One Room Challenge, Week 2: Third Time’s A Charm

Hi there! If you’re new here, my husband and I purchased our first home (a generic, 1960’s bi-level) almost two years ago in Northern NJ. Little by little, we’re adding personality to our basic, builder-grade home, and for this spring’s One Room Challenge™, I’m tackling our master bedroom. For the next six weeks, I encourage you to sit back and follow along with a glass of (bo)vino while I dedicate nearly 98% of my free time to making over this space. The other 2% of my free time?  That’s for showering and maybe the occasional snack. 

View the Week 1 post here. 

What happened this week:

• Painted our entire bedroom 3 times until I decided the third color was the best (all while having a mental breakdown via IG stories).

The world has been watching as I’ve had mental breakdowns while trying to choose a paint color for our bedroom.  And for some reason, unbeknownst to me, I feel the urge to paint an entire room before deciding whether or not that color is right for that particular space. I just want to know if I have to paint a second coat. I don’t particularly mind painting…but still. I have no excuse for the psychosis.

This week I painted our bedroom not once, not twice, but three times before choosing the color that I truly loved.

When someone tells me something I have a hard time believing, I usually say “pics or it didn’t happen.” So with that said…

First, it was BM Graystone, a deep taupe-ish gray.

I considered keeping it this color just because it was a perfect match to this vintage oil painting. But…

It had a greenish undertone and just wasn’t aligned with the look I’m going for.

Then, it was Gray Wolf, a deep blue also by BM…

Top: BM Secret AF | Bottom Left: BM Gray Wolf | Bottom Right: BM Foggy Day

As soon as I finished painting the whole room Gray Wolf, I took a step back and immediately got teen boy room vibes. This was around the time the meltdown started happening.

Then, I was informed by a lovely follower that there’s a Farrow and Ball location about 45 mins from my house. I’ve never used their paints, but I’ve heard great things and decided to take a drive over.

Yea um…hey. 

The saleswoman spent 45 minutes with me, which I was so grateful for. I told her my concerns about how the leaves will be growing back in a few weeks and I don’t want that green overcast to affect the color of the room. I told her about the look I’m going for, so on and so on. I ended up leaving with three samples (just what I needed – more options)

• De Nimes
• Manor House Gray
• Moles Breath

I tested each color on a poster board this time (it takes me repeating the same mistake a few times until I finally learn my lesson), and immediately ruled out Moles Breath, as it was too dark.

The last two standing were Manor House (left) and De Nimes (right), and I truly loved both. But this year has been all about taking risks…

So after comparing De Nimes with the wallpaper I plan to use in the bathroom, I knew it was the one.

 I’ve never really incorporated blue into our home, but this combination has me so excited to execute. Also, the entire aesthetic of the room was dependent on this color, so I’m glad I could nail it down this week and move forward. 

I just want to take a second to acknowledge the amazing companies I’m partnering with for this bedroom makeover:

Since I finally decided on a paint color, I’ve been able to hone in on what furniture and accessories I really envision for this space. Here’s what I have planned for the upcoming week:

• Layout/begin to install Metrie molding
• Paint the ceiling (same color as the wall, F&B De Nimes)
• Start painting trim
• Rip out all existing (old af) doors and door frames to replace with new Reeb doors & Emtek hardware (I cannot wait for this)

You can follow my master bedroom progress (ahem, me foaming at the mouth over trying to make my next decision) via Instagram stories…

And don’t forget to check out other guest participants and featured ORC designers!