Welcome back from the weekend! I hope it was a good one. We spent much of ours just doing family things. We played many rounds of the game Life, made homemade soup and stayed in pajamas. We also watched our boy play his last fall ball baseball game and the boys did so great! Such a proud mama. In other news, I am walking around the house singing, “Cha-cha-cha-changes!” We have been in our home for over 8 years and have never painted the downstairs or much of the upstairs. Really, only the bedrooms have been painted. So our house is ready for some change.
So it’s time. Truth be told this is not a, “Oh, heck. There is nothing going on. Let’s paint!” It’s more of a, “I have scrubbed these walls a million times and they still look dirty and yucky.” It’s time. After 8 years of our children going up and down the stairs with their adorable, but dirty hands and goodness knows what else, the walls are showing their age. And I am ready for a fresh coat everywhere. So with that we are rolling with a new color.
But let me tell you. Choosing has been a big ole’ mess! I thought for sure we would go with Pale Oak which is in our bedroom and our son’s room. But it looked awful in our downstairs. Just straight up not pretty. And I have never seen it not look good. It threw me for a loop and what I thought was going to be an easy choice ended up taking me over 14 samples. Yep. 14. Baby Fawn was a front runner until one night we were sitting on the sofa and all I saw in the sample was lavender. Not right for our main living area. I quickly decided I didn’t want to go with a pale gray. I like keeping our downstairs and hallways warm and cozy. It just works with our decor and the feel of our wood floors.
So with that I tried every white paint on my paint deck that I thought might work. In the end we fell in love with “White Down” by Benjamin Moore. I would describe it as a warm creamy white. It’s not a stark white and has plenty of depth. But you are along for the ride with me because the painter is on his way. Scared! I am just ready for a fresh, clean canvas.
I would normally paint myself but with carpeted stairways and a million shutters to trim out I was better off asking a pro. I have a sick little one home from school so I will tending to her on the sofa and praying that the “White Down” looks great on our walls. Keep you posted!
If you are interested in seeing all of the paint colors we currently have in our home, I did a reference post here.
Picking paint is always so tricky. We’re going through the same thing with our family room right now and I am having a fit trying to find a color that works with that room. Good luck on yours! I can’t wait to see the end result!
Thank you, Megan. So true. And some rooms are just more difficult than others. So many factors. Good luck with your choosing, as well. xo
It’s a big day for you! Can’t wait to see the fresh new color! Oh my goodness, we went through so so many paint samples before settling on one. Loved one color in the morning and not so much in the evening. So funny…we adore Pale Oak but it did it work in our room and we actually chose a gorgeous soft lavender. We love it. Get well wishes to Riley!
Fresh paint is the best! Although picking paint can be intense – it’s crazy how different certain colors look depending on the light or decor of a room. When we moved into our house we had a similar paint color to what you have now, and even that seemingly neutral color VASTLY changed what our paint swatches looked like. Good luck with the painting, can’t wait to see it when it’s complete!
I have to say that living in a house for 8 years and not painting anything but the bedrooms is rather impressive! We have only lived in our house for 3 years and have painted every room at least twice, except the kitchen. It is incredibly annoying to choose paint color though, and it looks like your space gets all sorts of different light. That is super tricky, so good luck with the new color! Can’t wait to see what it looks like!
How exciting! Freshly painted rooms are the best. Can’t wait to see how it looks when all is said and done!
I’m also looking to paint after being in my home for a little over 8 years. I’m going to check this color out. Are you also painting baseboards and doors the same color as well? Just curious as I have those to do as well…such a daunting task!
Thank you in advance for your reply.
I love your house its so perfect!!
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I totally get it. Picking a color that is going to be on walls throughout your home is tricky…as the light is so different from room to room. We used three different shades of the same color throughout our main living areas. They are OLD colors, so next time we will have to pick too. Not looking forward to that, but always love fresh painted walls.
That color will look great! I’m glad you opted for no grey and a warmer white. I agree with you on that. Our style works better with a warmer tone versus a cooler grey. I’m just excited to see someone else on the same page! Hope your peanut feels better soon!
I’m looking for a new living room paint color too. I’ve been trying to consider gray, but everything I’ve tried either looks purple or too stark (like cement). Perhaps I should consider a warm white instead. I currently have SW Ivoire. It’s bright and cheery and I like how it changes throughout the day with the change in light, but the yellow clashes with our beige & gray natural stone fireplace. So hard trying to find the “goldilock” paint color!
Exciting! We painted our entire house last year when we thought we were moving (we didn’t). But we used BM White Down too (recommended by a Home Stager) and it looks great. We also had kid stained walls and I couldn’t believe the difference painting made. Good luck 🙂