The deed is done. Behold, our freshly painted foyer:
It feels about a foot taller and at least two feet wider than it did before. Ah, the power of paint.
This shot’s probably the most accurate when it comes to color. It’s definitely one of those soft neutrals that shifts throughout the day, but I’d say it’s one part sand and one part greige. Not too cool and not too warm. And pretty darn beautiful with white trim.
As for choosing the color, we mentioned a bunch of swatches we were loving in this post, and shared this little makeshift palette:
Can you guess who ended up in the foyer?
Good ol’ Edgecomb Gray. The funny part about that swatch is it’s not really gray (it’s warmer, more like a greige). Another pretty hilarious thing about it is that it looked terrible in our last house, but here it’s gorgeous (it’s crazy how differently a swatch can read depending on the lighting situation, what direction your room faces, etc). So in a sea of paint chips it was an easy choice. Which is nice because it’s a pretty big commitment.
The foyer leads to four downstairs rooms as well as flowing up the stairs and into the hallway up there which leads to six additional rooms – so we knew that whatever we chose would have to work well with any other wall colors we’d be choosing for all ten of those spaces that will connect to it.
As for getting it up on the walls, first we filled in a few nail holes with spackle and then primed those spots as well as any areas that had raw drywall (from our wallpaper peeling adventures).
Then it was painting time. It thankfully only took two coats (as opposed to the trim, which took four). We went with an eggshell finish in BM’s no-VOC Natura stuff, so John got his roll on and I cut in – yes, around chair rail, crown molding, baseboards, and seven (!!) doorways.
As you can imagine it took John about one tenth of the time to roll that it took me to cut in around all of those edges, but it was totally worth it. I love the new wall color so much that I could do a musical number about it. (Seriously, don’t tempt me – I’m a terrible dancer).
It’s one of those colors that changes throughout the day and feels so airy and breezy, like the sky at the beach. Some moments it’s like the lightest part of a platinum cloud, and other moments it’s warmer and richer – like coffee with lots of milk swirling around in there.
We have a devoted post all about this paint color if you want to see more photos of Edgecomb Gray in our house & read why we love it so much. Oh and after our paint job, we switched out the old yellowed outlets and switches for crisp new white ones. Such a cheap fix, but just like fresh paint, they go a long way in making the room feel updated.
Can’t wait to get some art going on. Oh yeah and paint the other fifteen rooms in our house (note to self: don’t think about that, just focus on your musical number).
It’s nice to have a pop of color in the door since all of the white trim and doors around it seem to temper it while the neutral walls and the dark floors and door hardware ground things. And you know the light fixture is on my ORB list.
I like this shot because the blue spindles leading up the stairs almost look black instead of periwinkle blue. Although I think we’re leaning towards white for those spindles (when we can work up the energy to do four coats on them) and eventually we’d love to ebonize the top part of the railing to go with the dark door hardware everywhere. Sort of like this or this.
In the meantime we’re just soaking up the victory of completing a whole lotta trim, doors, chair rail, crown, and getting some fresh paint on the walls in there.
Change is good.
Peggy McKee says
I have a question about your current color palette. As you have mentioned previously, it’s much cooler than the one you used in your previous house.
I’m wondering how much the slate floor is influencing how the colors look?
My guess is that if you completely covered the slate as a test (e.g. with rosin paper or drop cloths), you would find that the colors you’ve chosen are much too blue.
If you’ve already tried this, I’d love to know the result!
One other thing, for the LR fireplace, have you considered covered the brick with paneling & molding instead of painting it–similar to your old house, but bigger? You could incorporate shelves, etc.
IMHO this looks so much better than painted brick–especially since the new house has a traditional feel.
Maybe it would take longer–but the plus is that you get a design opportunity! Best, Peg
YoungHouseLove says
Good question Peggy! Our first house had a similar palette to the one we’re considering for this house and the tans and browns kept it nice and warm. If you scroll back through the comments you’ll see that dozens of people who have used Edgecomb Gray also describe it as being a warm and sandy tone (not gray/blue/cool at all). Maybe grab a swatch and check it out yourself? In our experience the colors on the ceiling and walls reflect around a room more than what’s on the floor (ex: the walls never read as navy or green or pink in the rooms with those colored rugs, but if we put those colors on the walls the rooms definitely read more as those colors) – so since we painted the blue trim and doors white and added a neutral color on the walls – it really tempered the slate. And as for the fireplace, our plan here is to whitewash it, so we can’t wait to see how it turns out!
xo
s
Jules says
This looks great and yes, so fresh! Quick question for you: you seem to paint interior doors. Are your doors all wood? We have old, cheapie hollow-core doors that look terrible (all wood-colored), and I’m wondering if you have any thoughts or experience about painting them. Will they look equally terrible when painted–still ugly, just painted?
YoungHouseLove says
Our doors at this house are all wood (and paneled doors) but at our first two houses they were hollow-core and we still loved how fresh they looked when painted!
xo
s
Sally says
Loving the color. My sister lives in Virginia, too, so I know how hot it gets – that pale color seems cooler than the blue.
Don’t you feel for the former owners, though; who surely must be reading this blog, saying to themselves “if only we’d thought of that, we could have made the house look great too” and kicking themselves because they didn’t know how wonderful a few modern upgrades can change the whole appearance.
Greta says
We have grey tile floors similar to slate, edgecomb grey walls, white trim and a very pale blue ceiling…..LOVE! You should give it a try.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds gorgeous!
xo
s
Melissa says
Oh my goodness…it looks wonderful! Your paint color choices always inspire me! The floors even look so much less blue now!! I was wondering, do you plan to change the floors in the future? Just curious.
YoungHouseLove says
We like working with what we have, so we’d love to work with them – but they’re damaged in a few areas, so assuming we can repair them we’ll keep them and if not we’ll replace them down the line.
xo
s
Jenn says
I love how your new house is shaping up. I love the teal door!
Sara says
What is the finish you used on the walls? Satin, eggshell?
Love the color!
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Eggshell.
xo
s
Ashley says
I cannot get enough of your blog! You make everything so attainable and user friendly. Reading this the past few weeks has certainly given me the motivation to tackle some projects at home… and not break the bank. Thanks guys!
Jennifer : Creative Scatter says
Lovely! Looks great, as always! It definitely looks more open and airy.
Georgina says
Love the colour. I have it on the main floor of my house. Just wanted to mention that I really like the way that you photograph the before and after from the same angle. It gives you a better appreciation of the change.
Debbie says
Looks great! Can you please tell me what color you used for the trim?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s Simply White by Benjamin Moore.
xo
s
Robin says
Is the paint color the same above and below the chair rail? The lighting makes it look different in different pictures. Beautiful though!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, it’s all the same color (Edgecomb Gray).
xo
s
Joseph says
Oh, I forgot to ask, we noticed in both our apartment and our house the paint on the trim seems to get sort of tacky. Like if you leave something on the window sill for too long it sticks to it and we’ve had some paint pull up and some marks left. My question is have you ever experienced this? You two seem pretty knowledgable about paint and the best ways to apply it so I didn’t know if you might have any ideas about what’s causing it and what we could do to avoid this in the future.
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like the coats were too thick. Try to keep them really thin and even so they can fully cure and not stay tacky.
xo
s
Joseph says
Ah, that makes sense, especially since both places seem to have been speed painted by people just trying to get it done. So follow up question: Before we repaint with thin coats is there anything we should do to the trim (like sand really well or use some kind of deglosser) or do you think the new paint will fix it?
YoungHouseLove says
If its glossy I’d sand it and wipe it down with a liquid deglosser, but if it’s dry and chalky (matte finish) you ca go right to a thin coat of primer.
xo,
s
Joseph says
Awesome, thanks for the advice!
Marissa says
If you’re still planning on cleaning your grout, I have some tips… I recently cleaned all of the grout in my kitchen (hadn’t been cleaned in at least 15 years! Disgusting). I tried a number of products & techniques recommended on the internet/Pinterest. Nothing worked great until I tried a modified version of the baking soda/vinegar/peroxide combo. Here are the steps I followed:
1. Spread baking soda on the floor so it gets in all the grout lines. I just sprinkled it on my floor and used the lip of my broom pan to push it into the grout lines (it’s kind of like grouting, but with baking soda instead of grout).
2. Mix in a spray bottle one-half white vinegar and one-half hydrogen peroxide. Spray the grout lines. It will fizzle which is weirdly gratifying.
3. Get a really good hard grout cleaning brush (long hard bristles work best) and after about 10 minutes, go quickly over the grout lines to scrub the mixture in.
4. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then give it one more scrub with your grout brush, and immediately wipe off the mixture with a terry cloth rag wrapped around your finger a few times (push down hard).
It worked AMAZING. Better than the industrial grout cleaner. Better than carpet cleaner (which was another suggestion). Better than anything. I found it really helped to spread the baking soda on first because when I tried putting it in the spray bottle, it kept stopping up the nozzle. It definitely takes a bit of time (It took me about 3 hours to do 250 square feet), but it’s so gratifying to see all that disgusting gunk come up. I never even knew that the original color of my grout was off-white. I had to go over a couple of spots again, but everything came up in the end. I’ve been trying for years to clean my grout. I would have never guessed that the all-natural strategy would work the best! Good luck. Paint color looks great!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip!
xo
s
Lauren @ Everyday Lauren says
I just got the okay from my landlord that I can paint all the walls inside my rental!! WAHOO. Now I need to find some cheap paint (since I won’t be living there forever), and figure out where to begin.
Do you use painters tape/ cover the floors in plastic when you paint?
Any suggestions or reccommendations on paint or technique?
Thank youu :)
XO Lauren
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a post for ya Lauren! Hope it helps: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/09/email-answer-how-to-paint-a-room-yhl-style/
xo
s
mitchypoo says
I went today and bought a sample of Edgecomb Gray and have about 5 areas in the living room and hallway swatched with a square of Edgecomb Gray next to the Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee which I originally planned on but gosh darn if the Edgecomb Gray isn’t a wonderful choice! I NEVER thought I’d like a gray anything, it’s just not been in my color schemes but it is gorgeous. Still not sure which one we’ll pick yet but thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, so glad!
xo
s
Kathy says
LOVE how the changes made the floor gray!!!!!! The ebony will be perfect. Worth all your efforts.
Tirsa says
Love, love, love the changes in the entry way. What a difference! It’s funny for me to see that I “copied” you about a year and a half ago. I used a slightly darker version of your color in my entry way – it was my third color choice and am finally happy. I call it my “cleanse your palate” color in order to get ready for all the colors in my house. :)
Susan J. says
I look forward to hearing about how you answer your ceiling questions (white, very light blue, half tint…) I’m stuck at that fork in the road myself, and need help. Please, a treatise on ceiling paint soon!
Melinda (lovemelinda.com) says
I love this foyer, especially the door! We just painted our entryway this past weekend. It’s amazing what a new paint job will do!
SG says
Your mentioning ebonizing the bannister made me think you might have some thoughts on a design question I’m struggling with. I’m trying to decide whether I should paint some of our window frames black. The window trim will stay white. Our bannister is painted black with white spindles.
There are two windows that I know would look amazing with black frames and then there are two that I’m not so sure. I’m going to leave the window frames in our bedrooms white. The windows I’m thinking about painting are in a powder room, dining room and kitchen.
I’d love your thoughts.
Thanks for helping all of us aspiring home decorators!
YoungHouseLove says
I love black window frames in certain spaces (we house crashed someone who had one over their kitchen sink and it was so dramatic). I would let the room come together and see if you think it would be too much and if not I’d go for it!
xo
s
SG says
Thanks so much for the feedback. And your response makes me think that the home that you house crashed didn’t have all black window frames so that makes me feel better about having a mix of white and black window frames. Thanks again!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it was more used as an accent. Loved it!
xo
s
Jenny says
I love the colours! I didnt how a blue door would look like in a real home, I do know now! Cos I had always pictured a blue door for nursery or school, but not my own home. You did it beautifully!
Heidi says
Looks very similar to the Glidden Water Chestnut! I just painted my entry way water chestnut and then I needed to lighten up the room off the foyer and used Edgecomb gray and it looks awesome next to chestnut.
Thanks for idea!
Heidi
MK says
I love your entryway table. Mind if I ask where it is from? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! It’s from Target a few years back.
xo,
s
Robin says
What a difference! That color looks amazing! I’m going to have to add it to our options for our living room and hallway where we want to stay really neutral but will be curious if it will work with our lighting. Love watching you two tackle a lot of the same projects we’re dealing with at our new house.
Erik says
I totally missed this post. When I saw the ‘List-Post’ I immediately noticed the difference! It looks so great with the new color, real fresh and all. Gonna keep following you guys. Curious about what new updates are coming to enjoy for us readers :)
Elvina says
The room is really giving a very fresh feel. The choice of colors is so good. I like it..
Leah says
When you cut in, do you do one coat of cutting in, or do you have to go around and do it a second time?
We just painted our living room a similar color (SW Kilim Beige) — so lovely. I ended up cutting in twice, and I’m wondering if there’s a trick to not have to do that. We have a lot of little architectural details, including angled edges in toward the windows, so I did a lot of brushing.
YoungHouseLove says
It usually depends on the color. Sometimes we can get away with one if it’s a light color going over another light color (for example) but usually we do two just to be safe.
-John
Steph Piontkowski says
I love your basket under the entry table. I was just curious, what do you use yours for?
YoungHouseLove says
Right now it has son dog toys and a few shoes in it.
xo,
s
Kelly says
Maybe I missed it somewhere, but any tips on painting trim white? What finish, color, etc.? Every time I try, I’ve used ultra pure white high gloss, which is beautiful but looks gummy when finished – every paint brush stroke shows. Any tips? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I have had luck using semi-gloss (higher gloss tends to show more imperfections) and I do thin thin thin coats so it has time to cure up and dry without staying tacky. I just apply it with a short handled brush and am sure to wait the obligatory time between coats (just check the can for that). Good luck Kelly!
xo
s
Alisa says
Hehe… pismo dunes :)
I grew up in Pismo. Maybe I should pick that color. :)
Elizabeth says
It looks amazing! So fresh! Did you paint the ceiling edgecomb gray as well??
YoungHouseLove says
We just left that the color it was originally (it’s a little more yellow and dingy in spots than the more sandy-tan walls) but we have plans to paint it either Edgecomb Gray like the walls or a little darker, just for some drama/definition without feeling too heavy.
xo
s
Cindy in GA says
This may be a silly question, but do you use pure white on trim & doors or some other version of white?
YoungHouseLove says
I love pure white so here we have been using Simply White by BM. In our last house we liked Decorators White by BM (lighting is different in different homes, so those just read the most pure in each house).
xo
s
Gretchen says
Love the entryway!! It came out so beautiful! Is the interior blue door also “Lake Blue” like the exterior? I love the color combination!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, same color/finish and everything!
xo
s
Dani says
Love this color! Great job! Just curious as to why it didn’t look good in yur old house, not enough sun light? I have a small southern exposure living room that I want to cool down and would love to try this color. So confused on warm and cool colors. How did you pick your new palette?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, I think it might have gotten either less light or just different light (ex: this house faces a different cardinal direction than our last house). For example, a north facing room has a lot of clear light, so colors might read differently in there than a southern facing room. I would just get a swatch and hold it up in your room to see how it reads (and grab a test pot of it if you’re still unsure). That’s how we picked the paint palette for this house, just holding up a ton of swatches in each room and evaluating them in that light at different times of day. Good luck!
xo
s
juliana says
Just beautiful. Question for you, and sorry if I missed this information here on post or otherwise, what color did you use for your trim, doors and ceiling?
Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s Simply White by BM in semi-gloss.
xo
s
Tracey says
What color and finish did you use for the trim?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s Simply White in semi-gloss by Ben Moore.
xo
s
Liz says
Hi there–Just revisiting this post because I remember how much I loved the Edgecomb Gray when you revealed your new painted foyer. We are about to paint the kitchen in our new house, and I love the idea of Edgecomb Gray. On the paint chip it doesn’t look great in the room but I plan to get a sample pot. I’m debating between that and Gray Owl. Do you mind me asking what you did not like about Edgecomb in your old house? I ask because our kitchen is a North facing room–not sure if you remember details like that about your old house? I really want the Edgecomb to work in my kitchen :)
YoungHouseLove says
It looked really yellow in our last house and is more of a warm tan-gray (it’s slightly cooler). Hope it helps!
xo
s
dan says
My wife and I have a new front door that we will painting once the polar vortex goes takes a hike. We already know that we will be painting the outside red like our previous door. We always thought the inside would be white to match the trim. Then I saw that you guys had painted the inside the same as the outside. Great idea! Now I’m toying with the idea but my wife is not quite sold on it. I think the red may be too intense for the interior, but I’d like to try some type of color. How did you two come to the conclusion to paint the inside? Was it a happy accident that the color looked great on the inside as well? Thanks for your time. We always enjoy reading your blog. Keep it up!
YoungHouseLove says
We kept the inside of the door white on our first two houses but since we had neutral walls and white trim we thought we’d go for it here. You can always repaint ;)
xo
s
Amy Long says
Hi there,
I love the door color! What is the name of the paint?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s Blue Lake by Ben Moore.
xo
s
Erica C. says
Love this! Been trying to find a paint colour for my living room that has a chair rail and like the same colour above/below. Question, what colour and finish is the trim and the door?
YoungHouseLove says
The wall color is Edgecomb Gray in eggshell, the trim is Simply White in semi-gloss, and the front door is Blue Lake in semi-gloss (all by Ben Moore).
xo
s
Vanessa says
What color did you use for the door? I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! It’s Blue Lake by Ben Moore (semi-gloss).
xo
s
Ashley says
Hello! I know I’m a little late to the game, but can you tell me the beautiful blue color on your door in the foyer? Love it! Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s Blue Lake by Ben Moore.
xo
s