Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Painting The Bedroom Rockport Gray

The deed is done! Rockport Gray is all up in this hizzy.

Bedroom After

We love how much more things like the extra thick crown molding and the trim around the doors and windows pops now that the color is deeper and more… sleepy? Can you describe a bedroom color that way? In love.

Bedroom Sink Nook

It’s such a mutating color. Sometimes it looks lighter and grayer.

Bedroom Nook Detail

And sometimes it looks moodier and more mocha.

Bedroom After Detail

We think it looks especially good with our cheap-o Ikea curtains (Vivan panels for $9 a pop) and other crisp white things, like this old side table from our first house’s den and the white lamp shade on our floor lamp.

Bedroom Chair Corner

So yeah, we likey the new vibe in the bedroom.

Basically the room looked kind of soft and sweet with the light gray-blue walls before…

HBoardCover 18 After Main111

… but they were kinda similar to the walls in our first house’s bedroom (which we did love, but after 4.5 years with it we thought it would be fun to try something different).

Bedroom After

It also felt a little too blue when you factored in the blue in the rug, the headboard fabric, etc. We just wanted something with a little more oomph. See how these side by side shots show how much more the molding and the fabric on the headboard pops? Now they stand out and say I am molding/headboard, hear me roar.

Side By Side Room1

These vertical images might help you see the molding effect more easily (since they’re not as small). Doesn’t the trim almost look like it has been beefed up and whitened in the picture on the right? It’s all thanks to the contrast that the deeper and less airy color brings. Seriously, I didn’t repaint the molding or anything.

Sink Nook Sides1

As for the process, we basically spackled any nail holes that we weren’t going to be using anymore (like the ones that used to hold the art up over the bed when it was on the other wall) and then sanded them so they were smooth.

Sanding Spackling Holes

Then we moved a lot of stuff out of the room, and covered the remaining furnishings that we pushed into the center of the room with plastic drop cloths):

Bedroom Prepped

We taped off the crown molding too (since on a step ladder I’m less steady handed). But I can freehand all the trim around the windows, doors, baseboards, and outlets without tape – so that saves us time and tape.

It’s amazing what an instant difference the new paint on the wall was. But it took us about five or six hours of prep/painting to get to that point. It’s a big room (16 x 16′) and we were also painting the entire sink nook (which is like another small room that’s attached with tons of windows and doorways to cut in around). So we just put on some music and got down to business. Painting business. Not funny business.

Bedroom Prepped Painted

There was some of this (I’m the cutter-inner in the family and John is the roller):

Sherry Cutting In

And some of this (we actually painted the ceiling above the sink nook a color for the book photoshoots back in January, so we finally got to repaint it back to white while we were doing the walls):

John Rolling Nook Ceiling

As we mentioned, the room is 16 x 16′ – and we actually used less than a gallon of paint for this entire paint job (including the sink nook). Maybe around 2/3rds of one? Benjamin Moore paint (this was Rockport Gray in their Natura base, which is VOC free) has great coverage, so when we used Olympic to paint this room for the first time we used the whole gallon since we needed two full coats, but this time we only needed one coat and a few touch ups as a second coat instead of a full second application. Oh and we went with an eggshell finish for anyone wondering (it’s nice and matte but still a bit more durable and wipe-able than flat paint would have been).

There was still the same amount of house chaos even though we only needed one coat of paint this time. Because of course when you paint a room, at least one other room looks like complete insanity since all of the stuff from the room that you’re painting gets dumped in there. Like our living room in this case:

Living Room Chaos

For those wondering where Clara was, her grandparents graciously offered to take her to the playground, lunch, and the library while we got this done. So thankful! We’ve definitely painted rooms while she napped and it has worked (like the bedroom when we painted it the first time) but it’s usually just a lot more choppy because we both work hard for the two-ish hours that she naps and then one of us has to watch her while the other one works (ex: I continue to cut in while John watches Clara after she wakes up) and then we switch (I watch her while he rolls).

Here was our little setup to catch the process on our laptop’s camera (which has a longer battery life when plugged in than our Flip HD, which can only record for an hour). Oh yes, we’re high tech around here. There was ottoman on side table action (we used iMovie to make the video, which comes free with most Macs and has easy settings to speed things up):

Bedroom Time Lapse Setup

So whoop, there it is. Darker, moodier paint that makes us wanna sleep. Haha. And kinda makes us want to paint a whole lot of other rooms in darker tones since it’s amazing how much more substantial the molding looks. But when we stop to think about it, ultimately we like the balance in the whole house’s current palette, which consists of:

  • some light neutrals – like the soft gray in the living room and dining room
  • some happy tones – like the grellow in the kitchen and the light pink in Clara’s room
  • some deep saturated colors – like the dark teal guest room and the back of the dining room built-ins

Should be fun to see what colors we end up with in the completely untouched sunroom, playroom, hall bathroom, and guest bathroom though. In the meantime, what are you guys painting? Anyone diving into darker colors? Or lightening up with something soft? Feel free to name your favorite wall color of all time – it’s always interesting to hear what you guys are loving.

Comments

  1. Teri says

    LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! It is the perfect color! Can’t say enough how much I love it, in fact I think I’m going to paint my bedroom the same color!

    Reply

  3. wifemomrn says

    Great color choice! It really works to tie everything together so nicely. I love your headboard, btw, where did you get it?

    Reply

  5. emily says

    So glad you mentioned how much paint you needed! The bedroom that I’m tackling while my boyfriend is gone is 14′ by 16′ (with two windows, two large closet doors, and a standard door) and I’ll also be using Benjamin Moore paint, so hopefully one gallon will be enough for me!

    The bedroom looks fantastic. So much sleepier. :)

    Reply

  7. Christine says

    Looks awesome! I am so digging grey tones right now.

    It is funny, I am the cutter inner and my husband is the roller. I hate to tape, so I just take my time, plus I like to lay down on the floor when I cut in near the floor. It looks funny, but it gets the job done!

    Reply

  8. carina says

    i am soooo jealous of your home and your DIY skills! i like to re do furniture and things but my things dont look half as nice and i cant seem to make a room “flow”. your blog is inspiring. you should go on the Nare Berkus show!!! house proud! congrats in such an amazing home!

    Reply

  10. Heather says

    It looks amazing. I have to say, I love your home, but I struggled liking your bedroom as a whole. Now I realized that it was the paint that was keeping me froom swooning over the decor. Great choice.

    Reply

  13. Lauren says

    It. looks. GREEEAAATTT!!! Love it! I didn’t think that your master bedroom needed much improving, but wow, what a difference 2/3 of a gallon of paint can make! Great work! Thinking about doing some rockport gray in my house now, such a good neutral (and not drab like I typically think of gray!).

    Reply

  14. Jill says

    It looks great! I love a soft grey room. We painted our bedroom grey – Steel Wool was the name, I think. But my favourite name (and colour) in our house is definitely Tropicana Cabana, in our kitchen. It’s so cheerful and get-your-sunglasses bright. I think our neighbours think we’re nuts (the guest room colour is Pucker Up, a glorious dark pink, our son’s room is in a bright blue shade called “Pool” and the playroom/study is a very moody purple) but we love our colourful house!

    Reply

  15. Jennifer says

    MUCH BETTER!!!! This new paint color was definitely the right direction to go in. Plus, it makes your artwork on the walls stand out really well. Great job guys!

    Reply

  17. Allie ~This Yellow House says

    I love the darker color! It’s amazing how much better I can see the headboard and molding now. I’m about to repaint my living room a gray color also. I’m not too sure which color yet, I’m thinking about going with the lighter gray that you guys have in the other parts of your house.

    I loved watching the video! It was so funny, I’m about to show my husband lol.

    Reply

  20. Ashley T says

    Looks great! We’re thinking about doing Rockport Gray in our fam room. One quick question…when you are deciding on a paint color and paint the colors right onto the wall that you’re thinking about going with, do you just paint right over those when you choose your color? Or do you re-paint the original color of the walls over your trial areas so it’s all blended the same again?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we just paint right over them. Seems to work- you can never tell! I think if it were bright red or something it might show through, but in this case it wasn’t an issue. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  22. Angie K says

    oh, I love it! It really looks sophisticated!

    I want to repaint my daughters room (it is an obnoxious bright pink) so I think I’m going to use your recommendation and use some Benjamin moore paint. Maybe I can get ‘er done with one or two coats :)

    Reply

  24. Rebecca says

    You cut in around outlets? Why not just pop ’em off and roll on up to them? To each his own I guess!

    I think I need to follow your drop cloth method next time I paint. Usually we just move everything to the middle and go at it, but last time I painted I dropped the can, and got paint in numerous spots…including our leather dining room chairs. Any ideas how to get that off?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s just faster for me not to take them off and I can do it easily enough since I’ve been cutting in for six years! As for paint spots on leather, maybe try google? Anyone have a tip? Can you freeze them off?

      xo,
      s

    • Angie K says

      Look for some good leather cleaner. Might have to buy it online.

      When I was a teen I got some dark blue oil paint on my cream color leather chair in my room (was painting for some extra credit for art class). I knew my mom would be HORRIFIED so I hid it with a throw blanket (kids :) for TWO YEars! She did get the completely dried and cured paint off with a good leather cleaner….

    • Rebecca says

      Well it is completely cured/dried now, so I hope I can find something to do the trick! Thanks!

    • Maggie says

      I have heard that Goo Gone works on old paint. I have not used it –you might want to try it on a spot that doesn’t show.

    • eva says

      I’m not sure about getting paint of leather but baby wipes can do wonders on dark denim stains and ink on lighter leather.

  25. Ashley says

    Your room looks AMAZING!
    We just painted our nursery this weekend, Behr Dolphin Fin, I feel like it is in between moonshine and this color. I am in love already! I can’t wait to DIY curtains and the crib skirt! :)

    Reply

    • Heather says

      I painted our master bedroom at our old house Dolphin Fin and loved it! It was the only one (out of many samples) that didn’t look blue or purple. Stayed gray throughout the day and evening. Convinced my friend to paint her kids’ rooms the same color… looks great! Trying to find the perfect place for it in our new house… but eyeing that Rockport Gray now. Been in love with it ever since the Portland house crashing!!

  29. Carrie says

    I absolutely love it! I can’t stop staring at whatever the hubby is doing in the background of the everything in the living room picture lol. Unknowingly photo bombing.

    Reply

  31. Jen. says

    Love the new color, and love Benny Moore! The old color looked nice, but the new color makes blue a layer in the room instead of an allover color … lovely.

    Reply

  32. Kate says

    Such a lovely color – it looks great in your room!

    I recently repainted my master bedroom and decided to use Ben Moore paint (instead of having it color matched at Lowes or HD). When I originally painted the room with glidden, it took a gallon plus a quart. I purchased one gallon from Ben Moore this time and still have about 1/3 of the paint left. I started on a second coat out of habit, but then realized it was a total waste of time!

    Reply

  34. Farrah says

    Looks great! Question–do you guys pay attention to LRV when you are picking paint colors? We are looking for a greige and Rockport Gray looks great, but the LRV is only like 35–that scares me! So I was just wondering if you have noticed that lower LRVs really do darken a room or if that’s just a thing that paint pros talk about but doesn’t matter to “regular” people. :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Nope, we don’t pay attention to that at all. Haha. We just do test swatches that we paint directly on the wall and see how we like them. We love the dark colors we used on the back of the built-ins, in the guest room, and now in the bedroom, so I guess we just have faith that our eyes aren’t nearly sophisticated enough to pick up if a room looks darker since paint reflects or absorbs things. In this case, the white trim and curtains and bedding in the bedroom make it feel just as light and maybe even crisper because of the contrast if that makes sense! Hope it helps.

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, we started calling it that so that has stuck. It’ll someday be Clara’s big girl room when a possible future baby moves into the nursery (John and I aren’t even trying yet though). So we’re not quite ready and have loads of other rooms to tackle in the meantime- haha!

      xo,
      s

  39. Iris says

    I love it! I also painted my room gray a couple of years ago. It is such a great color because it is soft and neutral and makes every other color pop so nicely. Beautifully done!

    Reply

  40. Brandyn says

    Awesome! I love the fabric in your headboard, but for some reason with the blue walls I had trouble seeing the blue in the headboard that matched the rug so perfectly. With the gray I totally see the blue! Looks great.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks! It’s really nice in person but one of those things that are harder to get from small photos on the internet! Haha. We’ll just have to invite everyone over!

      xo,
      s

  42. Courtney says

    Looks amazing! I almost said, “Oooh, awesome” out loud at work just now. :) Also, the drop cloths are very Dexter-esque in those photos–nice job!

    Reply

  43. Sarah says

    Love the change! I thought that you had done something to the bedroom door for the book and couldn’t show us. Did you paint over it?

    Reply

  44. Elana says

    I thought you all had done a secret book project to the bedroom door. It looks normal in that last shot. Did you change it back?

    Reply

  46. Jen says

    Looks great!

    We’re currently planning a master bedroom switchup too. Currently have blue walls and are planning to add board and batten then repaint the top wall to a gray. We’ll have to add Rockport Gray to our swatch list, it looks great.

    Reply

  47. Amanda B. says

    I recently went moody in my living room, with Patina Blue, from Valspar’s Creative Ideas. I love it so much! It’s blue and playful by day, then turns more green and enveloping by night.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Check out this post with a photo of the headboard fabric and the rug together up close. In person we think it looks awesome together (the teal in the fabric ties into the rug and since the rug is a big scale pattern and the headboard is a smaller scale pattern they layer nicely) but of course it’s one of those personal preference things!

      xo,
      s

    • Andrea Atkins says

      Those are my favorite pieces in the room! The mix of textures is nice and the colors complement each other well. The room looks amazing!! I’d never want to get out of bed. :)

  49. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    That just seems like such a bedroom appropriate color to me. When I see colors like that I immediately classify them as “kitchen worthy” or “living room.” That’s definitely a moody bedroom!

    Can’t wait to watch the video tonight after work! :)

    Reply

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