Feel free to sing the title to the tune of the famous Dolly Parton song. Or our new favorite version by SNL. Anyway, painting our living room yesterday sure was quite the task of endurance, especially given various breaks for Clara-tending and blog-tending. In fact, it took us exactly 12 hours, from 9am to 9pm to fully complete the project. Good news – the living room is officially Moonshine’d. Better news – so is the hallway (what can we say, we were on a roll).
But the day got off to a slow start. Between Sherry squatting the first blog post of the day to answer a bunch of questions, Clara needing some breakfast, and me clearing / taping the room, it was nearly two hours ’til we even cracked the first paint can open at around 11. Here’s the post all about how we deemed Moonshine to be the perfect gray for our house, and it bears mentioning that we chose to get it color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint in a satin finish (which we have found to look extremely close to flat paint with a lot of added durability & kid-friendly wipeability – really it doesn’t look wet or glossy at all, much to our surprise).
Thankfully things got rolling (literally) once Clara napped like a champion (from 11 to almost 1- which she never does!) and we gave ourselves permission to focus on applying color to the walls instead of approving & answering blog comments (no offense to you guys of course). Sherry wasn’t even slowed down by the splinter our floor kindly drove into her left cheek. And I’m not talking about the one on her face. Ouch. She’s a total trooper. And she learned a valuable painting lesson in the new house: not to scoot around on her rear while cutting in baseboard. I realize this sounds like she was painting nude, but she was fully clothed. It just went right through her yoga pants. No lie.
Sherry has always been the cutter-inner (edger) of our relationship and I’m the roller. But she also does extra credit stuff too. In this case she took the time to fill a bunch of gnarly holes in our extra-craggy brick wall – like these right near the trim – with paintable DAP caulk for a much more finished looking result. Love that girl. Even if she is a little obsessive.
Once Clara awoke from The Nap Of Her Life (capitalized as it was truly an event to be remembered), we had to switch off when it came to baby-duty (and drop in on the blog every once in a while too for comments). So our productivity dropped a bit, but it was nice to take staggered bean breaks. As the day wore on, the diminishing sunlight made differentiating the white walls from the wet paint a bit challenging, but we charged on (taking breaks for things like a second blog post, diaper changes, lunch, dinner, and putting Clara down for a less-than-champion worthy afternoon nap). By around 5:30pm we had applied two coats to the living room (all it needed) and started on the two hallway vestibules. And by the time Clara was in bed for the night at 8pm we’d cracked open our second gallon of paint to finish off a second coat in those two hallways. By 9pm we were cleaning up and ready to collapse on the couch that was still clustered next to the TV in the middle of the room and zone out. Btw, it was funny to watch some tube at the distance that we were used to from our last house again.
Being too dark for a photoshoot last night, we waited to take these “after” shots this morning for ya:
We’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to see much of a difference in the pics. But in person we were both shocked at how much warmer the room looks. We assumed gray would look cooler, but the previous white walls were so stark that the soft silvery gray is nice and cozy by comparison. Kind of like you’re inside a cloud that’s glowing thanks to some sun shining through. In short, we’re both in LOVE with Moonshine. And for those wondering why we didn’t go crazy bright or dramatic with the wall color, we want to bring in some bold textiles (like big dramatic curtains on those sliders) along with some colorful art and maybe even some painted furniture – so we don’t want the walls to compete with that. We even have plans for a large charcoal sectional, so we’re definitely getting away from the white-slipcovered-sofas-and-breezy-white-curtained look of our first house. A lot of the rooms that have inspired us lately don’t have super dark or bright walls, but still definitely read as “colorful” and “bold.” But we do have a few spaces (like the hall bathroom & guest bedroom) that we plan to paint an extremely rich and saturated color, just like we did on the backs of our built-ins. So there will be some o’ that too.
We also thought when one of the walls was brick, a bold color (like deep teal or emerald or plum) might look a bit odd, since it’s more common to see brick painted in lighter tones like white, cream, gray, etc. And we wanted that wall to feel the most unified and un-odd so the whole room felt connected as opposed to disjointed. Oh and we did consider leaving just the fireplace bump-out white while painting the rest of the walls gray, but in the end it looked too unbalanced so we painted it and like the cohesive effect a lot more. We figure we can always add color back into it down the line (like a rich charcoal paint) if we’re feeling crazy. We’ll just have to see how the room shapes up.
Oh yeah but we can’t forget the hallway. The results in there boosted our confidence even more that Moonshine was the way to go and the change will be much more dramatic in the living room once it gets the white-trim treatment. See how soft yet defined it looks with crisp white accents?
This close up is probably the best demonstration of the silvery gray color we ended up with (and how it plays off that glossy trim):
So the next thing on our to-do list is to paint the trim & baseboard in the living room (which is why the furniture is staying in a nice little island formation in the middle of the room until that’s done). Oh and we’ve decided to leave the ceiling beams unpainted for now. We’re definitely gonna see what the rest of the room looks like before making any decisions about what to do with those. Sherry has this crazy new idea about staining or painting them a rich charcoal color. Could be cool. And we’ll probably photoshop it before taking the plunge and share the madness with you. But before we get to that we’ll hopefully have the finished trim pictures to share next week. Fingers crossed for record-breakingly-fast painting luck and another one of those Naps To End All Naps from Clara.
Psst- The repair guys came out to fix our new washer amid the painting chaos and eradicated the annoying whistle issue. Happy happy joy joy.
Psssst- We announced this week’s giveaway winners, so click here to see if you’re one of them.
Melody says
Does no-VOC paint mean that you don’t get that strong paint smell?
Looks awesome, by the way. I can’t wait to see what else you do with the room!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Melody,
Yup! It’s a lot less fumey and more baby/dog/adult/earth friendly in general.
xo,
s
Rachel says
Can’t wait to see what you do with those beams because my house has beams that are very similar.
Love the color! <3
Margaret says
I took the house tour the other day so I kind of get the lay out of your house, but the last picture in John’s post confuses me – whys does it look like a door way is opening right into the brick wall? Is that the side of the fireplace and the perspective is just funny?
Also – am living with painted wall swatches currently in my bedroom, front hall and living room and have only made 1 definitive choice! With a husband who can’t paint – believe me, I’ve seen him cut in a corner – god knows how long it will take me to get to all three rooms!
Love the blog – you are an inspiration for my 2011 this is the year I really get started on the house resolution.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Margaret,
See the 4th pic down? It’s that doorway (the angle makes it look like it opens into the brick, but it’s just nearby).
xo,
s
Chicago Cuisine Critique says
The house is coming along great. Can’t wait to see the finished product. :)
Catherine says
LOVE the moonshine! My husband and I are painting our *first* new home & I’m seriously considering a warm grey for the main hallway that connects the entire house. Thanks for the courage to go for grey!
Katrina says
LOVE IT! it’s beautiful! Can’t wait to see how the living room looks with the white trim!!
Kathryn says
Looks GREAT!:) Really makes your moulding pop. I’m impressed, and it makes me excited to takle our bonus room. We are painting our first room ever this weekend, and I’m really nervous. When you were said 9 to 9, I thought to myself “Not to shabby, I’ll be happy if we get done that fast!” We are full-room painting virgins!
Shauna says
Me and my mom just used this exact color to paint the guest room at her house last week! It really is a lot more noticeable in person. We also did white trim and it really pops against it. The color is a gorgeous color. I meant to comment yesterday, the town I live in is called CollingSwood, close to one of the colors you almost chose. Not really important but still cool to see an almost exact name for a paint color!
Melissa says
First off–I’ve been reading your blog for a few weeks…just want to say “Hello” and that I think you guys are great!!
I want to paint my bedroom this weekend and am thinking about Moonshine. Do you think the color is warm enough for a bedroom? And neutral enough that almost any bedding would go? And do you think I could use it to sort of transition from the Dark Blue tile and pale blue paint in the Master Bath?? (I really wanted to do a really soft sage in the bedroom but that blue tile has me puzzled)
Thx for any help!!
Ana Silva says
I looks so good. My bedroom will be gray too, a bit darker though. I have this vision in my head of something similar to what Candice Olsen would do. But I see you use Olympic a lot; benjamin moore says their colors can’t be matched. How true is that since you all seem to do that a lot? I liked the no voc “fresh air” paint but it comes in select colors. When I used it in my bathroom it was drying in the paint pan quickly leaving little globs of paint on the wall that I had to remove constantly. Does Olympic no voc do that? I dont know if it could have been the teflon paint pan that my husband bought for easy clean up. Any help would be great. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Ana,
We held the swatch up to the wall and it was mindblowingly similar. Right on the nose we’d say. Lowe’s has the exact formulas in the computer so it’s very very close (as close as one brand’s base is to another’s). And no issue with globs when it comes to Olympic Premium. it’s good stuff!
xo,
s
Patti says
Ok, this is really starting to shape up nicely! Love the color. Maybe I missed it, but did you paint the ceiling?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Patti,
Nope, that’s still white.
xo,
s
PlainJane says
I would be all for painting the ceiling beams too. It might look a little strange with all the other trim in white and then have the wood beams. I do like the idea of staining them a different color. Just leaving them the regular wood beems would make it look like it was unfinished to me.
Amanda says
Looks great! It’s very similar to the colour in my living room and down the hallway.
The crown moulding in your hallway made me think of a question: have you guys ever dealt with a stipple ceiling? I want to put up a crown moulding in my bedroom but the ceiling is stippled, I’m just not sure how it would look.
Amanda
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amanda,
We haven’t but we think it would look great with crown molding. It’s just such a nice addition to nearly any space!
xo,
s
jbhat says
Wow, I’m so impressed. You guys never cease to amaze me. I got sort of exhausted just reading about the painting process. Go Team YHL!
jbhat
Kimberly says
My husband and I just painted grey accent walls in his office and I lucked out with finding Sherwin-Williams’ Gauntlet Gray! It is a great “basic” gray without any blue/green/purple undertones. It looks amazing! I def used the tester paint method to throw it up on the walls first and was pleased – and so was he!
Melissa says
P.S. The bedroom is very small…like 10×10. I’m hoping to make it look a lot larger than it looks currently with the dark dark Blue it is painted.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Melissa,
Yes that all sounds perfect! Good luck!
xo,
s
Christina says
The grey looks great, especially in the hall where the contrast is more obvious. So much work- be sure to take a massage break every now and then.
Also- I admire your parenting skills. Its obvious that you always have Clara’s health and safety in mind. I’ve become frustrated lately with people openly criticizing other people’s parenting methods (in comments made here, to friends, and in my own experience). We all do the best we can, we love our kids. You’ve made it very clear that you do your research and try to bring things into your home that are as un-harmful to your gorgeous fam as possible. Keep it up! You are great examples of a green, thrifty, loving family with tons of style! All things I’m trying to be. Thanks!
Paula says
Great job, great color choice! Like everyone else can’t wait to see the finished results!
Heather @ REOlisticRenovation says
So jealous I love grey! It looks awesome! Our house came in “Wachovia Gold” and it looks good so why change it yet. Although seeing this makes me want to make the switch to grey even more!
Mylene Desjardins Beadow says
Hey guys!
LOVE the grey!
I am hoping to re-do our master bedroom with the latest grey and plum fad. I find it so relaxing, especially for bedroom… zzz… zzz… And it looks very crisp against the white trim.
I also just bought a used desk on craigslist (I may officially be hooked!) and am thinking of re-finishing the wood in a warm grey!
I check your blog multiple times DAILY!! You have inspired me to start my own home blog… I’ll send you a link once it is up and running!
Cheers!
Mylène
sandy says
It would be awesome if you did a grid on your cieling. It is looking stupendous. Are yall taking down the cieling fans? Sorry if you already posted about this…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sandy,
Yes! We’re keeping the white one in the sunroom, but those heavy wood ones are gonners!
xo,
s
Ellen says
Looks great, especially with the white trim. I too have painted into the night and dealt with the “did I paint that yet?” conundrum. Good job guys! :)
Amy says
I’d love to see a post on sectionals you guys like…I’m considering replacing our couch soon with a sectional and would love to see some inspiration :)
Suzy says
I love following your blog. U guys are an inspiration because you totally transform a place! I can’t wait for you to tell us how you painted the trim. I have a similar dilemma. My house has wood trim all over and it’s in great condition but it’s that orangy wood color and it clashes with my taste and all my “wannabe” modern furniture and accessories. I’m too chicken to paint them right now so I’m really interested in seeing how you guys do it.
sarah (sarah learns) says
that color looks PERFECT in the hallway with the white trim. once again, bravo. it looks so nice! :) can’t wait to see the lightened up trim in the family room.
valerie J. says
Looks great! I’m REALLY hoping you all go in depth how-to with the trim painting. I’m trying to gear myself up to paint the entire house worth of 1990’s oak trim to a fresher white. I’m just terrified by all the sanding.
Jenna says
LOVE the moonshine paint! I am currently making over our master bedroom. We got new white textured bedding with deep blue (not navy, but a deep, rich blue) sheets. I have been thinking of painting the walls a grey and our nightstands white, but I`m not sure if that would look okay (I`m terrible at decorating!) I`m thinking of something like stonington gray or moonshine on the walls with white bedding, white furniture, and deep blue accents (like in our sheets and pillows). Do you think that would look okay or should I go with something totally different? Would love your advice! I always love what you guys do!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jenna,
Sounds gorgeous! Go for it!
xo,
s
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
Love the gray!! Good luck getting your sectional from Ikea (read your comments). I ordered furniture from Ikea to be delivered (from another city) and I never ended up receiving it :-(. Let’s just say it was a 6 month ordeal that left a truly sour taste in my mouth for Ikea’s delivery service. Just be careful!!!
xoxo,
Lindsay
Melo says
Oh boy, that hallway looks gorgeous!
If only you would have posted this on June 2009, when we painted our bedroom Benjamin Moore “Sidewalk Gray” which with our lighting reads more like “B&W-Meets-Baby-Blue”.
I’m staying tuned for the reveal of painting the trim & baseboard in the living room!
Emily says
Oh my goodness I’m in love! I was contemplating gray for our bedroom but wanted it to be warm, not cool. Also, I hope Clara keeps up those naps!
Isabella says
The white lamp in your 2nd living room picture looks crisp enough against the grey wall that it helps visualize how nice the trim will look. Maybe that will help those who are having trouble seeing the change in there!
Caryn says
We have a very similar color (almost identical actually) in our Master Bedroom and bath – we LOVE it; we too thought it might be cool feeling – however it is warm and actually makes the rooms feel bigger!! Good choice!
Heather says
Love the Moonshine!! Ok so we are getting ready to paint our upstairs (hallway, master bedroom, kids room) We are pretty neutral people (I like to use big bold statement pieces and fabrics). The lovely Sarah Richardson has a new paint line for Para Paints and we love Bisque…. now.. what sheen would you recommend? Also have you used Para paints before? Locally there is not in the way of low VOC paints…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Heather,
Never used Para paints before but they sound great! As for sheen we like eggshell or satin since they’re a bit more wipeable than flat but not too glossy.
xo,
s
Audrey says
Looks fabulous! Can’t wait to see it in the living room, and with the white trim!
Have you guys heard about Home Reserve? http://homereserve.com/shop-ace.cfm?class=Sectional&style=3#top
They do really well-priced custom sofas, etc. I’ve never seen one in person, or sat on one though. I’ve heard good things online, but I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to spend even the little they’re charging for a sofa I’m not sure of the quality/durability or comfort of. So I was wondering what your thoughts were and/or if you’ve ever encountered one of their products in real life before.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Audrey,
Haven’t shopped there directly but we’ve heard of them! Anyone have experience with Home Reserve to share with Audrey?
xo,
s
danielle says
color looks great – definitely like it better against the white molding so that will be nice when you get to that in the living room!
Sorry for a question but what brand of paint to you color match to at Home Depot, if you do? I don’t have a Lowes nearby so I was just wondering.
Also just noticed Clara’s new closet on Ohdeedoh!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Danielle,
We’ve used Glidden and Behr with a lot of success (we think they have low-VOC formulas too, which is great). Hope it helps! And thanks for the Ohdeedoh tip. We have to check it out!
xo,
s
Liz @ Law Mama says
This is gorgeous! I’ve been thinking about painting the main living areas of my house a light gray and I might borrow this shade. Great job, guys. Always love checking in to see what inspiring thing you have going. :)
Kerry says
I love the color! When you mentioned the hopes of a charcoal sectional, I had to share this link of ours: http://www.nfm.com/DetailsPage.aspx?ProductID=29538378
This wonderful piece of furniture was a wedding gift to my husband and I from his mother and it is the most comfortable and stylish looking sofa I have ever sat on in my life! We absolutely love it and it is perfect for two people falling asleep and still being able to stretch out completely. Just thought I’d share! :)
Alicia says
The light in the hallway looks totally different to me now. It’s amazing what paint can do. I’m lovin’ it so far! Can’t wait to see it all done! (No pressure though. I’m not one of those people. ha ha)
Meghan says
Great job! I agree that Moonshine has a strangely warm feeling to it. I used it in my baby’s room and it feels like the walls are soft grey flannel. It also looks gorgeous with the bright coloured art work and accents I chose (mostly blue and orange). LOVE it.
Another grey that I love for the same reasons is Benjamin Moore’s “Titanium” — it’s a pale grey like Moonshine, but it has undertones to it that are hard to pin down since it’s so changeable depending on the light. It’s a fun colour to use.
jenna@frombostonwithlove says
Loving on the gray, too. We just went with a greige, Behr Gentle Rain, in our master and it is wonderful. Cool yet cozy, neutral but interesting.
Your room looks wonderful and the beam possibilities are exciting!!
Stacy says
I’ve been wondering how projects have been going now that Clara is getting older and more active. It took me two days to hang a simple curtain rod and curtains in my 5 month old’s nursery. Two days! Oy.
http://www.frecklesandsunshine.com
Maggie Rose says
The gray looks so pretty, especially with the white trim. Can’t wait to see how much the white trim will open up the space instead of framing it in dark borders. Won’t be surprised if you end up painting the beams too in the end, as I think your ceiling would look much higher. I do have a thing for exposed beams, but it has to work with the space.
I’m trying to convince my bf to paint our bedroom right now, but he’s worried about keeping fresh air flowing and freezing with the open windows(we live in Seattle, so it’s not like it’s below 40 right now, but still). Any tips for painting in winter?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Maggie Rose,
Use No-VOC paint like the Olympic Premium stuff we use! It hardly has a scent at all, so open windows aren’t a must at all.
xo,
s
Farrah says
Love it! I waited for your pictures with interest because I’ve been longing to paint our open LR DR entry a pale grey. I will choose swatches and pin them up to be sure of the shade – but my biggest concern is our maple floor. It’s a rich medium brown color – not that dissimilar to yours – and in spite of all of our trim being white, I’m nervous that it won’t “go”. I know you are considering restaining your floors, but in their present state against your grey walls, what do you think?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Farrah,
Eventually we plan to refinish the floors (just because they’re so splinter-y… ouch!) but we consider most wood tones to be neutral, so they usually go with everything (as does soft gray so we don’t think you can go wrong).
xo,
s
beth says
looks great. I’m standing by (like many others) for tips when you guys get around to painting the trim. We have a lot of late 80s oak to paint in the house we close on in a few days.
Part of me still feels some insane guilt over painting it, but the other part of me will be thrilled to see it gone LOL.
Now for decisions about whether to paint the knotty pine vaulted ceiling. A huge decision and a huge project if we do it! I’m scared the “don’t paint the wood” police might show up ;)
Lauren says
Love the new paint! We painted our living room a similar silvery gray color and love how it changes depending on the light. Looking forward to seeing everything else you plan to do in this room!
Amanda says
I saw a blog post with paint-chip cookies and thought of you two: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/01/pantone_chip_cookies.html
lizkayl says
A friend of mine linked me to Pantone Chip Cookies and the color palette looking cookies made me think of YHL, so I popped over here to share the link:
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/01/pantone_chip_cookies.html
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lizkayl and Amanda,
So funny you both shared the link at the same exact time. Love it!
xo,
s
lizkayl says
She’s my twin- her husband shared the link with me. hehe!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s hystercial!
xo,
s
Lesley H says
LOVE this color! I was considering going grey for my bedroom and am now totally convinced. The pop against the white trim sold me! Nice job :)
Denise says
The gray walls look awesome! What an accomplishment. Any idea why the floors are so splintery and is the problem just confined to the parquet flooring?
As Clara approaches the crawling stage I bet the floors are high on your priority list. Can’t wait to see the transformation.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Denise,
We’re not quite sure other than the house is old and there were big dogs who lived here (maybe the floors got a bit more wear and tear). It definitely could be the parquet layout that contributes to the splinter-factor though!
xo,
s