Valspar Opal Slate!!!

I went on a painting rampage for a few weeks after moving in, but we've (the kids and I) needed to settle down into a routine so we wouldn't go crazy, and a normal routine doesn't really include painting.  There was one last project Jonathan and I needed to get done, and we saved the last bit of our budgeted "house" money for it: The Reading Room.

Here is the "right before painting" photo:

As you can see there are several paint possibilities on the wall ranging from a deep purple, deep burgundy, the usual gray-greens and then Valspar's Bleached Shadow, which I used in my master bath, and Valspar's Opal Slate 4001-1C.  You may also notice the many scraps of border that were finally scraped off the wall scattered around baby toys.  Yes, we finally finished getting that border off.  It's about as fun and painting window trim.  Blah.  So on to the painting pictures.

Notice the brand new bedding on the bed.

I really loved the color in my masterbathroom, but it was too warm in the Reading Room.  Opal Slate is the color right above Bleached Shadow; it's cooler and would theoretically work better in this East facing room.  I loved the contrast against the white trim on the windows and baseboard.  I thought it would be both a good choice for the lighting in the room and hopefully would appear to be a strong masculine choice, because my husband requested that the Reading Room be a little more masculine than our bedroom (Rainwashed with white "furniture").

The Reading Room is our baby napping room, library, and guest room.  We've had two sets of visitors since we finished the room, which is precisely why we had to finish it.  Thanks to some friends we were able to stick a full-size bed in it for adults, not just babies, you know?  It totally rocks now.

Isn't the color rich?



I love the color on the walls.



Black coverlet, black accent pillows, gray walls...that's pretty masculine, right?

I'd love to get a bright red or blue blanket to throw on the end of the bed eventually, but all in all it's a pretty cozy and peaceful room. 

Bleached Shadow

This is one of my favorite rooms and the photos don't do it justice.  I chose Valspar's "Bleached Shadow" (4002-1C) for our master bathroom, because Valspar recommended that swatch when I ordered a sample of a color similar to SW "Rainwashed". 

I am so glad I took their advice.  It turned out that the pink vanity had flecks of this purpled hued gray, so it matches with both our bedroom walls and the sink already in the bathroom. 

We hadn't put the mirror back up yet. 

Here you can see the walls together.  I know it doesn't look like much but I think it's so great!  It makes me happy just to walk into the bathroom.  It seems like a pocket of coziness in the corner of my room.

I used Sherwin Williams' Duration paint in the bathroom, and I really like it.  It feels tough as nails on the wall.   

Rainwashed in the Morning

I said I'd post more photos of Sherwin Williams "Rainwashed" (SW 6211), so here they are.

Right now this is the beautiful color I wake up to every morning.  It's greyer than in the evening, but still wonderful!

Enchanted Navy

I hate posting these photos of unfinished rooms, but if I don't, I'll be waiting a long long time to post photos.  : / 

So, the boys' room was one of the first we painted.  I chose Valspar's Enchanted Navy (4010-8), because I wanted a dark blue that wasn't too bright and not too dull. (The older boy wanted a black room, but we weren't quite ready for that.)  It's rather lovely.  It doesn't kill your eyes when you walk in the room, and it doesn't wear you down if you're hangning out in there. 

I had it mixed in the Valspar Signature Colors Paint and used the Valspar tintable primer.  I was really disappointed in the performance. (I was very happy with the Valspar Ultra Premium we used in our room.)  We painted according to directions, before we moved in.  The day after painting the walls, with a full 24 hour dry time, we found that our fingers left chalky white lines if we touched the walls, as pictured below.  Lame. 

I spoke with the Valspar rep at Lowe's a few days later, when I went to return the paint and primer because touching the walls still left marks.  Essentially he said that paint that dark would take up to a full month to cure and we should avoid touching it until then.  He never mentioned anything like that when I bought the paint, and regardless, I've never ever had that kind of experience with any dark paint.  Lowe's gave me a full refund. 

A month later we're still getting marks, but not as bad as the first.  Aside from the chalky lines, it really is a rich, wonderful blue.  Can't wait to finish the whole room!  

Friendly Yellow

Sherwin Williams Friendly Yellow (SW 6680)

We thought we'd like somthing more like Glad Yellow (SW 6694), but on the wall it was brighter than we wanted it and cooler.  Friendly Yellow turned out to be warm and inviting without being overpowering in any way.  A good friend. 

The second picture shows the color the best, but here's another one.

The following picture is Glad Yellow (SW 6694). 

As you can see, Glad Yellow has a bit of a lemony flair.

Rainwashed

So we chose the color "Rainwashed" by Sherwin Williams (SW 6211), mixed in Valspar paint from Lowe's, for our masterbedroom.  We love it!  By the way, Benjamin Moore's "Palladian Blue" (HC 144) is almost identical in color. It took two coats of Valspar's Ultra Premium Interior Paint.  I decided to buy Valspar paint for the color, rather than for any expectation with performance.  Someone on the interweb had said that they thought Valspar paint had a little more green in it. I got my Rainwashed sample from Sherwin Williams and I thought it could use a little green, so I went ahead and bought it from Lowe's.  Again, I LOVE it!  It changes color throughout the day, as all paints do, and I love every one of them.  Here are the photos right after we painted it.

And here is the room the next morning after everything dried.  This is the first coat.  It was pretty good coverage the first time, and I would have said we only needed to touch up the edges for the most part, but I had a second gallon, and there's just something good about re-rolling walls. 

I know the carpet looks pink in the picture, but it's not.  It's just a beige.

 Then we had our carpet installed, since my significant other loves carpet.   

So, if I can get them off my phone, I will post the pics I took of the walls at different stages of the day.  It is beautiful.

New Bench

Before

After

 I've had this bench for about six years.  I got it at a garage sale.  I think it's from Ikea.  It was okay.  It was functional.

Then, I had this paint in my fridge, leftover from the mudroom wall.  I didn't want to go through the trouble of pouring it back into the can.  You know, you have to open it with the thingy and then bang it shut again...so I decided that instead I would paint this bench.  Yes, to me, in my world, that's less work.  Or at the very least, more gratifying work.

What do you think?