I met Trina freshman year of college. The Roommate Gods put us together and we have been inseparable (generally speaking – she lives about four hours away in Fargo, ND) ever since.

I know that when we are together, not only is a smile going to be plastered on my face the entire time, but I am also going to be my best self. Like any best friend, she brings out the best in me.

What does this have to do with home decor?

Well, it took a can of paint for me to realize this same rule applies to your home.

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Let me back up.

We’re in the process of renovating our laundry room.

Essentially, we’re starting from scratch; a completely blank canvas.

If you haven’t seen our inspiration board, click here. This’ll give you an idea of what we’re hoping to do and the look we’re going for.

We chose the tile last fall at a home renovator’s outlet store and decided on a light gray for the grout color.

Brett was able to lay the tile down on a weekend he was home and my dad and I grouted it while he was away.

After letting the grout dry for a day, I eagerly opened the paint – Upward by Sherwin-Williams – and went to town.

I sent Brett a quick picture and about two seconds later he called me.

“Why is it purple?” He asks.

“Purple??? It’s not purple.”

You know when someone points something out and then that’s all you see?

Well, that’s exactly what happened here.

I finished painting the left wall and then did the wall with the window.

All I saw was purple.

Don’t get us wrong. The color was absolutely beautiful. Just not what we thought it was going to be.

After talking it through, we decided the grout needed to go.

Instead of chisseling out all the grout and redoing the whole thing, we found this ABSOLUTELY GENIUS product that stains grout.

Obviously this only works when going from light to dark, but it’s seriously the best thing ever.

We went with a dark brown and in a matter of 45 minutes the entire space was transformed. Even more of a miracle? The walls were looking a little more blue and a little less purple.

After the grout dried, we moved the washer and dryer back into the room, along with the laundry tub.

Once again, the wall color began to shift and appear a little more blue.

And after adding and staining the window trim and throwing up some fantastic curtains, it became clear that all these walls needed were some good surroundings.

Because of course, home decorating rules are just like us. When they’re in good company, they can’t help but be their best self.

A special thank you to Sherwin-Williams for providing us this paint. All thoughts, opinions and lessons learned are our own. 🙂 

All our best,

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