It was January when we painted three test swatches of gray on our dining room walls.
It took us just days to pick the color but apparently took us, yeah, um, FOUR MONTHS to finally paint the room.
I’m not sure what’s more embarrassing – our painting laziness or my rockin’ farmer’s tan. Anyway, I searched my brain for some sort of an excuse for the dining room paint delay. Maybe we were too tired at the end of the day in January that we spent painting the living room and hallway the same color? Or we were too distracted by completing the guest room for Sherry’s mom’s February visit? Or we were too consumed with patio and party prep to take it on before Clara’s birthday? Maybe. Or we just like to bounce around randomly and come back to projects after months of dormancy. Probably that. Either way, something got into us, and the room (finally) went from this:
To this:
I know, I know. It’s not a huuuuge difference. Heck it might not look different at all online. But the soft gray definitely feels a lot more polished. And ding dong, the witch swatches are dead! The color is the same gray that we used in the living room and the hallway (Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine which we color matched to Olympic Premium No-VOC paint) so we already had the paint on hand (we got three gallons of it a while back in anticipation). It’s just such a good soft gray color. Seriously, it’s perfect in all the rooms we have used it (even though they have different lighting situations going on).
You may recall that we wanted to paint these rooms all the same color to connect and unify the spaces (and then the kitchen, which is in the middle of all of them, will have a bit more color on the walls for interest). Maybe looking at the unpainted and then painted room shots side by side will demonstrate how even a subtle coat of paint can help things like crown molding and trim have a bit more emphasis. The room definitely reads a lot more crisp now that it’s painted:
It still amazes us how much a coat of paint can do to make a room look finished – or, in our mostly furniture-less version, at least make it look a little less forgotten. Especially when it’s covering up test swatches that have been there so long that we didn’t even notice them anymore until friends would say “which color did you pick?” and we’d say “oh yeah… those” (it was the bottom one, btw).
Even this subtle addition of color to the walls has helped us notice a few things. For example, we didn’t even realize how beefy the crown molding was in here until we painted (it’s about twice as thick as any other room in the house). And the soft gray looks nice with the built-ins on the back wall. It lets them “be the star” (as Sherry would say) but still adds that light I’m-in-a-cloud vibe and makes the room feel polished and complete. Well, as complete as it can feel without curtains, art, entryway furniture, etc.
Since this room didn’t have pesky wood-toned-molding that needed a bunch of coats of white paint (like the living room), it was MUCH faster to finish (the living room also called for beam painting, which we’re thankful this room also didn’t involve). So by comparison, this project was cake. We did one coat together during Clara’s morning nap (Sherry cuts in while I roll) and then did our second coat in shifts after the three of us ate lunch (since one of us was on Clara duty while the other painted the day away). It was so relaxed that it further underscored how crazy it was for us to put it off for so long. Sherry even snuck in a phone date with her Katie B (her blogger BFF) at one point.
Oh and see those white tags in the photo above? Allow me to explain. Sherry’s “painting clothes” may look like an ordinary black sweatsuit (yes, she’s from Jersey and proud of it) from a distance, but take a closer look. It’s an inside-out black sweatsuit. Otherwise known as her pajamas when worn the right way. What Not To Wear, here we come!
We also took – and then promptly deleted – a PG-13 version of the photo below. Let’s just say I was putting the “moon” in “Moonshine by Benjamin Moore” (and my butt is whiter than my upper arms). Go ahead, I’ll give you a few seconds to picture that calamity.
Ok now stop, you’re creeping me out.
All tomfoolery aside, we’re just glad to live in a test-swatch free home. But of course, now having paint on the walls is giving us the itch to do more in there. I mean, it’d be a shame to leave these nice blank-canvas grey walls totally blank for too long, right? Especially since we’re dying to knock out a huge opening to the kitchen and hang curtains and add art and dye those off-white chair slipcovers…
Eh. Maybe we’ll get around to it in a month or two… or four. You know how we roll. Have you guys painted anything recently? Are you a fan of inside-out-pajamas as painting clothes? Have you had swatches on your walls for over four months? Tell us we’re not the only ones…
Psst- When it comes to how we paint, this post and this post and the video in this post will hopefully help you out.
Psst again- We’re over on BabyCenter sharing how we made some swanky looking photo books for our moms (late Mother’s Day gifts are ok when you’re waiting on a book to be “published” right?).
Kate says
I have been all about the paint chips lately! We’re closing on our house tomorrow and a lot of the rooms are begging to be painted over (there is some faux painting and little kid themed walls in there – definitely need to go!). I will be painting a LOT in the next month before we move over the big furniture!
One question for you guys: What is your take on air return vents? Our new house has a bunch high on the walls, some of which are painted over and some which aren’t. Do you think these should be white or painted over? Specifically, which would be better on a dark wall (my husband wants his office a dark blue)? I think painting over them can sometimes look odd, but I also think bright white against a painted wall looks odd too. (I swore you had mentioned this topic before, but didn’t see it when I looked for it again. Sorry if I missed it!)
YoungHouseLove says
All of ours in both houses have always been painted over already, so we just paint them again to make them blend in so they don’t have some random paint color on them. As for dark walls, I would definitely recommend painting over them to help them blend (who wants to highlight air ducts?) but it’s a personal thing so just do what you think will work best for you!
xo,
s
Amy says
ok, so is that a new Greyhound dog statue I see in the pics?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s an old concrete one (I’ve had him since around the time that I got my old ceramic one that has since been murdered). J picked him up at a garden store for me three v-days ago. Love him!
xo,
s
Amanda Wells says
I think the inside out PJS are GENIUS! I’m totally yanking that idea. Love the color!
http://www.amandadovewells.com/?p=626
Rachel H. says
Quick Question: When painting a room, do you cut in before or after you paint the wall? You may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I can’t remember. I have been wanting to paint our dark red dining room for a long time and should probably get started…
YoungHouseLove says
It’s theoretically idea to cut in first (so the roller can go over the edges for the most blended look) but we’ve done rooms in the opposite order and it’s just as seamless looking when things dry. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
anna says
i’m not a huge fan of grey, but i can’t wait to see that grey with the green once the covers are dyed! i’ve actually just pained over my grey oven surround in a bright green – makes me so happy to see that in my kitchen now! i was totally inspired to do it by seeing your guest bedroom with the bold walls (i think that was one of the first posts i read here).
(and hooray for finally commenting, right? tee hee… )
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Love it!!! The DR is really coming together. Once you have curtains up and of course the new entryway to the kitchen finished, this room will look awesome. Can’t wait for the next stage of this room.
Carissa says
Looks great! Fun color!
I actually love my splattered painting outfit — it has dribbles from all previous painting jobs and I kinda love how it tells a story. “This splotch from when I painted the desk, this one from when we stained the bookcases…”
Jenna says
We (by that I mean my husband with a little help from me)also painted the walls in our dining room grey this weekend, just haven’t posted about it yet. Must be something in the air.
Bri says
I’m so with you on the swatches. I had a horrible experiment with really brash colors when I first bought my house. I painted a test swatch on my guest bedroom wall, hated it, and it’s still up there (7 years later!!!). I finally got tired of looking at it and couldn’t choose a paint color so I just put a picture over it.
Lindsay @ A Walk in the Closet says
The room looks great! Thanks for sharing these photos. That particular shade of gray works really well with the white and dark teal on the back of the shelves. Great job!!
Kate says
It’s amazing what just the slightest change in hue can do! It really makes the trim pop. Love it.
Ellen says
The room looks beautiful! Can’t wait to see it all come together. It seems to me you guys have done an incredible amount of work since moving in! I’ve had paint chips taped to my daughter’s room since the 1st of the year. Haven’t even progressed to trying paint samples, let alone painted!
Tanya from Dans le Townhouse says
The paint makes a huge difference! Love the shade of grey. Makes the trim totally pop.
Rachael says
I’ve had paint chips up in my living room for over 5 years! There is a stripe around the top of my living room with a little piece of molding to define the bottom edge. It was the first thing we painted when we bought the house and we tucked the paint chips under the molding. All but one fell down on their own and we never got around to taking the last one down ourselves. It’s kind of a game now – how long will we leave it be?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we have those games too! Clara’s b-day pom poms are still hanging from the fan in the sunroom. How long will they last… who knows!
xo,
s
Kathy says
I love it! It really does make your crown molding pop.
I’ve had test swatches in our formal living room now for about two months. Right before our wedding in April, my husband was all up in my shizz about picking a paint color (uhm, hello, I’m planning our wedding, I don’t have time for paint!). After the wedding I settled on a color, but then hubs said “oh, we’re so not ready to paint that room”. WTH! Probably for the best though because now I don’t love the color so much.
Looking forward to seeing what you pick out for curtains and art!
Jen Migonis says
Love your new paint color… I have this thing about gray on walls too! We just painted ours a similar color from Martha Stewart’s line, here’s the post I did on painting it:
http://www.migonishome.com/2011/04/paint-happy.html
but you may be able to see the color scheme a little better wwith these full kitchen views!
http://www.migonishome.com/2011/05/rugs-and-railings.html
Love your blog, Sherry and John… thanks for the daily fun reading dose. :)
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty!
xo,
s
Amz says
And that’s another thing to cross off the list, I can’t wait to see how your dyed slipcovers will look, maybe you can paint your front door apple green to coordinate (yeah I’m just saying that cos I love green doors!).
One thing I’ve been meaning to ask, where’s the lighting in this room? The light switches (I’m assuming those are light switches – yes I know what happens when we assume) are by the front door but I can’t see any light fixtures. Wait is it in the picture right in front of me? I can’t find it, it’s like losing at where’s Wally!
YoungHouseLove says
Those are all outside lights. There are no ceiling fixtures in this room! Of course that’ll change when we finally get around to adding a big fixture over our round table someday. For now though it gets pretty dark in there when the sun sets. Haha.
xo,
s
Amz says
Oh, that explains it, haha I thought it was just me being oblivious.
Also I can’t believe no one’s said anything about Moonshine a la Petersik, I shan’t say what first came to mind since your submit comment note says your moms are reading, but I guess watching paint dry isn’t as dull as you’d think :p
Amanda says
It looks awesome! I love the soft color, and I adore how the back of the bookshelves pop against the wall!
meredith says
For over a year and a half I had swatches just like that all over my red family room. (I know…I went thru a red phase.) I knew it (the red) had to be gone before the new baby came so we painted when I was about 8 months pregnant. Not my proudest moment. We had some friends over and we knocked out the large front hallways, family room, and kitchen in a couple of days.
Kellie says
Yea! So glad you finally tackled it! I’ve been wondering about that room. Cant wait to see how you incorporate wall decor and panels! :)
Not usre if you have time to answer a question like this, but maybe another reader can! So… when I first bought my home, at the ripe age of 22, I painted my entire house in semi-gloss… the thought of shiny glossy walls sounded great at first! WHY DIDNT ANYONE TELL ME NOT TO PAINT WALL WITH SEMI-GLOSS!!?!?! I blame my dad.
Anyways, the walls are plaster and have some imperfections in it, so the gloss makes it look worse. I am eager to re-paint some rooms but am cautious about how to go about it and waste more paint! Am i supposed to sand the gloss paint off first & then prime and paint? Or should I just paint the satin/eggshell paint OVER the semi-gloss.
Also, I seem to get really nervous with large walls on making paint lines. Do you start at one end and work from top to bottom or vise versa? I’m nervous to mess it up!
YoungHouseLove says
You can probably use one coat of water based primer and follow that with one coat (or two) of latex paint in the finish of your choice. You might want to go with flat (it hides imperfections best and newer paint formulas make it more scrubbable and easy to clean than ever). As for large walls, we use the make-a-W-with-your-roller technique and just work from bottom to the top in the corner and then work out to the other side of the wall from there. Good luck!
xo,
s
Kellie says
awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kara says
We are painting our kitchen and master bedroom on Thursday and still haven’t picked out the colors- eek! Love that grey though… thinking it might go perfectly in the kitchen which opens up to a yellow dining room. Oh yeah, we’re not painting- Bid my Crib is. Have you used them before? I bought a Groupon a while back for two rooms to be painted for $60. Boo-ya! I plan on blogging about the process… I’ll let ya know if they’re worth the 60 pesos! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh definitely let me know how that goes!
xo,
s
Ashley @ Spite or Flight says
That looks awesome, you guys. We decided to paint our brick fireplace last weekend — you were actually my inspiration to finally do it after living with it for over a year. You can see the before and afters here:
http://spiteorflight.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/what-the-fireplace/
YoungHouseLove says
Wow what a difference! Love it!
xo,
s
carolinaheartstrings says
Love that gray. It just looks fantastic.
Sayward says
I turn my clothes inside out to paint too!
Candace says
I just remembered that remodelholic posted a drapery stencil DIY- the curtains from West Elm that you (and I, too)love? Here they are custom-made to fit any color: http://www.remodelaholic.com/2011/05/stenciled-drapery-tutorial.html I’m seriously contemplating this!
Also, I was living with a punch of cards taped up to my dressers (http://candyskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/furniture-painting-inspiration-and.html) for months! I hid them when friends were over to dog-sit, and then finally picked the winning color when I took the cards out of hiding yesterday. Now to see how many months it takes me to actually DO it….
YoungHouseLove says
Love that project from Remodelaholic! So chic!
xo,
s
Wendy says
Looks nice! Sometimes the subtle changes can make all the difference. We recently changed the color of our family room from green to a creamy beige. (www.oldtownhome.com/2011/5/26/Its-Not-Easy-Being-Green/index.aspx) I love the difference, and can’t believe we lived with a color I hated for so long!
Allison says
I’ve had paint swatches in my library for about a year now! And in the guest room we’re moving towards a year and a half. *sigh* There’s been a bit of repurposing for these two rooms over that time period causing the delay. But this weekend they will both turn from “swatched” rooms to fully painted rooms!
egt729 says
looks fantastic!
a fresh coat of paint always brightens up the room – even if the color is similar to what was previously on the walls!
gray has recently become my favorite color – and we just bought a new gray sectional, painted our 7-month old son’s room gray (creek bend/behr) and plan on painting our lower kitchen cabinets gray – once we get around to that project!
http://anexcellentadventure.blogspot.com/2011/05/wedding-weekend.html
Jennifer says
Knocking out a wall, doing something with the slipcovers, art on the walls… I’m starting to really envision what this room is going to become and I’m loving it!
Audrey Govekar says
we painted our master bedroom yesterday (memorial day)and it had 4 different paint samples on the wall for about 2 months. we went from a pale green to a deep navy! and love the idea of inside out clothes for painting…i put on some clothes that i had planed to donate to goodwill.
Jennifer says
Love the paint and how it contrasts with the bookshelves. Not that you were asking for advice, but I like the slipcovers “as is.” I think dying them would be a mistake. Maybe bleach them to make them a bit less yellowish??? The lighter color looks great with the wood table and they are pretty massive chairs – dying them apple green would be overwhelming – in my opinion, of course.
Beautiful room. Love that you do what you love. That is what makes your home feel like your home.
Rachel says
maybe this will help to alleviate your embarrassment about waiting 4 months to paint the dining room–we bought our house 1 year ago, and we STILL have the paint swatches on the dining room wall. maybe we’ll paint it this month? eh. we did paint the living room, guest room, and master bedroom tho. something about the dining room…why can’t we get it painted? hm. sorry i can’t help you with the farmer’s tan embarrassment.
Michelle Kersey says
Oh no… you’re not the only ones… I’ve had a paint swatch on my wall for… *blush*…. over two years… yes, you read that right… 2 yrs. Sad to say we’ve had the paint all along too. But, man, it’s a daunting task! The room has vaulted ceilings… goes over a staircase… Really not excited to paint it.
And, now that I’ve lived in all the paint colors, I’m not a fan of how the to be painted color will look with the rest of the colors in the house… Well, there’s really another room that should be painted… but, again with the vaulting ceilings… not fun. :-\
Maybe that’ll be my summer project… Any tips for convincing a husband to change the paint color when he really likes it? I wonder if we have to paint the unpainted room for him to see what I think…
Barbie from urban-barbie says
Beautiful color! I love the cohesiveness you’re creating by using the same shade in different spaces in your house. I also feel vindicated by the fact that you “pros” also bounce around from room to room to work on projects as the mood strikes. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with many different unfinished projects going on at the same time, but I really prefer when rooms feel curated instead of brand new.
Oh- and I LOVE the teal on your built-ins. Great inspiration.
Hilary says
Inside out clothes while painting = brilliant!! Why did I never think of that? You would not believe how many pairs of sweatpants I ruined when painting my last house. My husband made me throw away most of them, but I’m hanging on to my favorite pair! Making mental notes for my next house…
kimb says
MONTHS!!!! HA HA I’ve had paint swatches on my walls for years 3 to be exact (when we bought it). The last painting we did was this weekend. We have a bathroom upstairs that we will demo, as soon as the bathroom downstairs is done. Unfortunately the last owners decided to paint the bathroom just before selling and painted latex over oil (we have a very old house, 1909 to be exact). Needless to say it’s been peeling ever since we tried primer and then paint but it just peeled again. Finally feed up we sanded to #$%@ out of it and painted with oil. Looking forward to when the smell is gone.
Christa says
haha! I always wear my clothes inside out when I paint! Unless, of course, if I’m confident (cough, cough) I won’t get any paint on them. ;) good job. be jersey proud!
TEM says
I LOVE that color! It’s perfect for a subtle look while still making white trim pop!
I actually painted my kitchen almost the exact same shade–painting the walls only took an afternoon with the help of a friend…and then it took me 3 months to get *almost* all of the trim painted (I say almost, because there’s a spot of baseboard hiding behind the refrigerator that’s still unpainted! :-P)
Stephanie says
Ooh, the dining room looks AWESOME!
And four months? That’s nothing! We had to tear out the molding in our kitchen when we moved in TWO YEARS ago. We painted the walls, but still haven’t replaced the molding. It’s going to happen this summer. Really, it is!
Megan says
Love the gray color!
I’m really surprised to see you don’t use a dropcloth to protect the hardwood floors. You’re just that good at painting, right?
YoungHouseLove says
We go rogue like that. Haha. On wood floors we’ve learned drips can be wiped up easily while wet and “popped off” when dry so we just go for it. I think years of practice have cut down on drips too.
xo,
s
Erin says
Over the weekend, we painted put some flooring down, and trimmed out our “Garbage Nook” its a long story, but basically the previous owners took out a trash compactor and just left a nasty gaping whole, so we turned it into a garbage nook. There is enough room for our recycling and trash cans. WOOHOO! YAY for productive three day weekends!
Audrey Govekar says
and i looove the gray! so fresh! the majority of our house is also a light gray and i love it! it goes with anything and everything!
Shannon says
I ALWAYS paint in inside-out clothes! I love painting and changing my room colors so I have quite a few pairs of sweats with paint smears on the inside…
ginnie says
i love the new color!
have i ever mentioned that at the top of the shelving..it looks like a mustache? that’s neat!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, John calls that the mustache too. It’s two long ceramic horns. They do look stash-y!
xo,
s
Mary says
no drop cloth for paint splatters?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re crazy. On wood floors we’ve learned drips can be wiped up easily while wet and “popped off” when dry so we just go for it. I think years of practice have cut down on drips too.
xo,
s
Annalea says
The latest thing I’ve painted are picture frames for a gallery wall. (All black, thrifted frames; now I’m working on a patina-green-framed gallery for the stairs.)
Seeing those gorgeous gray walls made me think of one of my new favorite artists at Etsy, Amy Giacomelli (http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmyGiacomelli). Her stuff ranges across the map (landscapes & flowers to modern), and I love love love the colors she’s using right now. Fresh, bright, interesting, fun. I just wish I had a big enough wall so I could get one of her really big pieces.
Oh, and have I mentioned that they’re really affordable for original art?
She’s awesome. (And I have no affiliation–just love her work.)
Do go check her stuff out. I think you’ll love it!
(Then again, I might have discovered her from one of Sherry’s Pinterest pins, and if so, then nevermind . . . ;o)
YoungHouseLove says
Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Lindsey says
Love the color! Looks great!
[email protected] says
ahhh. Love it. Obsessed with gray! perfect! I’ve pained our house in so many shade of gray, my husband just lookss at me bewildered – “they’re all the same to me sweetie!?”. My favorite shades right now are (all valspar)
-Filtered Shade – lovely and fresh (kinda like yours)
-Gravity – a little blue in it and
-Notre dame – with a more earthy tone in it (nothing to do with football – which I have no clue about?!)
martine x
Margaret says
Don’t feel bad. I’ve been in my house almost a year and we have not painted one room. Thankfully all the colors are neutral and we can live with them for awhile. I would still like to paint to make it our own but my husband doesn’t think we should bother. I’m still working on him, lol!
Blair says
I love the grey color. Last fall Real Simple did a whole spread about the power of grey on walls and how refined it could look. I loved the idea and I am so glad to see you guys implement it as well. They even had a section about grey and a pop of color that reminds me of your green wall!
~Blair