Latex Paint | It's Great To Be Home

This fireplace drove my friend Tessa crazy for months.

You see, the red brick surround just didn’t fit in with that light and airy look she was going for in her living room. So, one afternoon she called me over and we tackled that puppy.

A couple coats of paint later and that fireplace was totally transformed!!

Here’s how you can update your fireplace in one afternoon:

1. Assemble your supplies. This is all we used to update Tessa’s fireplace:

~ rags

~ painter’s tape

~ cheap-o paintbrushes

~ 1 quart of latex semi-gloss paint (we probably could have gotten away with just a sample paint pot, and you can use whatever finish you like – we just went with semi-gloss to give the surround a little shine)

2. Wipe it off. You’d be surprised how dusty and cobwebby a fireplace can get, so give the bricks a quick once-over with a damp rag to get off all the funky stuff . (Don’t use a sopping wet rag or you’ll have to wait forever for the brick to dry before you can start painting it).

3. Tape it up. Unless you’re a pro painter, you’ll want to take the time to tape off all of the areas that you won’t be painting – although with latex paint, you can typically wipe off any spills or smudges if you get to them quickly enough.

4. Paint it all. Now that everything is all ready to go, just start painting!* The first coat will look a little streaky, but don’t worry – that second coat will make everything look totally fab.

* We didn’t prime the brick because it doesn’t get much use and it wasn’t very dirty – however, if your fireplace is extra sooty or you frequently drag logs across the hearth (hey, you never know!) then you might want the extra stain/scratch fighting power of an oil-based primer.

5. Enjoy! You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to totally change the look of your fireplace – and the entire room will look even better when you’re finished!!

What have you guys painted lately? Are you loving Tessa’s pumpkin display as much as I am?

Hey there all you paint-happy people! After our renovation was featured last weekend on Young House Love I got bunches of emails from you guys asking about the paint colors that we used, so I decided it’s high time for me to finally spill the paint-covered beans. So hold onto your paint stirrers ’cause here we go!

1. What brand of paint did you use? Our original plan was to use Behr from Home Depot, simply because that’s what we’re familiar with (and there’s a Home Depot about an inch from our house). But it turns out that painters in our area recommend Pittsburgh Paints like it’s going out of style, so we went ahead and gave them a whirl. Turned out pretty darn well, if you ask me!! The coverage is awesome (not too runny or thin) and they have tons of awesome shades to pick from. (My personal favorite is Toasted Almond, but more about that later).

2. Did you use all latex, or did you use some oil-based? We actually used a little bit of both. All of our drywall was painted with a flat latex paint – flat because I typically think shiny walls are a big no-no and latex because the cleanup is so easy, the paint dries in a snap, fumes aren’t as bad and drywall typically doesn’t need the tough finish that oil-based paints provide. However, all of the wood surfaces in our house were painted with an oil-based semi-gloss paint that is super-tough and dries super-smooth. When you’re dealing with wood surfaces like trim or cabinets that are really smooth, you want a paint like an oil-based that will dry without any streaks or brush marks or else all of your hard work will wind up looking kinda funky. Oil-based paint also adheres really well to wood so it helps prevent all of your nice woodwork from getting scratched and nicked over time. And we used a semi-gloss because I love it when wood has a subtle sheen – it makes your woodwork stand out and get the appreciation it deserves.

We wound up going through tons of that oil-based semi-gloss on all of our molding, doors and cabinetry throughout the house, as well as the wood paneling in our den:

3. How did you decide what paint colors to use? Ahh, picking paint colors. I was tempted to fib a little and tell you that it was easy breezy picking colors for this house, but let me tell you – it wasn’t. At first I was all gung-ho about the thought of picking out colors for each room – I got out our trusty paint deck each night after work, picked out colors and discussed the pros and cons of each color with my husband. We had the entire house picked out in no time. And then it came time to actually commit to the colors. And I freaked out.

How was I supposed to pick out paint colors for an entire house when I couldn’t even look at our furniture or bedding to figure out which paint colors would look best with our stuff?? That’s right, all of our stuff was still in storage when it came time to paint – talk about scary! So after I freaked out a little, my mom and I went to the paint store and picked up a whole bunch of those little pint samples of the paint colors that we liked and went to town – I swear, our house must have looked like a disgruntled painters’ union ran through it. But in the end, that’s the best thing we could have done – spending just a little money on those samples saved us a ton of money in the long run because as great as those paint decks are they can never really tell you exactly what the paint is going to look like on your wall. So here’s my earth-shattering tip that we all know but try to ignore – try it out before you buy it! And as an added bonus, you’ll have all of those little paint samples left over for touch-ups or DIY projects down the road.

4. What colors did you use? After all the drama of picking the paint colors was over, we wound up with paint colors that we absolutely love. Some of them I know I’ll use in my house forever. Here’s the list:

LOCATION PAINT COLOR/TYPE

Trim, cabinets, den walls Atrium White, 523-1 (oil; semi-gloss)

Office Balsam, 510-4 (flat latex)

Entry Toasted Almond, 414-3 (flat latex)

Dining Toasted Almond, 414-3 (flat latex)

Kitchen Toasted Almond, 414-3 (flat latex)

Craft Room Graceful, 452-3 (flat latex)

Laundry Bathroom Subtle Blue, 452-1 (flat latex)

Laundry Subtle Blue, 452-1 (flat latex)

Hallway Antique White, 516-2 (flat latex)

Second Bedroom Tradewinds, 453-2 (flat latex)

Third Bedroom Antique White, 516-2 (flat latex)

Jack & Jill Bathroom White Sage, 410-2 (flat latex)

Master Bedroom Toasted Almond, 414-3 (flat latex)

Master Bathroom Toasted Almond, 414-3 (flat latex)

All closets Ceiling White

All ceilings (except den) Ceiling White

Den ceiling Atrium White, 523-1 (flat latex)

Hall Bathroom Felicity, 453-3 (flat latex)

You can see most of the colors in action right here (and the rest are coming soon). But for those of you that need instant gratification, here’s a quick visual breakdown of our colors:

[Keep in mind that these colors are only as accurate as your computer monitor. On my screen, the Jack 'n Jill bath looks blue when it's actually green. Weird.]

Here’s a little floorplan of our house so you can visualize where the colors go:

5. Do you like all of the colors that you picked? Yes. Toasted Almond and Atrium White are my total faves – they are glorious. However, if I were to do it all over again I would not pick so many shades of the same colors. At the time I thought that it was important for each room to be slightly different so that the house wouldn’t feel monotonous, but in the end I basically wound up picking the same colors over and over again. It turns out that I like blues, greens and tans and they all work in the house so there was no point in me trying to reinvent the wheel for each room – next time I will just pick a shade of each color and stick with it.

So that’s it! The paint colors for my whole house in a nutshell. What do you think? Has picking paint colors driven you batty? Any tips for picking the perfect shade??

Check out Apartment Therapy for a few tips on choosing paint colors for your home from Farrow & Ball.