We finished painting the guest room. And boy is it bold. Seriously, it’s like no room we’ve ever painted before. And we luuurve it. With a capital urv. This is probably the most accurate pic (well I guess it’s as accurate as your monitor) of the dark teal that we went with:
The color was of course inspired by none other than Sue the Napkin. It’s kind of similar to Dragonfly (the color that we painted the backs of the built-ins in the future dining room) but when we held up a ton of swatches in the guest room we preferred this color (Dragonfly was darker and greener).
It’s called Plumage by Martha Stewart, but of course we got it color matched to Olympic Premium paint since it’s No-VOC (even the colorants they add are now VOC free). We went with an eggshell finish (so it’s a bit more wipeable and durable than flat but not too shiny since it’s such a deep tone, which can show lots of flaws and imperfections when it’s glossy). Lowe’s actually had a bit of trouble getting a good match, so if your paint pro can’t get it close enough – our lady finally got it within .03% accuracy – Olympic’s Azalea Leaf is an extremely similar alternative. Of course you can also just go with Martha’s Plumage and not color match it to any other base to avoid matching worries completely.
But back to the whole room painting process. Let’s just say that as soon as we started rolling it on there were some oh em gee moments. And a fair amount of melodramatic nail biting.
But after we got to the second coat, the coverage was great and it was looking deep and rich and bold and fun. See how much more coverage coat two gave us below (the wall on the right has two coats while the wall on the left just has one). Pardon the semi-odd coloring in this shot and the one above, they were taken at night so the rest are more accurate thanks to daylight.
After we completed that second coat we were sold. Seriously. We got all hyper and slap happy. There’s just something about pairing in your face color with crisp white trim that makes you giddy. And amazingly enough, we got ‘er done with just one gallon of paint (with some to spare actually) since it only called for two coats – probably thanks to the tinted primer we used beforehand.
The first thing we did this morning was run into the guest room to admire it in the daylight. How can a $22 paint job make such a difference? It’s amazing. We were about to snap some after pics for you guys when the doorbell rang. It was our new guest bed arriving 30 minutes early. So it ended up in the pics since we didn’t have a moment to take any without it (more details on our mattress buying adventures later). Anyway, here’s the view of the room from the adjoined guest bathroom:
And here’s a shot of it from the hall:
The off centered windows are definitely going to make the floor plan interesting, but we’ll share how we land on our final layout when we, uh, land on a final layout. We’re just going to play around with things until we figure out what we like best.
Oh and you’ll notice that we painted over some of the wall warts (as they so lovingly call them) like the vents and an old Bell Atlantic phone jack to the left of the white outlet plate above. They were already painted over by the previous owners so we repainted them to match the new wall color. We did keep all of the unpainted outlets unpainted though.
Speaking of painting over things, after a surprising number of requests I finally remembered to make a cutting in video, so you can enjoy the riveting play by play below and see how I use my favorite brush to get a nice clean line next to baseboards and trim:
As for down the road projects, we’d love to add crown molding and possibly paint the ceiling a lighter tone than the wall (or at least freshen it up with crisper white paint along with the trim). But that’s definitely not something we have time for with my mom & stepdad rolling into town this Thursday.
So there you have our dark teal guest room. Now we just have to hang the headboard, dress the bed, get a shower curtain and bath mat, change out the toilet seat (it’s old and rusty), hang curtains (if we have time), and figure out the side table & lamp sitch (might not get to that either). Should be an interesting few days…
Mandy says
There is something comforting in seeing that someone else used almost exactly the same color we did in their guest room. We used Azalea Leaf. It came out darker than we anticipated, but it’s beautiful. Seeing (and loving) your room makes me love my choice even more! And what goes great with deep teal walls . . . more teal! We found an antiqued waterfall style dresser in a lighter shade of teal. Couldn’t be more perfect for the room.
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that sounds lovely!
xo,
s
Linda says
Do you happen to have a close up of you painting trim or a pic of some finished trim? I’m curious how, and if, you avoid brush strokes. We framede our bathroom mirror and I used the cutting in brush you suggest for that, but I had tons of brush strokes, so I switched to a cheapy foam one and that did a better job. I’d like to pain the trim in one of our bedrooms, but I’m nervous about the brush strokes!! I don’t want to go through 20 cheap foam brushes though either. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t have any pics of that- so sorry! I do use semi-gloss paint and apply it thinly and evenly (usually two coats) and let it dry thoroughly between each coat so maybe that helps? Otherwise go with the foam brush that you liked better- whatever works! Haha.
xo,
s
Rachella says
I stole your paint color and painted it in my MB today…LOVE IT!! I used the Martha Stewart Living in eggshell and I was pleasantly surprised how well it covered my previously dark chocolate brown…it went on like buttah :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oooh that sounds amaaaazing.
xo,
s
Victoria says
I have that same Pottery Barn bedding (love it) so I was super excited to find y’all’s blog. I’m head over heels for the color and intend to paint my room the same. Can you tell me where you got the other components of the room (headboard, rug, etc.). I don’t intend to copy it completely (but I’ll definitely give y’all credit if I do ha) but it’s a great inspiration. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! Check out this page for all the sources: https://www.younghouselove.com/about-2/source-list/
xo,
s
OMG Ponies! says
Typo/Error Correction: I noticed in the “Our Paint Colors” section of your blog you list the guest bedroom paint color as having a “satin” finish, but in this post you list it as an “eggshell” finish.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip! Completely forgot about that! Haha.
xo,
s
Stefanie says
What would you say are the best set of “go to” paint brushes and rollers to have? And what situations would you use them in, for instance when would you use a roller over a brush? Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
I only use my short handled 2″ angled brush for everything (cutting in, painting furniture, painting trim, etc). We usually use them both (the brush gets into cracks in furniture or around trim when painting walls and following that with a roller smooths things out and covers more ground). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
m says
LOVE that color, you could do so many accent colors with that! And I know what you mean when you get that stomach dropping feeling after putting the first coat of paint on the walls. My husband and I just painted a dark chocolate brown colors on our walls and until the second coat I was a nervous wreck!
Kiki says
hi sherry,
long time lurker here, i was visiting your “our paint colors” section trying to find a good white for our ceilings and found none (though my eyes are tired, i might have missed it), was surprised, but maybe you haven’t had to repaint your ceilings, we do, they’ve been retextured, can you recommend something?
anyway, love your blog, will continue to lurk
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh Decorators White by Benjamin Moore is our favorite!
xo,
s
Heather says
I know this post is from quite a while ago, and you guys are super busy in all your awesomeness, but I couldn’t help it. I had to leave a comment saying that reading this post still makes me smile. I love the bold color. It makes me happy. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Heather!
xo,
s
Amy says
I love the color, we are thinking of putting a similar color in my husband’s studio.
I was just wondering, did you paint the ceiling fan and if so how? We have several ceiling fans in our new house that are gold and I would live to paint them a different color.
Thanks,
Amy
YoungHouseLove says
We inherited that particular fan in white, but we did paint one in our old house with some white paint (I think in satin?) and a small roller. It wasn’t perfect, but it certainly was better than the brown thing that was hanging there before.
-John
gloria says
my d-i-l just did her powder room (top half) and wallpapered in a silvery-brown damask on the bottom.
It looks so good but she has 3 windows in the bathroom and a large mirror.
Alicia says
I found your blog some weeks ago and i have readin a lot! Maybe i should move more lol
Im from mexico, and we live in a little house. We are not very into doing things to our home, we bought 4 yrs ago and its been the same since then i am getting inspired by you to do more in the house.
One question, Our romos are little and have low celing, what do you recommend for making them look bigger? Thie guest room it looks kind of the sise of Our rooms and the color is great and bold always thought wouldnt fit for a small room.
Gracias
YoungHouseLove says
I would use a light color on the walls and ceiling to make the room feel more open and less chopped up. Hanging curtains high and wide on windows will make them appear taller and more airy. Mirrors also reflect light and can make small rooms feel larger. Good luck!
xo,
s
Kelly says
you 2 just may be my heroes!!! I love home improvement projects and im stealing some of your ideas lol
Cindy says
I love this color. I have never painted anything this bold and we are about to…But our room only has one window. I am worried it will be too dark? What do you think?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe get a test pot and do a big swatch? Or just go for it and see? Lots of designers say that dark colors, even in small rooms or rooms without a lot of light can be awesome since you can break things up with a big white duvet/curtains/pillows so it feels balanced. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Courtney says
i absolutely love your blog..and this color is amazing. I want to use it for a mudroom closet and then again upstairs in the office, but love the colors too from your first house. like the dune grass green and tan paint. Would it be ok to mix the colors if i have a quad level? say grey living room and dining room and then Wishes for rec room below? thanks for your time, I am a HUGE fan!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that sounds so pretty!
xo
s
Hugh says
Nice colour, defiantly needed that second coat.
Janice says
love this color! it’s the color we painted our living room! people kept telling me i was crazy and it would be too much but i insisted and i’m glad i did!
Michelle B. says
Thank you so much for the tip on the 2″ angle brush from Sherwin Williams. Picked one up last night and had great success cutting in and painting around the trim today in two rooms and a hallway with lots of funny nooks and crannies and trim. It was awesome and my hand doesn’t hurt after 6 hours of painting:)
charley says
Love that colour! I wish I’d known about your website when I was doing a post on blue rooms.
Keely says
I love the teal in this room, and have struggled to find one in real life. Could you post the formula?
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry, we left that paint at our last house when we sold, but maybe googling the name and brand will turn up the formula? Good luck!
xo
s
Kelly says
Holy buckets is right! Because of this post, I am painting this color in my daughters room as we speak and I am kinda freaking out. To say it is dark would be an understatement. Lots of nailbiting. I am just taking a pizza break and I decided to go back to this post for some encouragement :) Say a prayer for me!
YoungHouseLove says
Will do! I bet it’ll look awesome when it’s all done. Wait until you put up some curtains, art, etc.
xo
s
Rebecca says
I know this is from forever ago, but we just bought a house and I have so many questions! First one — do you paint the walls first or the trim first? Also, I have carpet (boo…but stuck with it for a while) and I’m scared to paint the trim without taping! Any suggestions? Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
I would do the trim first and then the walls. As for the carpet, definitely use a dropcloth and some tape around all the edges to keep that covered :)
xo
s
Eva says
Random question, but how do you clean your brush when you are done painting? As for the foam roller, do you just throw it away or is able to be cleaned as well? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
You can clean rollers and brushes! We just flush them heavily with water if it’s water based paint and lay them out to dry, but if it’s oil based paint or stain, sometimes mineral spirits work best, or we might throw something away if it’s getting worn/eroded since that can hurt future paint jobs.
xo
s
Alice says
I just love that color. It fits perfectly with the white trims.