My Living Room Makeover

Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know that we have been working on updating some things in our 100+ year old house. When we first moved in 3 1/2 years ago, we saw the potential in this house. We knew there was a lot of work to be done, but it was livable and we could slap a coat of paint on the walls and live with it for a few years. We weren't even sure what "style" we wanted to go for -- our home has always been more of a conglomeration of thrift store finds, hand-me downs, and lifelong pieces. It has been fun to work together through each room to develop our style and make it feel more like our own.

This summer we have been working on the living room. My main focus in the living room was twofold - first, the fireplace had to be redone somehow. From the moment I laid eyes on it, I knew it would have to be updated, but until recently I wasn't sure how to do that cost-effectively. Once we decided to go for a light and crisp, cottagey-style, I came across this idea and things set in motion. My second focus was to lighten the room. As much as I loved the paint colors we had in there, it felt too dark and encompassing with the rich wall colors and dark wooden trim. Plus, the couches blended way too much with the wall color. I finally convinced Brad that the trim needed to be painted white, and we tried several samples and found the perfect wall color that seemed to just light up the room itself and make the furniture look much better.

I wish I could find photos of the room when we first moved in. The previous owners had the room painted a very dark green, and if you could see the transformation from that point you would be really amazed. But, here are the before photos from when we moved in and had already painted over the green, even before we put curtains up.

Here you can see our temporary fix for the room. We had a rich beige color on the walls that went nicely with the dark wood trim, and the end walls were a dark red. I really loved these colors, but again it just felt too dark for the amount of light and the layout of the room. You can also see I ended up painting the exterior of the fireplace to coordinate with the room better.

The process --

Painting the trim

Choosing a wall color

See the difference! (Installing bamboo shades -no more curtains!)






Removing the slate




Painting the brick and interior with black heat-resistant paint




Building the frame (thanks dad!)

Here is the room today (not completely finished but close!), light and fresh, and much more to our taste!

It's so nice to have a space you love and can truly call home :). I do love my "new" living room!