Who is Hughes? That’s me. My maiden name was Hughes. For 27 years, I was Katie Hughes. For such a common last name, it’s amazing how many times I had to tell people how to pronounce it. My favorite was Huge-hess. Probably because it sounded like “huge heads”…something near and dear to me. literally. So what does my maiden name “Hughes” have to do with paint? Nothing really. It’s just a homonym for the real meat (bacon if you will) of this post…paint hues. But first a little background info for those of you just joinin’ this partay:
Painting our guest bedroom (project #1 on our to-do list) was long overdue. And obviously, so was learning how to use the white balance on my camera.
In this makeover, the first thing we did was tackle the bedding. Remember – it’s always a good idea to pull your linens and upholstery into a room before you tackle the paint. It’s a heckova lot easier to snag the perfect paint color to match your duvet than it is to find the duvet that matches your paint. The bedding we went for was a simple and classic Hotel white & chocolate scheme.
and we also decided that our accent color would be none other than the infamous (and wildly misunderstood) red.
This simple color palette would make it quite easy to find the perfect shade for our walls. We are tan people through and through…not literally…we are actually quite pasty…but for walls, we love us a good shade of beige. Plus we are constantly thinking about resale work. AKA – what would we have to pay to get this space ready for selling so that we can move to a farm. Jeremy doesn’t know it yet, but he wants to be a farmer. With a horse. And painting our walls warm sandy brown would ensure that we would NOT have to repaint when Jer-bear wants to pack in it and ride off into the sunset.
So with our mind set on tan and a gift card curtesy of True Value, we searched our paint swatches for the perfect shade.
The first color that really spoke to us was Olympic’s Classic Khaki…it would really compliment the dark brown, warm up the white bedding and the splash of red would really pop against the neutral hue. But then there was also Olympic’s Dusty Trail. We are definitely fans of Dusty Trail…afterall, it’s the same color in our dining room, our den and our kitchen. But surprisingly we have no bedroom with the lovely tan color. Our last option was Benjamin Moore’s French White. I definitely liked that it was lighter than the other two…mostly because I was scared that a darker hue would close in the space…but I was a little nervous that using a lighter beige would not allow for that cozy warm feeling that I wanted to infuse into the place for guests…plus it appeared to have more of a pink undertone (a big no-no when it comes to tan…unless you like walls covered in FLESH. sicko.)
After much consideration, I decided to go with the Dusty Trail. I really loved the Classic Khaki but since it was so close to Dusty Trail and I’ve used that paint color in the past with rave reviews, I knew that it would be better to go with the one that was tried and true. Plus, limiting the total number of hues in our home would allow us to limit the total number of touchup paint cans we have to store and the less work we have to do to remember what colors are where in our house. So we have a winner…
Since True Value can color match anything, we just took the swatch to their paint department and got two gallons in eggshell. Then we headed home and prepped the room for the new hue.
Remember when I said that the paint job was long overdue? Yeah…one of the many reasons we had failed to tackle this easy task was because the previous owner made it not-so-easy with his ridiculously bad paint job. Not only did the walls require sanding, but then we had to wipe down them all so that we could apply the paint without the excess dust getting in the way.
Believe it or not, that is not a close-up photo. That drip of paint was the size of my pointer finger. Ga-rows.
For this situation, we found that the best solution was not regular sandpaper but these sanding sponges. They were easier to hold and you could go over the walls faster than with sheets. Plus, when the sponge got clogged up, I could rinse it out and keep on truckin.
Then it was painting time. The walls only required two coats…and it went very quickly especially since we did not have to cut in the top edge (we were already planning on adding crown molding so we knew that no clean edge was necessary).
Dude Jeremy…next time tell me I need to cover up those dark circles under my eyes. Not cool.
So there you have it…one freshly painted room. Not really that much to look at right now…but believe me, that crown molding isn’t called “crown” for nothing…it really does make the room oh-so-regal.
Oh and here’s a quick tip for those of you who are doing your own painting projects: don’t wash your brush between coats. Instead of cleaning it out, wrap it tightly in seran wrap (rubberband the bottom if necessary) and then put it into your fridge till you need it for the next coat. Just don’t forget about it in there. It’ll keep for at least two days till you can get back to cutting in.
Thanks for following along as we go through this bedroom makeover…it really is a process and I like to remember each step. Next up – the fan replacement and then crown molding. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…let’s talk hues…anyone out there with a paint project? What is your key factor in picking a shade…resale value? color undertone? getting your wife off your back? Or perhaps just because it makes you happy? Colors can do that, you know. I would know…my last name was Hues….err…Hughes. And now this post has gone full circle 🙂
p.s. eager to read more about picking the perfect beige or the right shade for your space? head on over to get some help at this Paint 101 post I wrote for the True Value site. Plus there are some great tips from other veteran blogsquadders.
“I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.”
I love that Dusty Trail color. I’ve been tryin to find the right shade of (resale) beige/tan for our kitchen/living/dining room. It’s all one ‘big’ room (20×25) so it has been really hard to find the perfect ‘hughes’ (wink wink, nudge nudge) for a room with ever changing light and all day use.
here’s where we are right now :
http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2010/08/ceilingharvested.html
Jeez Katie, you just made me realise my living room walls are flesh coloured and now I need to repaint. Thanks a bunch.
I’m guessing you’re painting the Goodwill lamps? If you haven’t already (or you find you need more in the future) I have a different way to update brass without painting.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/how-to-update-brass/
I have those same chairs and LOVE them! I tried to get a second set when I saw they were on clearance, but they were out of stock. Boo!
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/trim-office/
That’s a great color. It’s amazing how tough the neutrals can be sometimes!
I usually get an idea in my head of how I want a room to look and then try to find a paint color that matches my mental picture. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t 🙂 And the color red rocks!
And if you don’t have saran wrap (I never seem to have it when I need it) Ziploc bags wrok great for paint brushes and rollers too – I use giant gallon bags for my roller and little bags for my brushes before stowing them in the spare fridge.
Love the guest room!
I love that color! I’m so excited to see the crown molding go up! It’s also nice to know that someone else shares my love of tan walls! Our house is full of them! And like you, it has a little to do with resale and not having to repaint everything in order to sell.
Love the color!
I do really like that color. I didn’t realize my faintly pinkish beige walls made me a sicko. Thanks Katie! I think it can work, especially if you have a lot of red toned woods in the space. I have Behr’s Wild Porcini on my walls, maple floors, cherry wood furniture and a RED sofa. Maybe if you had a lot of oak, and yellow tones it would looked like you skinned someone for your walls, but I think, for me, the walls just recede. You don’t even really see them, which is good, since I have a tiny house.
You can also use plastic grocery bags to wrap your rollers. I never seem to have saran wrap in the house when I decide to paint. Love the bedding, btw.
When I repainted the Kitchen/Living room I used similar hues as you did. I went with Valspar Whistful Beige. The previous color was in the beige family but had a very hard yellow tone and I hate sitting in a room that feels like it has yellow lightbulbs shining from the table lamps and ceiling lights.
Love your paint colors 🙂
Love that saran wrap tip! I hate the wasted energy of washing the brush between coats. When my husband and I first bought our house (after apartment living) we kind of went nuts and painted EVERY room a color. Now, 5 years later, I’m going back and being a little more mindful with my color choices. I hope to replace the light yellowish-green in our bedroom with something similar to what you chose.
I will never be able to sit in a pinky beige room again without thinking of that wall skin comment! Hilarious and so disturbing. 🙂
Aimee – you are right…pink undertones can work…I find that they tend to look fleshier than the golden, grey or green undertones (then again…we have a lot of green going on in our house) but just like you said, if you have have other pinkish undertoned items, then it might be the right choice for you. As for my name-calling…well, don’t take it too personally…unless you actually do have flesh covered walls…in which case…yes…you are a sicko 🙂
Thanks for your input…I love it when people help clarify!
XO – kb
Hi Amanda,
Yeah – I saw that magical transformation on Design Sponge…and LOVED it. But I would clarify that you can’t update the faux brass stuff…like mine. The lamps I got were merely brass colored and not actually brass plated or solid brass. I only had the spraypaint option 🙁 But don’t fret, I am constantly on the search for the real stuff!
Thanks for sharing!
XO -kb
GREAT tip with the whole paint brush in the fridge thing… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve just put off painting because I don’t want to go through the whole cleanup process. Thanks!
isn’t it amazing how just the change from white to beige can make a huge difference?!?
this month’s issue of real simple has got me itching to paint a room gray. i loved their take on a gray-red living room and i’m totally playing on copying it in our next apartment. (we just moved about a month ago and i’m already decorating our next place!)
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/decorating/decorating-gray-00000000042822/page15.html
i love what you’ve done so far and can’t wait to see what’s next!
I’m in the middle of my own painting dilemma right now as well (note: deep eggplant and florescent Kelly green are NOT an easy colors to live with).
And thanks for the paint brush tip. I’m sure it will come in handy reeeeeally soon. (I hope.)
Hey Katie!
Great post…you basically wrote the story of my life for the past two years, from the saran wrap on paintbrushes to cursing the previous homeowner’s painting skills. 🙂
Also loved the reference to Jer-bear. My husband is also named Jeremy and he hears that nickname from time to time, too.
Lots of luck to you and your boys!
Beiges are tricky!! I had a similar story with our living room
http://styleandcentsability.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/trial-and-error-tricky-taupe/
But we are happy with the result
http://styleandcentsability.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/before-and-after-living-roomkitchen/
Awesome tip about keeping the brush in the fridge. Wish I new that a few months ago, but I will def save this idea for next time!!
My maiden name was also Hughes, and my favorite mispronnounciation was “Huggies”
Love the tan color! I was just noting that I kind of wish we had another room to paint because I like the tan of our hallway (Valspar Churchill Hotel Hazy Yellow), maybe we’ll work tans into our house with accents.
Here is a question for you Katie since you are so good at painting. We are getting new carpet this Saturday, which means that most of our house will now have lighter beige carpet instead of dark green (!). We are living in a 1901’s bungalow so the top part of our walls are white and the bottom part is nice wood panel (which we plan on keeping). Now to my question: I find white a bit boring, even though it lights up our small house, but do you have any other suggestion of wall color in a smaller house? Or perhaps keep it white and antique brown and add other accents?
Would be fantastic to hear your opinion. Thank you!
Okay, this is funny to me. I’m getting married in 10 days (10 days!) and my new last name is going to be…. Hewes! Same pronounciation but different spelling than yours (obviously) True confession – I’m already tired of clarifying the spelling & pronounciation but the guy is certainly worth it. 🙂
First up on the home improvement project after I move in – paint the guest room! And it has that same bed in it – which was also my fiance’s old bed.
Now, if only I could take photos as beautiful as yours!
Isabell,
This is tricky to answer not knowing what you are going to put in the rooms as far as furniture and accents go. It sounds basically like you have a pretty neutral pallette going on there…so any lighter color on the walls would keep the home feeling spacious without being boring. Sometimes you can pick your favorite accent color (like a blue pulled from a pillow or a green from your accent chair) and find the same color on a paint swatch…then just have the paint department folks cut it in half with white. Even if it looks like mostly white, it can have an undertone that will compliment your room 🙂 Any other suggestions for Isabell?
XO – kb
Tan is a very tricky colour… my ex-boyfriend (not at the time obviously) decided to surprise me once and painted our entire downstairs tan while I was away. Unfortunately, I hadn’t yet chosen my perfect colour and he ended up choosing a sickly pinky brown. With red carpets in the living room (it was a rental), and white trim, it looked like a Valentine’s Day card had thrown up. Bless, he was trying to do right by me but is it any wonder we’re no longer together? 😉
My surname is Hughes as well funny enough but in the UK, it’s very common (it’s Welsh) so never had a problem with pronounciation! I do have a friend who calls me ‘Kimmy New Shoes’ (or simply ‘New Shoes’) which was her cockney rhyming slang for Hughes…
To avoid cleaning your wet paint brush and keep it ready to use even longer, put it in the freezer! It is ready for you to use whenever you get back to your paint job. The brush thaws very quickly for use; just takes a minute or so. This works great for me, who doesn’t always get back to a painting project for awhile, especially when I am tackling walls or several coats of paint on furniture.