That’s the name of our new bedroom color: Carolina Inn Club Aqua. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but once on the walls it looks fantastic. We chose the middle swatch from a Valspar sample and had it color-matched to an Olympic no‑VOC paint in a satin finish. We wanted something green and a touch more saturated than the soft shade we used in our previous home.
Before painting, the room felt bare—no paint and almost no furniture. We even had to partially disassemble the bed so it could slide into the center of the room without hitting the ceiling fan while we worked around it.
About five hours later, after two coats, the transformation was obvious. Surprisingly, one gallon of paint covered the whole room. We aren’t used to rooms this size, so we had braced ourselves for a last‑minute run to the store, but that wasn’t necessary this time.
Carolina Inn Club Aqua is somewhat reminiscent of our last bedroom color (Gentle Tide), but it reads darker and greener in person. It’s a definite step toward the bolder palette we’re aiming for in this house. We considered going much darker or brighter, but decided the walls shouldn’t be the room’s main attraction. Keeping the color mid‑range gives us plenty of room for colorful curtains, artwork, and possibly painted secondhand furniture without the paint competing with those elements.
We were initially unsure about using the same color in the small bathroom nook. We toyed with the idea of going darker, lighter, or adding an accent like wallpaper or a tone‑on‑tone stencil. Ultimately, to visually connect the nook to the main bedroom and avoid making it feel like a separate, oddly colored pocket, we painted it in the same Carolina Inn Club Aqua. For durability and easy cleaning near the sink, we used a semi‑gloss finish in that spot. Photos make it look lighter in there, but in person it matches the main room.
One project still up for debate is the mirror frame—whether to paint it gray, white, or leave it as is and let the room evolve a bit more. We flip back and forth between waiting and grabbing the brush right away. Whatever we decide, we’ll share photos when it’s done.
The color reads a bit lighter in some photos, but in reality it sits in the mid‑range: not pale, but not deep. From the swatch you can see it’s noticeable without being highly saturated. That middle ground is exactly what we were hoping for. The crown molding, trim, and the bed really pop against it, and the walls won’t compete with bold textiles or artwork we plan to introduce.
Furniture placement is temporary—some pieces may be replaced entirely, like the old IKEA dresser. Sherry wants to find two secondhand dressers that coordinate without matching, refinish or paint them in bold colors, and place one on each side of the bathroom doorway for balanced storage. The chair will likely live in the corner to the left of the bed once we finalize everything.
One small win: the wall color picks up tones from the duvet in a flattering, complementary way without feeling like an overly literal match. A shot with the lights off shows the saturation more accurately and how the walls and duvet work together without competing or appearing flat.
Yes, the Christmas tree is still in the background—it’s on the list to move. Painting this room felt like a major step in making the new house feel like ours. We’ve officially caught the painting bug and are already thinking about tackling one of the main living spaces next. If only we could settle on a color…
P.S. We shared one of our favorite money‑ and space‑saving baby tips on BabyCenter recently. There’s also a short video of Clara being dramatic—good times.