Operation Paint the House: Going Gray

I finally got back to Operation Paint the House and tackled the master bedroom last weekend.  Since we moved in, I’ve been saying I wanted to paint this room either tan/cream or pale blue.   All the linens were pale blue, so it seemed like maybe the walls should be some other color.  Until I got a cream quilt.  And then I was back on the fence about blue versus cream.  Even a slew of paint samples couldn’t seem to make up my mind.  The contenders were all Olympic colors:

After analyzing and reanalyzing and then making Michael analyze, I finally gave up trying to find the “perfect” color and just picked the palest blue gray one.  Lunar eclipse was a second contender because it is the color of the master bath, but I thought it was a bit too dark in the bedroom.  I nixed all the cream and tan shades for being too blah.  I may end up using something similar in the hallway/foyer/living room where we really need a good neutral.  Once I had picked the color “going gray” (which seems to be a misnomer, because its definitely more blue than gray, maybe it’s blue going gray??) I went to Lowe’s to get it mixed.  I decided to do an eggshell finish, because I am fed up with trying to scrub flat paint (even though I love the look of it)…  And they convinced me to try the new Olympic One paint.  Silly me, I thought the “one” meant one coat, instead of paint and primer all-in-one.  Yes, I can read.  :)  Well I tried to do one coat, but my roller was not cooperating, and the pale color of the paint made it hard to see where I hadn’t yet painted.  Once it was dry, I realized I had a lot of touch up spots.  I should have just sucked it up and rolled on a second coat, but impatience struck!  My feet were tired from standing tippy toe on the ladder all day, and so I gave up and just touched up with a brush.  “Big mistake!  Huge! I have to go shopping now…”  <—name that movie…

Anyway, lesson learned.  You can’t touch up your first coat by going over the spots you missed.  I was left with little shiny spots in my finish everywhere I had touched up.  I think if I were using evil flat paint, that method would have worked.  At least that’s what I tell myself.  So, some day Sarah is going to have to repaint the bedroom.  But not today! :)

On to the results… Ta da!

This color is just perfect for the bedroom, very serene and relaxing… and matches everything without being too much blue.  I love it!  For all you detail-oriented people out there, please note that I finally lengthened the curtains that I restyled back in oh… January.  :)  After adding a piece to lengthen them at the top, steaming them, and then stitching the pleats in place, now they look great!  Just don’t try to close them, Michael, because they are all tacked together to make them stay!  Yeah, I am that girl.  What’s that about form follows function??

I wish our bed looked like this all the time!  It’s so inviting…

 

And here is a recent addition to the room: my mother’s jewelry box that she gave me. :)  It’s so pretty.

Okay, I would say things are about done in here.  Maybe need some new artwork, and a new light fixture, of course.  But we’re almost there!  Here’s your side by side before and after comparison:

 

So, what do you think?  Want to come have a sleepover on my plushy bed?  We can stare at the new blue walls and sigh contentedly…

Thanks for stopping by… I’ll be back with some exterior paint work as well as some fun party ideas coming soon!