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.
Jenny @ Words On Wendhurst says
The gray is stunning. Soft and understated, but so pretty. From the pics of the hallway, you can see how lovely the living room will look with the trim painted. Although I don’t envy you that task! :-) Great job!
Amanda Gail says
The title of this post is especially entertaining seeing as Good Ol’ Dolly’s birthday was yesterday!
liz @ bontempsbeignet says
Yea, that song will DEFINITELY be in my head all day… except my version is ‘working 7 til 4’ ugh.
I love the new color! It looks uber crisp and fancy schmancy ;)
Jennifer @ Milk & Honey Mommy says
John,
It’s lookin’ real good! We chose a similar color, but w/more of a blue undertone, for our bedroom. It is very soothing. The contrast w/the wood beams is really nice.
Sara says
Looks great, as expected. Keeping the beams, at least temporarily, is a great idea. We had beams in our family room that I pulled down right away, and I kind of regret it. I just can’t wait for the kitchen!!!
Krysta says
Love the gray!! You can really see how awesome it looks in the last picture. When you all have extra busy days like yesterday, have you ever hired a babysitter to entertain Clara just so you can focus on getting work done?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Krysta,
On rare occasions someone like John’s sister or mom & dad will come over and watch Clara, which is AMAZING since we get so much done. But of course they’re not available all that often. We do love hanging out with her though, so it’s not too much trouble. Haha. She’s probably our favorite person ever (and Burger’s our favorite dog ever of course).
xo,
s
karen @ our slo house says
It’s beautiful! You can really see it in both of the hallway photos.
Now I’m off to watch/listen to this SNL song you’re talking about…
Cait @ Hernando House says
Looks great!
ellis says
Color looks AWESOME in the hallway and can’t wait to see the trim painted in the living room. Pretty well ecstatic that you’re thinking of doing something creative like painting the beams charcoal- I think they make that room GORGEOUS. I agree that the present state of them may be too difficult to work in, but I’d hate to see them blend in with the ceiling too much. Other people may be obsessed with your reclaimed pine floors (I like them too!), but man I love those living room beams.
Allison says
The grey with white trim is so crisp and stunning. Great choice!
Tanya says
The grey looks incredible, as expected. Can’t wait for you to finish the trim white it’ll just up the wow factor!
Here’s to Clara sleeping like a trooper for the next couple of days.
X
Ashley says
I can see it in the hallway but honestly I couldn’t even tell you painted the living room. I was scrolling down looking for your after photo. :(
katie says
Love it!
Is that a crystal salt lamp on your TV stand? Just got one that looks identical for Christmas. I love mine :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katie,
Yes! We got that a while back and still light it up from time to time. Here’s the post: https://www.younghouselove.com/good-to-glow/
xo,
s
Nicole B. says
Ooohhh…. I think charcoal on the beams sounds like a fabulous idea!
Demi says
Love it!
Think you meant that it went right through Sherry’s yoga pants rather than paints though, but can’t blame you with all the paint talk!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Demi,
Haha, too funny. John must have had paint on the brain! All fixed.
xo,
s
Jill says
I love the grey. It looks very modern and bold, yet subtle. Please keep us updated on the hunt for your new sectional. My husband and I are looking for a new sectional (but may have to settle for a couch) and continue to strike out. Everything we like is too expensive and the pieces we have seen in our price range look very cheap. I’m interested to see what you guys find!
Catherine says
Super stylish – love the pale grey with the white!
Catherine says
You two are so impressive! I can’t believe you got all that done in a day! I like the gray–especially in the hallway with the already white trim–and I really, really hope you go for the charcoal beam idea! That sounds like all kinds of awesome!
Do you know what white the rest of the trim is already painted? I’ve never had to do it but it seems like it would be hard to match a white… unless of course it’s just the standard one with no tints mixed in. Is that what people typically use for trim? (You can tell I’m not a homeowner!)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Catherine,
We figure we’ll hold up some white swatches to get a general idea of the existing trim color, although it all needs a fresh coat of white so we might end up redoing it slowly (which means matching it perfectly isn’t such an important task).
xo,
s
JM says
We have Moonshine on the walls in our bedroom and LOVE it! Its so peaceful and dreamy. PS is that an iPad I see in pic #4?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey JM,
Yup, John loves it. I actually don’t mind it either (although at first I wondered what all the fuss was about). Playing Farkle on it is fun though. We had a power outage and it kept us busy for hours!
xo,
s
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Love the look in the hallway. Can’t wait to see the trim in the LR done. I’m really liking the idea of putting charcoal color stain or paint on the ceiling beams. Awesome idea. Can’t wait to see how that looks in Photoshop. ;)
I’m lovin’ gray right now and I love that deep gray sectional you two posted a while back. I’m thinking about a medium tone gray for our LR, just haven’t found the right sofa yet. ;)
Annamae says
Love the gray walls! though I am partial to gray walls myself seeing as my own living room is gray. :) And I definitely agree that you’ll adore it even more once the living room trim is white to match the hallway. It’s such a lovely contrast.
Aly says
It’s amazing how much longer projects take with a little one around. I have a 4 month old boy and though I’d much rather spend my time with him, there are housing projects to be done. The moulding I’m putting up around our side door, well, I do one piece a day if I’m lucky.
The color looks fabulous on the walls!
brandt @ New House on the Blog says
Honestly, I couldn’t tell a difference. That is, until you showed that shot of the hallway. And wow. The white trim with the grey was definitely the way to go. It gives it a sophisticated look with a hint of class, and it shows that someone really took the time to beautify their house. And isn’t that the best feeling, collapsing at the end of they day and looking around and saying “Wow, I did that!”
carrye says
Love the how the color turned out and really love that your considering keeping the beams a contrasting color. I think beams really add character to a room and it would be great to let them stand out some.
Ilana says
Another salt lamp question- does yours have a plug or is it operated by batteries? Got inspired after seeing Katie’s comment, and your link to an older post.
Love the gray btw! It seems like the perfect canvas to add creative accessories. I think having a more calming color worked in your last house too for the living room!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Ilana,
Ours plugs in. Such a pretty little thing.
xo,
s
paper claire says
I just love how the gray looks in the last photo! You guys are amazing.
Julie says
We painted our living room a very similar color (though I think ours was called MoonDANCE) for the same reasons as you guys — we have a maroon couch and love seat and a gray recliner and anything more would compete too much with those (large and in charge) pieces. It’s great to have a little color on the walls that stand out against the white trim, while still feeling cohesive and not overdone. Black accents in the form of decorations, picture frames, etc, can pop, so it’s been working well for us! I’m sure the same will be true for you!
Meghann says
The gray looks amazing! I truly believe that it is the work that you put in that makes a house your own. At leat that’s what I ket telling myself when we used 1 inch wood chisles to score and peel the old linoleum out of the kitchen of our new home bebfore putting in laminate flooring! And that was after we scraped off the 3 layers of flooring on top of that!
As for photoshopping the beams to try colors – Sherwin Williams has a feature on their website where you can upload your own pictures and then select what areas you want to paint, and then all you do is keep clicking until you like the color! It’s really a helpful tool, and it’s pretty fun too!
Keep up the good work and keep having fun in your new home!
Kinnic says
Gray is my fav. I know you may have written a post on this in the past, but I’d like to learn more about painting wood trim white. How you do it, what kind of paint you use, etc. etc.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kinnic,
For sure! We’ll post all about that process when we have pics and how-it-all-went details to share!
xo,
s
Leslie Ann says
Ya’ll should definitely leave the beautiful beams dark! They are my favorite part about your living room.
Jenn says
Looks AMAZING! You two are so talented =)
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
Shannon says
I love the colour you chose! It is ‘silvery’. It makes me giggle when I read about you guys and doing things around Clara’s schedule…we have three kids and we’ve been juggling home improvement and decor projects around them for about ten years. Lol. And I’m totally jealous… your sample pots only cost $2.50?!?!? Ours are about $5 up here (Canada).
Shannon
{aka}|design
Meghan, UK says
What a fantastic colour – the trim really makes it stand out as soft but elegant in the hallway. I can’t wait to see the trim done in the living room – and the fireplace eventually broken through!
Kenley says
The room and hallway looks GREAT! My husband and I were inspired to paint our bedroom this past Saturday (which the tester paint “squares” had been on the walls for at least a good six months) which took 8hrs to do the tres ceiling, all the trim (including two doors and three window) and two coats on the wall. I am impressed that you all got that HUGE room and the hallway done in 12 hrs with Clara duties also! We had a “date painting day” and shipped our 6 year old and 2 year old to camp grandma and grandpa’s or we could have never gotten it done. Keep up the great work! PS I am the “edger” girl also :)
Gia says
Love the gray!
Quick question: Our house is a typical 1970’s house with yucky dark trim. Our LR is a neutral and we have espresso wood furniture and a brown sofa. Would white trim look okay? I really, REALLY want to paint it but I am afraid it will look silly.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Gia,
Of course! White trim is just as “neutral” as wood trim, so they both can work in virtually any room. It just depends what you prefer!
xo,
s
Veronica says
Hi! I love grey right now as well. At first I didn’t see much difference, but it looks so sharp in the hallway! Awesome choice!
Isabella says
Looks “gray-t!”
We’re painting all our creamy, off-white trim pure white too only we’re using the ‘one wall of trim per weekend plan’ since we can only spare a little time each weekend. I think you’ll beat us. They look amazing though and so worth the effort. We’re happy to have learned from your example of white trim at the old house!
Jessica says
Did I catch a glimpse of some new pillows on Ed? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jessica,
Yes! Those are the ones we grabbed at HomeGoods when we returned the shower curtain. We owe you guys a post on them soon!
xo,
s
Ashley says
Love this!!! You guys rock at picking out color! I have a question – Do you think it would look as good without all of the natural light?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Ashley,
It’s relatively light, so probably. Maybe bring home the swatch and see? Good luck!
xo,
s
Ali says
What a great color! The picture of the hallway really showcased the new color!
Love how you made your choice on the paint! Such a great idea to test the paint colors in different lighting and different walls!
You got a lot of painting in one day! Way to go!
~ Ali
Jess @ Sweet Potato says
I love the gray!
Lucy says
You guys need a show on HGTV to chronicle the house transformation! They need some new shows – I’m tired of the same old re-runs :-)
gemma@thesweetestdigs says
Looks really great! The gray you chose is a lovely tone (I find gray one of those difficult colours to get quite right) and looks beautiful next to the white trim in the hallway.
gemma@thesweetestdigs
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
Moonshine looks good on you(r house)! That’s cool that it didn’t feel too cool in your space.
Ali says
Quick question….I have light blue gray color in my living and dining room with white slipcovered ikea couches. Can I switch to moonshine type color (soft gray) or would I need to switch to another slipcover color than white to do the soft gray color?
~ Ali
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Ali,
I think it would look layered and soft and ethereal. If that’s what you’re going for- definitely do it!
xo,
s
Tracey says
First – LOVE the Moonshine! It does look magnificent next to the crisp white trim. Second – Please be careful (I’m sure you are, just a friendly reminder!) exposing Clara to all this new paint. (We have a 6 month old ourselves!) My hubby used to paint professionally and when I asked him about the No VOC paints (for painting our own house), he said they still will offgas something. I found this article,
“You must remember,though, that most of the zero VOC paints are tinted with colorants that contain VOC’s so your colors choices are limited to the pastels and light colors.
Healthy paints such as AFM Safecoat (paint, which) can be tinted to thousands of colors from light to dark, without added VOC’s or toxins.
The interior designer’s love that! So there you have it. A crash course of what to look for the next time you are interested in pursuing an ”Environmental Home Makeover”.
On behalf of all of us parents out there looking for the safest alternatives for our families a HUGE thanks to Andrew Pace for providing this information. Again, check out his site: http://www.degreeofgreen.com, or contact him at [email protected].”
I’ve read before that often times the paint offgasses into the textiles nearby, so make sure to wash curtains, throws, rugs, etc. especially in the beanette’s room! Love to all and Happy painting!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tracey,
Thanks for the concern and the info! One of the reasons we use Olympic No-VOC paint is because they reformulated so now the colorants are VOC free as well as the base paint. It’s 100% VOC free in any color (even color matched) and they’re the only paint that does that at Home Depot or Lowe’s so the choice was an easy one for us! Of course we also love Safecoat and Mythic (have used them both, but they’re a bit pricier) but now that Olympic is certified as VOC free just like they are (even with colorants, etc included in that description) we couldn’t be happier!
xo,
s
Yellow Bird says
Usually I’m not a fan of painting trim, but when you see the contrast of the trim in the main room and then the contrast of the trim in the hall, the hall looks 1000 times better. I do not envy your trim painting. Hopefully it won’t be too much of a pain in the rear… ;)
heather s. says
Looks great though I couldn’t see much of a difference until the hallway pic and I am still convinced that you didn’t paint the brick even though you said you did. ;) The brick still looks very white to me.
Sara @ Russet Street Reno says
I’m a huge fan of gray walls with white trim! I just don’t understand why you painted the walls before the trim? It’s so much easier to do the trim first and then cut in the walls right up to it. I’ve found it’s impossible to not damage/paint the newly painted walls when you sand, prime, and paint the trim afterwards. I never use tape and thought you didn’t either, so I’m curious how you’re going to do this without touching up all your walls.
It will be fabulous, the hallway already looks great! I love the beams as-is, I’m sure they will look great with the finished room.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sara,
I actually prefer to paint trim after the walls. I have a short handled brush that’s very easy to control so that order works for me! It’s probably a chicken or the egg thing though!
xo,
s
Dave says
If it were me i think i would box in the back of that fire place with drywall as the fireplace is not centered on the wall unless you are planning at some point to make it a double sided fire-place….never the less even if i did make it a double i would still cover the brick with drywall and them put some slate tile on it.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Dave,
We actually are making that a double sided fireplace when we tackle the kitchen reno in a bit. Stay tuned…
xo,
s