Feel free to sing the title to the tune of the famous Dolly Parton song. Or our new favorite version by SNL. Anyway, painting our living room yesterday sure was quite the task of endurance, especially given various breaks for Clara-tending and blog-tending. In fact, it took us exactly 12 hours, from 9am to 9pm to fully complete the project. Good news – the living room is officially Moonshine’d. Better news – so is the hallway (what can we say, we were on a roll).
But the day got off to a slow start. Between Sherry squatting the first blog post of the day to answer a bunch of questions, Clara needing some breakfast, and me clearing / taping the room, it was nearly two hours ’til we even cracked the first paint can open at around 11. Here’s the post all about how we deemed Moonshine to be the perfect gray for our house, and it bears mentioning that we chose to get it color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint in a satin finish (which we have found to look extremely close to flat paint with a lot of added durability & kid-friendly wipeability – really it doesn’t look wet or glossy at all, much to our surprise).
Thankfully things got rolling (literally) once Clara napped like a champion (from 11 to almost 1- which she never does!) and we gave ourselves permission to focus on applying color to the walls instead of approving & answering blog comments (no offense to you guys of course). Sherry wasn’t even slowed down by the splinter our floor kindly drove into her left cheek. And I’m not talking about the one on her face. Ouch. She’s a total trooper. And she learned a valuable painting lesson in the new house: not to scoot around on her rear while cutting in baseboard. I realize this sounds like she was painting nude, but she was fully clothed. It just went right through her yoga pants. No lie.
Sherry has always been the cutter-inner (edger) of our relationship and I’m the roller. But she also does extra credit stuff too. In this case she took the time to fill a bunch of gnarly holes in our extra-craggy brick wall – like these right near the trim – with paintable DAP caulk for a much more finished looking result. Love that girl. Even if she is a little obsessive.
Once Clara awoke from The Nap Of Her Life (capitalized as it was truly an event to be remembered), we had to switch off when it came to baby-duty (and drop in on the blog every once in a while too for comments). So our productivity dropped a bit, but it was nice to take staggered bean breaks. As the day wore on, the diminishing sunlight made differentiating the white walls from the wet paint a bit challenging, but we charged on (taking breaks for things like a second blog post, diaper changes, lunch, dinner, and putting Clara down for a less-than-champion worthy afternoon nap). By around 5:30pm we had applied two coats to the living room (all it needed) and started on the two hallway vestibules. And by the time Clara was in bed for the night at 8pm we’d cracked open our second gallon of paint to finish off a second coat in those two hallways. By 9pm we were cleaning up and ready to collapse on the couch that was still clustered next to the TV in the middle of the room and zone out. Btw, it was funny to watch some tube at the distance that we were used to from our last house again.
Being too dark for a photoshoot last night, we waited to take these “after” shots this morning for ya:
We’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to see much of a difference in the pics. But in person we were both shocked at how much warmer the room looks. We assumed gray would look cooler, but the previous white walls were so stark that the soft silvery gray is nice and cozy by comparison. Kind of like you’re inside a cloud that’s glowing thanks to some sun shining through. In short, we’re both in LOVE with Moonshine. And for those wondering why we didn’t go crazy bright or dramatic with the wall color, we want to bring in some bold textiles (like big dramatic curtains on those sliders) along with some colorful art and maybe even some painted furniture – so we don’t want the walls to compete with that. We even have plans for a large charcoal sectional, so we’re definitely getting away from the white-slipcovered-sofas-and-breezy-white-curtained look of our first house. A lot of the rooms that have inspired us lately don’t have super dark or bright walls, but still definitely read as “colorful” and “bold.” But we do have a few spaces (like the hall bathroom & guest bedroom) that we plan to paint an extremely rich and saturated color, just like we did on the backs of our built-ins. So there will be some o’ that too.
We also thought when one of the walls was brick, a bold color (like deep teal or emerald or plum) might look a bit odd, since it’s more common to see brick painted in lighter tones like white, cream, gray, etc. And we wanted that wall to feel the most unified and un-odd so the whole room felt connected as opposed to disjointed. Oh and we did consider leaving just the fireplace bump-out white while painting the rest of the walls gray, but in the end it looked too unbalanced so we painted it and like the cohesive effect a lot more. We figure we can always add color back into it down the line (like a rich charcoal paint) if we’re feeling crazy. We’ll just have to see how the room shapes up.
Oh yeah but we can’t forget the hallway. The results in there boosted our confidence even more that Moonshine was the way to go and the change will be much more dramatic in the living room once it gets the white-trim treatment. See how soft yet defined it looks with crisp white accents?
This close up is probably the best demonstration of the silvery gray color we ended up with (and how it plays off that glossy trim):
So the next thing on our to-do list is to paint the trim & baseboard in the living room (which is why the furniture is staying in a nice little island formation in the middle of the room until that’s done). Oh and we’ve decided to leave the ceiling beams unpainted for now. We’re definitely gonna see what the rest of the room looks like before making any decisions about what to do with those. Sherry has this crazy new idea about staining or painting them a rich charcoal color. Could be cool. And we’ll probably photoshop it before taking the plunge and share the madness with you. But before we get to that we’ll hopefully have the finished trim pictures to share next week. Fingers crossed for record-breakingly-fast painting luck and another one of those Naps To End All Naps from Clara.
Psst- The repair guys came out to fix our new washer amid the painting chaos and eradicated the annoying whistle issue. Happy happy joy joy.
Psssst- We announced this week’s giveaway winners, so click here to see if you’re one of them.
Pasc says
Hi guys, did you use glossy or mat paint for the walls? How about for the baseboards and trims?
Thanks a buch
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Pasc,
We used satin for the walls and always use semi-gloss for trim.
xo,
s
Lena says
Love what you are doing to the new house but feel like its not as exciting as the renovations done to the old house. I was addicted to the first homes blog and havent felt that excitement with this one. The first home blog made me want to renovate my home as well…this one is just eh so far. Sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lena,
We’re real people (with real budgets) sharing our progress as we go, so we’ll definitely take on a variety of projects (both major & minor) over the next few years. We’ve only been here a month, and we like to work up to big renovations (thinking a while before tearing down walls helps us make sure it’s really the smartest layout/idea for us) while we save our pennies and plan. Feel free to skip posts or follow other blogs if this one doesn’t do it for you! We just put what’s going on at our house out there for people who want to follow along.
xo,
s
Mona says
Is that a joke? Your blog is better than ever and the new house is even more exciting than the last one! I’m in love with all of the risks that you’re taking lately. Like painting the backs of the built-ins dark blue and hanging a mirror in front of a window. I also really love the color palette that you’re talking about for this house- I want to paint my bathroom a bold aqua color too! Don’t change a thing about the way you’ve been blogging. Really! Don’t!
Ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
You’re right that you can’t really tell that much of a different in the wall color in your living room but after staring at it for 30 seconds I started to see the beauty that you do. You can definitely see the difference in your hallway though! It’s gorgeous! The color really pops there. Ew to parquet floors! I think it’d be amazing to see some wide wood floors in your main living room since its so huge. But to each his own :) love you guys and all that you do!
Cheryl Miner says
Hi Guys!
I la la la love following your adventures on your blog. My husband and I just bought our first home. It is a little 1960s ranch near the intracoastal in St. Augustine, FL. The bathrooms and kitchen were renovated and the hardwood floors were refinished before we moved in. We are in love and just focusing on little projects. Yesterday I put up crown molding with our neighbor/contractor. I’ve also been improving the look of our brick fireplace with caulk. It makes a huge difference. When we finish I will have to send you guys a before and after. :)
Thanks for the inspiration!
xoxo,
Cheryl Joy
Lauren says
I love this color so much. It looks beautiful and clean.
Meaghan says
I love the gray! I am borderline obsessed with gray paint right now. After seeing Jordan’s “house crashing” I have been collecting gray paint chips since she couldn’t remember what color they used on their walls. Today I’ll add moonshine to my collection :). Maybe that will be the perfect one! Love the new house
mypatsyann says
You guys are amazing. I wish I had half your energy and stick-to-it-iveness (as my dad would say) when it comes to home projects. It’s really fun watching your new place shape up.
Liz says
Hey!
Do you two have any particular order you paint a room? Trim, wall or ceiling first?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liz,
A lot of experts disagree, but most say ceiling, trim, walls. We usually do walls, trim, ceiling – just because we like to do the thing that makes the most difference first (walls) and I don’t mind painting trim with painted walls (I use a short handled brush that gives me lots of control). The reason the ceiling is usually last is because we like to add in some tone that works with the walls (same shade but 50% lighter, a soft blue ceiling in the old green nursery, etc) but if you want to repaint your ceiling white, we’d definitely recommend doing that first!
xo,
s
Rebecca says
Love it! It really does make the room glow, without the warmth coming from yellow tones. Interesting and inspired choice. Keeping the good work coming. I love what you’re doing with House 2.
BTW, I’m not a blogger or a DIY person, so the question below isn’t inspired by wanting to know how I can have your same success. For your own longevity as writers, renovators, DIYers and house lovers, have you guys got a plan about how to capitalise on the opportunities your blog is bringing you? A kind of 5-year plan, outside of family and financial goals and which house you’ll be in, that includes other ‘products’ beside your blog?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rebecca,
We actually work hard not to have a plan! We started this whole blog because it was something we loved doing. It was definitely born out of passion and we didn’t have a business plan or any ulterior money motives at all! We had no idea it could be a full time job for me, let alone for both of us! So we try not to have too much of a “business” focus, and just plan to keep doing what we love and staying as true to ourselves as possible. Who knows where we’ll end up, but that’s half the fun!
xo,
s
Sundey says
Hey Sherry,
We love the look of an older house with some character, but to get our children access to the best schools we had to opt for a cookie cutter suburban tract home, built in 2005 by Pulte and we wonder what can we do to make it feel special and unique inside. Any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sundey,
Layering things in will add character and that collected over time look that you’re going for! Try bringing in rugs, curtains, painted furniture, prints and patterns that “go” but don’t match, and even hanging molding & shelving for added “architecture. Good luck!
xo,
s
Denise says
I really love the color you chose for your livingroom! Something similar would work for us since we have a light green kitchen that shares a wall with the livingroom. Right now, it still has the sandy-tan color the previous owners painted it.
LuLu says
I was wondering if it would be possible for you to publish the paint formula from the top of the tin. I’ve previously taken paint swatches to my Home Depot to be colour matched and it just hasn’t worked out well. Thanks!
LuLu
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lulu,
They actually have the formula in the computer for Moonshine, so they don’t have to scan anything to color match it. Just say you’d like a gallon of Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine in the brand of your choice and they’ll just look up the actual formula for you. Good luck!
xo,
s
LuLu says
Thank you SO much! I’ve been looking for the perfect silver gray f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I’m going to give this a try! I’m coloured-challenged. I painted ONE room five times over last year to get the perfect colour.
Nadia says
Everything is looking so great!! Quick question though, we are going to use Olympic paint for the first time and I’m wondering what base you use. I notice you mentioned that base 1 was to bright? So what would you recommend for wall color? Hehe, we’re going with Moonshine!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Nadia,
You only have to worry about the base if you’re picking off the shelf color (and not getting color added to it). If you go to the counter and get Moonshine mixed up, the paint pro will pick the base that’s assigned to that formula in the computer (which happens to be Base 2, but you don’t have to say that- in fact if you do it’ll probably confuse them). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Lauren says
I am redoing a bathroom that has gorgeous old carrera marble counters and full slab tub surrounds…I am struggling with finding a gray that is soft enough and I think that yours looks amazing! Since you can see it first hand on your walls..what do you think about it for a bathroom & against carrera marble?? The other dilemma is that I need to paint the cabinets and trim a white that goes with the grey but needs to also work with the warm tones in the rest of the home…since I want to paint all the trim/doors/etc the same!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY ADVICE!!!
YoungHouseLove says
It’ll be gorgeous! We definitely think it’s perfect for the bathroom you describe. And as for the perfect white, we love Decorators White by Benjamin Moore. It’s foolproof.
xo,
s
Michelle says
Great color choice…and the white trim really gives it a sleek, contemporary look…hope you don’t mind if I steal the combo. :)
Kate says
Seeking opinion because we are stumped. We have a gray living room but the entry way and hallway (85 yr old, two story house with staircase in middle) are a pottery barn-esque beige/brown. What color should I paint the entry and stair hall? Were you afraid the gray hallway would take away from your living room? I can’t figure out how to transition them smoothly. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Our living room is the same gray tone as our hallway (and our dining room will be the same color) so we’re using that as our soft neutral throughout the house (and accenting it with other pops of color like deep teal in the guest room and soft blue-gray in the master) so perhaps you want to use the same gray from the living room in the entryway/hallway. Or you can pick some soft white or cream that’s even lighter so it doesn’t take away. Or even a halftone of the gray. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Leah says
Hey there! You mention in this post painting the trim and baseboards in your living room…do you have a post about doing that? I’ve been looking for a how-to because I want to paint the trim and baseboards in our house and I can’t find one that is very detailed. Thought I would check with you guys because I was just sure you would have one!
YoungHouseLove says
We haven’t ever done a detailed post about it, but I just use a short handled 2″ angled brush (more control) and prime & paint them (if they’re wood, no primer if they’re cream and I’m just going to white, etc). Hope it helps!
xo
s