This last Saturday myself, my husband and my father-in-law spent about 10 solid hours hanging moulding in the dining room. Let me rephrase that, they hung trim while I played laborer. I glued, fetched and assisted in any way possible to try and make things run smoothly and also for the chance to learn. I love to learn new things – how to do something or simply how something works, and my father-in-law likes to explain, so he was happy to appease me Micah just wanted to work.
Last week I showed you the ceilings scrapped and told you we were having someone come in to float them. Tim did an incredible job, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. He also floated out the bottom of the walls where the old chair and framing had been. The outcome is perfection. If you need drywall or mudding I can’t recommend him enough!
It can be tricky to figure out the placement of your moulding, so I recommend not rushing it. We used a chalk line and marked out where we thought we wanted everything about a month ago. Some people say you want to try and have as many of the same size frames as possible, but I prefer to look at each wall individually and do what looks most esthetically pleasing for that wall. We settled on 4″ spacing between all the moulding and only veered from that in a few areas (mainly door frames).
This wall had a long return vent that I thought we were stuck with, but it turns out you can patch up down the middle and just have 2 separate vents for the return. Still not beautiful, but a much better alternative to interrupting the frames.
And remember those weird step-ups in the bay windows? We’ll we’ve raised the one in the dining room up to sit right under the windows, making a nice little window seat.
Micah was able to use the same sheet of plywood and frame in the area underneath. He cut out a lid and we’ll add some hardware for extra entertaining storage.
We’ll need to drywall and add some moulding to finish it off, but I’m much happier with the use of space now.
And we’ve decided on a color. Well, I had decided long ago, but we’ve decided how to get to that color. I’ve known for a while now that I wanted to paint this space Farrow & Ball’s Black Blue. I love the depth the shade has – the inky blue leans black but has the warmth of a deep navy. The sample was rich and the coverage was incredible. But it has some downsides for me: like its $95 a gallon price tag and the fact that it ships from another country.
We’re going to spray the room because all of the trim and walls will go the same color. I knew I couldn’t mess around with getting the right amount of paint if I had to order it online. Along with the paint being expensive, shipping wasn’t cheap either. I wasn’t convinced that any other paint could provide the depth this paint did, but Micah took it to Sherwin Williams to be color matched, and I have to say…it’s dead on.
So for $60 a gallon less and the chance to drive to a store for more, we’re going with Sherwin Williams. I’ve had an affection for Farrow & Ball for quite some time now, but I can’t take the chance of coming up short or pay that much for a space this big. Now, to decide on a finish. My heart says flat, but my head says “Are you crazy? A flat that dark will show everything!”
Do you have any experience with dark, flat paints? Any advice or recommendations?
Meghan says
I wanted to go with flat paint in my walkout basement and the guy at Benjamin Moore saw my kids with me. He talked me out of it, but recommended their "Matte" paint. It's just one step up from flat in that it hides more and is more "cleanable" than flat but still looks almost completely flat to the eye. I love it.
Haley says
This room is shaping up nicely! I had to flip back to the before to double check that the moulding wasn't already there. It looks like it belongs perfectly.
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door says
You are doing it right and it's going to look great. How about splitting the difference and going matte?
ChooseJoy says
I know paint finishes are a personal preference, but I can't stand flat 🙂 It seems like nails on a chalkboard to me. I think matte is a good solution because it has the ability to be cleaned while not having much, if any, sheen. Up to you! Love that you made the weird step-up into a window seat:)
Eva Kellogg says
Gwen, when i wanted to repaint our office I fell in love with Spade Black by Behr. I wanted to paint only as an accent wall and not the whole room. But I literraly had to buy small sample in two different finishes and experiment on the wall. I agree with Meghan that "matte" will hides more, it's cleanable but still preserves the flat look that gives a dark color its richness.
I am very happy with the black "matte" look, your eyes are drawn to it. Good Luck, I am sure you can do no wrong!
Brittany Cramer says
I've done the same thing as you! Color matched F&B since they're just waaaay out of budget. I love seeing this space come together!
Beth of designPOST Interiors says
Farrow and Ball's paints are so rich and gorgeous!!
Julia Konya says
Oh yes that color will be amazing and I agree flat that dark will show everything but shiny dark won't be any better either. Eggshell maybe?
Corinne Hamilton says
I had a flat black wall in my bedroom once. I like flat paints and love black walls, but it was meh and I painted over it. It felt like a large blackboard and had no character.
Emily Palmier says
Love everything thus far! Great paint color – I, too, have a BOLD dining room!
Melanie says
The color choice is great! However, flat dark paint shows dirt, fingerprints and scratches like crazy. It is a delicate procedure to clean up as it tends to leave white smudges. Also, rubbing too hard will lighten the paint or make it shiny. All of the above happens on my navy blue flat Ralph Lauren paint but maybe your brand has different results. Practice putting some fingerprints onto your swatches and cleaning them off to see what happens. Then imagine having to do that all the time (especially with kids) on four large walls!
Maggie | The Spiffy Company says
You're on your way to one seriously dreamy dining room! Loving it so far.
I like that you're going with the same color for walls and molding but are you planning on going with different finishes? Like flat walls and satin or glossy trim? My experience with flat paint is how efficiently it hides any imperfections (which is usually a great thing) but with all of the work you're putting into the trim and molding, I'm wondering if it will get lost, especially in photos, in an all flat finish. The different finishes could highlight the details while still keeping things really subtle. Just something to think about…as if you don't have enough decisions to make 😉
Rachel Rardon says
Gor.Geous! The moulding is perfect. Do you have plans to use your new "installing-moulding" skill again soon?! 🙂
Erin Sharp says
Love the color choice!
Shavonda Gardner says
Def dont go flat my friend. The black walls in our last house were flat and I cant tell you how high maintenance they were. Love the matte idea. The visual benefits of flat without the pressure of not being able to breathe in the room.
danielleedelman says
If you register your email with Sherwin Wiilliams, they always run sales. I get 30-40% off coupons all the time. I buy paint in bulk then.
Bethany DeVore says
I used flat black in our bedroom and it shows every smudge! Wish I had gone for at least a little sheen!
themakerista@gmail.com says
That's what I kept hearing, thanks for the thoughts Bethany!
Rosie G says
Hi Gwen will it be possible to provide the color code or the breakdown of the color mix for the SW match? Please and Thank you!?
themakerista@gmail.com says
Rosie,
If you shoot me an email, I'd be happy to send you a picture of the label. themakerista(at)gmail(dot)com Thanks!