Piano Studio Room Transformation

The last two weeks have been such a blur!  My husband and I are fully moved into our new home and have begun the process of unpacking and getting settled.  Last weekend, our priority was getting the piano studio room painted because my piano was scheduled to get professionally moved yesterday.  Here are some photos of the room’s transformation!

In my last blog post, I shared a couple of photos of the room, but here are a few more BEFORE shots for comparison. When you enter the front door, you can take the stairway downstairs that leads straight to the piano studio room.

As you can see, the walls are paneling.

The burnt orange walls and those seventies light fixtures aren’t doing the room any favors.

It is a nice, large room for my studio, though!

Love the fireplace.  The tile flooring is nice, too.  Lots of potential.

The doors lead to this patio which is under the deck.  I’m going to put some patio chairs out here for the patio that I brought from here. I’ll also lay out an outdoor rug and let parents know they are welcome to sit out here during lessons.

My sister has experience with painting paneling and was a huge help as we were updating the room.  We took her advice to wipe a coat of deglosser over the paneling and trim to help the primer and paint stick. Here is a photo of the room after a coat of primer over everything, plus a coat of white paint on the trim and the lower part of the wall.

When we took down the old light fixtures, we discovered that each one held a single 40 watt bulb.  No wonder the room was so dark!  I bought fixtures that would each hold three light bulbs.  I wanted semi-flush fixtures, hoping it would help make the ceiling seem taller and the room more elegant.  I scored a great deal at Menard’s: these fixtures were $35 each.

Notice the three paint samples on the wall?  I spent a lot of time researching paint colors on the internet.  (Although I researched Benjamin Moore colors, I bought Olympic One paint from Lowe’s and asked them to match the colors.)  I was looking for a gray that would be light and warm.  On the internet, I found that I loved the Benjamin Moore color “Revere Pewter” and I thought for sure that would be the color I would choose.  However, I brought home three different test-sized paint pots first before buying all the paint.  It was a good thing I did, because Revere Pewter turned out to be much more yellow-y than I expected! Below, you can see the three paint samples.  The colors from top to bottom are Stonington Gray, Moonshine, and Revere Pewter.  We decided to go with Stonington Gray.

At the last second, we ended removing the mantelpiece over the fireplace.  The wall around the fireplace will be painted blue to create an accent wall.

Here is a photo of the room with a coat of the light gray on the walls.  It’s coming together!  I can’t believe this is the same room!!

Here is a photo of my sister and I, proud of our handiwork!  The paint job and the new light fixtures really brighten up the room.

Here is a photo of the fireplace with the blue accent wall.  The color is BM Van Deusen Blue.

Tomorrow, I will share a photo of the room with the piano moved in!  Update: Link.