Painting My Office Studio Exterior

*This post is in collaboration with Sherwin-Williams®*

I’m back with another Sherwin-Williams paint project and it’s an exciting one. Allow me to introduce SG Style Studio! My backyard office studio is finally 100% complete and I’m OVER THE MOON about it!

I recently shared the interior design of this space and my choice of color combo to bring it all to life.  I’m still completely obsessed with the red and purple base (Positive Red and Magical)  and have been adding even more layers to the space with art and decor.  It’s feeling more and more like mine and it’s such an incredible place to create and work in.

With the interior of the studio complete it was time to turn my attention to the exterior.  I ordered the studio with pre-primed lap siding and raw unfinished eaves, because I wanted to be able to paint them myself once I decided on a color.

I knew once it arrived that I’d be doing an all black exterior using my go-to all-time favorite black paint Tricorn Black.  I just can’t quit this color, y’all.  It’s truly the perfect black, and it immediately came to mind when I was thinking of what I wanted my studio to look like. I had this vision of a black studio with copper lights and cement planters with yellow roses in front of it. Having an all plant structure within our landscape to serve as the perfect backdrop for the other intentional plantings within our backyard. We finally had a few rain-free days in the forecast, so I gathered my materials and took advantage. . For this project I’m using Emerald® Exterior Acrylic Latex paint, Multi-Purpose Latex Primer and Masking Liquid H2O. I also used both my Graco handheld paint sprayer and my Graco Airless Magnum X7 sprayer.

This was my first time painting an exterior structure, but since it’s not as big as a house I felt confident I could tackle it on my own. The most important (also most time consuming) step was the prep. It was essential I did this right because it set the tone for the rest of the project. The prep was fairly easy since I planned to paint everything the same color, including the eaves, doors, trim, etc., so I only needed to mask off the mini split unit, windows, transoms and glass on the French doors.  I used masking liquid for all the glass and covered the mini split with plastic. If you don’t know, masking liquid acts as a replacement for covering glass and window panes with tape and paper or plastic. You simply brush the liquid on the glass, allow it to dry, paint right over it and then peel it off once the final topcoat is dry.  It makes cleanup a breeze and it’s great for things like windows and doors that have many smaller panes. 

When I ordered my studio I chose pre-painted doors in Tricorn Black so they were already the color I needed, but after the construction of building the studio and several months of crazy weather, I decided just to paint them over again to give them a fresh coat. The trim looks black but it’s actually more of a bronze color. They didn’t offer a black trim option so I decided to paint it the same color as the siding as well.

The lap siding didn’t need to be primed, but I sprayed the eaves, all the trim, and the electric box with the primer using my hand held sprayer. I had the primer tinted in gray so the black paint would have better coverage in one coat. Next I used my larger airless sprayer to spray the entire studio in Tricorn Black. The spraying took about 20 minutes to complete. It goes so fast!

I finished the exterior with cement planters of potted yellow roses, hanging planters with seasonal color, a trench around the office with the same salt and pepper pea gravel we have in our patio area and my favorite copper Carson lights from Rejuvenation. We’ve had these same lights on our house for years and I really wanted to carry that same detail over to the studio. I went with the larger size and they are SO GOOD. They look incredible against the black.

We’ve been working on our exterior landscaping for a couple of years now so I can’t wait for all the plantings to really grow in and flourish around the office. My dream hobbit shire grass is already such a welcome sight and I’m looking forward to gazing out on our yard and seeing the studio tucked among our backyard meadow as it grows in as well.

I still have plans to plant some bougainvillea or other vining plant along the side of the studio next to the tall window. It will soften the views a bit and provide a flush of color when looking out over to the studio from the other side of the backyard.

It feels good to have this big project crossed off the to-do list. I still pinch myself at the thought of this space actually being here. I dreamed of having it and now it’s a reality.  Make sure you’re following along on IG as well. I’m sharing some behind the scenes in stories and reels of the space coming together!

Until next time…..

Sources

White planters-Pottery Barn

Sconces-Rejuvenation

Hanging Planter-Rejuvenation

Planter Hook-Rejuvenation

Posted By: Shavonda Gardner · In: interiors