Fresh Coat of Paint for My Guest Room
The first thing I decided to do to spruce up my guest room was to give it a fresh coat of paint. I really like the blue on the walls but the saturated color makes the room seem a little small so after looking at about thirty swatches of lighter shades of blue I settled on Valspar Inhale which seemed like a nice, light neutral looking blue. 
I also wanted to paint my trim white. To save money I had the trim around the windows and doors made out of the salvaged wood paneling that had previously lined my stairs. Now I am not such a fan of the look since the wood had knots in it and looks a bit too country for me. Painting it white gives the trim a cleaner look which matches my style more.
To prep the room I moved my furniture to the middle of the room and removed my switch plates. Since I wasn't doing the ceiling I only taped down paper around the perimeter of the room. I planned to cut in by hand for the trim so I didn't do any taping there, but on the inside of the window I wanted to be extra careful so I taped there. When you remove tape, always do it at an angle to reduce the chance that some of your paint will come up with your tape.
I started by using two coats of a stain blocking primer on the trim followed by a two coats of a warm white, Chamois Cloth, which was part of the discontinued Martha Stewart Colors Valspar line. I like the color and I had some on hand because it is the same paint that I used for the trim in my master bathroom. Because I was going to do the walls afterward I made sure to overlap the white onto the walls so that I would have a nice area to cut in against later.
With all of the coats of primer and paint to make sure that the knots and grain wouldn't show through, the trim took a long time. The walls were a comparative breeze. Because the color I bought was a Valspar Signature color, it could only be mixed up as a paint with primer so the coverage was really good. In fact, I had planned on two coats but when I looked at how the first coat dried I decided a second coat was unnecessary.
I am really happy with the new color of the room. The white trim and lighter blue make it seem bigger and will allow me to add some brightly colored accents without overwhelming the room. I have a bunch of ideas to try out in the room and with the fresh slate the new wall and trim color gives me I am ready to go.
What do you think of the new, lighter color? Have you been doing any painting around the house? Do you have any plans to do so in the future?
Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 12:15PM | Posted by Lisa | 3 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (3)
I like the lighter better! I need to make plans to utilize it!
Trisha- You know you are welcome any time!
We have so many homeowners that hire us to do exactly what you have done with your room. They want to 'lighten' the room just a touch, but they want to keep the same general feel. It's amazing how much of a difference a fresh coat of paint can make in anyone's house. www.paintingcontractorsmiami.com