Home Need a Color Reboot? See My Paint Refresh in Progress!
Updated May 5, 2024
For many years of discontent, when I’ve broached the idea for an interior paint refresh, my husband and I would always talk ourselves out of it. There was always next year. To be fair, though, I can only blame myself for not pursuing it; because if I insisted, it would have happened. The truth is, the thought of doing a full interior color reboot it left me feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
Finally Took the Leap
Until the pandemic. A restlessness came over me and inspired me to finally take a leap of faith. I started calling professionals for quotes and things fell into place. Luckily for us, we found a talented two-man crew who were considerate of our personal space working remotely during the five-week stint.
Slideshow of Work in Progress: Click through the images below to see the refresh underway! I love looking at other people’s homes as they undergo transformations and hope you will too. Let’s be real about what a house looks with an interior paint rehaul, so kindly excuse the disarray! 🙂
Living room is packed up and ready for wall prep. (Please note: Paint used for the refreshed rooms shown here is Benjamin Moore.) 
The second coat of Revere Pewter goes on. 
Living room is completed and walls are drying. 
The kitchen dining area, in the original wheat color, is ready for wall prep. 
The new color of the open-concept space on the main floor. 
Dining room is prepped for primer coat. 
A brighter red refreshes the dining room. 
Testing Antique Jade on the front door. 
Our painter transforms the front door. 
We also used the same green paint on the door accessing the garage. 
Contrast of former paint (stairwell wall) with Revere Pewter. 
Staircase spindles and risers get sprayed. 
The former beige with pink undertones in master bedroom. 
Master bedroom in Beach Glass in evening light as the paint dries. 
Spare bedroom gets final coat of a pale green/gray beachy color. 
My husband’s office gets a coat of Metropolitan Gray (previously pale yellow). 
A griege called Collingwood goes up in the basement. This is actually much paler than pictured here. 
Windowless basement bath is filled with color using the same paint used on the main floor doors. 
Before photo of the basement stairs 
After photo of the basement stairs in an olive tone. 
Sussex Green was the final choice for the basement stairs. 
Powder room on first floor is primed. 
Peachy Hugs and Kisses dries, setting the backdrop for a Caribbean-inspired bath.
Admittedly, one of the best parts of our interior paint refresh was watching all phases of work and colors emerge because I was home the whole time.
Oh yes, it was work to get every room packed and prepped, and then to put it back together again. Despite that, I was eager to move forward and keen with anticipation. There was so much to keep me happily busy. I scrutinized colors constantly, and did my due diligence with online research sometimes into the wee hours. I watched too much HGTV. I visited paint stores countless times for paint chips and later for pint-sized cans to sample final choices.
My Process with Picking the Perfect Paint
I quickly learned there was much more ado about picking colors compared to almost 20 years ago when our house was built. At that time, I gathered up a bunch of paint chips, and then picked my favorites. Done.
Be aware of how lighting can change colors in your rooms to the point that grays can turn blue or purple. I came across posts showing gray rooms where some walls literally changed to baby blue (what?!). After that, I got obsessive with my research as I didn’t want to take any chances.
I recommend that you do the research and test out colors. I vowed to myself that I would not need to have a room repainted for choosing unwisely. I do admit (a bit sheepishly), that I asked for a staircase do-over for a darker shade of olive green!
Use LSVs to Help Guide Paint Decisions
I learned about the importance of natural vs. artificial lighting and light reflectance value (LRV), which tells you how light or dark a color is on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the number, the lighter the color. Check out the Kylie M. Interiors blog post on this topic. This tidbit of information helped guide my color choices, and I ended up with colors ranging from 50 to 63 LRV. I didn’t want pastels; I wanted saturated but not overpowering colors.
About My Colors Then and Now
When you look at the photo slideshow on top of the page, take a moment to consider how beige was all the rage in 2003. Back then, we picked out a golden wheat for the main living areas and a beige with pink undertones for the upstairs bedrooms. A pale yellow was used in our finished basement and husband’s office, while white went in the guest bathroom.
Today, we replaced these colors with greens, beachy tones, grieges and grays. However, two rooms stayed true to their original colors. The dining room remains a rich, deep red and main floor powder room a cheery peach.
From my research, current trends for neutrals are still grieges (gray/beige blend), warm grays, creamy whites and beige. Green and green-grays are also very popular (obviously my favs!). In the end, you need to decide what speaks to you and will make you happy for the long run!
Pin Post to Read Later
See Posts Sharing Completed Rooms
- LIVING ROOM REVEAL: See how Revere Pewter transforms the room. In addition, read my tip that will save you time searching for the perfect area rug.
- KITCHEN and HALLWAY REVEAL: See part two of the open-concept area of my house.
- CARIBBEAN-INSPIRED BATHROOM: See the photos to learn how St. Maarten/St. Martin island color influenced my paint and décor choices.
Painting can make such a big difference in transforming a space. I recently did a similar project in my own place and it was really rewarding to see the whole vibe change just by updating the wall colors. It’s amazing how much a fresh coat of paint can liven things up.
Guess what’s on our list to do this weekend? Yes, painting! My husband is doing a great job painting room by room…
I love this post because it perfectly captures the hesitations and challenges that come with planning a home improvement project. This really inspired me.
Nice home color reboot! Refreshing paint can truly transform a space. I’m inspired by your project!
Thank you for your tips and great pictures of the whole process. I love your olive-tone stairs! We bought our house painted light grey. It was useful at the beginning, but now I want to add some colors.
Such great suggestions! I need to do this in my house! Thanks for posting!
Those colors look great! Might just add them to my home too!
Love this and how you show the same color in different ways. It is crazy how different color looks in one space or another. Also love that you painted your white doors a color! Looks beautiful!
I love the progress in each step.
Not a fan of gray that much but you made me put it as an option when I decide to paint my wall. Great tips and love how you really make a way for me to appreciate new color!
I understand what you mean and didn’t intend to go with colors with gray blends when I started. 🙂 I love the griege on main floor (Revere Pewter). I also didn’t expect to go with so much green, which I’m so happy I did!
Wow! The gray paint looked so different it was shocking! Really drives home the point to test the paint and see it in a different light!
I really like the colors you chose. I need to do this, gotta find the time. Thanks for your great ideas.
I have wanted to do this for a while but I never got around to it. Thank you for sharing your process and the very helpful tips!
Love gray blends, nice color combos! 🙂
What a delightful journey you’ve shared, Laurie! Your meticulous attention to detail and thoughtful approach to your interior paint refresh is truly inspiring. It’s remarkable how a change in color can breathe new life into a space, and your slideshow beautifully captures the transformation process.
Love it! A color reboot is always refreshing.
What a huge undertaking yet so worth it! Heading to the next post to see the finished project.
That is such a massive undertaking, but well worth it in the end. Great colour choices.
Nice, I love changing the color in my home once in a while.
This is amazing. I don’t have a home yet as we live in an apartment. But will surely save this in the future. I remember my friend doing a reboot as well. Will share this for extra tips and help.
Felt a gush of excitement going through your slideshow. LOL! The procrastination is completely relatable and I love the colors you chose. Especially the dining room!
I really love this! It perfectly captures that feeling of putting off something for so long until finally taking the leap. It’s so relatable how the idea felt overwhelming until circumstances pushed for action. And the excitement of seeing the transformation in progress is palpable. Great job! I am not great at picking colors but love your method.
Thank you for these color suggestions. We need a home color reboot definitely. Our kids played with our walls.
Love your comment about one color appearing differently. We painted our guest room a light gray and had enough paint to do the bathroom. Bathroom looks light blue and guest room looks light gray. Thanks for another great post!
I love a refresh with a new paint job! I always struggle to pick the right colors!
This color refresh looks so good! I do love the bright red in the dining room; it fits really well. The jade is my fave also.
I love Revere Pewter! We have that color in our mud room, and a number of greiges around the house (some closer to light cream, some with a bit of a green tint). So fun and your house looks beautiful!
It’s going to be beautiful Laurie! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do and my husband recently retired and would do the work himself. However we have parakeets and they can’t be around fresh paint odor so we will have to figure that out. Can’t even burn a scented candle in the house. Look forward to reading your blog!! Good luck with the refresh!!
Very nice, Laurie. I love your blog here. Your writing is excellent. I never read any more. Since I gave birth to my daughter 22 years ago I lost my time to read. I always loved reading. This is getting me back, even just in a little way. I enjoy this; keep it coming!! It reminds me of the movie Julie and Julia. Her blog writing about cooking a recipe from Julia for a year!! Thank you for sharing your world and keeping me interested!!
I’ve never seen the finished product (Covid) of your colors!! Love them. I’m totally a fan of gray but know what you mean about picking out the colors. It’s a daunting task. I’m exhausted after just reading this and have decided to wait another year to pick out a new living room and office color for our house 🙂
Hello Susan, I’ve been adding in new photos since I posted this last night. Sharing in case you wanted to check back. 🙂