Well hello there! I've been busy finishing up the painting in our master bedroom and am thrilled to tell you I'm finally done! I started this redo two and a half years ago and I'm determined to finish it up this year. Gah. It's taken me forever. I've dragged my feet because as with many, I don't focus on this room as much because we're usually the only ones to see it. And I didn't hate the old look or anything, so I haven't been in any rush.
And oh yeah, the ceilings go to about 14 feet tall in this room. I painted them nearly 12 years ago for the first time and still remember how scary that was, so I've put this off mainly because of that.
But I got it done! People. I painted the first wall in the summer of 2013. Nearly three years later and I finally finished it up. I'm SO HAPPY to get this done. And the bonus -- I absolutely love the new color. It's completely transformed the look of this room.
Here's the old wall color -- it's a beautiful gray/green but very dark, especially in this room that doesn't get a ton of natural light:
You can see what a mess it was. That's a lot of hanging and rehanging right there -- up till recently I had something up there that hid all of that.
I finally got to work -- I put the Bachelor on and my assistant oversaw my work:
You know how you build something up in your head for a long time and avoid it because in your head it's a huge, massive, scary project? Well this took about four hours total -- and that's with two coats! It wasn't bad at all. I used our extending paint pole and only had to get on the ladder for the tippy top. The cutting in was sweat-inducing but I was fine. I had my husband listen for any loud thuds though, no lie.
I have seen this tip for years and did it for the first time:
You write the name of the paint on the back side of the switch cover -- it's easy to find out what you need for touch ups. Brilliant! I only know our paint colors because I have them documented here on the blog. And we have no plans to move but someday it will be nice to have this info here for future owners. Because I'm telling you, these walls are not getting painted again for a very very long time. :)
Next up, I gathered some frames I've been picking up here and there over the past few months for various projects. The top three were from HomeGoods and the bottom two are from IKEA. I talked about ideas for decorating around the TV here and went with a very simple look:
As you can see, I taped off the size of the TV on the floor and then figured out my layout and distances there. With most gallery walls I go a lot less structured so I'll just put the holes in the wall and move frames around if needed. With this symmetrical look and a freshly painted wall I wanted to be more precise.
I filled the frames with photos of our latest NYC trip in December and printed them out at home:
The mats for the IKEA frames were too big -- they needed 11x14 photos (that I can't print at home). So I used my method of "matting" photos I shared here. The only poster board I have is an off white color that doesn't match the upper frames and it's driving me batty. That's one thing I'll change as soon as this no spend month is over. (I even tried painting them.) Craft stores have nicer, bright white poster board that looks much better.
As much as I love a random look, I usually lean towards symmetry in design. I love how the black frames work on the light gray wall and with the TV:
I am so thrilled with how it filled up that big wall! I love the look!:
I just used accessories I have around the house so those will probably be changed up later. And I've decided to paint the dresser -- the new wall color makes it look orange. It's got a lot of damage and has the fake wood, mottled look to it. I think I will go dark, similar to this one I painted in the family room:
I couldn't find a before photo of this wall from the past few years anywhere! I never took pictures of it because it was just a dresser and TV. So I don't have any great before and afters pics, which you know makes me sad. :) I'll have to do some more digging.
I LOVE how the lighter walls make this room feel! LOVE! (They are Whitestone from Benjamin Moore. I had it mixed in Sherwin Williams.) It's such a different look and I was so ready for it. Still a few more projects to finish in this room before I'll call it done but I'm thrilled with the progress!:
It's coming together so well, just as it did in my head all those three years ago. :) As I mentioned earlier this month, my word for the year is FINISH -- I'm determined to get this room done in the next couple of months!
By the way, this Whitestone color is a perfect light gray. I highly recommend it. It doesn't have any blue or purple undertones like some have and it still gives nice contrast against the white trim.
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