my colorful paint refresh
It’s been just a little over a year since I purchased my current home. This time, I chose a home that was move-in ready which meant that it looked like any other newly-renovated home in DC. The walls were painted grey and the floors were grey too… the space had no personality at all. To solve this issue, I could have covered the blank grey walls with art but it would take me a few years to build the collection I needed to reflect my personality. So I decided to paint the grey away and add a couple of accent walls/murals. To give you an idea of what my canvas looked like before, here are some visuals of my living and dining rooms before I took on this creative endeavor.
My living room before painting away the grey.
My aunt painted me this painting and it really helped brighten the dining room but my vision called for more art all around.
The thing is, as soon as I moved in, I purchased a royal blue couch. So the color scheme I picked had to flow with the blue and gold accent already in the space.
Color samples I selected from Home Depot. The blue helped me picture these colors with the couch.
If you’re inspired by this project and want to do something similar, here are some lessons I learned along the way to help you get started:
Have someone (or more) help you! My cousin was there helping me along the entire process. With her help, it took us probably 18 hours to paint both the living and dining room spaces. I can’t imagine how long this project would take if it was only me.
Purchase extra painter’s tape and brushes. It’s a drag to have to run to Home Depot or Lowe’s for items you did not think you would need. You can always return them later if you don’t need them - just keep your receipts safe.
Add a thin first layer of paint. If you try to overcoat the surface, it can leak and leave some bumps on the surface as it dries.
Keep a wet microfiber cloth around to wipe away any mistakes.
To get rid of the grey, we painted the entire rooms in the Frosted Coffee color. After that color dried, it was time to sketch, tape and paint again.
Instead of painting the entire wall cream, I first sketched out the design with a pencil, and painted over the lines with the cream colored paint. Once that dried, I went over the lines with painter’s tape.
To trace the circles, I measured half of the diameter with a string attached to a push pin and a pencil and hoped for the best. I used the orange pencil so that it wouldn’t show much through the light colors.
After tracing the design, we took turns taping and painting the sections color-by-color.
The colors really uplifted the space up! Seeing the finished product has really brightened everyone’s mood around the house.
The living room looks more finished now and the project cost me less than adding a wallpaper or artwork would have.
I received these one of wall planters as a housewarming gift and I was excited to finally find the perfect spot for it in the house. I went back to purchase a second planter to complete the set.
I will later add more decor to the walls, like a round mirror, but for now, this will be more than fine!
For this wall in the dining room, we hung some Ikea chair purse hangers and a dog leash holder under my aunt’s paintings for some functionality. Once you have a space for everything in the home, it helps you keep the clutter away.
The next day was spent eyeballing for any paint bleeds and making some corrections.
For someone who’s never painted a home before, I was pretty satisfied with the outcome and can’t wait to paint other spaces in my home. Please let me know what you think :-) and send me pics of any projects inspired by this one.
Check my social media for time lapse and before and after videos.
