The Painting Projects we tackled over the break

One of my Christmas presents this year was getting our ceilings painted (finally!) in the entry and all down the hallways. All of the ceilings and walls in our home were painted a gray color (before we bought the home) and although most of the walls have been painted in the main area, there was so much patch work done (especially in the entry) and we hadn't tackled the entry ceiling yet--the double story caused us to hesitate. The thing is, in your mind you think "it won't be that obvious" but in all actuality it's was very obvious. Especially since we also had the crown molding removed in the entry a few months back. There were just patches of raw drywall and then the gray ceiling and then the Alabaster walls. Tres chic.

A few of you even spotted the questionable ceiling situation in our gallery wall post:

Now (above) it's so fresh! As soon as they started rolling the paint on, I swear my eye instantly stopped twitching. All of the ceilings and walls being one consistent color and sheen (Sherwin William's Alabaster in eggshell) made everything look so clean and so much larger and softer and welcoming, too.

psst. I shared our paint color "formula" for when we're painting ceilings and walls the same color, and when we're doing contrast trim in this post. 

While the painters were here, we also scheduled them to paint Faye's room. We had just finished all the ceiling and wall trim and they said they could caulk and paint everything for $500. DONE! It felt like a nice gift to ourselves after such a busy year. We went with a beautiful blue Farrow & Ball's Oval Room Blue in Modern Emulsion (matte finish, 7% sheen).  It's downright regal and the painters said it was their favorite paint they had ever used! And I'm not surprised — Farrow & Ball is renowned for its formula of rich pigments and depth of color, and it responds extraordinarily to all kinds of light. It's also super durable, wipeable, washable, easy to apply, and quick-drying. Can we even ask for more??

But! They said they could add on Polly's room for a deal and I pounced! Even without having any idea of what I wanted to paint it--I pounced so fast.

light fixture / wallpaper for ceiling / fabric / paint color (sw expressive plum)

I am currently having her curtains made with this pretty fabric and there are so many beautiful tones in it. Blues, greens, tans, browns and purple. I felt like a green-blue was an obvious safe choice, but having just chosen a green blue for Faye's room, I wanted something different and distinct for our 3 year old. I couldn't get my mind off of the idea of painting her room plum! And so we did.

I looked through my paint decks and held it against the fabric swatch and although a cooler purple like Sherwin Williams Midnight matched the fabric swatch a little more, the rest of the swatch felt so warm and I wanted her room to feel warm so I decided on SW Expressive Plum. It's warm and deep and has a lot more red than blue in it--which fits into our home's color scheme a lot more.

So in about 20 minutes, I nailed down the paint color and took a deep breath and gave them the swatch. The truth is--it's so much more exciting and FUN! to paint a room a color. I'm so overjoyed with the outcome of both rooms! And with purple and blue added to our home's palette, I think the only color of the rainbow we're missing around here is orange--which I mean, can we count wood tones?

We finished up Faye's room earlier this week and will share the full reveal tomorrow--can't wait! And then we'll get started on finishing Polly's room (wallpaper on the ceiling is happening!). A lot of people asked me what I thought about trends for 2021 and I do think we'll see a lot more people embracing color again in 2021--there's enough fun to go around!