When it came time to paint the basement, I was thrilled to pick paint colors. 

I usually pick the paint color based on the upholstery & fabrics that are going into the room…and since Torrey (our new roomie & longtime little brother) already had dreamy furniture, it was just a matter of visiting him (and his decor) armed with Olympic paint swatches. 

We went with the color Rain Cloud in the main room because we knew we wanted a really, REALLY light color.  The darkness of the floor would really ground the space – making your eye stop at the hardwoods.  So in order to keep the illusion of a high ceiling and to keep your eye going up, up and away, the wall hue needed to be light, bright and not create a contrast with the ceiling color.

My dear boyfriend painted all the ceilings…I was too short.  And we only did one coat of primer and one coat of Valspar’s Bistro White on all the flat ceilings.  The walls are the done here in Olympic’s Rain Cloud.  It definitely needed two coats to get the best coverage but that is pretty average round these parts 🙂

Jeremy thought that it looked white at first.  He honestly couldn’t tell the difference.  He had me worried that I made the wrong choice but I kept my cool and reassured him that the white trim and the dark floors would create enough contrast to make the color pop.  I’m glad that I am awesome at lying…because it actually worked and both us Bowers love the end result.

The bedroom was painted Navajo White – which actually looks more sandy tan to me.  We ended up painting all the dropped boxes (the boxes around the ductwork) the same color as the walls.  In my opinion it makes the room look larger and draws less attention to the boxes in general.

And finally the hall is done in the Plantation Moss…sorry about the color distortion at the back of the hall…the light bulbs over there make the color look bright green.  The actual color in person is actually the color above the little storage closet ‘hole’ and only slightly darker than the Rain Cloud.

I often get asked tips on painting a room. 

We have found that the best way to paint a room is to tag-team the effort. 

Jeremy tackles the rolling…and ensures that he keeps a ‘wet edge’.  He rolls in sections making sure that the layers are creating good coverage and even and not too heavy (no drips!).  The ‘wet edge’ factor helps with small bubbles in the paint or roller streaks.  It means that each stroke of the roller is next to a stroke of wet paint. 

And it means that he is dang sexy.

But he only rolls after I have already ‘cut in’.  Cutting in is the process of painting the edges (where the wall meets ceiling, or wall meets trim or floor) as well as the corners where the roller can’t squeeze in.  Painting this area first with a nice 2″ or larger angled brush (my favorite brand is Purdy) ensures that any brush strokes or uneven paint coverage can be covered by the roller.

So.

Painting complete.  Do you have any favorite painting tips that you have to share?  Any brands that you adore and wanna give a little shoutout to?  Any ceiling painters in the house?  I would love to read your tips.

So.

Tomorrow is flooring.  And I am so excited about this because I have a little video to share of our adventures in hardwood.

So.

Stay tuned!  and I mean that in a totally non-musical sense 🙂  the cheese continues….