Brick Home Haven

You know that song from the Wicked soundtrack that goes, “You…will…beee…popular. You’re gonna be pop-u-larrrr.” I sing that to my dining room all the time, because of how many videos featuring the space have gone viral.

Long story short, we painted this room back in October.

Our family spends a ton of time in this room, so I knew I wanted to choose a color that would be inviting, calming, and most importantly, timeless. I kept thinking of beige, but if you’ve ever tried to pick out a beige paint color simply by browsing swatches at the paint store, you know how maddening it can be!

Beige can pull yellow, brown, army green, or even pink! Knowing your desired undertone is important, but even more important for us was trying actual paint swatches in the space. You can do this buy buying sample jars at Lowe’s, Home Depot, or any paint store, or by using large peel-and-stick samples from Samplize.com.

With a south-facing room and plenty of light, we found that the lightest beige options looked cream. At the same time, the one I thought I would love most looked muck brown. It was so discouraging. With a ton of swatches all around our room, we finally brushed one on that stood out from the rest.

It was a warm, glowy netural that didn’t throw any unexpected undertones. After it dried, I fully committed. We taped off our trim and this gorgeous paint brought new life to our room.

I grabbed a quick video of what the paint looked like in the can vs. on the wall and posted it to my TikTok. I quickly realized that finding a beautiful beige paint color was a common pain point for all of us, as the video soared from 1 million to 2 million to 3 million views — now heading for 4 mil!

As I read through the comments, there was a common thread from interior design lovers — “This looks great, but you know what would make it even greater? Color drenching.”

Having never color drenched a room before I did my research before proceeding. Painting a ceiling is no joke and not fun to do over again if you don’t like it. But the more I researched and scrolled Pinterest, the more confident I felt to take on the job.

After the kids went to bed, I got my long roller out and started drenching the ceiling. It was terrifying, but I was committed. I painted the window trim, the molding, the baseboards, and even the outlet covers!

We officially had a color drenched room. I went to bed exhausted and unsure if I’d be painting the trim all over again the next day.

To my surprise, when I woke up, my jaw dropped. The room felt like it had doubled in size. With the morning light pouring in, I could see what everyone meant. Color drenching elevated the space in a way words can’t even describe. You just have to see it for yourself. So, I did what I do best.

I made another video, titled the same as this blog post, “The Jaw Dropping Difference Color Drenching Can Make.” A million views, thousands of shares and comments of approval. It seems we’re all in our color drenching era.

I wanted to quickly answer some FAQ about this color drenching job:

-The paint color is Bungalow Beige by Sherwin Williams. It is in their HGTVHome by Sherwin Williams line and can be purchased at Lowe’s.
-The sheen we chose was Satin.
-We used the same can of paint for the entire job, no different finishes or strengths.
-Yes, we painted our windows, but they are all-wood windows. If you do this, carefully tape and do multiple super thin coats to ensure you don’t compromise functionality.
-There are no doors in this room; it opens to our kitchen on one side and living room on the other. The kitchen is also Bungalow Beige with Creamy cabinets and the living room is a cool white (about to get a makeover using Sherwin Williams Greek Villa and Studio Beige.)

What other questions do you have about this project?