It was January when we painted three gray test swatches on the dining room walls.
We chose the color within days, yet it somehow took four months to actually paint the room.
I tried to come up with reasons for the delay — repainting the living room and hallway the same color, finishing the guest room for a family visit, or getting distracted by patio preparations before a party. The real reason is probably simpler: we jump between projects and sometimes let things sit. In any case, the dining room finally went from this:
To this:
The change isn’t dramatic online, but the soft gray makes the room feel a lot more polished. The swatches are finally gone. We used the same gray we used in the living room and hallway — Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine, color-matched to Olympic Premium No-VOC — so we already had three gallons on hand. It’s a soft, versatile gray that has worked well in different lighting across multiple rooms.
Our plan was to paint contiguous rooms the same color to create a cohesive flow, while giving the kitchen a bit more color for contrast. Even a subtle coat of paint helps details like crown molding and trim stand out and makes the room read as more finished. The painted room looks crisper and more intentional than before:
It’s always surprising how much a fresh coat of paint can change the feeling of a space — even an almost-furniture-less room feels cared for instead of forgotten. The test swatches had been on the wall so long we barely noticed them until visitors asked which color we picked. (It was the bottom swatch, in case you were wondering.)
Painting even revealed small details we hadn’t noticed before, like the substantial crown molding in this room — it’s noticeably thicker than in other rooms. The soft gray complements the built-ins on the back wall, allowing them to be the focal point while the walls provide a light, airy backdrop that feels refined. We still need curtains, art, and entryway furniture, but the painted walls create a strong foundation.
This room didn’t have wood-toned molding that required multiple coats of white paint, so it was much faster to finish compared with the living room, which also required beam painting. We were able to complete the job in relaxed shifts: one coat during Clara’s morning nap, and the second coat after lunch while alternating child care duties. It felt so easy in hindsight that it made delaying it for months even more amusing. At one point Sherry even squeezed in a phone chat with a friend while cutting in.
As for painting attire, sometimes comfort wins. A close look reveals Sherry’s “painting clothes” were actually an inside-out black sweatsuit — cozy and practical, if not runway-ready.
We’re glad to have a test-swatch-free home. That fresh coat of paint has inspired more ideas: opening up the kitchen with a larger opening, hanging curtains, adding art, and dyeing the off-white chair slipcovers. Of course, knowing our pace, those projects might happen in a month, two, or four — we’ll get there.
Have you painted anything recently? Do you favor comfortable clothes for painting sessions? Ever leave swatches on your walls for months? You’re not the only one if you have — we’ve been there too.
For tips on how we paint, check posts on painting a room, painting trim like a pro, and related tutorials we’ve shared.