats. (1 primer, 2 color). What a difference.
Hope your experience w/ the tinted primer is as good as ours was!