Our reading room has been a catchall for a long time. It has all the breakable décor items that I collected in years past but am afraid to put within boys reach. They would think the porcelain bird is a baseball and decide it’s a wise choice to practice pitching. And that’s a rule – no Sammy Sosa’s inside.
So anyhoo…this room needed clearing so that I could move my office in here.
It actually is not as bright as one would think with all those big windows. These windows face the west and are under the porch so they don’t get as much light as southern exposure windows. In fact, we have only two southern windows – both in Will’s room. Helps with not getting the house all hot but bright lighted windows that are small are usually desirable.
After the room was cleared (Jeremy moved all the bigger pieces because he has all the muscles in this relationship), we cleaned things up. When I say we, I mean I stole Weston’s paci and wouldn’t give it back until he had scrubbed every last inch.
Ya gotta crack that whip young mama.
LJ was making excuses about vacuuming. Slacker.
So then it was time to paint trim. We use Liquid Deglosser to prep the surface on our trim. It’s really fast and a whole room could take about fifteen extra minutes but we feel like it’s not a waste because you have to wipe the trim down anyway.
One coat of primer (we used Kilz in here) and three coats of paint (Valspar’s brightest white semi-gloss untinted) later we have very white trim. Hallelu-hallelu-hallelu-halleluiah praise be the Lord. And we aren’t talking about Lord Disick. (officially that leaves the foyer, stairway, and living room now on the to-be-painted list!!!)
This was our largest surface area to date that we painted by hand because with all that French door action and the moldings at the entrance…it was killer.
Doesn’t it look so good with the white though? Every time. It gets me every.single.time.
Oh and then I decided to paint the ceiling blue. I had a wild hair that I would have white walls and a blue ceiling. So I just did it. And I love it. It’s the same color as the old office (Benjamin Moore’s Palladian Blue).
And then I told Jer to pick me up a gallon of white paint for the walls. I needed Eggshell paint in Benjamin Moore’s Simply white. He came home with Benjamin Moore’s Brilliant white. Not the same thing. But not returnable. So I put it up on the walls. It’s not Simply White but it’s white and good enough and with three little ones – you put the paint on the walls.
Check out that receding hairline. I know I keep talking about my hair falling out but this is my most unfavorite part about post partum. I feel like a walking Rogaine commercial. I guess it’s God telling me to not be vain about anything…maybe prepping me for old age….maybe giving me a heart toward men with hair loss. Either way, by the time I’m done having kids, I will be ready to be an old bald man for sure 🙂
And now after all that painting…the room is officially ready to be turned into an office. The white sure is hard to decorate. I never knew! But I am up for the challenge. I need curtains, a rug and a lot of organization but hopefully soon it will be ready for reveal time.
I’m excited to see the after! I’m sure it will be gorgeous. PP hair loss is the WORST. I have a 9 month old, so I’m past the losing part, and the growing back part isn’t any more fun. I don’t ruin the vaccum anymore (true story), but I have hair that sticks up about an inch or two all over my head! It’s so, so bad. And my hair is down to the middle of my back, so I’m pretty sure I’ll never never be normal again. Maybe bald is the way to go?? Haha
Lovely! We are currently in a rental and I want to paint just about every surface so badly that I could scream. Alas, I will leave vicariously through you.
I may have missed something in a previous post – but why did you decide to move your office? I love the decision to paint the ceiling blue, by the way! Looks very pretty and soft!
I was surprised to read you think it is hard to decorate white. I started out imagining it would be so much fun to have a white room and bring in painted furniture and curtains and rugs and art, but then I guess there is a fine line between being too monochromatic and having too many tones… I guess it could be difficult! ENJOY! 🙂
to answer your last questions, I am guessing visits- if it’s doable, and phone calls? 🙂
Looks so bright and airy!! What are you going to do with the curtains that were in there? I love that pattern and color. I seem to remember that you made them (is that right?) a while ago but I can’t find the post. They’d be perfect for my living room! Anyway, can’t wait to see the finished office!
Looks like a great start! The red chair is especially beautiful in there. And man, I can relate with the balding! No one told me that happens post partum. Mine has grown in a whole inch now…looks awesome 😉
I had that hair problem after my first, took forever to fill back in. After my second I started taking gummy vitamin Hair, Skin & Nails formula. It makes a huge difference! Give it a try, I noticed a big improvement before the first bottle of vitamins was gone.
Oh my gosh, I remember going bald after our Charlie was born. I would just barely run my fingers through my hair once and DOZENS upon dozens of hairs would fall out. The worst part was that all the hair that grew in its place grew in at the exact same time. So I had a layer of 1″ hair all over my head that made me look like a fuzz ball. Sigh. The joys of motherhood!
Can’t wait to see what you do with the room! White walls would terrify me, but I’m sure you’ll make it look amazing 🙂
My local hardware store has a sign that states “husbands need a note from their wives in order to purchase tinted paint”!
I have heard that it is hard to decorate white. Is there a particular reason you chose to paint it white? Looking forward to seeing what you do to the space.
It looks amazing so far!
I swear I’ve never read a post of yours that didn’t make me laugh. Your hairline might be receding, but your butt looks great in those shorts! Is that offensive? Sorry.
The office looks great! So much brighter! I am seriously impressed about you painting all that trim! We are moving into a house soon and ALL THE TRIM needs to be painted. It is all wood right now and it’s just not my thing since it is not historical (it is 1988 build.) But man, we have 35 the paneled windows to do and a set of french doors! We are debating on buying a paint sprayer like you guys have after seeing your reviews and the Petersik’s. After doing the french door by hand, would you consider spraying one in the future (with paper cut-outs like the Petersiks?) We are trying to wrap our brains on how to get all this darn trim done and since the husband hates painting I think it will all be on me! Thanks for sharing! You guys are my go to manual for home improvement!
Just as a challenge. I like to mix things up and this seemed like a way I can do that in a space that only I use.
xo – kb
You can read about that here.
xo – kb
No way – I think in the future I will always just spray windows. I think Sherry definitely did it the hard way…with just a razor blade. I have a trick 🙂
xo – kb
Sooo excited to see how you decorate it!! Also, I just have to tell you, that of all the (numerous) home blogs I read, I love love LOVE your taste the best. Seriously. Can you please come decorate for me?!
Your posts inspired me to paint our table, front door, and then we purposely found more things to paint because we loved it so much!
Dude I am 5mo postpartum and am going bald in the exact same patches as you! I lost a metric ton of hair after. My first pregnancy, but I didnt notice any specific patches that were thin. This time its HORRIBLE all along my hairline. 🙁 anyway, all that to say, i flippin feel ya girl. Major sympathy.
..hmmmmm …a kb trick for spraying window trim….does it involve frog tape by chance? Im thinking yes 🙂
I can’t wait to see how the room turns out! On another note… As a dentist and a huge fan I feel I should voice my concern on Weston’s use of a paci at his age. It can be detrimental to his oral development and cause unnecessary dental work in the future. And maybe you already know this and are taking steps to wean him off. I really don’t mean to offend or anything of that sort. I love your boys and hope they grow strong and healthy!
Looks great!! That white trim makes all the difference. Ok, so are you going to tell us your trick??
The white walls with blue ceiling are everything. Seriously.
And I know you’ve probably mentioned this before but where did you get your white desk?! I have been searching everywhere for something JUST like that! Thanks in advance 🙂
I think you mean ‘mensch’ and not ‘munch’
Wow interesting point about white being hard to decorate. I was thinking of doing the new living room white but now I am worried. I am not good at decorating at the best of times.
Love the photo of you vacuuming with the two kids. I get it!
Nat
So good to know! Thank you so much for the advice! Please share your trick soon as I am dreading all this cutting in and all those panels!
The room looks awesome! I use Nioxin shampoo (but not the conditioners – don’t care for them). My husband uses it as well. His dad was bald by 40 and my husband still has hair and he’s 48. I went through a spell where I was losing my hair (ah, the change) so I started using Nioxin shampoo. My hair is still full and thick after years of using it. Give it a try.
Possibly a stupid question, but why did you have to de-gloss the trim first? I thought that since you were just covering white trim with white it wouldn’t require that much work. Thanks!
Hi,
Nice idea of switching up things.
Most imp. Could u share your thgts about the solly baby wrap plz.
Upto what weight limit can u wear it. And do u like it??
So many in the market hard to decide on one.
Any advice or even a video with the tying up would be
Great.
It will be a fun challenge! I thought maybe because it was a dark room or something.
Okay this may be a silly question – especially since I’ve never painted trim in my life… But why use a primer before 3 coats of brightest white paint? I ask because we’re about to paint our white trim that has yellowed throughout the years. I would have thought to use a primer only if it was a different color (like blue or brown). Is this step necessary? Thanks in advance for your response 🙂
Well, it’s technically a coat of primer and 2 coats plus touch ups or coats where needed. A primer is best for adhesion purposes…it’s chemical makeup is different than just plain paint…so it’s best for that first coat. It’s kinda like putting glue on before screwing wood together…it helps.
xo – kb
Our trim is actually not white – it’s tan. And we degloss because we don’t know exactly what kind of paint they used (alkyd? regular?) so the degloss and the primer steps both help with adhesion.
xo – kb
Munch as in Munchkin 🙂 We use it as a word to describe a mischievous troublemaking jokester. I know that isn’t the technical definition…it’s a Bower-definition 🙂
xo – kb
Yes! I took photos and everything 🙂
xo – kb
It’s ikea and we painted it white 🙂
xo – kb
Nope 🙂
xo – kb
It’s funny you say that because our pediatrician told us that she recommends they have access to the paci till the age of two because of the need of most babes to have that sucking comfort! We also talked to a dentist and they told us that most kids naturally wean pacifier use between the ages of 2 and 4 and not to worry. We hope that the transition off of the paci will be easy as it was with Will (we finished with his a couple months after his 2nd birthday and it was a breeze!).
xo – kb
Can’t wait to see it. 🙂
Every room except our conservatory is painted ‘Pure Brilliant White’. I think the white acts as a great backdrop for our colourful curtains, furniture and art work. It keeps everything fresh and bright. The only riin I would consider changing is the master bedroom to soft gray walls but my other half likes the white too much and has yet to be convinced. We’ll see…
Look forward to seeing how you work with the white.
Do I spy a Bryan College sweatshirt?
Yup 🙂
xo – kb
This was the “perfect” post for me to read today since I am thinking about painting our dining room ceiling a pale green and the walls white or off white and your post gave me the vision I needed (yes, I am a visual person). I am dragging my heels on this though because of how my neck feels when painting ceilings, any suggestions?
I got an extender pole and used that and held it in the same place that was most comfortable and used my feet to walk it a lot. I didn’t actually use my shoulders much and it seemed to help with our 10 foot ceilings!
xo – kb
OK you made that look WAY too easy! I need to know how much time it took you to paint all that trim and moulding!?!?
Umm….a long time 🙂
xo – kb
I love the Solly. I am a huge fan of her and her wraps. Number one thing is that it is super lightweight so it doesn’t get hot like other wraps. Important in GA heat! And it is very very soft. I think you can wear it up to 30 lbs…but it’s not a woven so you can only carry in front. You get instructions with the wrap on how to do different carries…its really easy. I only do one carry but I want to get a woven and do a back carry.
xo – kb
I have used it but it is so dang expensive! I figure that it’s hormonal so it’ll probably grow back…at least that is what I am hoping!
xo – kb
Random q: what brand is your vacuum cleaner? I’ve never seen one like it!
It’s an Electrolux and it’s very old 🙂
xo – kb