TGIF, friends! I’ve been busy the past few days painting our basement. Well, not the entire basement, only the main living area that I’ve named, “The Lounge”. Come see how balanced beige by Sherwin-Williams looks on the walls!
My husband was away for a few days, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to jump on a long awaited project. He knew that I planned to paint the Lounge at some point so he did request it not be a dark color or really a color at all. He wanted it to stay neutral and bright. As luck would have it, I had nearly two gallons of paint (balanced beige) left over from painting our kitchen last year, so I decided to use that. A-it is a neutral color and B-I already had it so it was basically a free project. (I’m thrifty like that.)
The Lounge was already a neutral color, sort of an off white. But, it had dozens of nail holes from the previous owners. I patched them ages ago, but it really bugged me that I could see them along with wall scuffs, etc. So, repainting the room was a must. I took the two gallons of paint to Lowe’s and had them shake them up for me. In addition, I bought a new paint brush and some paint liners for the roller pan. Having the right tools is also a must. Then I got to work!
Because I’m lazy, and also because I have a pretty steady hand, I don’t use tape. Plus, taping takes a lot of time and I’m an impatient painter. The color looks much darker when it’s first applied.
But once the paint is dry, it really is much lighter than it first appeared. (Plus, the picture above was taken late in the day.) Isn’t it a pretty and calming color?
It took me about 6 hours to paint the entire room. Luckily, one wall was mostly doors and windows and the opposite wall, was not a wall at all, just the entrance to the room. I finished at 7:30 that night. A long day, but worth the effort.
The next day I put everything back into place. I rearranged a few of the pub tables and chairs just to see how they would look. We still need to find a light to go over the pool table to replace the fan and center it of course. Now that the room feels more complete~that will be the next step. 
Now the room feels clean and fresh with the new paint color! I love it!
I used an eggshell finish so there is a slight sheen. Balanced beige is a soft color without any pink or yellow undertones, so it’s really a great color. It has an LRV (light reflective value) of 46, meaning it’s on the lighter side of paint colors. The walls change color depending on the time of day and the camera angle.
This room is fairly small so when we decided to make it into a lounge area with a pool table, all we could find to go along with our existing furniture was a love seat. We found this one at Berhardt Furniture in Hickory. And because this space is supposedly my husband’s, I promised not to doll it up too much. Sigh.
Ok, the paint does look a little yellow in this picture but I promise it’s not. I just wanted to show the other side of the room. And my husband is likely to rearrange the pub tables and chairs, but that’s ok, I got to enjoy them where I wanted them for a short time. (I was watching the Hallmark channel. Another guilty pleasure while he’s away.)
It makes me so happy that this room is finally painted! Even though the color is neutral, it’s fresh and clean and no more nail holes! Hurrah! (Don’t you agree that a fabulous oblong crystal chandelier would look wonderful over the pool table? One can dream but it’s not likely to happen.)
Well, I can check this project off of my to-do list! There are only a few more spaces in this house that have not succumbed to my paint brush, or a chandelier. All in good time! I just need to pick out some new colors or maybe wallpaper for the others! Well, I’m pooped so I’m going to park it on the veranda soon with a glass of wine! It’s five o’clock somewhere as my sister just informed me. So, cheers! xoxo Dell
