The deed is done! Rockport Gray is all up in this hizzy.
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.
It’s such a mutating color. Sometimes it looks lighter and grayer.
And sometimes it looks moodier and more mocha.
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.
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…
… 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).
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.
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.
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.
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):
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.
There was some of this (I’m the cutter-inner in the family and John is the roller):
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):
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:
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):
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.
LARY@ Inspiration Nook says
It looks great guys! We actually have gray throughout our apartment and we love it. I have fun bringing color in with accessories and decor. Call me crazy but all my cars have been gray because they will always match my outfit. I know, I’m weird. HAHA
Angela says
We just painted our bedroom Earthy grey and love it. So cozy and the trim pops.
Whitney says
Love the new Color! I considered Rockport Grey when we painted our Living Room a couple years ago. Instead I went with BM Sandlot Gray because it has some nice warm purple/pink undertones which blends perfectly with the adjoining dining room which is painted BM Raspberry truffle!
We just painted our Bedroom in BM Dill Pickle.
I always choose Ben Moore colors, but get them Color matched at Home Depot with Behr Zero VOC. The BM Natura line is $56/gallon here, and the Behr is only $27!! I find the coverage is pretty close…especially for the price difference!
sallie says
oh my! i totally want to paint my bedroom and living room this color now! it looks great!!question: is your ikea duvet king size? i have the same one in a queen size on a queen sized bed but it’s tiny.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we went for a king so we both have more of it (less fighting over covers, haha).
xo,
s
Paige @ Little Nostalgia says
YES! I looooove this. We just closed on our first house on Wednesday (yay!), so now we’re getting ready to paint over the previous owners’ weird color choices. Smurf blue in the bedroom, anyone? It’s going gray.
Jenny B. says
That video was so fun to watch! The new color looks terrific! :)
Rebecca says
that color looks amazing! I have to say I think it looks much nicer all together than the last color, way to go you guys!
Jen says
WOW – I love it. It does great things for your light and art too. Once again, I’m amazed by your vision. :)
Lilly says
I love it, it looks awesome. I can’t wait to paint something at home, I haven’t painted walls in almost a year and I’m itching. My husband thinks I’m crazy he’s not as anxious as I am right now.
Erin says
Just when I thought I couldn’t love the master bedroom any more than I already do. Fabulous grey. Good job, youngsters.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Erin!
xo,
s
Sarah K says
I love the color that the room was before as a color, but I think the grey works soo much better on the walls! Love how all the white pops! I can’t believe how far this room has come.
Ella says
I thought y’all were gonna redo the floors too?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s on the someday list! It’s a big project so we’ll have to move all the furniture, etc.
xo,
s
Peggy says
Wow, what a difference. In a good way!
Kara says
Love the time lapse video! Totally addictive to watch!
Also love the grey— I have a dark grey wall in my bedroom now (with a lot of white in the room as well), and had a light grey bedroom before. Best color ever! :)
meghan shadrick says
Ok, love the new color. Much more sophisticated and grown up! I also think you wood dresser looks good next to the gray, and hope you don’t re-stain it! I think its nice to have a balance of warm and cool tones. Maybe you just need anoether warm tone on the other side of the room to balance it all out?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’re definitely not rushing into anything. We like how it looks with the new wall color too!
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
So fun! Love the new look and the time lapse video was a treat to watch!
Krista @ Can't Survive on Yarn Alone says
Rockport Gray
Krista @ Can't Survive on Yarn Alone says
I love love LOVE the new paint. (I liked the old one too though.) Rockport Gray has been added to my future paint color list. I am a huge fan of grays. A blue-ish grey is the base color “neutral” in our house.
Elizabeth E says
Looks great! Isn’t Benjamin Moore Paint the best?
I have a question- ever since we had a nightmare experience with tape (it peeled our paint right off of our baseboards!) we haven’t used it. But, we still don’t get the results we want- I feel like I am constantly fighting the battle of getting it on the ceiling, touching up the ceiling, getting it on the walls, repeat. We have purchased nice brushes, but I am assuming this is where we are coming up short. Do you have any go to brushes and/or advice on how you keep them clean?
YoungHouseLove says
We love Frog Tape (it just seems like the most advanced tape of our time, and they even sell delicate surfaces tape which is less strong, so you shouldn’t peel things off) and also love a short 2″ angled brush (they sell them at HD, Ben Moore, etc – usually by the cash register). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Laurie says
Love the color-hubby would love it since the bedroom is currently an icy blue and he’s not a fan. By the way your cheek bones in the cutting in pic look amazing, model worthy even. you should always think of cutting in when pics are taken!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I’ll channel my inner
modelpainter.xo,
s
Lauren says
Sherry that picture of you is gorgeous. Stunning even. Just though you should know.
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet! I felt like a sweaty mess the whole time!
xo,
s
Bethany says
love it! definitely more grown up!!! I love how the accessories still make it look fun and inviting, and not too moody. another win!
karen says
loving the new colour!!
looking at that pic of your washroom area…i think it would look awesome if you tiled the whole wall around the window!! subway tile or even if you have some left over penny tile.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that could be fun someday!
xo,
s
Lisa says
Wow! What an amazing transformation! Everything pops out- from the moulding, the lamps, the artwork on the walls and the mirror above the bed! Very exciting! Oooh me wanna paint now!
Nan says
I love it! I’ve been hoping you would paint the bedroom dark gray and the ceiling a pale blue color!
We painted our kitchen a dark chocolate brown (Benjamin Moore Clinton Brown) which really made our white cabinets pop. I loved it so much that we painted our bedroom the same color. It has been a year and a half since we did that and now I’m thinking I may even paint the bedroom a dark navy/black and stencil the wall behind the bed in a houndstooth pattern. Gotta love how easy and fun it is to change things up with paint!
Jenny Daggett says
Dang woman, you’re cheekbones are outta control!
Pretty lady! (and room :))
Jenny Daggett says
oops, your**
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks! I give the credit to the window light coming in on my face. Haha.
xo,
s
Suzanne says
I love this new color – just the right saturation.
Curious, did John never really like the original color?
YoungHouseLove says
He didn’t mind it but for the last few months he has been saying “let’s go darker, it’s way too close to our first house’s bedroom” – the guy wanted something new!
xo,
s
Sarah says
The new color looks stunning!!!!
Amanda says
Om-gah! The color is perfect!
Michelle Kersey says
Just painted a kelly green dining room and terra-cotta orange kitchen a soft buttery yellow :) I’m in LOVE with how cheerful it feels now!! Sometimes wonder what the heck I was thinking when I chose those paint colors!
Went from this green:
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/8127_739381870770_6587538_n.jpg
and this orange:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/6735_726978167890_1052992_n.jpg
to…
This:
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/179506_10100812527625050_925024237_n.jpg
I don’t have a pretty after photo of the kitchen (which is open to the dining room)… but, this was mid project… about 3coats of yellow… over a coat of grey primer… silly paint counter worker told us to use grey *shakes head* because “that’s what they use to prime cars”. Should have gone with my instinct and said no way. Ended up taking 5 coats of yellow to cover the grey that covered the orange… yikes…
Also painted the area behind the half wall (which is stairs) and the hall to a grey color b/c it’s also open to the living room which is now blue… you can see where all the walls merge here:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s720x720/555483_10100802704914840_15334210_n.jpg
Don’t mind the craziness here, we were painting three rooms at once (kitchen, dining, and living room)
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/476968_10100766180040980_508211816_o.jpg
That pretty much raps up all the painting I’ve done lately. With my mom and two kids running loose :)
Michelle Kersey says
Whoops, forgot to paste the link to the not so pretty “during” of the kitchen: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/470118_10100762945957110_1348139503_o.jpg
:)
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the links! So much fun! Thanks for sharing Michelle. You’ve been BUSY!!
xo,
s
Brittany says
Can you now explain the DIY abs you have?! Cutter-iner picture looks great!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, I wouldn’t call those abs. I have lost the rest of the baby weight from Clara, but the girl is over two years old! Haha. I have been trying to be more active this summer (more biking, walking, yoga, etc) since I’m not really a gym girl, so I have to make myself do that stuff around the house or in the neighborhood/on vacation.
xo,
s
Caroline says
Love it!!! It looks awesome :) Sad part is the video totally makes me feel like I could go buy paint and paint our room TONIGHT. Which would be a lie. Don’t tell the hubs.
Christine says
That gray makes your floors look even richer & prettier.
Sarah says
It seems like it’s been tough to create a unique and pleasing bedroom in the new house, as compared to your first house. I like all the pieces a lot the dresser, rug, etc) but somehow it doesn’t all gel together for me.
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’s one of those personal preference things. To us we love the room more than many other rooms now that we have rearranged things, added the headboard, and painted the walls) but to someone who might like the airy and light look of our first house more, this room might not work for them. It’s fun to see how our tastes evolve and grow, but we recognize not everyone else would make the same decisions we would! Ya know?
xo,
s
Missy G. says
Gray isn’t my own personal preference, but the headboard and rug really pop now! I admire how y’all can tweak things and keep improving the rooms in your house. Almost every time y’all announce that you’re mid-project, I think I’m going to like it better before. And then y’all show afters, and I’m always amazed and jump right over to your side of the fence, haha.
Also, I can see in the last photo (of the laptop setup) what y’all mean when you mention wanting to stain the floors for consistency. The wood floors don’t easily transition from the hallway to the bedroom, do they? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, and they’re covered with stains and paint and oil marks. They’re not sealed so over time they have gotten beaten up so bad. Poor floors!
xo,
s
nicolediaznelson says
Oh my goodness… I’ve never commented before, but I read every day, I just wanted to say (in addition to how great the bedroom looks) in that photo of Sherry cutting in… Sherry, you are gooorgeous! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re so sweet. You should have seen me by the end. Gross and sweaty with frizzy hair! Haha.
xo,
s
Jessibee says
Oh it looks so good! I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Rockport myself because it is such a warm gray but with the blues and whites you’ve got going on I can totally see it now…yay! Your bedroom is just better and better!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jessibee!
xo,
s
Felicity @ ourlittlebeehive says
I LOVE IT! I’m the biggest gray fan – we once pasted 100 gray swatches up on the wall to find the “perfect” gray. I don’t think there’s any one perfect gray though, I love them all so much. It makes the room look so much more rich and sophisticated (not that it wasn’t sophisticated before). I love it.
Jana H. says
If I can ever get rid of the awful green carpet in my bedroom, I’m totally going the grey walls route. Your room looks fabulous. So calming and restful :)
Heather says
I am amazed by the transformation. Beautiful. And I think it’s cool how your floors look darker too. Great job! Now I’m going to go ponder painting my bedroom because I’m all jealous and stuff. :)
Brielle says
Great color. Makes the room feel a tad sexier, no?
YoungHouseLove says
You should read that hilarious comment about it being a “mating color” – hahahhaa.
xo,
s
Jen says
I was sad for a minute until I saw the after. So much better! And I am so glad I am not the only one repainting a year after originally painting a space… Rooms just have to evolve and I adore that you share each and every time they do!
xoxo,
Jen
David says
Beautiful! Now you need to paint the sink alcove a darker shade.
Cristina says
Your. room. looks. awesome. !
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Cristina!
xo,
s
Jacqueline says
Looks fantastic! This room is looking gorgeous.
Don’t you love how rooms evolve?
Maria Bisceglia says
Ok…you completely have me convinced to go with rockport gray in our guest bath….gorgeous!!
Koliti says
Awesome results! (Dang, don’t ya just hate it when John’s right?)
The side-by-side before & after pics really show off the difference. While the before version was pretty – I see what you mean by “sweet”. The after version is quite the “Young House Love Nest”. Cozy. Beautiful. Balanced yin & yang.
Quite enjoyed the video – Fun! Please don’t drink so much caffeine and eat so much sugar next time.
Tara says
Heaps better……
Abby says
Love the new color! I’m a dark wall girl, so it’s fun to see some darker walls in your house. I’m wondering though, where did you get your comforter? Is it down or synthetic? Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a duvet from Ikea, so it’s synthetic. Our trick was buying a king sized version even though it’s just a queen-sized bed.
-John
Classof65 says
Although I drop into your site almost daily, I rarely post a comment, but the remarkably beautiful makeover to your master bedroom has so impressed me that I had to let you know. The wall color is perfect, the headboard is lovely. I would definitely love your bedroom except for one thing — you obviously do not read in bed. I know you have an end-table on one side of the bed and you have lamps, but they are not placed for night readers… However, everything else is perfect for me — when can I move in?!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for commenting! We actually do read in bed fairly often – just probably in lower light than is optimal. Sherry actually rarely turns hers on and just mooches off of mine!
-John