Woman in Real Life

We had a few home projects on our summer to-do list this year, but the first priority was giving our little girl's bedroom a mini makeover. Primarily we wanted to give it a fresh coat of paint. The pink colour on her walls (pictured above) had been there since before we moved in about six years ago.

As an added bonus, painting her room would allow us to take down some of the many pictures and decals that have accumulated on her walls. It was time for Bieber to go! I was also hoping that sprucing up her bedroom might encourage my little gal to keep her room tidier. Let's just say that clutter has occasionally been an issue in the past.


Here's one more slightly cluttered "before" shot. (By the way, it took me a few hours of work to get the room even that tidy!) When it comes to choosing paint, my husband and I have always turned to Benjamin Moore. In our experience, whether we were painting our colour-filled little apartment on Yonge Street in Toronto or our more subtly hued first home, Benjamin Moore offered the best quality paint and the most gorgeous colours. Plus, ben is a low VOC/low odour paint. That's always been important to us but even more so now that we have children.


We visited our closest Benjamin Moore retailer, discussed colours with the in-store design expert and took home several paint chips. We gave our daughter full say over the choice of colour, because we wanted her to be happy with her new space. We involved her in the process too - she helped to empty out the room and clear off the walls.

She had a bit of trouble making a final colour choice, so she and I decided to go look for new bedding first. Purple was at the top of her list, and that choice was confirmed when she found a lovely new purple quilt and sheets. We returned to Benjamin Moore and picked up ben paint in "Lily Lavender." We also got a quart of "Cloud White" semi-gloss for the trim and closet doors - we have used this lovely white elsewhere in our home and find that it's a no-fail white.


Right now, when you buy two 3.79 L cans of ben interior paint and one 946 ml can of ben interior semi-gloss, you get a free ben & ME kit containing a roller cover, roller handle, paintbrush, paint tray, tray liner, drop cloth, paint can opener and green painters tape. All of this normally costs $169 but you'll get it for only $109* while supplies last! The package also comes with a how-to guide filled with useful painting tips and a playlist suggestion to keep you motivated as you paint. Having all of the necessary items  ready and together in one package made getting down to work easy and less intimidating.

There are 15 useful tips in the ben & ME guide. I'm going to share with you a few that helped us.


Now is the best time to tackle your painting projects. Benjamin Moore is offering ben & ME bags for $109* (value of $169), only until October 5, 2014. The ben & ME bag includes 2 gallons of premium paint, 1 quart of paint for trim, sleeve roller, paintbrush, paint tray, drop cloth, paint can opener, green painters tape and a how-to guide. Visit your local Benjamin Moore Signature store. Consult the ben & ME website to find your nearest participating Benjamin Moore dealer.

ben & Me Twitter Party!