Last week, we said goodbye to our dark and moody bedroom. We painted over the Chelsea Gray we had for three years and introduced a brighter beige with some warm, gray undertones called Olympic Mountains by Benjamin Moore--an appropriate name for this time of year, yes?
We initially picked up two paint samples for the walls: Edgecomb Gray and Classic Gray, but I wasn't sold on either of them. Edgecomb was a bit darker and was reading very peach next to our bed frame, and Classic Gray was reading too cool. And although I feel like I preach this often, it's worth a reminder: don't try to pick a paint color based on anything else other than what it looks like in YOUR room with your furnishings and your light.
While both were really close to what we wanted, neither was perfect. So I pulled out my swatches to search for a paint color that was a nice marriage of both. Olympic Mountains checked all the boxes. In fact, even Chris immediately said, "That's it!" He went and picked up a gallon, color-matched it in Valspar Optimus (we don't have a Benjamin Moore store around here and LOVE the coverage of Valspar) in a matte finish--which I think is just really the best sheen for a soothing bedroom.
When I say, "We used flat paint" I usually get a bunch of questions about durability and wipeability. Paint has come so far. So far. We have used this Valspar paint in flat a dozen times and it always wipes up great.
In an afternoon, with me edging (with this brush and a steady hand--no taping ever!) and Chris rolling we got the room all painted. It took two coats and we didn't use a primer, because the paint has an excellent built-in primer.
Verdict: We're in love with the new color. And while it doesn't look like much now, we have started to intentionally bring back in (and leave out) pieces to our room and couldn't love it more. Olympic Mountains is the kind of color we could and would paint our whole house. It's light. It's warm. It's comforting and feels fresh--Beige is back!
There's a few things that we've changed our minds on--lamps--and some things I'm still not sure of, like, should we nix curtains and just go with a nice roman shade? We're taking our time and testing things out--meaning, you probably won't see an after of this space next week! But! As always, we'll keep you in the loop and share as we go.
See more of where we're headed in our bedroom in this post!
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Hi Julia,
What type of paint/color do you use on your base boards/ceiling/trim? I’m looking into lightening up our bedroom and love this Olympic Mountains color. Just curious when painting walls some version of white if you typically use the same color on trim, etc. Thank you!
Hi,
This room is a huge inspiration for how I would like my new master bedroom. Would love to know how you actually went about with the colour match for the wall paint....did you just show them a swatch or do they match by the colour name? Thank you so much!
Sometimes they can look up the formula for specific colors, but I you can also just bring in a swatch and almost ANY paint store will color match it.
Hi! Love your house!!
Can you share where you purchased the console you did use before? Personally I like the old ones better!
Do you mean the nightstands? We found them on Craigslist.
Can you recommend a starting point for our bedroom paint color? We want a warm soft and light color. We have black furniture (except we just sold our big black bedframe) and we just purchased this rug: https://www.allmodern.com/rugs/pdp/ovid-orange-area-rug-lnpk5343.html. Figuring out paint colors is not my strength!
Try pulling the lightest color from the rug!
Thanks! Maybe I'll have to take the (huge) rug down with me. At least it's light weight!
Always bring the swatches into the room you're painting. Save your back from hauling that rug, too.
Where did you get your bed frame?? I love your style!
West Elm!
Does this Valspar paint have a name or did they essentially make it up just for you since they did a color match?
We took the BM swatch in and had it color matched.
Really? No taping? HOW do you do that? I love to paint but HATE the taping! Please give us pointers!
Julia, I wish I could fly you in to help me pick a colour for our new lakehouse. Right now it's a hideous dark yellow and I want some light, airy and "lake'ish"
This is a lovely pick for your bedroom. I'm going to follow your advice, pick up a bunch of samples and put them up on the walls. We need to get it right because the ceilings are super high on the second floor and as such I need to hire a painter and I can't just repaint if it's not right.
There are two (2) types of paint brushes; China Bristle (which are used ONLY for oil-based paints or epoxies/urethane/solvent-based products) cleaned using mineral spirits (paint thinner), and Nylon/Polyester, cleaned using warm -to- hot water. When cleaning EITHER, you should use a wire brush, to remove any "clinging" paint (sticking to the bristles). When you think you've removed all the paint through rinsing, hold the brush UP, pointed towards the faucet/hose head and continue rinsing, until the water runs clear.
I am looking for a lighter, not quite white color for my very dark living room. My wood floors have a red tone to them, which I hate. I tried woodsmoke, which is a warm gray and it turned straight-up lavender. I took a piece of the floor to Sherwin Williams and asked them to help me find a neutral color that wouldn't pull red or peach (when I moved in the were a very peachy beige color) and they determined pretty much the only color that would work was Universal Khaki, it did look better but wasn't the look I wanted and 5 yrs later I am SO OVER the gold tone it puts off and really want to brighten the room. I have tried Accessible beige, Revere Pewter and Edgemont gray but they all look too peach in the room. SURELY in 5 yrs there is a new color that will work. Do you think Olympic Mountains would pull red/peach tones?
I don't think so! But definitely get a test pot
Do you guys have a go-to cleaning method for paint brushes? They’re expensive and if I could salvage them after each project that would be awesome!
Love how the color turned out in your room! Was think about updating the awful yellow beige that’s in our master. What did you use for trim and ceiling? Is it okay to paint them crisp white, or should it also be off white and creamy?
I adored your moody, cozy, grey bedroom before. I full-heartedly disagree that beige is back!! Beige is my least favorite color ever for a wall, save primary colors. I know you’ll make the room gorgeous regardless, but I truly thought the medium grey it was before was ahead of the trend and spot-on.
What kind of paint roller do you use? It looks like it’s painting it on so nice and smooth.
Purdy 3/8 nap! It's the vest!
Did you know there actually is a Benjamin Moore carrier in this area? It’s sold at Stan’s Paint Clinic in Idaho falls next to Fred Meyer. I just barely heard about this and had to go there myself to see if it was true. And perhaps you were just referring to there not being one in Rexburg, but I couldn’t not say something just in case ????. And thank you for giving beige a good name again! There really are good ones out there and your pick is perfect! I’ll have to check it out.
Oh cool! I didn't know that!
This post made me smile and exhale a sigh of relief... cause we just picked Ben Moore London Fog for basically our entire house. It's also a nice warm greige! Love the progress in your bedroom, can't wait to see it!
I did too but I changed it to all white by farrow and ball. The first floor looks massive and it really glows it’s not a pale white. Idk if that makes sense to you. Hahaha.
London Fog is still a great color.
What color did you use for trim? And do you have the same trim color throughout your whole house? I’ve changed mine slightly in some rooms depending on what wall color I choose and it’s driving my husband crazy because then we have to keep so many different colors on hand. ????????♀️????
Our trim is White Dove in Semi-gloss and I am 100% on board with different trim colors depending on the room. Paint colors NEED different complimentary colors!
I recently painted my ceiling with flat paint was was so disappointed when the paint didn't peel off the paint tray in one piece. Flat paint ruins everything. Haha.
Eek! Which brand did you use?
Behr Premium Plus. I quite like the paint but the flat paint ruined all the paint peely fun!
I love it! I think a nice warm beige can be so hard to nail. And look at that! You already answered my question about whether you prefer Benjamin Moore paint or color match to something else! ❤️????????
I think the name of your new paint color is also fitting considering that you just visited Tacoma and Gig Harbor recently, right next to the Olympic Mountains!!!
I love it!! We are redoing our room right now too, so this is the perfect inspo. Do you know yet if you're going to keep your bedding? If not, what will you change it to?
We got some new bedding! I linked it in this post.
Hi! Wondering if you’ve noticed much of a color variance between the Valspar and Benjamin Moore base paint? I just listened to John and Sherry talk about this in the latest YHL podcast episode and wondering if you think we’d get different results using Benjamin Moore Aura paint. (I also had to rewind when John was talking about his CLJ cabin Jealousy ????)
I haven't. The only detectable one I've seen is between Farrow & Ball and its color matches. (Also, beach and cabin swaps WILL happen.)
You both shouted out to each other this week!! I think yours was unknowingly though (that theatre curtain tip was from their podcast!).
I've decided I don't like curtains since having them over all my windows in my last house. I'd go with a Roman or roller shade for sure! Just cleaner, simpler, and more modern, I think.
I'm feeling this, too!
I really like this color. It comes off feeling very modern, especially with your bed frame. Definitely not the late 90s hue that always comes to mind when someone says "beige". Can't wait to see what else you change (and keep).
Aww, your bedroom was the inspiration for my Chelsea Gary bedroom. But, this looks great as well.
Chelsea Gray will forever be a classic!
How are you feeling about the black fan now? When we were deciding on ours for our room we went white so it would disappear into the ceiling (even though the wall is black), do you find it more obtrusive now with the lighter color on the walls?
I'm always a vote int he roman shades vs. curtains. With two dogs, I could never keep the curtains clean. We went with motorized ones like on Yellow Brick Home. My fear with shades is that I would never open them. Now with the button I open them before getting out of bed- and hope to soon have them set to a schedule with a wink hub.
Also WHY is this season the the Bachelor so terrible... they had to know he was so boring right?
Motorized--yes! Love that idea. I still love our black fan (I'm all about contrast and I think the black adds a modern touch to the room while white could feel beachy) but last year we got AC so I don't know if we'll keep it. We're going to wait and see if we turn it on this summer.
Does your ceiling have texture on it? Ever thought of removing it if so?
It does! It's like a big swooping like texture that plastered in there. It's not my favorite, but EVERY house here has it. Old, new, everything in between. So it doesn't make a ton of sense to change out--which would require replacing all the drywall.
Something I learned from your blog is that if it will make you happier while living with it, it does make sense to change it!