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Our Freshly Painted Master Bedroom with Contrast Trim!

January 16, 2020

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This post is sponsored by Lowe’s

Our bedroom had some WORK done over the past couple months. It was a lot! Like, at one point, the room had no walls and no ceiling because we ripped the tray ceiling out to add height to the room. But when we put it all back together, one of the biggest changes came down to fresh paint (per usual).

Here’s where our room started. The biggest offender were the sponge painted walls, in my opinion. It just  dated it so much and for us, we wanted to add age and character in other ways and freshening up the walls changed our room dramatically.

Here’s how the same angle looks NOW!

It’s no secret, I’m really into contrast trim and I love the darker gray-blue color we chose for our bedroom. It’s a classic way to bring in some interest to your space and it just feels so fresh! Also, note, it’s way easier to keep dark trim looking clean. Swap the wall and trim color–why not!

Obviously more went down in here than just paint. We got new floors and new floor to ceiling doors but we’ll touch on those in a future post, because paint is something anyone can do right now to dramatically change the look and feel of their space.

Here are our go-to paint products:

HGTV Home Sherwin Williams Infinity Paint & Primer.

This is legitimately my favorite line to paint with. It promises one coat coverage and they aren’t exaggerating. It goes on thick and even and is a true joy to paint with. I get questions all the time about how we don’t use a drop cloth while we’re painting and it has some to do with the quality of this paint. It’s just not drippy!  For our room, we used eggshell on the walls (HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams Alabaster) and semi-gloss on the trim (Farrow & Ball’s Lamp Room Gray color-matched at Lowe’s!)

Purdy XL Cub Nylon- Polyester Blend Angle 2-in Paint Brush

The short handle of this brush is the real star. It helps me have so much more control while cutting in and no brush holds together better than Purdy. You know those brush bristles that end up in your paint job with other brushes? It just doesn’t happen with this one.

Purdy White Dove 3-Pack 9-in x 3/8-in Woven Acrylic Fiber Paint Roller Cover

I was telling my sister about different paint roller naps and she looked at me like I was speaking a different language. A 3/8″ nap is our go-to. It’s right in the middle of the options and is perfect for lightly textured walls and ceilings. If you have a more intensely textured ceiling, using a thicker nap roller will help get paint in all the crevices a LOT easier.

Purdy 9-in Plastic Paint Roller Frame

HANDy Ladder Paint Pail

I like using this pail when we have a whole room to paint. It fits so much paint and can attach to a ladder if need be.

HANDy Paint Cup

This makes cutting in so much easier on your hands, truly. No cramps and it even has a magnet your brush can attach to when you need a break.

A couple other things we used for this project that came in handy:

Valspar telescoping rod extender

This rod extender saves your back and can help you get paint in hard to reach spots with minimal effort. Using a rod extender is like riding an electric bicycle. Your effort is multiplied!

Painters tape

I know, I know. You’re not used to me breaking out the painter’s tape, but in the case of contrast trim, you want it to be so precise because it’s going to be way more obvious if it’s not.

First we rolled the walls and ceiling (Reminder, both the ceiling and walls are painted Alabaster by Sherwin Williams in an eggshell finish). It’s such a beautiful warm white that we’re using all over our house. One thing to note is that if you have fresh, unpainted drywall, it’s necessary to first paint everything with primer. We really like this Primer/Sealer by Valspar that’s made for fresh drywall.

We ended up waiting a couple days between wall and trim paint because things came up, but it worked out for the best because it allowed time for the walls to cure so we could tape off the trim–which is so tedious but also so worth it for those crisp lines. I pulled so many colors for the trim. I really wanted a gray that leaned warm, but also blue sometimes. Ha! That’s a big ask. But also, I wanted to use the same color for our entire adjacent closet, so I really invested a lot of time here.

In the end, I landed on Lamp Room Gray by Farrow & Ball and Lowe’s was able to color match it perfectly! I just brought in the swatch and they scanned it in and held it up to the swatch–perfect match.

It’s a really beautiful warm gray that goes just the tiniest bit blue in some light. I love the way it looks with our fireplace stone (we’ll be working on extending that in the coming weeks) and I can’t wait to see the same color on all the walls of our closet.


Now that our walls are painted, we’re just waiting on the electrical in here to get turned back on and we’re ready to move back in! Pinch me!

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What do you think?

  1. Kelly Lyden says:

    I love what you’ve done with bedroom and closet. Can you tell me what casing and base molding you used if there is a brand/style or site where I can find it? If not, can you tell me base height and depth? And casing width and depth? I like your proportions in the photos and the change in depth so didn’t have to use a plinth block. I also love what you did with the colors. Thanks so much for any info you can give me so I can stop guessing. I’m ready to move to trim in our project!

  2. Courtney says:

    I’m about to repaint a house we just bought. I love the idea of painting the walls the same as the ceiling, but everyone’s saying not to. What made you decide to paint it all the same?

  3. Eline Creyf says:

    Can you link the baseboard in here please? I have looked everywhere but couldn’t find it!

  4. Laura says:

    Have y’all talked about doing window coverings on the doors in the bedroom? We have a very similar door in our bedroom and I’m not sure what to do. I’m thinking a custom fabric shade, but I’m not sure.

  5. Jennifer Gordon says:

    What paint color did you use for the kitchen Cabinets?
    Looks great!

  6. Salt Lamp says:

    wow…looking soo beautiful. Thanks for sharing this amazing work.

  7. Amanda says:

    I love the contrast trim and I’m planning a similar update to our entire home. Question, though: How do you change trim colors between rooms? Our entire downstairs with exception of our half bath will likely be white walls with contrast trim, but I’d like a different color for trim in our master suite. If you could show “transition” pics that would be awesome!

  8. Laney says:

    I noticed that you paired alabaster with both a beige (warm) and a grey (cool) for the trim options. Does alabaster leaner cool or warm? Or Bri her!

  9. Karen says:

    Greetings from the Silicon Valley! Currently about to embark on my own renovation and was wondering what floors you used? I love seeing your home’s progress – thank you for your sharing your journey with us!

  10. Kourtney says:

    Hi guys!

    So, if the trim inside the Master is this Lamp Room Gray & all the interior doors in the Master will be that same color….are you planning on painting your Bedroom door one side lamp room gray and the other side (leading into your room) whatever your trim color is in that hallway/surrounding?

  11. Oksana says:

    Wow looks amazing, where did you get your baseboard moulding? And what is the length!
    Thank you

  12. Jessica says:

    What do you need to give Lowe’s to color match a farrow and ball paint color?

    • Julia says:

      Lowe’s actually had the formula! I did order the Farrow & Ball color cards off of their site a couple years ago and I had them scan the card in just in case so it would bring about the best match.

  13. Krista says:

    Looks so good! How are you transitioning the trim/door jam from say the bedroom to the hall?

  14. Farooq says:

    Wow, the contrast trim came out really nice! Quick Q: my wife and I really like a paint color (BM Metropolitan) but feel it’s a little too dark. How do we ask the paint specialist to “lighten” it for us? Thanks!

  15. Tara says:

    Love! Really stunning but soft and so perfect. I wonder, did you paint the windows black? I love the who effect and wonder if I paint the interior drywall black if it would have the same effect? I may need to try this?
    Thank you so much for sharing this and all your content! Very inspiring. I <3 C&J!

  16. Corrin says:

    What’s the plans for this fireplace? I may of missed it

  17. Sabrina says:

    Gorgeous! Have to ask… are you painting that wood interior door? I think it’s your master bath door. Struggling with the same decision.

  18. Sarah says:

    I’d love to see how you transition paint colors on the trim. I always wonder what to do if I don’t want the same contrast trim to run out of the room into the hall and how to stop it in the doorway. Thanks and everything looks gorgeous!

  19. Catherine Cota says:

    Looking so good ! Can you tell us what the dimensions of your bedroom?

  20. EP says:

    Thanks so much for that straight on shot of the fireplace. I feel like I understand the room much better from that perspective. Beautiful color and now I’m super excited for the closet!

  21. Abigail R. Jacob says:

    I also painted my master bedroom white with gray semi-gloss trim last year and LOVE it. I used Valspar’s Notre Dame gray for mine.

  22. Beth says:

    It looks so good!! I love all the tips and seeing the process. We have to paint our entire house and I’m so overwhelmed when I go to the store. Do you have other painting blogs? I have no idea what to do with Base A,B, or C. What’s the difference?

    • Julia says:

      You don’t need to worry a thing about base color. That is for the clerk at the paint desk counter. When they pull up a color, it will tell them which base they need to mix the color in. You should focus on color and sheen mostly!

      • Laura says:

        We are looking to do something similar in our master, which also has an adjacent closet room. I’m looking to bulk up our trim – can you give any details on what you guys went with?

  23. Elle says:

    Is the Alabaster full strength? At one point way back for your area downstairs you talked about getting it at 50%.

  24. Meredith says:

    This looks soooo good! The combo of that contrast trim and chonky baseboard really makes this feel so classic and stately. I can definitely see your English cottage vibe coming to life

  25. Elise says:

    I am absolutely loving this. Thank you for sharing it all!

  26. Heather says:

    Love the look. Can you explain the process on how you painted the trim? Did you paint it before installing? Did you spray the baseboards to avoid brush stroke marks? We are replacing and updating our trim so I’m just curious what your process what. Thanks so much

  27. Amanda W says:

    Love this Julia and Chris! I have fallen hard for the contrast trim/wall combo lately as well, I would love to do this in my home but I’m curious how it looks transitioning from room to room? Our house is smaller and you can see a lot rooms from other rooms – I worry it wouldn’t feel as cohesive?

  28. Kirsty says:

    I’m currently picking out colors for my whole house we’ve been renovating (new drywall after 50 years of wood paneling). It’s so overwhelming ????

  29. Cf Betcher says:

    Omg! The height of that baseboard!!! ❤️❤️❤️

  30. Arli says:

    It’s looking SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!

  31. Cristen Voorhies says:

    This is a beautiful color combo! I’ve seen a designer do kitchen cabinets in Lamp Room Gray and I fell in love and have wanted them in our upcoming new build with guess what.. Alabaster walls! So nice to see them together here and really get a feel for how it might look. I’ve been loving watching the progression of your beautiful home. You guys are amazing.

  32. Shannon says:

    I love the transformation. Great choices with the paint colors, the stone really pops an makes the room look warm. I do have one suggestion if you are wanting to change the brass on your fireplace grates, I used black high heat spray paint at my first house. The paint was labeled for use on bbq grills that need rust covered. I just taped all the brass off and it worked like a champ. Eleven years later and still holding strong.
    Keep up the good work guys, love watching all the changes every day.

    • Susan says:

      Ah thanks for suggesting this! We have gold trim on our fireplace doors that is just too much for me. This sounds like a great option!

  33. Michelle says:

    On the doors leading to the hallway where you may use a different trim color, where do you stop one paint so it looks natural one view to the other? Your room is looking so pretty!

  34. Kathleen Yates says:

    Have you guys seen Little Women yet? I loved the costume and set design, and so many of the interior shots in the March sisters’ house made me think of Julia’s love of contrast trim :)

  35. Meagan Graham says:

    what’s the wall colour?

  36. Sarah says:

    I know that this post is all about the paint (which I do love) but man I can’t get over how the updates made me like the fireplace stone! I hated it in all the befores, but it works so nicely in the afters now. Maybe the old floor was pulling it rustic? Regardless, can’t wait to see this room when you’ve moved back in!

  37. McCall says:

    I love this! We just remodeled out oldest daughter’s room when she left for college, I just couldn’t stand the mess in there anymore and wanted a fresh look. Went with your recommendation on Alabaster and Accessible Beige at 70%, it looks fabulous!

    I am not a white walls kinda girl either! Our downstairs is Mindful Grey and I LOVE it, our kitchen is a French Country look on the cabinets, so WHITE?? But…LOVE! Painting our youngest kids room this weekend!

    Thanks for all the inspiration.

  38. Looks great! Why do you think there was a tray ceiling to begin with? It doesn’t seem to serve any purpose besides making the room look smaller.

  39. Liz says:

    Great color choice Julia! I always use the Purdy brushes. THey are the best! Bet you can’t wait to get back into you freshly painted bedroom.

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