Painting our Living Room

We’ve been living in our house for 6 1/2 years. I love it! It’s the perfect layout for our family. I love that the kitchen and living room are one big open area that easily fits lots of people (we like to host parties pretty regularly). But, our house is pretty neutral. When we first moved in, I definitely didn’t want to change it. We bought our house new, and I think that at the time it felt perfect. I didn’t want to mess anything up. But, earlier this year, I was looking around our living room and I felt like it needed a little more. To make a long story short, my friend Tiffany (who is pretty much a decorating queen…oh and almost 9 months pregnant) came to my rescue. While my hubby was out of town last week, the two of us went to work.

So, here’s the before:



Not that it was terrible. I really like our couch.  Our family picture is about 3 years old. Definitely in need of updating. And we could certainly use more color.

Here’s the after:



We still need to hang up our new family picture, but we’re waiting for a few pieces to complete the grouping. And there is still more decorating I want to do to finish the new look (can we say curtains?). It’s definitely a work in progress, and I’m excited to keep you all updated on it.

The paint color I used was Behr Simple Silhouette. When I was at the store picking it out, I didn’t have a paint sample of my original wall color. And my kids were tired and hungry. I lost count of how many times I told my kids to please behave so I could think. It felt like my brain was going a million miles an hour and I couldn’t process. Plus, I had a dramatic fear of choosing the wrong color! Yikes! But, I was definitely drawn to this color. Although I will say, the sample at the store looked slightly more red. It turned out to be a gorgeous brown/grey color that perfectly compliment the color of our existing walls.



It’s hard to get a good picture of the actual color on my wall. Oh, and did I mention that another one of Tiffany’s talents is master painter? We didn’t tape any of the edges. She free handed that straight line. With a gigantic paint brush.  Amazing! 



Our original plan was to just paint the wall a solid color. We painted the first coat. Then, I had to leave and take my youngest to a dentist appointment. While I was in the waiting room, she texted me with an awesome idea. Add board and batten! Her husband is a cabinet maker and she convinced him to help with our project that night.



We got so excited, we decided to do the kitchen wall while we were at it. That meant more painting the next day.



My husband got home the next evening and we literally just scooted the furniture back into place ten minutes before he pulled into the driveway. It was a fun surprise for him! Newly painted walls and he didn't have to do any of the work!

I love it!! I really love it!! And I’m so glad that I have the kind of husband that lets a girl who is sick of her living room experiment a little!

So, what do you think? I’m excited to decorate it more. And I think I might’ve fallen in love with painting.