“Oh what a feeeeeeling, painting on the ceeeeeiling.” Why yes that was a Lionel Richie reference. You’re welcome.
It was time to get some paint up in this heezy. And by heezy, I mean sunroom… hence the furniture being all piled in the center.
But before we get to painting, let’s talk about the half-brick wall in this room – since you guys offered up lots of thoughts and suggestions in the last sunroom post. Some had suggested covering the drywalled portion in brick veneer or reclaimed wood.
Unfortunately the dry wall sits in front of the brick, so there’d be this weird lip between the real brick and the veneer/wood (so we’d prefer not to add anything up top to make it stick out further like an awkward above-the-window overbite). We’re actually leaning towards either trying to distress/fade the brick or straight up painting it (like the same brick that was already painted by the previous owners in our living room, especially since it already has some splatters on it from the previous paint job).
See how the last owners of this house had already painted the wall of brick in the living room (on the other side of the sunroom doors)? Since they’re both in the same sight line, we think painting that small u-shaped expanse of it in the sunroom may be the most cohesive solution – so the sunroom feels more connected to the rest of the house.
But before doing anything rash, we wanted to give the brick the benefit of the doubt – so we decided not to take any action on it yet. First we wanted to paint the rest of the old yellowy-cream colored walls in the room to see if that influenced our decision about the brick at all.
So we readied the rest of the room by moving out almost everything, which turned our living room into a temporary disaster zone. This shot below is for all of you who love the chaos of DIY. Oh yeah, it spreads to at least a few other rooms when you’re painting one…
Burger didn’t seem the mind the temporary influx of extra pillows to curl up on. This is his “excuse me dude with the camera, someone’s trying to nap here” face.
And thankfully Clara was on a play-date with my parents, so we could dive in and do as much as we could without worrying about her getting into paint or tripping over the massive pile o’ chaos on the living room while we painted.
But back to the sunroom. Painting is one of those projects we can practically do in our sleep by now… except for when it involves 12 foot ceilings. That was a new challenge for us. But we couldn’t live with those white ceilings and those yellowed old cream walls anymore (yes, they were two different colors) so we dove right in.
How? We just busted out our ladder and go to work.
Oh yeah, forgot to tell you the paint color. We went with our current favorite: Rockport Gray by Benjamin Moore (which is also in our bedroom, and is actually more of a warm brownish-gray than a cold cement gray). I’ll explain why we made that choice when we get to the after pictures, so just hang on for the time being. I realize it’s not much to look at when all you see so far is the edged corners…
Edging actually took a long time – even with us both doing it – since this room is basically all corners and windows. And if I do say so myself, I’m not half bad at it. Yep, there may be a new edging sheriff in town. Take that Deputy $herdog. Ok, I take that back. Sherry can pretty much lap me when it comes to edging. So she did all of the edging around all of the doors and windows except for the few windows up near the ceiling, which I tackled on the ladder.
Once all of the edging was done, Sherry did a second coat around all the doors and windows while I took to the pole. Wait, that sounded bad. I’ve actually never painted with a roller that’s attached to a pole before. Even when doing other ceilings (8ft ones, that is) I usually just stand on a stool. And I gotta say I was impressed with how relatively easy it was. Granted it did get tiring to hold your arms and neck up like that for so long, but it wasn’t terrible.
But the rod extending pole couldn’t help us get the area where the fan attached to the ceiling (where we needed to be more exact than a roller ever could be). And my ladder couldn’t get me high enough to edge that area by hand either. So that’s when Sherry and I whipped up this contraption. Yup, it’s a brush taped to a pole. We’re true professionals around here.
If you weren’t convinced of my edging prowess before, just check out this magic going on. That’s what we call painting with surgical precision. Although I realized I should’ve taken a detailed after shot of how awesome this actually turned out. Seriously, it worked like a charm, guys.
It took us two coats and a total of about seven hours across two days, so it certainly wasn’t our fastest paint job in the world – but we’re really happy with the results.
Trust us: despite the warm gray color, this room is far from gloomy. Light floods in (which is one of the reasons we knew we wouldn’t regret going with a darker tone in there) and even the tiled floors feel less yellow now that the walls aren’t the same creamy-bisque tone. Although we’re the first to admit that the room still has a looong way to go until it’s a functional, finished room (remember how the middle makes no sense?).
And if you’re wondering about the two blue stools having a hushed conversation in the corner together (stool meeting is now in session!), we’re just experimenting with some layout ideas. The stools are helping us picture maybe tucking a small cafe table in that corner, but we’re not married to anything yet. We’ll keep you posted!
Oh, and I promised I’d explain the rationale behind Rockport Gray a bit more so here we go:
- It really makes all the white trim in the room stand out, so it feels crisp in a way that the old yellowed cream walls didn’t (this paint choice did the same trim-crisping thing in our bedroom, which we loved about the color)
- The room has a pretty crazy ceiling (it slopes away from the house and up, like a rocket ship) so we thought a moodier and darker color might downplay the strange angles and make it all blend together more than it did with the previous white ceiling and creamy-yellow walls
- As we mentioned a few photos up, the tile floor feels a lot less monochromatic and yellowed since the walls are no longer the same exact tone (it felt like a beige box with an oddly shaped white top before)
- We also thought it’d tie in well with the living room’s Moonshine walls as well as the grellow walls of the kitchen (both of which you see from the sunroom – so whatever we chose had to go with both)
- In the spring, summer, and fall (aka, any other season than the bleak and bare one that we’re currently in) we want the greenery outside to be the star, so we thought picking a moody not-crazy-or-compete-y color would keep from overshadowing it
- The brownish-gray helps us camouflage that similarly colored heating/cooling unit a bit
We also thought the new wall color picked up the tone of the mortar too, just in case we decided to keep the brick as is.
And now that the room is painted, here’s where we stand on the brick: we’re not sold on leaving it as-is. It still feels really awkward to us since the top end of the drywall above it rests oddly on the window (like it’s squishing it or something). And since there’s already a whole wall of painted brick to the right of the slider (in the living room) it still feels awkwardly disjointed from the rest of the house in a way that a painted brick wall would not.
We did think about trying to gray-wash it a little first (with watered down paint, stain, or even by rubbing some cement on it) just to see if that helps to tone down the red – as demonstrated by my poor Photoshop attempt below…
…but that still feels like not-as-seamless-of-a-solution-as-painting-it like the brick in the adjoined living room. So that might be where we end up.
As always, we promise to keep you posted! Oh and speaking of future planning in here, we’re putting more thought into the window-seat-under-the-window-wall idea, so that should be exciting if we decide to go for it. You know we’ll share all the details as we creep along.
Oh and as much work as we still have to do in this room, I must say that this has definitely reconfirmed for me (once again) that painting a room is an awesome way to make it feel like it’s yours. Our sunroom suddenly doesn’t feel like a forgotten project-room stuck on the side of our house, it’s actually starting to feel like a place we can hang out on a lazy Sunday – which is exactly how we used the sunroom in our first house, so it has us all sorts of excited about the possibilities. What did you guys do this weekend? Was there any painting or planning? Any other pole-related projects going on?
Chrissie says
That colour looks so chic! It went from a battered hand-me-down bag to a Chanel!
Despite loving raw brick, that weird half-wall thing really doesn’t fit in with anything. Sadface! But the texture of brick still has plenty of personality even when painted.
Nicky at Not My Mother says
That transformation is literally breathtaking. I love it! (though I also love the warmth of the brick as is). You seriously inspire me to try brave things with my place too.
amanda@reno366 says
Wow!! That looks amazing! What a transformation. Love Rockport gray, one of my faves.
Aparna says
Oh I loved the sun room in your previous house and was waiting to see when you would tackle the one in your current!
Jackie says
Wow…I love it. It looks fabulous with all the walls and ceiling painted.
Whether or not you paint the brick (I am torn on that), I think a piece of crown molding would help the transition from the brick to the drywall. I thought of it when I noticed a crown above the brick in your living room. Continuing the crown in the sunroom might help achieve the seamless look you are after. If you leave the brick un-painted, I would paint the crown piece white to match the trim in the rest of the sunroom.
Can’t wait to see what you end up doing with those teal stools!
Jennifer M says
We just painted our sunroom, (that we’re going to use as a playroom), too. But I think it looks more like your before picture!!
http://www.millermusingsblog.com/2012/11/playroom-progress.html
I like the gray for your room, we have the same color in our bedroom and LOVE it. Our sunroom is an addition as well, and the brick from the backside of the fireplace is still showing. We decided to leave it for now, because I really do like the look of brick. However, I have a tendency to change my mind, and can be a little paint happy! Who knows what the future holds! ;)
Shanna says
I’ve scanned through the comments and didn’t see the answer so I’m asking / hoping it’s not a redundant question…what finish is this paint? Do you have a preference on finish for most rooms (besides kitchen/bathroom)?
Thanks! :)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s eggshell. We love it because it’s a little more scrubbable than flat but not too shiny.
xo
s
Holly says
LOVE the color choice and the fact that you painted the ceiling to match the walls!
Pam the Goatherd says
Wow! Just WOW! I actually gasped when I scrolled down to the picture of the completely painted room – the gray is such a dramatic improvement! And I’m definitely with you on the paint-the-brick bandwagon. That stuff is sticking out like a wart on a beauty queen! Looking forward to more updates as you make progress through the middle.
nikki says
Great painting job! Quick painting question, if a painter
I hired used a Sherman William paint with regular VOCs for my 1 year old’s room…should I be concerned? Is there anything I can do to make the air quality cleaner? Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
I would run fans and crack the windows so it can off-gas with moving air (and move out of the room, to the outside world). Usually when paint is fully dry/cured it off-gases a lot less, so hopefully once it’s fully dry it won’t be a big deal. In the future there are lots of no-VOC options these days which are awesome and usually cost around the same amount!
xo
s
Erin says
I wonder if if it would work if you kept the brick natural and added horizontal paneling – oooh, or maybe reclaimed wood paneling! – to the drywalled space above?
You could add a thick chunky stained wood ledge at the point where the two have a hard line and use that to have an “above the line / below the line” photo gallery, where the frames butt right up against the center line. Have super chunky frames with large scale artwork, so that it can minimize the window. I think if they were staggered above and below, it would help to blur that “there’s brick…and then there’s no brick…” line. :)
I would also suggest painting the window black or do something with it that minimizes that the window is there.
Or…you could also lime wash it? So many ideas! Very excited to seeing what you end up doing – I’m sure it will look great!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the ideas Erin! If the ceiling above the brick were symmetrical I think we’d be more interested in making that an accent wall, but since that triangle leans oddly to the right we like to make all those strange angles together with paint instead of accenting them with wood and shelving, but who knows where we’ll end up!
xo
s
Joanna says
Yes, paint the wall. AND…it looks amazing. Great color. I’m stealing your ideas about cut-in brush on a stick. We will be painting out living room/stairway/upstairs hallway soon, and the idea of putting a ladder on stairs sounds horrible.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, good luck Joanna!
xo
s
Stephanie N says
I love the gray, it really brings life to the walls. I would paint that brick the same color as the other brick. It would be so much better than that red brick which looks like a zit on your pretty paint job! :)
Sarah says
Love what you did! you have inspired me to redecorate in bright happy colors . I see your pics with all the colors and it puts me in such a good mood.
Amanda says
This paint job looks awesome! I think you need to paint the brick the same colour as you painted the walls in the sunroom (rockport gray); it’ll make it not so in your face, plus with the painted brick rightnextdoor it looks silly not painted.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, that’s definitely where we’re leaning! It was funny to see what a strong majority of commenters felt the same way!
xo
s
Ryan says
I, too, am usually a fan of unpainted brick; however, I’m not sure about this one. Perhaps a salon wall of some kind would help? Either way, I could live with or without the brick.
P.S. The gray really is perfect.
Kelly V says
The brick has got to go! It looks so out of place/scale/color/texture…just all wrong for that room. Can you knock it out? Put lateral would planks over it? Something else? Just wondering. It is just so not in sync with that room, no matter what color. It chops that wall in half in the worst way.
YoungHouseLove says
Those are all definite possibilities if painting it doesn’t work. We actually have painted brick in our living room and in our first house’s den (which was only on two walls and didn’t match any of the other two walls, which were paneled) but you’d be amazed how awesome it looked when everything was coated in one unifying paint color!
xo
s
Muriel says
What a difference!! It looks amazing!! I have similar ceilings in the family room and have been scared of doing a darker color.. But not only does it still look spacious it feels cozier too! Love it!!!
Lauren says
Have you guys ever checked out http://www.brick-anew.com? I saw it online & we’re considering giving it a shot on our old, red fireplace brick. Might be an option for you! LOVE the grey :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, very interesting stuff. Might be a better choice on brick we’d love to accent (that goes to the ceiling and isn’t an odd cut-of-U-shape. Cool stuff though!
xo
s
Whitney says
Oh my gosh it looks amazing already! Seriously, though. How is it you guys have extra moolah every holiday season to tackle projects?! I always seem to be strapped with gifts this time of year. Haha, anyway love it. Can’t wait to see the end result!
YoungHouseLove says
We are very lucky in that our family does name draws (so we don’t have to get gifts for everyone, we all draw names and focus on one great gift for each person) and I like to shop for other people all year long so when I see something on sale that our niece or nephew might like I snap it up (doubling up with a coupon when I can). I definitely think there are times when we’re still reeling in January from projects + gifts, but thankfully we try to keep it reined in when it comes to gifts and often times we have saved up for years for something (like a kitchen redo, of which we’ve only done two in six years) so there’s a long time beforehand that we’re building up our bank account :)
xo
s
Kristin says
YOU GUYS! This looks amazing!!! Grey and white makes me swoon! I vote that the brick is painted!
anna says
i was a die-hard creamy-beige lover about five years ago, and we had a grey bathroom that i hated, painted white and LOVED, and since then white and i have lived happily ever after. but looking at all your photos, i really wish i loved grey in my house… (i don’t, but i love it in yours! ah! maze! ing!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Anna!
xo
s
Cindy @Made2Style says
I absolutely LOVE the color in there!! What a transformation and painting the ceiling really does bring your eyes up!!
xo Cindy
colleen says
paint the brick!
Cassie B says
I thought I really loved painting,that is until I tried to paint a ceiling. Being the tallest of the 3 of us gals painting all rooms of my house before moving in (previous people were smokers..ick)I got that job. With my short, little (apparently also weak) arms I rolled one ceiling, one coat (if you could call it that) and couldn’t finish it. Sometimes when I glance up that way I just have to giggle at how awful it looks. Maybe someday I’ll just go back over it with a brush. But I commend you at doing these crazy ceilings! Looks fantastico!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I can relate! Ceilings are the worst!
xo
s
Alyssa Zombro says
I think this is a huge improvement! Have you considered painting the brick a different bright color? Maybe a darker turquoise or anther jewel tone to go with the chairs? Plus you could change it from time to time if you get board. I also wonder if chalkboard paint would work?
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah I think if the brick was a nice balanced shape (not a U with a window in the top corner) and went up to the ceiling we’d love to accent it, but since it’s such an odd cut-off shape we’d rather make it blend in, you know?
xo
s
Sheryn says
I vote paint every brick a different color: technicolor dream brick wall! Haha.
YoungHouseLove says
LOL! You’re just saying that because you know we have all of that leftover paint from the book projects in the basement. :)
-John
Darcy says
That looks soooooo great. I love the color (although I am biased. I would paint everything gray if allowed) and you are right about it making the trim look extra crisp. Unfortunately it’s having the same popping effect on that brick. I vote paint it (or go for an accent wall maybe? It could look cool if it was the same color as the living room. Would look seamless from inside the house, and bounce extra light in the sunroom)Whatever you guys do, I’m sure it will be awesome!
Kierstin says
I know you guys. You won’t be happy until you paint the brick.
Just. Do. It.
Kristin H. says
Call me crazy but I instantly loved the straight on shot of the brick with the daybed and fun pillows! Reminded me of a trendy soho loft space or a cozy Starbucks or something. But, I don’t think soho loft meets Starbucks is really the theme you’re goin for in the end haha. And I can see how it doesn’t quite work from the living room view. I always love where you guys end up so I can’t wait to see what you do!
Kelly says
I love the way the brick complements the parquet floor color. So, I wouldn’t be painting for a color issue. I agree that the window would look weird with a shelf right on top of it but what about a super sized cove molding with a shelf on top of that? That would raise your visual height above the window as well. You could paint both pieces white or use some wood that matches the ceiling beams in the adjacent room – that would look great with that grey. If you paint it, I’m sure it will look great too but it might be worth fooling around with some scraps of wood if you have any doubts.
Meagan says
Can I ask how many outlets you have in that room? It looks there’s one every 2 feet. Crazy! Love the color!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s crazy right! There are 9, if you include the special one for the heating unit. The previous owners were very into outlets so we’ve got them in the strangest places – there’s one on top of the fireplace mantle, one in the bathroom next to the toilet, etc.
-John
Kelly says
I have always been on team “keep brick in its natural state”. But in your case I think you should paint it the wall color. Sorry beautiful, red bricks, but you’d look muck better in rockport grey. On another note, now that you have some good pole practice…any tips for me on how to paint my 23 ft ceiling…other than rent a lift? LOL!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Kelly! You’d be amazed how many keep-brick-natural people have said “but in this case it needs to be painted!” – so funny! You’re in good company! Anyway, as for the 23 foot ceilings, those seem really high! I would see if someone on Craigslist has scaffolding they can rent to you for cheap or if there’s a handyman who you could hire to cheaply paint the top part of the room and then you could do the rest of it with a ladder and a pole!
xo
s
Kiki says
Love the grey in the sunroom! Although I might be a little biased since it’s my favorite color. And I’m excited to see this possible window seat. I’ve been dreaming of one ever since I was little (I was an odd child, I admit) and cannot wait to see how you DIY one! Seriously, I think I’m living in your house vicariously! :)
lynne says
sigh. you guys are really making me want to paint something. such an easy way to instantly transform a space! i love what you said about it making it feel like the room is ‘yours’… we are stuck in a whole bunch of middle in our house, in like every room…it’s such a terrible place to be! and staying stuck here for too long means i am getting opinions from too many places and am now questioning every choice i make. boo!
oh ps, i kind of like the brick with the grey… but it doesn’t seem quite your style, if that makes sense? just seems a bit more formal than usual for you guys… as evidenced by the way it clashes big time with all your colourful pillows below!
KarenH. says
Paint it. Or drywall overit and then paint it. Don’t get me wrong, i luvs me some red brick (as evidenced by my complete embrace of my red brick fireplace at home). But red brick and sunroom don’t really mesh. Even before i’d read far enough to see a new paint color, I thought you should paint it.
As for my weekend, the grandaon (4) came over and decorated my tree–you have to see this kid with bead garland–it’s hilarious. Then I stuffed him full of cookies and sent him to his other Grandma :D. Sunday I finished quilting and binding a baby quilt–about time, since the baby is 6 month old. But the sewing I did Sunday was all in my basement sewing room and this was the first time I had the machines up and running.. It was nice to be treadling agin (oh right, the machine I used was a 1908 Singer model 27 treadle.)
And for a near future errand I need to get a chair without wheels for the sewing room–it’s really hard to treadle when your wheeled chair is on a concrete floor. The chair kept rolling backwards until I was reaching WAAAAAYYYY out to sew :D
Leanne says
I met a house a few weeks ago that I begged my hus-boss to let me bid on at auction…. the whole way through the open house I was telling him about this amazing grey paint that we could use, and colours that were beautiful…. We ended up being outbid (by $85 thousand dollars!!!) but I loved that house. The sad part is that an investor bought it with the intention to knock it down and subdivide :( However, it did make me smile when I read this post and saw my favourite grey paint!
Love your work… and I vote paint the brick ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, so close on your bid! :)
-John
Christine Williams says
PAINT THE BRICK!! You know you want to! Tt will look fabulous! It’s just that the reddish tones of the brick really clash with the grey. LOVE THE GREY!
Weekend project = Christmas has taken over my life…
Tracye says
I love the brick and anything painted gray has my attention. It’s my favorite color. You guys are so creative!
Bec says
I say paint it, which goes against the grain, but it just looks odd in every angle you showed it in, as if the job is incomplete. Any idea of why they left that odd area exposed when they covered in the top portion?? Seems like an odd decision!
YoungHouseLove says
The brick portion is the original exterior of the house whereas the top portion never existed before they put the addition on, so that drywall isn’t covering any brick – probably just some wood framing.
-John
Christine says
Wow, love the transformation so far. I was wondering if sunrooms are pretty common in the US. I can’t really think of many houses here in New Zealand that I have seen with them.
I also just got your book which I was so excied about. It arrived super fast through amazon and it is already post-it noted like crazy of all the awesome ideas I want to eventually try.
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to hear the book made it and that it’s getting some use already! Thanks for ordering it!
-John
Rosi says
Why not get drywall to cover the brick? I dunno, but that brick just looks blah. However, the rest of the room, awesome! :D Those chairs just look like you give ’em a time out and since they are… oh so blue… do do do, just so blue…
YoungHouseLove says
It’s something we contemplated, but in past projects we’ve been happy with the look of the painted brick instead of going through the trouble and expense of drywalling. it all.
-John
Zohreh Daly says
I totally agree! As much as I LOVE exposed brick, I think in your situation your call to paint the brick is the way to go. It looks lovely and yes, I have used the paintbrush on a stick method as well. :-)
Allie says
The color looks so so beautiful. Where did you find those fun bright pillows? I’m looking for something similar for our living room!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re all from HomeGoods and Bed Bath & Beyond! Hope it helps.
xo
s
Jessi says
Paint it! Paint it! Paint it! (that’s me chanting for team paint)
And as a matter of fact, I did in fact complete a pole related project last night! We finally put up some curtains in the living room to mask our hideously ugly windows which were a total eyesore. Thanks to Ikea we now have these lovely guys gracing our windows: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80173916/ (I definitely thought of Sherry while I was using the iron on hem tape to shorten them).
Next on the list is to actually paint the window frames so we can open the curtains without cringing. They must be original to the house – they’re totally drafty and the paint is chipped and stained. Do you have any experience painting windows? Ours need a serious facelift, but I’m trying to wrap my mind around how to do it without painting them shut. Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh I would paint them with very very thin coats. We did the ones in our first house (many of them were wood toned) and you just don’t want to glob it on. None of them were painted shut at all (even with the use of primer first) you just have to go slowly and do thin applications. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Jessi says
Thanks so much!!!
Jessi says
Thanks so much!!! Did you blog about painting the windows in your first house? I’d love to read about it if you did.
YoungHouseLove says
I think it was before we started the blog! So sorry!
xo
s
Elizabeth@ Food Ramblings says
the rockport gray looks awesome!! that’s what i want to paint our living room!!
LaNell says
Sometimes the best solution is to “do it right”. In this case I think that might mean drywalling over the brick instead of just painting it.
YoungHouseLove says
See, I would agree with you if there weren’t painted brick right next-door in the living room anyway – and if we didn’t love the texture of painted brick in our first home’s den (we didn’t drywall over it and we loved the texture it added). Hope that makes sense!
xo
s
drew says
Paint the brick.
Lynn says
Try drybrushing gray paint on the brick first — it will look a lot better than it did in the photoshopped picture.
It will tone down the red of the brick and give an interesting look to the wall. Live with it for a while like that and if you don’t like it, you can fully paint over it. I dry brushed brick in my kitchen and Florida room, and I love it. I also dry brushed the dated looking pine panelling in my den — it looks great! The process is easier and quicker than painting.
YoungHouseLove says
Always another possibility!
xo
s
Leila says
So what’s with that window? Is it really needed since those are basically both inside rooms. You’re right that it does look funny squished. Can it be removed and either fill in the opening with more brick or do something else with the opening. Or if you keep it can you redo the molding so it overlaps the area and gets rid of the squished aspect?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, since the sunroom isn’t on the same heating system as the rest of the house it would be a huge energy/money waste to remove the window. We have a feeling we can make it work though! Stay tuned…
xo
s