Paint is the Foundation: One Room Challenge Week 2
While this may not be the most exciting week of the ORC fall challenge, it’s a component that cannot be overlooked. Paint is the foundation of any space. Color choice can evoke emotions, mood or even effect how cozy or expansive a space feels. It is always recommended that you try a small sample of your paint choices out in the space prior to committing to them. As natural light changes throughout the day, a color can change with it. The type of artificial light used in a room can also effect how a color appears, so always try, and use the type of light bulbs, lamp shades or fixtures you plan to use with the paint sample as well to make sure you are still in love with your choice before spending the time and money.
Another factor to consider is the “5th wall” or ceiling. I generally recommend painting the ceiling when you paint the walls so that you don’t have fresh clean walls and suddenly the ceiling you never noticed is dingy and sticking out like a sore thumb. Depending on your color choice you can go bold and paint the ceiling the same color, or traditional white is a great option as well. A third option is to take your wall color and go a few shades lighter for the ceiling if you’re not ready to dive fully into all five walls the same color. Don’t be afraid to take risks on this as creating visual interest on the ceiling can really create a wow factor.
As a reminder the photos above are where we started, eek! The client was aiming for a beachy, airy and boho vibe for the whole house. To create continuity, we decided to paint all the rooms white so that we could let the furniture and accessories be the focal point. This also allows for a cohesive feel as you pass from space to space without tying any one room to a color theme. The client chose Sherwin Williams High Reflective White. I will state for the record that this was not one of my original suggestions for the client (which was SW Swiss Coffee in case anyone was wondering), however the client found the color online and stated why she felt this was the best choice for the room. When we requested this color to be mixed the Sherwin William Employee advised us that this color is being discontinued due to complaints about it not covering well and other performance issues. Cue my anxiety and hesitancy, however since my client is a headstrong and independent woman she stuck to her choice and had the employee mix it up anyway.
Here is where the regret sets in. The first room took the paint well and, in most spots, it only required one coat over the primer. However, when we got to the ORC room it was a different story. This room took FOUR coats of paint, and in the corners and the edges five to six coats! I know what you’re thinking “why didn’t you use primer?” well the employee as well as the instructions on the can stated it is a primer and paint in one. In general, if the color difference between the new color and old color had been drastic I would have really insisted on a completely separate primer, however the room was originally beige so I wasn’t initially concerned. Painting four coats of paint is not only super time consuming it was expensive. Waiting for each layer to dry and coming back to see that it was still not covering was frustrating to say the least. We think perhaps the previous homeowner may have smoked in this room as yellow bleed through is common with interior rooms where walls and ceilings absorbed cigarette or other types of smoke.
The yellow discoloring bleeding through in the corners and around ceiling edges.
Cue the “they told you so” from me to the client, all joking aside once the color is on it is a beautiful truly neutral white not leaning too warm or too cool. So, I suppose the moral of this story is always listen to the experts! Although you may have your heart set on something, if it is being discontinued or not recommended then change course and find the closest replacement you can.
The room looking great four coats later.
With week two down and the very unexciting saga of the discontinued paint behind us, we have something very fun, colorful, and exciting happening next week so stay tuned!
One Room Challenge Guest Participant Fall 2021
Follow along with all the action https://www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog There are so many great spaces being created and tons to learn so please go cheer on my fellow designers as they head into week three! Also for those on IG use the hashtag #bhgorc and #oneroomchallenge to see these rooms change in real time.