Sunroom Painting Update — Rockport Gray Refresh

“Oh what a feeeeeeling, painting on the ceeeeeiling.” Yes, that was a Lionel Richie nod. We finally tackled a fresh coat of paint in our sunroom — a space that had been sitting with mismatched white ceilings and yellowed cream walls for far too long.

Before the paint went up, we considered the half-brick wall that lives in that room. Many readers suggested ideas in our previous sunroom post, including adding brick veneer or reclaimed wood. In our case, the drywall sits in front of the brick, which would create an awkward lip if we tried to apply veneer or wood above the existing brick. That made us hesitate to add anything that would stick out and look unnatural.

We weighed two main options: try to distress or gray-wash the brick to tone down the red, or paint it outright to match the painted brick in the adjacent living room. Since both the living room brick and the sunroom brick are in the same sight line, painting the smaller U-shaped expanse in the sunroom would likely create a more cohesive flow between the rooms.

Rather than make a snap decision, we decided to paint the rest of the room first and let the new wall color inform our choice about the brick. To prepare, we moved most of the furniture into the center of the room, which temporarily turned the living room into a bit of a disaster zone — a familiar sight for anyone who’s DIYed a room makeover.

Our dog, Burger, didn’t seem to mind the extra pillows and chaos; he found a comfy spot and gave us a look that clearly said, “I’m trying to nap here.” With our daughter out for the day, we could work uninterrupted, which helped a lot with a project that involved 12-foot ceilings — a height we haven’t painted much before.

We chose Rockport Gray by Benjamin Moore for the sunroom. It’s a warm, brownish-gray rather than a cold cement gray, and it’s already a favorite of ours from other rooms. I’ll explain the reasoning behind that choice below, but first a quick note on the process: edging took longer than usual because the room is full of windows and corners. Sherry handled almost all of the detailed edging around doors and windows, while I did a few high windows from the ladder.

For the expanses of wall and the high ceiling, we used a roller on an extension pole — a surprisingly effective method for reaching tall areas without constantly climbing up and down a ladder. The one tricky spot was the area around the ceiling fan attachment, where a roller would be too imprecise and our ladder didn’t reach high enough for clean edging. We improvised a solution: a brush taped to a pole to get into that tight spot. It’s not glamorous, but it worked and gave us a sharp, professional-looking edge.

The job took two coats and about seven hours spread over two days. The result is a dramatic difference: despite the darker tone, the room doesn’t feel gloomy. Natural light floods the space, and the new color reduces the yellow cast the tile had when the walls matched it closely. The change has already made the sunroom feel more intentional and connected to the rest of the house.

Why Rockport Gray?

• It makes all the white trim read as crisp and bright, improving contrast and definition.
• The room has a sloped, oddly angled ceiling, and a slightly moodier color helps downplay those angles and make the ceiling feel more integrated.
• With the walls no longer the exact tone of the tile, the floor reads less yellow and the space feels more balanced.
• It coordinates well with the living room’s Moonshine walls and the kitchen’s warm grellow tone, which both connect visually to the sunroom.
• During spring, summer, and fall we want the outside greenery to be the star. A subdued, non-competitive wall color keeps attention on the view rather than the walls.
• The warm gray tone helps camouflage the HVAC unit mounted on the wall without calling attention to it.

We also found that the new wall color picks up the tone of the mortar, which is useful if we decide to leave the brick untouched. After the paint went up, we reassessed the brick and still felt it looked awkward as-is. The drywall above the brick rests awkwardly on the window and the unpainted red brick doesn’t visually match the painted brick wall in the living room. We briefly considered a gray-wash — diluting paint, using a stain, or rubbing on cement to mute the red — but that felt like an incomplete fix compared to painting the brick to match the living room.

For now, the painted walls have already made the room feel less like a leftover project and more like usable space. A painted, cohesive look might be the final step to fully integrating the sunroom with the rest of the house, but we’ll keep testing ideas. We’re also kicking around the idea of a window seat under one wall, which could be a great functional addition if we pursue it.

Painting this room reminded us how transformative color can be. It’s a relatively quick update that makes a space feel like it belongs to you. Our sunroom now feels inviting and usable again — perfect for lazy Sunday lounging — and we’ll share updates as we finalize plans for the brick and any built-ins. What did you tackle this weekend — any painting projects or clever pole-based solutions to share?