When it came time to paint the basement, I was thrilled to pick paint colors.
I usually pick the paint color based on the upholstery & fabrics that are going into the room…and since Torrey (our new roomie & longtime little brother) already had dreamy furniture, it was just a matter of visiting him (and his decor) armed with Olympic paint swatches.
We went with the color Rain Cloud in the main room because we knew we wanted a really, REALLY light color. The darkness of the floor would really ground the space – making your eye stop at the hardwoods. So in order to keep the illusion of a high ceiling and to keep your eye going up, up and away, the wall hue needed to be light, bright and not create a contrast with the ceiling color.
My dear boyfriend painted all the ceilings…I was too short. And we only did one coat of primer and one coat of Valspar’s Bistro White on all the flat ceilings. The walls are the done here in Olympic’s Rain Cloud. It definitely needed two coats to get the best coverage but that is pretty average round these parts 🙂
Jeremy thought that it looked white at first. He honestly couldn’t tell the difference. He had me worried that I made the wrong choice but I kept my cool and reassured him that the white trim and the dark floors would create enough contrast to make the color pop. I’m glad that I am awesome at lying…because it actually worked and both us Bowers love the end result.
The bedroom was painted Navajo White – which actually looks more sandy tan to me. We ended up painting all the dropped boxes (the boxes around the ductwork) the same color as the walls. In my opinion it makes the room look larger and draws less attention to the boxes in general.
And finally the hall is done in the Plantation Moss…sorry about the color distortion at the back of the hall…the light bulbs over there make the color look bright green. The actual color in person is actually the color above the little storage closet ‘hole’ and only slightly darker than the Rain Cloud.
I often get asked tips on painting a room.
We have found that the best way to paint a room is to tag-team the effort.
Jeremy tackles the rolling…and ensures that he keeps a ‘wet edge’. He rolls in sections making sure that the layers are creating good coverage and even and not too heavy (no drips!). The ‘wet edge’ factor helps with small bubbles in the paint or roller streaks. It means that each stroke of the roller is next to a stroke of wet paint.
And it means that he is dang sexy.
But he only rolls after I have already ‘cut in’. Cutting in is the process of painting the edges (where the wall meets ceiling, or wall meets trim or floor) as well as the corners where the roller can’t squeeze in. Painting this area first with a nice 2″ or larger angled brush (my favorite brand is Purdy) ensures that any brush strokes or uneven paint coverage can be covered by the roller.
So.
Painting complete. Do you have any favorite painting tips that you have to share? Any brands that you adore and wanna give a little shoutout to? Any ceiling painters in the house? I would love to read your tips.
So.
Tomorrow is flooring. And I am so excited about this because I have a little video to share of our adventures in hardwood.
So.
Stay tuned! and I mean that in a totally non-musical sense 🙂 the cheese continues….
After painting three previous homes top to bottom, we have found that we prefer to do one coat, then cut in and then a second coat. We always do at least two coats just to really clean things up. By rolling on one coat first, the roller can get pretty close to the edge (we always tape, too) and then we don’t have nearly as much to cut in. The second coat cleans up those paint strokes like you talked about. Oh, and we love our Paint Mate or Paint Stick or whatever you want to call it. It seemed like a gimmick but we think it works really well to get a nice uniform coat and not a lot of mess. The cleaning up of the tool can be a hassle, but worth it for the ease of painting.
Hi Rebecca – I haven’t heard much about the Paint Mat product so I am glad that you brought it up. I will have to give it a look the next time I am at my home improvement store…which will be like later today 🙂
Thanks for the info!
XO – Katie
Love the colors! And yes, if you are ever in Nashville again I’d love to meet up! It was so fun to meet you!
Ugg. We finally (just last night around 8pm) finished painting our house for good. We have done every room, some twice. But, we are DONE!
We do the exact same as you guys. I go around and do all the cracks and edges and my hubs rolls. We have used all different brands of paint but my favorites were Ben Moore and Sheriman Williams. They spread and covered really nicely. They just seemed thicker than most.
My biggest tip: PULL YOUR TAPE OFF RIGHT AFTER YOU ARE DONE PAINTING. I left mine on a little too long and ripped all the paint around the doors way off. Not good!
We totally paint like you guys – I do the trim, the boy does the rolling. We tried the other way around, but the boy has no patience for trimming out the ceiling, and we ended up with lots of paint everywhere ’cause I have no control over the roller.
do you tape the ceiling or are you just very careful when you ‘cut in’?
Hola Kristin –
Actually we used to tape everything…but then we decided that I can cut in just as straight as the tape. It takes some practice but in the end, it looks great 🙂
XO – Katie
i totally agree. I love a 2″ angled purdy brush. It’s always good to have the hubby do the rolling, my arms always get tired and he’s not the cuttin in type. It’s my thing. Nice color choices. Lookin good!
Do you find that pricey paint brushes are worth it? Also, I think the dropped boxes are called soffits. I think. At least that’s what I call the ones in my kitchen.
Tran – Actually I don’t think that the price makes the brush. I believe that the types of bristles and the actual quality are my deciding factors. How the brush holds up to cleanings and how well the brush holds the paint and actually gets the hue on the wall are ways that you can find your best fit. I have tried every brush under the sun and I just prefer Purdy brand because I get less drips, less bristle bubbles, and less broken or wayward bristles after cleaning. I figure that I could buy a good tool now and spend $10 more or I could replace the brushes after every other job and spend $30 to $40 more in one year. Math isn’t my strongest suite but I can tell which is the better buy for me 🙂 Good luck finding your perfect match…oh and thanks for the ID on the ‘soffits’!
XO – Katie
I like the colors. I’m in the process of picking colors for my house, I am sick sick sick of what I have, its been 7 years! I am hiring out though, my days of DIY painting are over 🙂
This actually *almost* motivates me to paint the dining room. I think the taping took the longest when we painted our living room and bedroom. I’d love to skip it and just use a good angled brush!