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Young House Love » Our First House » Pear Green Walls & A Light Blue Ceiling For The Nursery

| By Sherry Petersik | January 28, 2010 | 345 Comments

Pear Green Walls & A Light Blue Ceiling For The Nursery

Pretty much from day one (even before we learned that the bean was actually a beanette) I was dreaming of painting the nursery walls a fun pear green while taking the ceiling from bland ol’ white to a light aqua color. But somehow saying “green walls with a blue ceiling” conjures up all sorts of scary Trading Spaces episodes so even my dear hubby wasn’t getting my “vision” until we broke out the paint swatches and I was able to explicitly show him what I meant. There’s a tip for you ladies: many people (especially guys who don’t speak “interior decorating”) are visual creatures. So saying something like “I want to paint the side tables black” can be a lot less effective (ie: scary for a dude) than showing your man an image of a room with black side tables that you know will calm his nerves about the whole deal.

Sure enough, as soon as I whipped out a soft celery-pear-ish tone for the walls and showed John how sweet a subtle and dreamy aqua would be on the ceiling (especially with the white crown molding between them to really set them off) he was on board. Then we just had to get into our trusty painting clothes and finish clearing out the room so it was ready for the big transformation (and speaking of big, check out that belly- it’s quite a feat with four more months of baby-carrying left).

Nursery Paint Before Pic

But back to my favorite subject: paint. Just like we did in this old ceiling painting post, we taped all of our potential ceiling paint chips on the actual ceiling so we could see how they would look in that light (colors look different on ceilings than they do when you hold them up to the wall since light reflects differently off a horizontal plane). We decided the swatch on the far right was too bright, the swatch to the left of that was too light and the swatch to the left of that one was juuuuust right (while the swatch on the far left was a bit too muddy). So that’s how we honed in on our final ceiling color after hunting through a bunch of swatches and taping up the ones we liked best. Oh and the winning swatch was called Regency Pale by True Value by the way.

Nursery Paint Swatches

As for selecting the wall color, that was pretty simple. I’ve always loved Celery Sticks by Glidden (it has happy golden undertones and so much personality without overwhelming or sucking the light out of a small space). So of course I was giddy about finally having the perfect opportunity to use it to create a fun and cheerful nursery thanks to the little person that I’m busy growing.

We also decided it was time to take some Mythic paint for a spin- not only because I’m knocked up (and shouldn’t be painting with anything full of chemicals and VOCs) but also for the sake of the baby (since regular paint can off-gas for one to even three years after it’s applied!). Sure it’s $40 a gallon (while a lot of the cheaper Lowe’s and Home Depot stuff is around $25) but it’s known to be the cream of the no-VOC crop thanks to the great coverage, the wide range of amazing colors, and their completely non-toxic and mommy/baby friendly formula. So we hit up EcoLogic (one of our favorite local haunts for all things green) with both of our pre-selected swatches in hand.

We figured we’d hold them up to the Mythic paint deck to select something as similar as possible in both colors but we had no idea that Mythic could actually do color matching (but not with a machine, they store a plethora of other brand’s formulas in their database for easy replication- without the VOCs). The only catch was that our swatch from True Value was one of the brands that they didn’t have in their system and Celery Sticks by Glidden was too new (just introduced a few months back) so it wasn’t yet in the database. Not to worry, we actually found two extremely similar (if not identical) Mythic colors in their deck. For the ceiling we landed on Adanna Aire (in a flat finish) and for the walls we ended up with Autumn Bloom (in an easy-care eggshell finish).

Nursery Paint Mythic Cans

When we proudly returned home after purchasing our new nursery paint we remembered that the kind folks at Frog Tape had actually sent a few rolls our way so we could give it a try. We’ve heard so many good things about their mad scientist tape (which has a patented formula that creates a “micro-barrier” on the edge of the tape when paint comes in contact with it, which seals it and makes bleeding a virtual impossibility). Isn’t that some Bill Nye The Science Guy technology? We were intrigued to see what that magical green tape could really do…

Nursery Paint Frog Tape

We’ve always been fans of cutting in with a brush (specifically, a special little brush that I love) but we must admit that taping the crown molding off didn’t take very long…

Nursery Paint Taping Crown

… and it really made painting the edges of the ceiling go a lot faster than it would have if we were carefully edging by hand with a brush.

Nusery Paint Corner Taped O

Oh and we interrupt all the tape talk to bring you our sad little nursery closet. We’re actually very lucky to have this pathetic little enclave since this room was originally a dining room so the fact that we could convert it into a bedroom (thanks to an already existent closet) was great. Too bad it looked like this. Wop wop.

We took off the door before we started painting (we’re planning a cute little closet facelift complete with a curtain that we can push to the side since the door swings out into the room and interferes with the main door to the nursery- grrrr).

Nursery Paint Closet Before

And it was actually John’s fabulous idea to take the light aqua color from the ceiling and add it to the inside of the closet for a bit of fun. Isn’t he smart? The whole time he was painting the closet I was watching in awe and telling our baby girl what a decorating genius her daddy is (yes I talk to my stomach just as often as I talk to our chihuahua).

Here’s a sneak peek of the closet in progress, but we actually have to add a ton of baskets and bars (and the closet curtain of course) so stay tuned for another closet post when we get to that stage of the ol’ nursery makeover.

Nursery Paint Blue Painted

But back to the Frog Tape. After we finished painting two coats of soft aqua on the ceiling and in the closet it was time to remove the tape around the molding (we’re all about removing tape when the paint is still wet so it doesn’t peel any dried paint off with it when it comes down). And ladies and gentlemen we can definitively proclaim that we saw a sincere and amazing difference between blue painter’s tape and Frog Tape. It really does create a much crisper edge with zero bleeding or stippling. Seriously, it was such a clean line that it looked like we painted the ceiling before adding the white molding (which is always the goal). In short: it definitely would have come in handy for the horizontal stripes that we added to our half bathroom a while back and we’re extremely glad we had a chance to test drive it for our little nursery paint project.

Nursery Paint Removing Frog

So here’s the room after we removed the tape. Isn’t the soft blue ceiling sweet? But it’s only halfway there.

Nursery Paint Blue Ceiling

John was on a taping roll so he decided to keep going. Within about ten minutes he had taped off the bottom of the crown molding and also around the windows, doors, and baseboards. Then it was time for some warm pear green paint…

Nursery Paint Taped Off Wal

Ta-daaaa! Isn’t it a sweet and playful combination?

Nursery Paint Pear Aqua 3

Oh and it bears mentioning that this photo was taken at night without any natural light (and wasn’t color corrected or anything)- so it’s a bit harsher and less subtle than it is in real life (especially in natural light). You’ll have to stick around for some daytime pics to really see it in all of its green and blue glory. Once we layer everything into the room (furniture, art, playful patterned curtains, a rug, a chandelier, etc) the walls will be the perfect cheerful-but-not-too-scary backdrop. And we love that it works with the rest of our home’s color palette thanks to the blue ceiling (which really relates to the soft gray-blue in our bedroom and kitchen) while the green ties into everything from our guest bedroom’s bright green headboard to our more-neutral-but-still-taupey-green bathroom. We like to think of our home’s newly defined color scheme as “sea glass inspired” since it’s full of soft creams, sandy neutrals, serene blues, and a variety of greens- all colors of old weathered glass that can wash up on the beach.

So that’s a little update on our nursery progress. And we’ll toss in this sneak peek of a few of the fun accessories (fabric and a cozy area rug) that we snagged to layer into our freshly painted space. Stay tuned for those details coming soon.

Nursery Shopping Paintfabri

And since everyone seems to love seeing our house when it’s messy, we snapped this photo of our living room’s console table which was bogged down with everything that used to be in the nursery (namely the nursery closet). The good news is that it has all since found a new home, but we know you love seeing our house all crazy-like, so enjoy!

Nursery Paint Messy Console

And while we’re on the subject of painting, we’d love to know what color you guys gravitate towards when it comes to nurseries. Whether you’ve already painted one (or five) or just dream about whipping one up someday, we’d love to know what hues tickle your fancy. Pale pink? Brown and blue? Bright rainbow stripes? Spill the beans.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for kristen f daviskristen f davis says

    January 28, 2010 at 9:48 am

    cute! painting ceilings is such a pain, but it’s such a fun touch! i LOVE the fabric you guys selected – you surprised me with that choice! it’s really, really cute though. can’t wait to see what you do with it :)

    Reply
  2. Avatar for CourtneyCourtney says

    January 28, 2010 at 9:51 am

    Absolutely darling! Love the colors. The “beanette” will love it, I am sure! Can’t wait to see it all finished!

    Reply
  3. Avatar for ESBlondieESBlondie says

    January 28, 2010 at 9:52 am

    The nursery is going to look amazing!! Can’t watit for the next post.

    Reply
  4. Avatar for EricaErica says

    January 28, 2010 at 9:56 am

    oh! i love that color combo. it’s fun and soothing at the same time. we painted our nursery bright aqua (Valspar Bayside), with white furniture and red fabrics. the gender of our babe (due in just 2 weeks!) is still unknown, so we wanted something gender neutral, but still really fun. looking forward to seeing what else you guys come up with for your little girl!

    Reply
  5. Avatar for AmyAmy says

    January 28, 2010 at 9:57 am

    My best friend is just getting ready to head into her second trimester and I’m itching to paint her baby room (I am the go-to person when anyone needs to paint since I enjoy it so much).

    If it were me, I’d do a nice sage green and do a big wall mural of a tree with leaves (and have a leaf or two floating from the tree), I’d make a natural mobile with twigs, preserved leaves and some little wildlife figurines.

    They’re hoping for a girl – I’m not sure what color they plan on painting, either way – it will be a new color to add to my “paint pants.”

    Reply
  6. Avatar for NicolaNicola says

    January 28, 2010 at 9:58 am

    Thank you for the crazy photo. It just makes me feel less bad about the fact that my clothes often live on the floor instead of neatly arranged in my drawers.
    The nursery does look so lovely; I’m inspired by the fact that you still do so much with that belly full of baby.

    Reply
  7. Avatar for KatieKatie says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:00 am

    Love the colors! Cheerful blues and greens are my absolute favorites and I can’t wait to see the finished result- especially the chandelier! You look beautiful :)

    Reply
  8. Avatar for TaraTara says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:00 am

    We just painted our nursery this past weekend Behr’s “Cilantro Cream”. Actually it’s a similar color to your green that you chose. Good idea with the curtain on the closet. We have the same issue in our room with the doors back-to-back.

    Reply
  9. Avatar for ShirleyShirley says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:01 am

    I LOVE the color combo! It never even occured to me to paint the ceiling but I love the effect. I am about 3 weeks behind you and am also working on a nursery plan for a girl. Right now I’m considering a nice light yellow for the walls and a woodland animals theme (not too busy, with some artwork and a few decals). I haven’t gone to the store to look at paint swatches yet but am thinking of something along the lines of “winter sunshine” by Benjamin Moore. Do you have any thoughts or experience with that color? Any other nursery room yellows you would recommend, that are not too bright or dark? Also, I am considering a green rug that resembles grass. Either that or a rug with multiple colors to brighten the room. Can’t wait to see what else you guys come up with!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:02 am

      Hey Shirley,

      We don’t have any direct experience with that color but your plan sounds lovely and we think it’ll look great! Good luck!

      xo,
      s

  10. Avatar for ChristyChristy says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:02 am

    Just had to comment on the Frog Tape. My husband and I decided to try it out when we painted our bedroom a few weeks ago after seeing it mentioned here. We had used blue painters tape on our living room and had not been pleased at all.

    LOVE LOVE LOVE Frog Tape!!! We could not have been happier with it!!! We actually left it on through two coats of paint (painted about a week apart) and it performed fabulously!!! We cannot say enough good things about it and HIGHLY recommend it. Blue painters tape will not darken our doors again!!!

    Thanks for the originial post about Frog Tape :)

    Reply
  11. Avatar for Heather MHeather M says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:03 am

    I seriously need to get me some of that Frog Tape. I just finished taping our half bath with blue painters tape, but it always seems to bleed through in a few spots. It will be on the list for next time. I love the color choices, and the fabric. How fun!! I’m excited to see the next step.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for ShirleyShirley says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:03 am

    PS Love the bump! You look adorable.

    Reply
  13. Avatar for Lindsay @ Likely DesignLindsay @ Likely Design says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:05 am

    Nurseries and kid’s rooms are one of my favorite rooms to design. I’m working on a playroom right now and having a ball!

    My daughter’s room is cream and light tan, and the fabrics and accessories are pink, white and brown, and is the only ‘finished’ room in the house. Amazing how those little ones motivate you!

    Good luck over the next 4 months – you’re definitely ALL baby!!

    Reply
  14. Avatar for JessicaJessica says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:06 am

    I absolutely love your colour choices! Beautiful!
    I actually have a question about painter’s tape. I recently painted my master bedroom and removed the tape after each coat. It was wasteful and time consuming, but I thought that since it removed best while wet I would have to do this…do you guys not leave much time between coats to avoid this??
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:08 am

      Hey Jessica,

      We pretty much applied one coat right after the other, so although the first coat was technically pretty dry we didn’t leave much of a gap between coats so nothing had time to really “firm up” and glom onto the Frog Tape. Although from Christy’s comment above it sounds like you can leave Frog Tape up for a while between coats so perhaps using that over the blue painter’s tape next time will save you from having to take all that tape down and retape for the next coat. You have more patience than we have- that’s for sure!

      xo,
      s

  15. Avatar for CarmenCarmen says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:09 am

    The color combination and fabric are beautiful! When we did our nursery we needed it to be gender neutral even though we knew we were having a girl. It was going to have to serve as the nursery for any future children as well. We painted the walls a very soft yellow and had yellow and blue bedding. It would have been very easy to add more boyish accessories if we would have needed.

    Reply
  16. Avatar for MegMeg says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Looking good!
    I haven’t done up a nursery yet, but colour palettes I’m a drawn to are… blue/green/yellow, khaki or ivory & sunset colours (pink, purple, orange, yellow, coral), yellow/pale grey/green.

    Reply
  17. Avatar for DD says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Oh, so pretty!

    It’s like haint blue…i love it!

    Reply
  18. Avatar for JaimieJaimie says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:11 am

    We didn’t find out ahead of time if we were having a boy or a girl, so we did a gender-neutral nursery too. I’m not particularly drawn to pink bedrooms anyway, so my decorating ideas weren’t restricted in any way (and in the end we had a boy). I had fallen in love with this wallpaper in a soft aqua with line drawings of dogs in chocolate brown (http://www.thibautdesign.com/Collection/patternDetailWall.aspx?pid=687&prdId=3847)

    We did one wall of the wallpaper, and painted the other walls in the same soft shade of aqua. The crib is white, and we painted a vintage dresser pale grey. I love the room and can see it working beautifully in the future for another baby, boy or girl.

    Reply
  19. Avatar for Jessica @ How SweetJessica @ How Sweet says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:11 am

    You guys look so cute! You look great with your baby bump!! :)

    Reply
  20. Avatar for Molly IshmaelMolly Ishmael says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:12 am

    Great colors! Cannot wait to see the finished room. We just finished painting our office turned nursery this weekend for our second little boy coming in 3 weeks! We chose brown with orange and creamy white stripes. We also used the frog tape and did not have quit the success you did, we ended up having to paint a glaze over the tape so that the paint would not bleed.

    Reply
  21. Avatar for SandySandy says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:14 am

    Re: Yellow paint colors:
    For the person who was asking for suggestions about best yellows — be very careful, as decorators universally agree that yellow can be one of the most difficult colors to get right. It can easily be brassy or too bright, and overpowering. Most suggest that you try to stay in the creamy/buttery range of yellows. Two favorites of mine are Benjamin Moore Lemon Meringue, and a true classic — Benjamin Moore Hawthorne Yellow. Both are nicely mellow. (Try Googling them in Google images — lots of rooms to look at, especially with Hawthorne Yellow.) Hope that helps!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:15 am

      Yup! We concur. Hawthorne Yellow is our favorite yellow by far. In fact it’s the only yellow that we chose for our big paint color roundup: https://www.younghouselove.com/email-answer-picking-the-perfect-paint-color/

      xo,
      s

  22. Avatar for CasaCullenCasaCullen says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:16 am

    Oh good gracious…look at that BUMP!!!! So freakin’ adorable, Sherry…and I love that John was on a roll (pun intended) and went ahead and painted…that’s an extremely determined man you have :) I love the colors…I love the ceiling most! Blues are my fave…I think I could do the entire house in blues/greys…so soothing and wonderful! That lil’ peanut is gonna love her pretty blue ceiling to stare at! Are you thinking about adding any motifs, stripes or accents up there? I heard, in addition to the mobile that anything on the ceiling is good for them to focus on…but this is coming from a lady that ONLY has a hairy baby! hahaha! BRAVO for the nursery…lookin’ good, lookin’ grand! – morgan at http://www.casacullen.com

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:17 am

      We actually were planning to do a subtle tone on tone stencil on the ceiling but after we found our light fixture we knew it was definitely enough interest for the ceiling. From the awesome shape and texture that it adds to the shadows that it casts on the ceiling, it’s as if we painted a bunch of shapes up there without the work! Stay tuned for more light details next week…

      xo,
      s

  23. Avatar for Ursula GrahamUrsula Graham says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:19 am

    That looks awesome!!! Woohoo!!! I should have really bought frog tape the other day since I painted an accent wall brown, and now I have to go back and tape the “other side” just to cover up the mistakes. How very annoying! It’s awesome to see it in action, and I’m definitely sticking with frog tape in the future. Another small bonus is it actually looks better in progress photos instead of that bright blue.

    Someday…. far away… when I am with baby…. I’d probably go with browns mixed with bright colors like green, blue, or pale pinks. :)

    Reply
  24. Avatar for StacyStacy says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Just had my first experience with Frog tape on Tuesday and was impressed. Yes, better than blue tape but not perfect and still subject to user error. I, too, am one to pull off before fully dry but I am wondering if this tape works best if paint sets longer. Hmmm…

    The only drawback was the odor; which is a smell that Sherry may be getting used to already. I think it is the stuff (zinc?) that is in Desitin and diapers in order to create a tight moisture barrier.

    Oh and my sister is due 4/4 and we painted her “nursery” with horizontal strips of light gray and white for a gender neutral/guest friendly room.

    Reply
  25. Avatar for RenaeRenae says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:21 am

    I giggled with delight when it turns out that of the choices you had for the ceiling, I said aloud to my computer, “That’s the one that I like” and it turns out it was your choice too! What a dork. And you know what? I’ve been wanting to try the frog tape FOREVER! But no one in our little town carries it. So I might just have to schlep it to the big city (an hour away) one day (which is actually where I work two days a week so what the heck is the big deal with that?) and see about it. There are stripes in my son’s room that I would LOVE to fix. I’ll be sure to take before and afters for you…because we all love a good B&A! :) Good take on the room guys, she’ll love it.

    Reply
  26. Avatar for DianaDiana says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:23 am

    I noticed in the picture with John holding the roller you have a very small wall space between your door frame and the corner of the wall. You’ve mentioned before that you don’t normally tape the trim before painting. Even with a short handled brush, how do you get into such tight spots without making a mess? I have several of these tight spots in my home.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:23 am

      Hey Diana,

      Well there are two options:

      1. We can use a short handled brush and get in there (most of the paint gets on the side of the trim that you can’t see so it’s pretty clean looking) and then touch up the trim with some white semi-gloss paint.

      2. We can tape things off like we did in the case of the nursery since it was such an easy process.

      Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  27. Avatar for Heather @ Brown Brick HouseHeather @ Brown Brick House says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:24 am

    I love the color combo.
    working on painting the ceilings in my house, one room at a time. =D

    Reply
  28. Avatar for AllisonAllison says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Love the color choices! And you look great!!! Such a cute bump!

    My son is around 11 months old and we didnt know what we were having. I wanted to have an un-traditional gender neutral room. So I landed on ORANGE. My husband was very scared, but once it was on the walls, he loved it! We did Valspar Orange Nut. I also painted a mural of a monkey hanging from a tree looking in on the crib. I absolutely love it so fun and it actually fits my little guys personality perfectly! I actually cant imagine another baby in that room. I guess that a good excuse for a re-design when #2 comes along!

    Reply
  29. Avatar for TereseTerese says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:24 am

    I love the colors that you guys chose for the nursery! While I do not have any plans of yet to plan out my nursery… my dream nursery would probably be a combo of bright and pale pinks and possibly tans or a few browns for a girl or for a boy red, white, blue and green for the Chicago Cubs… my hubbie and I are HUGE fans and would probably make the poor babies room look just like Wrigley! I acutally heard that there is a paint brand that came out with a line of colors geared towards different teams…

    Reply
  30. Avatar for SamanthaSamantha says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:26 am

    I painted my sons nursery a very pale blue. It is “Heaven’s Wind” from Fresh Aire at Home Depot. It was so soft and calming, which is something both baby & I needed then. :) I decorated with blues, purples, and yellows. We’ve sinced moved and I have to make a whole new toddler room!

    Reply
  31. Avatar for Meg @ House NotesMeg @ House Notes says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:26 am

    This cracks me up because I just painted horizontal wall stripes in our guest bedroom last weekend and loved FrogTape so much that I’ve been talking about it waaay too much. I was inspired by your striped bathroom and researched for days the best way to seal the tape edges. Now I feel like the crazy FrogTape lady. Here’s how our half finished room looks thanks to their technology: http://megsewell.blogspot.com/2010/01/finish-lines.html

    Words cannot express how excited I am to see your nursery. You have such amazing taste and I know it will be nothing short of spectacular!

    Reply
  32. Avatar for WendyWendy says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Love It! Good to know about that frog tape. I’d wondered if it was really any different than the regular blue stuff I use. I’ll have to try it out. I’m taking off Monday and Tuesday from work next week in hopes of finishing our bathroom. Hate the color I bought, so I’ve gotta head back and try something else. Any suggestions for what you can do with a full can of color you hate pain? I have like four of them now…

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:27 am

      Hey Wendy,

      We love donating any excess or no-longer-necessary paint to places like The Habitat For Humanity ReStore (there are tons of them around the country so just google to find one near you). That way it doesn’t end up going to waste. Oh and if you can’t find a place to donate it, be sure to bring it to a special recycling facility in your area and don’t put it in with the regular trash- it’s actually illegal and very bad for the environment!

      xo,
      s

  33. Avatar for SarahSarah says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:27 am

    I know exactly what you mean about the guys being more visual than anything else. In fact, that is exactly how I found your blog! We bought our first house earlier this year, and love it. One thing we hated was the dark brick fireplace right in the middle of the living area. Now, it’s not like I hate brick. I love brick in the right places, but this particular brick was sucking the life out of our house. At least that’s the way I saw it. I had my heart set on painting it as soon as we got the keys to the house. My husband however wasn’t so sure about that. I knew he couldn’t picture it, so I set out to search for photos of painted fireplaces online and found your blog! I was going to paint the fireplace anyway, but figured it would ease my husbands pain if he could see that someone else did it and it turned out great. So we painted it, and love it. I’ve also been kind of obsessed with your blog since. I love you guys so much! your style is great and you’re so entertaining to read. Thanks so much for your blog and we wish you guys the best with the growing family!

    Reply
  34. Avatar for L.DuncanL.Duncan says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:27 am

    You guys did a great job! I love the color scheme that was chosen for the nursery. Quick question: Was it really a pain to paint the ceiling? I’ve heard people complain about doing it. Did it take a long time and a specific type of paint (Ceiling paint)?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:28 am

      Good question L.Duncan! Painting the ceiling is normally a huge pain. It’s just annoying on your back to bend that way (much less ergonomic than painting a wall) and of course any drips come right down on the floor so it can be more frustrating and time-consuming in that aspect. The one good thing about painting a ceiling is that it’s one plane as opposed to four (which is usually what you’re dealing with when you’re painting the walls) so it can be a pretty quick job if you put your head down and get ‘er done. And the amazing news is that JOHN HAS NEVER HAD MORE FUN PAINTING A CEILING! The Mythic paint covered like a dream. Especially in the flat finish that we applied to the white ceiling. Seriously it was almost perfect after just one coat of paint (which NEVER happens thanks to our highly absorptive plaster walls) so that’s a true testament to the quality of their paint. So our advice would be to spring for a nice brand (Benjamin Moore, Mythic, Ralph Lauren, etc) over something cheap for an easier application. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  35. Avatar for KateKate says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:28 am

    So funny – I just painted my nursery yesterday! We painted the walls Benjamin Moore “Weston Flax.” (A creamy light yellow.) We then removed the closet doors (it’s 6-feet) and painted the entire interior Duron’s “Alicia’s Bedchamber.” (It is an aqua in their Charleston Historic Color line.)

    Unfortunately, with all the clean paint and freshened trim, the ceiling looks horrible! It looks so dingy. Any advice on painting a popcorn ceiling? It is a very flat texture, but still an eyesore.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      January 28, 2010 at 10:29 am

      Hey Kate,

      Just use a roller meant for textured surfaces. It’ll definitely be a pain but so worth it when it’s all crisp and lovely looking!

      xo,
      s

  36. Avatar for KateKate says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:30 am

    Oh I should add I am having a girl. I wanted the room blue or green, but my entire house is those 2 colors, so I decided to try a soft yellow.

    Reply
  37. Avatar for Jessica MJessica M says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:30 am

    Our daughter’s nursery has teal walls and white furniture – I really love the color in there. We used orange and lime green accents (since we didn’t know boy or girl until she was born) – a fun lime green striped lamp from Target, and my mom made the crib sheet and skirt from an orange and white geometric comforter set from Ikea. We used FLOR circle rugs on the hardwoods – lime green and orange – and once she was born, I ordered a hot pink one too!

    Reply
  38. Avatar for StephanieStephanie says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:31 am

    To Shirley: I used Behr’s Abriana from Home Depot in my daughter’s nursery. It was a nice soft yellow they highlighted in one of their paint catalouges for nurseries. I’ve used it in both of my girls’ rooms and have not tired of it in 8 years!

    Love the color combo for the bean’s room! Love the messy photo, too. You need to even do a post on how you find new homes for everything! Seriously!! I’m still having a hard time figuring out what to do with some Christmas gifts from a month ago!!

    Reply
  39. Avatar for StephanieStephanie says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:34 am

    p.s. your belly is so cute! far out is the only way us vertically challenged moms’ bellies have to go!

    Reply
  40. Avatar for candacecandace says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:37 am

    I love the sea glass inspired color scheme. That pear green is oh so YUMMY!!

    Reply
  41. Avatar for BethannBethann says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:37 am

    I just have to say that I love your blog and check it every single day. After seeing your nursery makeover for a friend (the blue with vertical stripes) we are borrowing the idea for our nursery. (Due with baby boy April 16) We will send pictures when it’s all done :) I love the colors you chose–so natural and peaceful looking. I’m sure the beanette will sleep very comfortably. :)

    Can’t wait to see more!
    Bethann

    Reply
  42. Avatar for AmyAmy says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:37 am

    My two-month-old son’s room is Behr’s Apple Orchard, a pretty bright green. The furniture is white.

    I love green and have it in our dining room and kitchen – Valspar’s Fresh Pear.

    Reply
  43. Avatar for JodiJodi says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:43 am

    I love the nursery colors. And I LOVE painting ceilings. Our ceilings on our first floor are all a light pale blue. It looks better with our dark gray walls than a harsher white.
    Our second baby girl (Little Miss P) just turned 9 months old. We didn’t find out gender for either children so we wanted something gender neutral for the nursery. We did her room in Gossamer Blue (Ben Moore) and did white furniture and coral and pink accents (but would have done orange and brown accents for a boy). Here are some pictures (the first ones are with the big sister and you may notice some boy prints that are up…my mom insisted I was having a boy!) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95313&id=501142213&l=24cae45089

    Reply
  44. Avatar for MeganMegan says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:45 am

    Love it, and love, love, love the fabric. So sweet without coming anywhere near the “creepy baby decor” category. A while back Target had a pick of one of their Dwell nursery collections in a room with warm gray walls. I was hooked. I’ve been in a gray kick lately and the mix of gray walls with the colorful, graphic design hit the right spot.

    Can’t wait to see more!

    Reply
  45. Avatar for LettyLetty says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:46 am

    I love the color combo! I never would’ve thought of it, but it’s lovely and oh-so cheerful! And Sherry, you look perfectly pregnant! Keep up the good work. xoxo

    Reply
  46. Avatar for HilaryHilary says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:46 am

    Our kitchen and bedroom are painted “Celery” by Sherwin Williams. It is a little lighter than your color, but it goes nicely with basically everything.

    I really like the application in the nursery, I think it will turn out wonderfully when you have everything together. A friend of mine recently painted her nursery a pale aqua, (the baby is a girl) and I think it is a wonderful alternative to pink.

    Reply
  47. Avatar for CORICORI says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:48 am

    Though I do not have a child (yet) I love the idea of having the room with an accent wall of multiple Charlie Harper prints (yum) also Anthropologie has an (AMAZING) needle point artist that has house monster wall decor. I mean I wouldnt never buy them bc they’re WAY too expensive but they look pretty easy to recreate with some tracing and type font…check them out…

    http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=HOME-WALL-ART&id=963078&catId=HOME-WALL&pushId=HOME-WALL&popId=HOME&sortProperties=&navCount=20&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=008&colorName=GREY MOTIF&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=

    Reply
  48. Avatar for LindseyLindsey says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:51 am

    I am so excited that you choose those colors! I am due only one day after you (but we aren’t finding out the gender) and was waiting for your nursery posts to start so I could be inspired!

    Of course, I ended up freaking out a couple weeks ago thinking that I was running out of time…so I started working on my nursery and I ended up picking out almost the same colors! We decided to go with large, horizontal stripes around the entire room in Glidden Celery Stick and Tropical Surf (we color matched to a low VOC paint). I was a little nervous because I have been known to pick out some bad colors, but your room looks great, so now I am really excited to get the color up! The sanding, caulking and priming happened last weekend, and the stripes go up this weekend.

    PS: I will definitely be buying Frog Tape this time instead of the not-so-trusty blue painters tape…I am hoping it works on all the stripes!

    Reply
  49. Avatar for ChristyChristy says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:52 am

    Love the colors! Just the right amount of brightness.
    And I love the idea of painting the ceiling a color. Even thou I hate painting ceiling. I might try that in my daughters room which is coral.

    Reply
  50. Avatar for Sabrina P.Sabrina P. says

    January 28, 2010 at 10:52 am

    I really LOVE your paint choices and wouldn’t have thought to use those two colors together. You guys are AWESOME! That bun-the-oven is sure to inherit some fab style sense! ;) Good luck with your nursery and pregnancy.

    Reply
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John and Sherry smiling against pink backgroundHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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