How Sherwin Williams Stardew: Transformed Our Open Floor Plan

Looking for the perfect soft blue-gray paint color?

Let me show you how Sherwin-Williams Stardew completely transformed our open floor plan into a cozy, layered space filled with vintage charm.

From painted walls and trim to a standout kitchen island and newly styled living areas, this interior makeover brought calm, color, and character into our Vermont home.

Planning your own interior makeover? Don’t miss the free Paint Planning Checklist below!

Meet Sherwin-Williams Stardew: The Blue-Grey Paint Everyone’s Loving

Sherwin-Williams Stardew is one of those dreamy paint colors that feels both timeless and on-trend. It’s a soft blue-gray with just a hint of green — subtle enough to work throughout a home but still full of personality. We chose Stardew for our open floor plan to create a calm, cohesive look that flows beautifully from room to room.

Whether you’re updating a living space, kitchen cabinets, or a cozy bedroom, Sherwin-Williams Stardew brings a fresh, airy feel without being too bold or too cool. It’s that just-right blue that plays well with white trim (hello, Chantilly Lace!), natural wood accents, and vintage-inspired decor — all while giving your space a relaxed, pulled-together style that feels like home.

Prepping for Paint: Our Stardew Interior Makeover Begins

In the fall, we cleared out just about every corner of our home to make way for a full interior transformation — and it was so worth it.

We chose Sherwin-Williams Stardew for the walls and Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace for the trim to bring a soft, airy feel to our open floor plan. Our talented local painter spent over a week carefully prepping every surface before spraying the walls and trim with these beautiful, calming colors.

The result? A clean, refreshed look that completely brightened up our space and let the vintage charm shine through.

Meet Jay, Our Favorite Local Painter (and Comedic Relief!)

Before a single drop of paint went up, we got a few local estimates and were lucky to find Jay of Mud Patch and Paint, LLC — a true Vermont gem who was not only affordable but ready to get started. Our goal? A soft, light blue-gray paint color to refresh the entire interior of our open floor plan, paired with bright white ceilings and trim for a clean, classic look.

“Meet Jay — painter, prep master, and all-around good sport!”

Jay estimated about three weeks to complete the project, so we packed up and headed to our Maine home while he worked his magic. The scope included nearly the whole house — the kitchen, living room, dining room, and sitting room (all part of the open layout), plus two guest bedrooms (just the trim and ceilings), one bathroom, and three hallways.

We planned to tackle the bedrooms in a second project later with wallpaper — which you can learn more about in this post: Bedroom Wallpaper Ideas for Beautiful Home Decor.

Jay carefully covered all our wood floors with protective paper before spraying began, and as you’ll see in the photos, he brought plenty of personality to the job, too. There’s something so satisfying about seeing a project like this take shape — especially when it starts with solid prep and a clear vision.

Did you know that only 20% of a painter’s labor is painting, and the other 80% is surface preparation?

Clearing the Walls: A Refreshing First Step

Before the painting began, we prepped our home as best we could by clearing every shelf, wall, and surface. That included removing a few decorative shelves over windows and doorways—pieces I never really loved but had lived with for far too long.

Once they were gone, the entire kitchen felt instantly more open and uncluttered. It was the kind of change that made me wish I’d done it years ago! If you’re planning to repaint, taking the time to remove anything you no longer want or use is such a simple way to refresh your space — even before a drop of paint goes up.

Here’s a handy checklist of what to consider before the paint goes up — from sample testing to clearing wall decor and choosing the right finish. Feel free to pin or save it for later!

Why I Chose Sherwin-Williams Stardew for Our Open Floor Plan

Choosing a paint color for a full home interior is no small task — especially with an open floor plan like ours, where the rooms flow together and light plays a big role throughout the day. I knew I wanted a soft blue-gray paint color that felt calm, light, and fresh — and I’d been dreaming of this look for years.

In the hardware store, it looked a little darker with a hint of green undertone. But once I painted samples on our walls at home, everything changed. With all our natural light, French doors, and minimal wall space, Stardew softened beautifully into a fresh, welcoming blue-gray.

It didn’t lean green at all in our space — just the right mix of airy and grounded. It also paired beautifully with the crisp white trim we planned to use throughout the home, adding to the clean and cozy feel we were going for.

One of my favorite decisions was painting our kitchen island in Stardew, too. It added a subtle pop of color that helped visually break up the open concept without overpowering it—such a simple but high-impact touch.

Every home is different, so what looks good in one house may not look the same in yours. Testing the colors out on your own walls is key.

Coordinating Colors That Work Beautifully with Sherwin Williams Stardew

Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace: A Bright White That Pairs with Stardew

Once we chose Sherwin-Williams Stardew as our primary wall color, the next step was finding a white trim color that would complement it without adding any yellow or cream undertones. We chose Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, a clean, bright white with just enough softness to pair effortlessly with cool-toned paints like Stardew.

Before this update, our trim was painted in Sherwin-Williams Alabaster, which had a warmer, creamier tone. (See more in this Sherwin Williams Navajo White: Interior Makeover post)

While it’s a lovely shade in the right space, it felt a little too warm next to Stardew’s cooler blue-gray. Chantilly Lace gave us that fresh contrast we were looking for, and my husband ended up loving it just as much as Stardew!

Spray Painting vs. Brushing: What Worked Best for Our Interior Makeover

For this project, we chose to have our interior professionally spray painted rather than using traditional rollers or brushes, and we couldn’t be happier with our decision.

With an open floor plan like ours, spray painting offers a smoother, more polished finish, especially around trim, built-ins, and vast wall expanses. While the prep work is more intensive — covering floors, taping windows, and masking everything with precision — the actual painting goes much faster and results in a consistent, professional-grade look.

Aside from a few brush touch-ups here and there, the entire job was done with a sprayer, giving our home that clean, fresh feel we were after. I’ll share a few videos of the process below — it’s so satisfying to watch the transformation unfold in real time!

Want to see the spray painting in action? Here are a few quick behind-the-scenes videos of Jay working his magic — try not to get dizzy watching the walls come to life!

Spray Painting the Walls with Sherwin-Williams Stardew Blue

Spray Painting the Ceilings: Full Coverage in Action

Painting the Kitchen Island in Sherwin-Williams Stardew Blue

The entire spray job took about a day to apply Sherwin-Williams Stardew Blue to the walls, followed by two more days of touch-ups and clean-up.

A huge thank you to our painter, Jay Ouellette of Mud Patch and Paint LLC, for not only doing such a beautiful job but also capturing photos and videos of the entire process while we stayed (mostly) out of the way up in Maine!

Sherwin Williams Stardew: The Final Results in Our Home

Here are the first photos sent to me — unfiltered — by our painter right after the job was complete. You’ll notice how Sherwin-Williams Stardew shifts slightly in tone depending on the lighting. In person, it looks even brighter and softer than it does in photos, but I wanted to share these different shots to help you see how this paint color behaves across natural light, shadows, and various rooms.

Our painter described Stardew as a “dependent color,” and I couldn’t agree more. The crisp Chantilly Lace trim really brings out the cooler blue tones in the Stardew walls, creating a fresh, airy feel throughout the home. I love how the color changes with the time of day — it’s lighter and breezier in the daylight and takes on a cozier, more grounded tone in the evening. These two shades together have quickly become some of my favorite color pairings we’ve ever used.

What I wish I knew About the Post-Paint Cleanup

Here’s something I hadn’t fully anticipated: spray painting is messy — especially when it involves sanding, prepping, and painting nearly an entire home. While the results were absolutely worth it, the amount of dust left behind was no small thing. Our interior windows were coated in sanding residue, and every surface — especially our wood floors — needed a deep clean.

If I were to do it all over again, I’d plan ahead and hire a professional cleaning service to come in before returning home. They have the right tools and products to tackle post-renovation dust much more efficiently than I could. Alternatively, if you’re working with a painter, it might be worth discussing whether cleanup services can be included or arranged. It would have made resetting our home so much easier!

The Final Layer: How It All Came Together

Putting the house back together after our interior makeover was like styling a fresh canvas — and with an open floor plan, every piece needed to flow together. I ended up rearranging the layout, moving the dining area to a new spot that now transitions beautifully into the living room. The kitchen island, painted in Sherwin-Williams Stardew, became a stunning central focal point — soft, colorful, and grounding. Our living room is layered with cozy textures: paisley and pinstripe fabrics, soft sheepskins, a white ottoman, and our vintage Revival Turkish rug, which ties in perfectly with the Stardew Blue walls.

Our Living Room Reveal: Bright Whites, Blues, & Vintage Layers

The freshly painted white bookcases are now filled with vintage books, eclectic finds, and cherished decor — each piece telling its own little story. Browns and blues anchor the color palette throughout, from the vintage pine furniture and cobbler rack to the newly added bamboo shades, which bring texture and warmth to the windows. The bright white trim, paired with natural wood tones and subtle marble accents, helps balance the softness of Stardew with structure and light. It’s cozy, classic, and uniquely us — a space layered with color, character, and charm.

Dining Room Styling with Sherwin-Williams Stardew Blue

Our Kitchen Island in Sherwin-Williams Stardew

Painting the kitchen island in Sherwin-Williams Stardew was one of my favorite decisions—even if no one believed me at first! With limited wall space and so much natural light, the island adds the perfect pop of color to break up the open floor plan. It also brings warmth and charm to the entire space—especially when our Bernese Mountain Dog, Ella, is lounging nearby on her brown and blue rug.

Whether you’re refreshing one room or an entire open floor plan, I hope this post gave you plenty of inspiration and confidence to try something new. Sherwin-Williams Stardew brought a sense of calm, charm, and timeless style into our home — and I couldn’t be happier with the result.

Have you tried Sherwin-Williams Stardew or another blue-gray paint? I’d love to hear how it worked in your home — drop a comment below!

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