Hale Navy built-ins

Waaaaaay back in November I had the carpeting in our house replaced.  Our dog, Lacey, had been ill for about 2 years and had managed to pee and poo on every single square inch of the house. 🤦🏻‍♀️. The only upside to her passing this past summer was that the girls and I could finally remove the carpet and underpad and start fresh with a hygienic home.

BUT, if you are like me, then you know an opportunity existed before the new carpeting was installed to paint/repaint areas of the house without worry about drips and splatters.

My family room was the recipient of a small makeover (with big impact).

The built-ins were white when we first moved in then, several years later, I decided to paint them and the adjacent wall in Benjamin Moore’s Metropolis – a dark grey with brown undertones.

It was great, for a time – but I’m slowly making over my home one room at a time and this was still pre-divorce decor.  It was time for a fresh start here too.

I absolutely adore how my Home office makeover turned out, so bringing Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy into this space was a no brainer.  

I started with the built-in units because the dry time on the Advance formula paint is 16 hours before recoating.

What I did debate back and forth on was whether to paint the TV section in Hale Navy as well, or to match it to the other walls in the room – Benjamin Moore’s Stone Hearth.

Seemed easier to go light then dark, so I gave it a chance:

Yup – all navy would have been too much.  Nice in the summer when daylight hours are longer, but too dark and brooding for those early winter nights.

Problem now is – the mantle stands out with nothing to coordinate to.

Decided to Hale navy the mantle too.

It’s just paint right?  It can always be repainted if you hate it.

I used my Wagner Flexio 4000 to get into every nook and cranny in the mantle moldings – those tooth moldings would have taken a lifetime by hand!

I’m not sure… I think it looks better?

Three coats of Hale navy on the built-ins and mantle and three coats of Stone Hearth on the wall and she’s done.  (with just a few drips and slips on the old carpet)

I think it looks sort of Victorian maybe?  It certainly reminds me of English homes where the architectural details have been painted dark over time.

The entire wall in Hale Navy would have either made the fireplace glaringly stand out – if I left it white – or lost altogether if I painted it navy.  I think the alternating colours was the way to go.

I write that now, but if the blog is still chugging along a few years from now, I’ll be writing how it needs to be lighter and brighter or darker and moodier. 😂

I’m a DIYer – what can I say? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do love how my little decor pieces stand out against the dark colour.  Would you believe that at least half of them are handmade (or changed by me from initial purchase)?

• Rustic wood houses
• wooden chain links
• painted owls
• Stone inukshuk
• Pottery horse

The carpeting arrived about a week after I finished these Hale Navy built-ins, then I rushed to get my Christmas tree up for the Holidays so I don’t have any after photos that include the new carpet, without a tree in them.  To see more you can click over to my Christmas 2021 blog post.

Not a big job, but certainly a BIG change – 1 gallon of Hale Navy in Advance formula paint (pearl/satin) and 1 gallon in Stone Hearth wall latex in eggshell.

The best part, the entire makeover was complete in less than a weekend!

The magic of paint eh? 😍

Have a great one!