Reveal #1: Who knew painting could be so fun?

You’ve seen the "before" (or if you haven’t, check it out!). Now we start the fun part: the "after"! First up: paint.

Some people hate painting; I actually enjoy it. What I don’t enjoy is choosing the color. Too many choices.

21 paint chips in both the guest room



and another 16 in the master



You might think that those pallets look pretty similar. They are. While some people might like a crazy color pallet, I wanted only two or three colors and they had to look good together as you walk from room to room. I like blues (especially with the pale yellow already on the walls and that I planned on keeping) and I knew I wanted to go with a colonial look in the guest room. A friend at work mentioned how she once had a dark gray bedroom and how much she liked it. Sold.

After deciding the basics (blue and gray, which both look good with yellow), I had to pick a paint color.

After narrowing the multitude of choices down to a more manageable number, I bought 3 samples for each room and put them up to live with a few days.





You want to see how the paint looks up on the wall (ALWAYS looks different than at the store or even in the can). Make sure to see how the light changes how the paint looks throughout the day – that lovely sage green you like might turn neon in the harsh light in a west-facing room.

Rather than painting and priming in two steps, I chose the new Behr paint with the primer already built in to save a step. Brilliant! Note: Behr does not sponsor Musings from the Front Porch. I wish they would...

Painting is way easier when you have help, so I invited my sister Leigh and her boyfriend Matt up for the day to see the house/make them do work.



Matt was in charge of the roller. Tip: always roll in a “W” shape for the most even coverage.



Looking good, Matt!

Leigh started out with a roller too but wasn’t having much fun…



…so we sent her out to paint the chandelier (more on that in a future post).



I was in charge of the trim. We started out taping, but not worth it. Just use a small, angled brush and go slowly. Don’t rush! Note: I was very excited about painting and went way too fast on the trim. That’s why there are no pictures of that.



We won’t do a full reveal of the bedroom, but here’s a little snippet of the wall color.



And a taste of the guest room (done at a later time with help from Rachel and Roommate)


Final note about painting: don’t get too “helpful” with your tips or Matt/your painter will look at you like this