How To Achieve a Monotone Paint Look with KILZ

This post is sponsored by KILZ Brand, but all opinions are my own.

THE TASK AT HAND: CREATE A TRULY MOODY LIBRARY

We renovated our living room for the One Room Challenge two years ago and dubbed it our “Moody Library Space.” There was just one problem: the ceiling and window trim both remained stark white. I think we can all agree that white gives the opposite vibe of moody. It has now taken two years to convince Billy that the ceiling in this space really needs to go dark like the rest of the room. Yes, it took two YEARS to convince him as his resistance to the idea was unrelenting. His go-to reasoning for NOT wanting to paint the ceiling was the fact that our home is 111 years-old. I say that means it’s charming. Billy says that means it’s imperfect, and was convinced that painting the ceiling would highlight all of its imperfections.

Then KILZ walked onto the scene wanting to collaborate on a project. I knew this would be the perfect time to finally convince Billy to paint the ceiling. His infatuation with KILZ products is REAL and there is no better product to make an imperfect ceiling look perfect. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of KILZ earlier. Sure enough, the lure of KILZ was enough to convert Billy. We’ve been pretty busy over here with some other projects, so I asked my dad if he would mind coming over and giving us a hand with this paint job. My dad LOVES painting. His happy place is zoning out to some tunes in his ears and a brush in his hand. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard to convince him.

STEP 1: PRIME WITH KILZ 3® PREMIUM PRIMER

My dad is the go-to painter for my entire family. And we paint A LOT. So, suffice it to say, the man has worked with a lot of different paints and primers in his 66 years. Shortly after dipping into the KILZ 3 Premium primer I overheard him saying to Billy, “This is hands down the nicest primer I have ever used.” In typical dad-fashion, he repeated some variation of that sentence throughout the day. Then, he’d dip his brush into the KILZ and smooth it like butter all over the ceiling and walls.

We were delighted to find that a single coat of the KILZ 3 Premium primer was enough to cover all the stains on the white ceiling, and the darker paint on the walls. Anyone who has ever endured the stiff neck that inevitably comes with painting a ceiling knows a single coat of primer is a very welcome gift. We specifically went with KILZ 3 Premium primer because we were trying to cover up a dark color on the walls and were amazed at how efficiently the primer did its job. In a single morning, we had the walls entirely prepped to take on the new paint color.

STEP 2: CHOOSE THE MAGNOLIA HOME by Joanna Gaines® PAINT COLOR

As mentioned earlier, I was looking to finally make this library space TRULY moody. A dark color was a must, and I wanted to stick with a warm green. The adjoining entryway is an olive green and it was a requirement for the library space’s color to complement the entryway. I’ve been wanting to try Joanna Gaines new Magnolia Home paint for a while. What I hadn’t realized is that Magnolia Home paint is made by KILZ. I must admit I had a hard time choosing a color. I spent about an hour just staring at paint chips in the store because there were so many beautiful options. The final decision was to go with Magnolia Home’s “Locally Grown.” This deep, saturated color also has hints of olive that I knew would play nicely with the entryway.

STEP 3: FINISH THE SPACE WITH MAGNOLIA HOME BY JOANNA GAINES PAINT LINE IN THE COLOR “LOCALLY GROWN”

My dad’s new love affair with KILZ 3 Premium primer extended quite naturally to the Magnolia Home paint. “This paint is just beautiful,” he was heard muttering under his breath as he drenched the room in “Locally Grown.” He was delighted to discover the ceiling needed just a single coat of the Magnolia Home paint. The walls also needed just a coat on top of the stellar cover afforded by the KILZ 3 Premium primer. The window trim was the only area that needed a few touch ups after the first coat was complete. My dad had been skeptical of this whole monotone look from the outset. The entire time he painted he tried to convince me to leave the window trim white. But when the look was complete, even he was a convert to that monotone look, and also KILZ newest (and biggest) fan.