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Living Room Update: A Gallon of Paint Later

I have known this day was coming for awhile, and I have to say, I have never been one to over think paint.  I love to paint and I love the difference it instantly provides to a space, and I always know that if I don't love it right away, it is an easy enough fix.  But for some reason, this one I really had to think about.  Like really let it set in. 

The last time you gained a peek at our living room was during our sofa story and our faux marble coffee table post.  As a reminder, it was greeeeeeen!


Let me start out by saying, green is not for everybody.  In fact, I received a lot of comments regarding our green living room over the years, and not all were good.  But we hearted it oh so much.  It was the first color in our home that truly felt like us.  I loved that it was playful, different and springlike.  I didn't know anyone else with a green living room, and honestly, it made me feel good every time I walked into the space.  Even if it was a complete mess, it still felt happy and cozy.

But as we continue to make tweaks to the space and the adjoining spaces, it started to feel like it fit our home less and less.  The walls were becoming really choppy color wise; we had different greys and browns in the kitchen, on the kitchen cabinets and down the stair wall.  And then we painted our hutch in the dining area an awesomesauce tealy blue, and it was just one more color in our two small spaces.


SO much happening that I started having a similar feeling that I had about my studio.  Too much fun is no longer fun.

Gah, did I really have to say farewell to my color?

We had started using Glidden's Smooth Stone in our dining room, hallway, down the stairs and now on all the walls in the nearby kitchen.  And we have loved it.  It is one of those colors that can read grey or beige, depending on the time of the day and lighting, just a nice and warm neutral color.  It seemed to work with anything we paired with it, and gave us a feeling of expansion every time another wall was coated in it.  Knowing that we are nearing a kitchen reno {seriously crossing my fingers that this is the year}, it was time to really give the color a try in our living room.  So we did.


Above you can see an "in process" shot of the room taken apart and the new paint color on the wall. 

Part of the kitchen update may or may not include us removing a giant wall between the kitchen and living room.  We ultimately knew that we would have to use one color throughout as it could be all one big room.  I knew it wouldn't be the green, it just would have been far too much for the entire space to handle and for me to try and design a kitchen around, so Smooth Stone it was.

So why now?  Why jump the gun?

It may seem backwards to paint an entire space before pulling a wall down, but for me, it was a crucial step in the kitchen planning process.  The cost to us was a total of $25 for a gallon of paint plus another $20 for a gallon of primer.  That $45 will give me the option to really live with the color prior to designing and entire kitchen based on that color.  It will give me walls to hold up cabinet colors and counter finishes to.  To me, it just made sense.


Forgive me in advance, it suddenly feels like we are in a whole new house, so I went a little crazy with the camera.


I know the new color, or lack there of, will be just like the green; not for everyone.  In fact, at first I wasn't even sure if it was for me.  It felt like all of that playfulness was sucked out of the room.  But I have plans.... key the bahahaha evil laughter now.


What I do love most about the new color, is that our home feels like it grew ten times bigger.  It is lighter, brighter and colors really shine now!


You may have noticed that the rug was also swapped out.  It was actually one I picked out for the studio, but when I opened it in the living room, it didn't even make it down the stairs.  We actually really loved the previous rug that was in this room so much, that we are moving it to under the sofa in our lower level family room.  It makes so much more sense there as it is really thick and warm, and that floor gets cold.  The rug in that room now will move to the studio and hopefully serve that room well.

See how it just "flows" so much better with the nearby dining area?


And also into our entry?


As I mentioned, one of the huge benefits of the update, is that I don't have to lose my love of color.  In fact, I feel like it is now highlighted even more.



What about those plans I mentioned?  Well, I really don't want to invest much more into this space, and I think it is really close to being exactly what we want it to be.  But.... it needs some more warmth.  There is a lot of white on white on gray goin' on.  We are planning on tweaking the "built-in" bookcase at the front of the room with a beautiful wood top and some new doors to conceal clutter on both ends {we use one end to hold our games and the other will be a new craft cabinet for the kiddos}.   The top of the shelving needs to be tweaked as it is a little blah and symmetrical as it currently stands; just some minor styling updates using things we already have.  Aside from the bookcase, I am planning on some amazing curtains.  I loved a fabric sample I received {also initially for the studio, funny how that is working out for me}, and I ordered enough to sew up some new panels for both the living room and adjoining dining room.  They will be a total game changer, I can feel it.


And if I can talk the hubs into it, and figure out how to brave the vault over the stairs, I think it would be amazing to continue the dining room stripes down our stair wall.  Don't hold me to that one however, it won't be an easy update.

Here are a couple before and afters showing the power of a gallon of paint:



So, you either love it or are throwing things at the computer screen right now, and I totally get it.  I have always been fearless of color, so this is probably a little shocking.  Hopefully it will all make more sense over time and once the change settles.  I have been living with it since Sunday and I think I finally feel really good about it.