Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 468 Comments

How To Paint A Room

The office ceiling and walls are officially painted, which is good news because we’re at T-minus 48 hours until this baby’s scheduled delivery. Note: the trim is pure white in here (the same color as the desk in the middle of the room). No idea why it’s looking a little cream – maybe just the time of day/lighting?

Freshly Painted Home Office With Floating Desk

It’s still looking really stark in here (holy cow, who watched Game Of Thrones last night?), so we can’t wait to add:

  • a rug
  • window treatments
  • a fun pendant or two over the desk area
  • art
  • more storage along the left wall (and a craft table/photography zone)
  • an updated kid-desk area on the right
  • etc, etc, etc

But even though we’re only around 10% done, it has come a long way since its former days of blue-trim.

Before Photo Of Formal Living Room With Blue Trim Before Conversion To Home Office

And there’s nothing like some final-hour pre-baby hustling to get your blood pumping.

John Applying Paint to Ceiling With Roller On Extension Pole

In the past we shared this video where I demonstrated a few cutting in tips that work for me…

… and there were a bunch of requests on this post for video footage of John rolling a ceiling and a wall, so our office-painting update was the perfect opportunity to catch him in action. This is by no means the professional way to paint a room, it’s just what works for us. So without further ado – here’s how John rolls:

*We mentioned a few brands by name, but none of them were paid/perked, they’re just what we like (we curated color collections with Benjamin Moore in 2012 & 2013, but didn’t have time to do one this year – and never used them exclusively, were paid to mention them, or accepted free paint while we did). 

For those who can’t watch the video, here are a few highlights:

  • John likes to use a rod extender to take the strain off his back while painting ceilings
  • we don’t have textured ceilings so we use a roller that’s meant for “smooth surfaces” – usually by Purdy, Wooster, or Ben Moore (we’re not brand loyal, and usually just grab whatever’s on sale)
  • if this room were carpeted we definitely would have covered the floor, and if you have issues with splattering or just prefer to keep yours under wraps it never hurts to use drop cloths (pros would for sure)
  • watch the speed, amount of paint, and pressure you put on the roller – upping all of those things can be tempting to get things done faster, but keeping them all in check can contribute to more even coverage and fewer drips/splatters
  • higher quality paint is usually thicker, so it tends to drips less (we don’t use ceiling paint on ceilings, we just use good quality flat paint)
  • we skip the rod extender when rolling the walls, but otherwise it’s the same technique
  • our preferred order is for me to cut in so John can roll right behind me, then I’ll do my second round of cutting-in and John will once again follow right behind with the roller (that way the roller can get as close to the moldings and eliminate any brushstrokes that I might leave while cutting in)

We’ve shared a few time lapse room-painting videos in the past, so we thought those might be helpful to include here too. Here’s one of  us painting our old master bedroom in 2012. You’ll notice we used pretty much the same approach back then (I was less steady with cutting in along the ceiling, so sometimes we used tape up there).

And here’s another time lapse video of us priming the kitchen (along with the overhead beams) from 2011.

Now that we got the “how” out of the way – let’s switch gears to the “whys” of choosing our office wall color…

  • We wanted something light and refreshing (we’re both drawn to airy and bright offices)
  • The dining room on the other side of the foyer is going to be dark and moody, so we didn’t want another bold or dark room across from it
  • I was campaigning hard for a soft honeydew green, but John worried it could hinder the function of the room (we plan to photograph smaller projects in here on a craft table, and he thought too much green would reflect in our shots)
  • We had trouble agreeing on colors in here, so we grabbed four test pots (in Daiquiri Ice, Lime Froth, Palest Pistachio, and Tint of Mint)

Oh and one more tip is that when we applied those test paint pots (couldn’t get an accurate picture of them, but just picture four blobs on the wall in a few different places around the room) we painted them from top to bottom in alphabetical order, which helped us remember which swatch was which, so we didn’t mix them up. After a few days of debate we finally agreed on Palest Pistachio. It felt airy and light, wasn’t too green, and it didn’t hurt that it was named one of ten “Happiness Inducing Colors” by Remodelista. So here’s the room all done, in Palest Pistachio. It’s photographing a little bluer than it looks in real life – but it’s definitely a happy color that feels bright without being bold or neon.

Painted Office Wall Color Pale Pistachio With Framed Art And Colorful Magnet Boards

Don’t mind me, this is just my favorite picture ever.

John and Daughter Working At Side By Side Desks In Home Office

We have big plans to make a larger bulletin board above this kid-desk area, most likely from window to window, so that should be fun (the screens are open so the windows look crazy here – just pretend you don’t notice).

Daughter Coloring At Small Art Desk In Home Office

Feels good to have one more to-do list item checked off. You know, until a newborn comes along and the whole house goes to heck again…

Our Favorite Paint Colors

If you’re having trouble picking the right color to paint your room, check out these detailed deep-dive posts about our favorite paints: 

Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house? Just click on this button: 

Click Here To Shop Our House Banner

Comments

  2. JoAnne says

    You guys always pick the best colors. I repainted my living room a few weeks ago in a similar color! Great minds think alike! ;] I hope you have a safe delivery! Can’t wait to “meet” baby barnacle! <3

    Reply

  3. krista says

    Yay for new baby soon! If you’ve never heard it, go listen to the song “Family Tree” by Frances England. I still get a little misty when I listen to it, and my baby is almost 3 (old enough for bickering with big sister rather than sharing adoring gazes).

    The office looks amazing. It’s a beautiful bright space!

    Reply

  4. Brier says

    YOU GUYS.
    First. I loooooove the office. What a difference! Gorgeous.
    Second. The blog update is awesome.

    You guys are ON A ROLL! Praying baby boy follows suit. ;)

    Reply

  6. Emily says

    I’ve been a loyal reader for years now so I feel comfortable commenting that the ad above the header is horrible. It’s distracting and completely takes away from the beauty of your blog website. Take it away!!!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Emily! In an attempt to clean up our sidebar we’ve phased out 30+ ads over the last 6 months (and monthly sponsor shout outs). For the redesign we decided to put one ad at the top of the page, because we figure as soon as you scroll down to read the content it’ll be invisible (so our previous 30+ sidebar ads seemed more distracting and busy since they competed with the content area while you read). Hope that makes sense :)

      xo
      s

  7. Jennah says

    Just a reminder for readers…if your wood floor has ANY texture at ALL, you CANNOT just wipe or scrape splatters off easy peasy. It is hard/impossible and will involve some paint thinner, most likely. So….when i doubt, just throw a drop cloth down real quick, kay?

    PS good luck with the delivery <3

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Great reminder! This is just what works for us on smooth polyurethaned floors, but it definitely makes sense that textured floors could be a whole different ball game! When in doubt, drop cloth it out.

      xo
      s

  8. lovey says

    I have the same issue with the octopus key hook. I love it but for 12 dollars I dont like having a wobbly key hook thats scratching up my wall with flat paint I hate although really its a great excuse to repaint. And thanks for the great paining tuturial.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh man, does the screw tightening tip from Tempest help? Hope it does! I already emailed Liberty about the issue so thanks for the tip. Maybe try sticky tack since it worked for Emma?

      xo
      s

  9. Monica says

    I went to Target this weekend under the ruse of getting a lamp for my son’s room, but really for the sole purpose of acquiring an aqua octopus. My husband and the store employee and thought I was crazy…but I got my octopus :)

    It went something like this:
    Me: Excuse me, do you know where the Young House Love endcap is?
    Employee: The Young what???
    Me: Young. House. Love.
    Employee: What’s a “Young House Love”?
    Me: It’s a blog. And they have a home collection. I’m looking for a wall hook shaped like an octopus.
    Employee: And it’s called what again? Love House?
    Me: No, Young…House…Love. And I’m looking for an aqua-colored octopus.
    Employee: *Looking at me like I ought to be committed*

    Prayers for all of you as you welcome your baby boy this week!

    Reply

    • Linda says

      I found the endcap this weekend! But the weekend before last, I had to pull up the target.com listing on my phone to show to an associate. I’ll give her credit, she started the search and found out everything was still in back, and she offered to pull out what they had for my viewing! But, yeah, aqua octopus and Burger hook had the girl looking at me like I was, ah, off a bit.

      BTW, at first the top ad threw me, but I now officially like the cleaner look to the blog.

      And thank you for posting such great tutorials on painting. For those of us who don’t paint all that often, getting a friendly look at even the smallest hints can make the job go so much more smoothly.

      Best wishes for a safe delivery. We’ll all be hoping for the very best for your family.

  10. Katie says

    Love the pic of John & Clara – I love watching my daughter interact with my hubby that way and can just imagine the heart swelling that happened when you caught that shot!

    I wonder if simply turning the bulletin board over Clara’s table to hang horizontally instead of vertically would fit the space better? It’d then be “kid height” and maybe have room for some additional art above?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s a fun idea! I’ll have to see if it fits that way. I really want to make it bigger for her since she has so much art going on these days :)

      xo
      s

  11. Susan M says

    Your office is like fresh air! Good luck this week…what a lovely time of year for a new baby. BTW, I miss your family photos in the page header!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Susan! We figured since there’s one right under that with our little bio (can’t wait for an updated one with the bun) we still had that one right at the top of the page :)

      xo
      s

  12. kimi says

    LOVE the color its beautiful!! you guys are amazing so much going on and still painting rooms!!! Hehe! great job!!! Soooo excited for you all and to see pictures of your new little man!!!;)

    Reply

  13. Kathleen says

    Looks amazing! Just curious why John forgoes the extension pole when rolling the walls. It is so much easier for me (er, my husband) with a pole.

    Thanks for the informative post. Wishing you guys a wonderful week with your new little man. Take care! xoxo

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s so interesting! John likes to get closer for the walls and thinks the rod is just awkward and clunky. I love that it makes it easier for you though. Whatever works!

      xo
      s

  14. Jill says

    I have nothing to say about this post, only that I my money is on Sansa as the leader of an inter-kingdom conspiracy. Let me know your thoughts.

    Jill

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I have no theories other than being blown away that at the end of last season I called this episode’s big event, right down to how it happened. John now thinks I secretly write for the show…

      xo
      s

  16. Amanda {NoDak Nest} says

    “We’ve shared a few time lapse room-painting videos in the past, so we thought those might be helpful to include here too”

    I read it as “…helpful to INDUCE here too”. Haha Baby on the brain! Prayers for a safe delivery!

    Reply

  17. Julie says

    This post had me smiling big. I love the office color but I’m biased because that’s the color of our living room. Btw our upstairs bath is painted in daquiri ice. The office downstairs is in dark linen which is actually a lovely light green. So nice to have my paint decisions confirmed by such a lovely family.

    Reply

  18. Jen @ The Decor Scene says

    Love the paint update, love the blog update too. I really love the bigger pictures and that you can pin the pictures now. Lots of prayers for a safe, quick delivery. Can’t wait to see your new little addition to the YHL family. ;)

    Reply

  19. Annie says

    The irony of “fewer ads” and a massive advert above your banner. I thought I was logging onto Joss and Main for a minute. I don’t mind ads on blogs really, it’s nice to peruse the shops that you support but above your own banner is a bit meh. The rest looks great though, like the simplified design and love the bigger pictures, sometimes I find myself zooming in on details

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Annie! In an attempt to clean up our sidebar we’ve phased out 30+ ads over the last 6 months (and monthly sponsor shout outs). For the redesign we decided to put one ad at the top of the page, because we figure as soon as you scroll down to read the content it’ll be invisible (so our previous 30+ sidebar ads seemed more distracting and busy since they competed with the content area while you read). We don’t write sponsored posts or accept freebies, so hopefully five ads outside of the content area aren’t deal-breakers :)

      xo
      s

    • Sammi says

      Agreed. It kind of cheapens the whole esthetic of the blog (that otherwise looks very nice). Are you guys completely phasing out sponsors?

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Our whole goal is to simplify. There are a lot of behind the scenes jobs that we juggle (managing sponsors, organizing giveaways, site coding updates, sizing photos, charity projects, doing book stuff and product design stuff, etc) so anywhere we can “plug and play” (meaning we add an auto-filling ad that works on it’s own without us invoicing or managing it) is nice!

      xo
      s

    • Bethany says

      I honestly didn’t even notice the ad at the top of the screen, I had to scroll back up when someone else mentioned it. I’m obviously not very observant. I’d make a terrible detective.

      I LOVE the pin it buttons, especially that they are off to the side and not in the middle of the picture. I always think it’s annoying when the button takes up the whole picture. Then I can’t even see if I WANT to pin it or not, haha.

    • Annie says

      In retrospect I totally agree with you, and having read previous comments I can see that others suggested a better integration. Fair points, and I guess I just don’t much like change (I’ll get used to it, in fact logging on today the banner was much less obvious). Hey ho! We can’t all be stuck in the 90’s and with another bundle of joy on your hands you’re all going to be hard pushed with juggling all your stuff. So I’ll leave it at that and congratulations on the birth of Teddy and thanks for the responses.

  20. krista says

    Oh, and can I ask about the bulletin boards under the octopus art? I can’t quite tell what’s on the strips of paper but assume it’s some clever to-do-ing. Do you have a certain system? Have you posted about it before and I’ve missed it? Can someone make something that organized happen at my house?

    Reply

  21. Lidia says

    I think your office looks smashing and appreciate any painting tips you can offer! (Painting is NOT our forte!) And I’m very excited with the news of your upcoming bundle of joy! I’m almost 38 weeks with our first child and NERVOUS!!! Any chance we’ll get to see your nursery in full force before you deliver?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think the last nursery update (with the green door) was our last pre-baby update, but we have a few more lose ends to tie up after he’s here :)

      xo
      s

  22. Manda Wolf says

    I love the soft blue you guys went with. It is such a soothing, light, bright color.

    I think you guys need to wallpaper a ceiling somewhere – just because my hubby and I want to do it and it never works out! We have the thick paintable wallpaper that would make the ceiling look like it was tin when the project was done, but for some reason we can never get it close enough to the crown molding and keep it stuck to the ceiling. I got the idea from your guy’s book. I need the help. Maybe when life slows down a little bit for you? :)

    Reply

  24. Erin Oliver says

    Hi Sherry! Congrats on the upcoming arrival of your son. Such an exciting and wonderful time! We had major complications with our first daughter too and it took us quite awhile to work up the courage to want to get pregnant again. Our second daughter was born after a completely normal pregnancy and scheduled c-section and it’s been such a fantastic change for our family. Not having to worry about developmental milestones, will there be delays, blah blah blah. Just enjoying her infancy and loving on her. Finley (oldest daughter, who turned out not to have any issues despite her rough start!) was three and a half when Eloise was born and it was the perfect age. Fin could help out and understand when/why mommy needed to be with the baby. Anyway, I feel ya and best of luck with everything!

    Reply

  25. Sandra T says

    Happy Monday!! A couple of things: the pic of John and Clara is sooooo cute! In the pics the wall color look really blue (blue-ish white?). I think that may be making your trim color read a little warmer. It’s a pretty color, blue or green! :) And thanks for the link to “happiest colors”, I love lists like this! Oh, and the old pics of your H2 bedroom make me remember how much I love the fabric you chose for your headboard! So pretty!

    Reply

  26. Jacqueline says

    I’m so impressed that you guys are down to the wire before having the barnacle and you’re still doing projects. I’m 19wks and am feeling the nesting instinct click in. Time to get stuff done! Best of luck to you guys for a safe and healthy deliver for baby, & mom!

    Reply

  27. Diane says

    Don’t know if I dare give advice to the bets DIYers out there ;) but I have a quick tip for wiping up paint drips; use cheap baby wipes. Use them once and toss. You always have a clean one and never have the dreaded smear from still wet paint from another mess. When I paint I use LOTS! Love what you have done with the house. Blessings to you and your new baby.

    Reply

  28. Maria says

    I think the rug that went from your bedroom to your family room to Clara’s room would look great in the office now! But maybe that is because the walls look blue in the photots on here – and because I’m one of those people who loved the old pink rug from Clara’s room and am just used to the constant vacuuming wool rugs require for the first year or so :-)

    Reply

  29. Jeanna says

    The car insurance ad seems out of place…………. don’t you think things home or décor related might be better?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Fo sho! Everyone sees different ads, so I see one from Joss & Main right now. They’re supposed to all be home focused (that’s the category we select for that auto-fill program) but we can’t control what shows up or even see most of what you see since they rotate, are regional, etc :)

      xo
      s

    • Jeanna says

      I forgot to mention the giant ad at the top of the page…………….I find it distracting. :( I’m sorry guys………..

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Jeanna! In an attempt to clean up our sidebar we’ve phased out 30+ ads over the last 6 months (and monthly sponsor shout outs). For the redesign we decided to put one ad at the top of the page, because we figure as soon as you scroll down to read the content it’ll be invisible (so our previous 30+ sidebar ads seemed more distracting and busy since they competed with the content area while you read). We don’t write sponsored posts or accept freebies, so hopefully five ads outside of the content area aren’t deal-breakers :)

      xo
      s

  30. Hanna J says

    Hello! Excited for the barnacle to join this side of the world haha :) Have you guys ever thought about using an empty five gallon bucket and placing a metal mesh tray on the inside and rolling your brush out on that? Guy at the hardware store offered it as advice to me and he swears by it. Just wondering… :) And seriously…you don’t like the post, skip it. C’mon now people! Have a life changing week! *fist pump*

    Reply

  32. Patti says

    It’s so funny how people can’t believe the paint doesn’t mist when you’re rolling, like you would lie about that for some reason. In my experience, paint is much thicker these days than in the past, probably due to the formula change for better adhesion and coverage. Thin paint splatters and mists, today’s paints not so much. Love the new site look!

    Reply

  33. Ida says

    I’m loving the new look of the site! The hearts in heart shape is fantastic. I am also loving the light airy look of the office. Can’t wait to see it with all the planned details.

    Reply

  34. Rachel Mooney says

    1. website looks incredible.
    2. REST BEFORE THAT BABY COMES.
    3. Thank the good Lord that you now have “pin” tabs.. my life is so much more complete.
    4. LAST NIGHT’S GOT EPISODE WAS BONKERS INCREDIBLE. So happy you mentioned it here.

    Reply

  35. Lynn says

    Hi S and J!
    Its Lynn (Jacks Mommy…wrote years ago sharing our story of abruption and loss) Just wanted to share we brought home our son Grady almost 3 weeks ago…scheduled delivery like yours. Healthy and blessed are we :) I wanted to tell you Im thinking of you and hope all is easy and uneventful as you bring home your newest addition. I hope your mind and body are in a good place. XOXO
    Lynn

    Reply

  37. Anita says

    I love the new look! Although the donut pillows just make me hungry. Wishing you good thoughts for your upcoming delivery, mama!

    Reply

  38. Lindsay C says

    Hi guys. Good luck this week welcoming your new baby boy! The transition from 1 to 2 is wonderful and Clara will enjoy being a big sis. Our daughter is going to Kindergarten this fall. Will Clara? I think VA rules might be different in terms of age 5 by the cutoff date. Just wondering if you can elaborate or give more details on the charts and “schedule-like” things on that wall on the left from the front hall? Thanks and good luck!!!!!

    Reply

  39. Sammi says

    The room is definitely starting to look better, kudos!

    Have you considered taking some photography lessons to help bring your designs to life on the monitor? While I’m sure it looks lovely in real life, I would really like to see the true colors and not have to take your word for how things look (especially as this is a diy blog). There”a no shame in learning something new, and I’m sure your business would benefit from the investment. Just food for thought!

    Wishing mom and baby a safe delivery,
    Sammi

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, we would love to take photography lessons! We are both finally shooting in manual thanks to online tutorials – and maybe after the bun comes and we settle into a new routine we can take a class :)

      xo
      s

  40. Sara says

    You guys ROCK! Love the new look on the webpage! Good luck with the baby arrival and best wishes! Thanks for being you and sharing so much with “us”. ;)

    Reply

  41. Kathryn says

    Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just the one geeking out over the new header logo and favicon… Website phase one updates FTW! WP1UFTW? Too license-platey?

    Reply

  42. Pam Gereau says

    I’ve read the first three GOT books and knew what was coming to Joffrey, so last night was no surprise to me. They did a wonderful job of bringing it all to light. When you mentioned it this was still heavily on my mind so when I read the list of things you need to finish that you wanted to install a FUR pendant, I thought you were really, REALLY into GOT, haha!

    The room looks great (even without the fun pendant) and love the new web design (especially the bigger pictures).

    And yay for Wednesday! I’ll bet Clara’s getting excited. Thinking of you from the snowy U.P. of Michigan… yes, we have three inches of fresh,packy, snowman snow on the ground this morning and it’s still coming down. :\

    Reply

  43. Amanda says

    I agree with the commenter that said the wall color looks blue on her computer. I’ve been starring at your walls for a while now and I just can’t see the green lol. This definitely has a nice airy look though – nice!

    And I really like your site update. I tend to prefer simple layouts that allow you to focus your attention on the blog content itself.

    I’m glad you’ve been able to accomplish so much before the little one comes. I hope you get some well deserved downtime soon.

    Reply

  44. Jen M says

    Thanks for posting this when you did! We just bought a new house and I’ve been trying to muster up the energy to paint everything. (And I mean everything – the walls and ceiling in the entire place are all the same beige, and the trim is “antique white”, so also a yellowish tint)

    We’re moving all our furniture in this week, so it looks like next weekend is painting time!

    Good luck over the next few days!

    Reply

  45. A Dixie Lullaby says

    Love all the painting! We have got a ton of painting we want to do in our home, including exterior window trim and all the interior walls, and taking wallpaper down… with two 3.5 year olds. EEK. Lacking the motivation. Yall have done a great job though!!

    adixielullaby.blogspot.com

    Reply

  49. Micalla says

    I might be late to the party, as I’ve followed your blogs for almost 4 years now, but it looks like you have a little lefty Clara! Every lefty I know is brilliant, so I am not surprised she is as well ;) Did she get the left handed-ness (and brilliance of course ;) from either of you?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s true, she’s our brilliant lefty. My dad is one too (he’s a crazy smart man) so I think she got it from him – which is fitting because her middle name (Kenley) honors him (Kenneth).

      xo
      s

  50. Jessica says

    On my Feedly, you have the pic posted of the four colors you tried and your explanation of the picture. When I jump to the site, no pic and a reason for no pic… Thought you’d like to know. Also, it’s a good picture – can totally tell the difference in colors. : )

    Reply

    • Jackie says

      I would of liked to have seen this picture! Although I know it’s probably time-consuming and difficult to articulate and exhibit your color selection process – I would eat those sorts of insights right up – especially your commentary on how and why the colors don’t appear in photos the way they do in real life and a comparison of how they relate to one another via swatch.

      I find reading about a live practice of picking paint colors to be so much more helpful than general articles I’ve found for tips and considerations on picking out paint colors – because you get to see the considerations and criteria in action and recognize the reasoning firsthand vs. just theorize about it. (This is maybe just me though haha).

      I also like to see the equivalent of what “others that viewed this item also looked at” when you google paint colors because it’s makes the online research part so much easier/interesting.

      Congrats on getting the room painted!
      Best,
      Jackie

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *