Moonshine and Painting Brick

This is the 2nd time that I have painted the dining room within the last two weeks, and it is about the 14th color sample I have tried on the wall. We have a 120 inch window on the north wall, so I get a flood of northern light all day long. As a little tip for those of you who live in the north and have to worry about the direction of the sun....northern light is always cooler than southern light, so it is recommended to go with warm colors in north facing rooms. Of course, I'm an almost-certified interior designer, so I throw the rules to the wind and try cool colors in all my north facing rooms because I'm a huge sucker for cool colors. I can't help it. They just feel so clean, even when I haven't dusted. Anyway, my dining room....I wanted to go with something neutral, yet modern. The fireplace was going white, so a cool gray sounded like just the thing. I'm a huge fan of dining room walls being neutral, so I can change up the table decor depending on the season. Finally I found the gray that was perfect....Benjamin Moore Moonshine. It's just like moon-light, hence the name. It's light and airy, and contrasts the white fireplace beautifully.

Yes, fireplace has gone white....I know you're all wondering about that! If you have outdated brick and you are not going to replace it, my advice is to paint it. You'll need to get the primer on there pretty thick (meaning a couple of layers). Of course, it is recommended to use oil-based primer, and of course I didn't. Brick soaks up paint like a sponge, but I wanted the texture to show through because I am primarily doing my dining room in neutrals. So I used a water based primer and a thin, shiny paint. I love the way it turned out.

In case you wanted to know more about that painting, my grandmother did that for us as a wedding present. It's the view from the window in the room I had at my parent's house.