We got the guest room painted and the photos aren’t very good. Womp Womp. It’s been pretty rainy and gloomy compounded by the fact this room is on our lower level. I hate to call it a “basement” because it’s so nice and finished and not musty or cold–everything I think of when I say “basement.”  So what I did was pair a before photo with the terrible lighting on and an after photo with the same terrible lighting, so at least there’s that consistency?
Boom! (That light is so harsh. Grr. Sorry. Both of these photos are straight out of the camera.) I decided to paint the room a really light gray, Valspar’s Cool Vapor. I knew I wanted a light color to brighten this room up, but since it doesn’t get a ton of natural light, it wasn’t wise to go with white. White in a room with little natural light just looks dingy because of all the shadows. So even though your instincts might tell you to go all white to make things feel brighter, resist.
I chose the color while in this room. I can’t express how important that is. You may like a paint color you see somewhere else, a blog or otherwise, but it could look totally different in your room. This is how I generally choose colors–I hold several options up individually in the air (not against a wall) facing every direction. When I think I finalized a color, I’ll look at it against the floor. Why don’t I hold it up against a wall? Well, because of this:
Because the trim in this room was yellowed, it made a gray (or any color) look purple. And because the walls were blue-ish green, it’s going to trick my eyes into seeing pink. So even though the gray swatch I chose didn’t have any of those undertones, until I clear out all the yellow and blue-green, it won’t look like it’s true color. Basic color theory. In this case, I wasn’t changing out the floor, which is why I always hold it next to the floor, too–to make sure it meshes and the undertones don’t clash. Once I choose my  color, and am confident with it–I can’t let myself change it while looking at swatches in a different room.
This was a lesson I really had to stick to this time around. In the store–it looked white! I started second-guessing my decision while not even in the room. Tsk Tsk. Fortunately, I pulled it together and went with the hue I knew looked the best. Even when you start painting and it looks like the above photo. Pinky-purple mess. Be confident. Once you get everything painted out–it will look just right.
Fortunately, it settled into the perfect light gray after we painted all the trim and closet doors. That made such a difference. Look at that contrast:
So fresh, now. Sidenote: Must get new hardware–so at least every door has some. That’s where we are right now. There’s a lot of how-to paint rooms posts out there, but not a whole lot of how-to choose paint colors. I think I might do a more in-depth post about it down the road. Not to brag, but color theory–aced it. Ha!
Happy Weekend!
The new color on the trim is especially a huge improvement!
How do you paint the trim while still on the wall with carpet?? It’s so frustrating to me so maybe you have some tips?
These baseboards are so tiny, it was trickier than usual. What I like to do is get a piece of thick, sturdy cardstock, ruler or any thing thin that doesn’t bend–an old credit card works great, too–and put it over the carpet near the baseboard and press it down and in so it is flush with the baseboard. Then, paint away.
Oh,go ahead and brag. You have every reason to be proud of yourself. You’re very talented at this and have a system that obviously works!
jess
Looking good! I love the pairing of white trim with gray!
Good post!! OK, here is a question: Would you follow the same process in a room that gets low-light and is painted a darker color? I’m having a hard time picking a paint color because I feel like all the walls just dominate the room and I can’t get a real feel for the paint swatch.
That’s so tricky, but yes. If you need to, hold a white piece of paper behind the swatch so it kind of clears things and your eyes can see a truer color.