Last weekend, we painted the guest room a dark, inky charcoal–Farrow & Ball’s Downpipe (this time we had it color matched at Sherwin Williams in an eggshell finish). I wanted to go for something dark in a blueish tone so the headboard would melt right into it and to be honest, the treadmill too.
The tile wood floors (that were here) lightened with the new contrast of the dark walls and the room actually looked so much larger the minute we were done painting! It felt cozier and more intentional and once again, the power of paint astounds me. One question that I have been getting a lot of lately is “Do you always paint the trim the same color as the walls? And what about the ceiling?”
Paint Color: Downpipe by Farrow & Ball, Headboard, Bed Frame, Duvet Cover, Blanket, Sheets (in Beige), Throw Pillow, Nightstand (no longer available, similar), Lamp, Basket (similar), Art (vintage)
Our last house was different, but I made a sort of paint formula for this house that has made the decision pretty easy. Here–we paint the trim the same color as the walls (it really modernizes and extends the space, imo) unless the walls are white. If the walls are white we do a contrast trim–Lamp Room Gray in our bedroom, Accessible beige in the main areas. And I’m sure there will be more to add to that list! As for ceilings, I’ve enjoyed the jewel box feel that painting the ceiling in our closet and music room brought, but the guest room has lower ceilings (8′, compared to 9′) so we kept them white down here to open it up.
The rest of the room, I kept simple–mixing traditional elements (the vintage painting from an estate, beige on beige bedding, that HANDSOME head board–it’s honestly even more beautiful against the dark paint color–with more modern elements like the oversized white lamps (I got a second for the other side but for some reason the shade is delayed so let’s just use our imaginations. haha)
When I was sharing the project on stories, I got a lot of questions about the little door on the left. It’s probably only about 4′ tall and it’s a small under-stair storage that we don’t keep much in.
Having the bed moved over in front of the entrance to the room makes for a really stunning entrance into the room and then if you turn the corner, the treadmill is over by the window. We’ve gotten a lot of questions about why we would put the treadmill here instead of in the theater room (no room) or garage (too cold 10 months out of the year) or any other room–and the truth is, we actually use EVERY room in this house so having the guest room (which is the room that gets used the least) pull double duty made the most sense.
I literally don’t know what we were thinking with that previous layout. Hahaha. But this makes so much more sense and I’m sure it will still continue to evolve! Above all, having one dark and moody room in the house just feels like us. I mean, we gotta have 1!
I’d kind of like to try painting the trim the same color as the walls, but is it odd to do in only one room? The color is Farrow & Ball Setting Plaster. The rest of our house, except for a guest room in Ben Moore Van Deusen with white trim, is Ben Moore Shoreline with white trim. What do you think?
So beautiful! When painting walls and trim the same color, do you use the same finish for both? Or a more matte finish for the walls and glossier for the trim?
I love the idea of painting the trim more glossy! here, I just used the same sheen.
LOVE this room! It’s giving me inspiration for our master bedroom we are hoping to update soon. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the headboard. QUESTION???? Did you use a box spring or just the mattress on the bed frame? I love the dark room color and all the bedding!! Thanks for sharing!!
Farrow & Ball Downpipe has had my attention forever! What did you bring to SW to have them color match it for you? Would so much rather do that instead of ordering ($$$) from Farrow and Ball’s site.
Hi Julia, what a beautiful space! I see that you used eggshell for both the trim and walls here. I don’t know how textured the walls in this house are, but I remember you mentioning the walls in your old house were very textured. I have some of that going on myself… is there a finish you recommend for playing nicely with texture?