Paint Colors

Newly Painted Doors and Walls!

The foyer, library and living room all have really crazy-high vaulted ceilings. Like 20 feet high. The idea of even climbing a ladder that reached that high is pretty dizzying, let alone painting the walls. Let alone skim coating and sanding away the texture on all the walls! (shudder!) I hardly ever hire out painters…

The foyer, library and living room all have really crazy-high vaulted ceilings. Like 20 feet high. The idea of even climbing a ladder that reached that high is pretty dizzying, let alone painting the walls. Let alone skim coating and sanding away the texture on all the walls! (shudder!)

 photo IMG_9176.jpg

I hardly ever hire out painters for my own spaces because I don’t mind just doing it myself, but the job for these three rooms was definitely in the DDIY category, and I called in the big guns.

 photo IMG_9177.jpg
The company I ended up using had had a cancellation and they were available to start work within a few days, which was great, but also meant I had to nail down paint colors very quickly. I stress about 100 million times more with paint colors when I’m hiring the job out. When I’m painting myself, if I make a color mistake, all I’m out is $50 in paint and a few hours time. Big paint jobs like this are (very) expensive though and the pressure is majorly on.

 photo IMG_9145.jpg

You might remember from this post how I was leaning toward Benjamin Moore’s Titanium. I’m glad I had a few weeks to sit on the decision though. I ended up feeling like the blue undertones in Titanium weren’t actually doing me any favors for making the floors look less pink.

So I went to the paint store in search of a new gray. I picked up a few samples and threw them up on the wall. I put Titanium up there too for comparison.

 photo IMG_9157copy.jpg

I thought Ralph Lauren’s Stone was really, really pretty, and I almost went with that. But then I started looking at Brushed Aluminum a little more. I liked that it was a neutral, but with a depth of color in the undertones. Equal parts blue and green. I threw up a bigger sample in the library and loved it more. So I put up samples on most of the big walls, just to see how the color changed with the light. It was so interesting to me how it was more of a color in the front of the house and was way more true gray in the back of the house.

 photo IMG_9181.jpg

Here it is next to the Titanium sample I had up for forever. The soft blue gray color is so pretty, but it sort of fell flat for me after a while. The rich, warm greeny grays of the Brushed Aluminum felt like exactly what I wanted, but didn’t really know it. I think it’s just right with the floors. And it pairs SO well with bright colors (which we all know are inevitable in my rooms). You can throw pretty much any color next to it and the combo will be brilliant every time.

 photo IMG_9173.jpg

So I took a leap of faith and handed the painters the Brushed Aluminum paint chip. They were actually here for more than a week. I had them float the walls in the living room to cover the high texture on the drywall and that alone took nearly three days. (!!!)

 photo IMG_9185.jpg

 photo IMG_9202.jpg

After day two, I was so happy with how much brighter the living room felt with the majority of the brown paint covered up. What a huge difference the light drywall mud was making in the color already! And the smooth texture? SO worth the time and expense. The room has such a glow about it now. The light bounces around in such a lovely way. The other common spaces in the house had already been smooth-coated so it seemed worth it to match the texture in here too, especially since this is a room we’ll likely spend the most time in.

 photo IMG_9210.jpg

 photo IMG_9211.jpg

I had all the ceilings in the three rooms painted the same white as all the trimwork – Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace. It’s one of my favorite whites to use because it reads as a true white. There are no gray undertones like White Dove has and no blue undertones like a pure white usually gives off. Simply White is another favorite, but it’s a little more yellow than Chantilly Lace. I wanted a bright, clean white in here.

 photo IMG_9431.jpg

 photo IMG_9466.jpg

 photo IMG_9429.jpg

All the doors were painted Onyx, another favorite shade of mine. It’s a black with depth – a lot like Farrow and Ball’s Off Black (but without the insane price tag!) :) I’m so happy with how the front door turned out! (ps the white astragal down the middle will be black)

 photo IMG_9435.jpg

We’re going to do something special in the music room like lacquer or grasscloth, but I want to go more colorful in there. Michael’s vote is a bright, inky blue, which I love.

 photo IMG_9439.jpg

 photo IMG_9438.jpg

I’m so happy with how the new paint has completely transformed the look and feel of these three spaces! When I look at all those ladders and the scaffolding, I know it was worth every single penny!!

Join the Conversation

61 thoughts on “Newly Painted Doors and Walls!

  1. Beautiful!!! What color is the fireplace surround??? Thanks for the tip on BM's Chantilly Lace…. I am planning to have all the woodwork and doors painted and need a true white!

    Happy Weekend!

    Ivy

  2. Chantilly Lace is my favorite white too! and it looks beautiful paired with that brushed aluminum and those gorgeous black onyx doors! B.E.A. Utfiul!

  3. Want to Learn Forex Trading and earn with Forex Business…?? The best Forex Trading Learning Website where you can get any thing about Forex, Trading updates, forex trading latest news, forex brokers directory, forex brokers list, Dollars news affairs, Stock Markets, stock market news, stock market analysis, technology news, international forex markets, international forex business news and all updates about Forex Trading
    ForexAffairs.Com

  4. It looks great! If you were pleased with the painters, would you mind sharing their info? I'm a designer new to the area (I'm in Gilbert), and am always looking for quality subs.

© Jenny Komenda. All Rights Reserved.
Site by