Room Revamp

As many of you know, I recently got married. Living the married life has been amazing. I couldn’t be happier! After three weeks of marital bliss, we are finally starting to settle in and continue to make our house our home. One of the first steps we took to make that house to home transformation was to paint. Before I get into the colors, process, etc., you need to know some background information about our home.

I moved out of my apartment and in with my dear husband (DH). We now live in the house that he grew up in, which is a really neat thing. His parents built a new house just down the road about 5 years ago but didn’t build a room for the oldest two (of four) boys. My DH and his brother remained at the “home” place. Unfortunately, other things have remained. My mother in-law has quite a bit of stuff, and “hasn’t had time” in five years to move it all out. By the way, when I say stuff, I mean old curtains from the 70’s and 80’s, encyclopedias circa 1978, artificial flowers circa 1980-1990, kid jackets from the late 80’s to early 90’s, kid board games (at least 10), old trophies, old cookbooks that look as if they have never been opened, artwork from the kids, baby clothes, toddler clothing, bills and receipts from 1996 (think they could go yet?), old Christmas ornaments, dusty decorations, and boxes filled with the unknown are just a few of the things still at the home place. I wouldn’t mind if she had one of the upstairs bedrooms dedicated to holding all of her stuff, but when it’s scattered throughout the house in kitchen cabinets, entryway closets, and bedroom closets, it’s a lot to swallow. The worst part is, our house looks like a tornado came through—we just don’t have the closet space to organize all of OUR stuff.

Anyways I digress, back to the main point! While DH and his brother lived together, the house didn’t change one bit. Sure they hung up a few posters and pictures here and there, but for the most part it never changed from the day his parents left. In fact, the furniture layout didn’t change one bit. The boys’ couch sat where the family couch once belonged, the same with the recliner! Also, the color palatte of the house was (in my opinion) very bland. All rooms had white walls except for the hallway that leads into the laundry room which had light blue walls. While white walls may go with ANYTHING, it was just too much WHITE. In addition to the overload of white walls, there was a sea of blue carpet…everywhere. The carpet was put in about 20 years ago, and unfortunately, it is in really good condition, which means DH and I are waiting until after the future kids to replace it.

A change was needed. The easiest and most economical way to make a change in a house is paint. I knew from the moment I walked in the door (five years ago), this place needed some color! In late May, I was tired of looking at a white and blue kitchen. I decided to spice it up and paint the room Cedar Chest (cinnamon/rusty red). It turned out fabulous and really set the bar for all other rooms in the house. The priority rooms to paint were the bedroom, living and dining rooms. I began my search looking online for inspiration of other living rooms and bedroom color schemes. We decided that for the living room and dining room we wanted a warm color palette (Red-Orange-Yellow). However, for the bedroom, we went with a cool color palette (Green-Blue-Purple). From there, I visited Menards and picked up a bag full of color samples. After much thought and careful consideration (especially thinking about home accents such as lamps, furniture, picture frames, decor), we picked up the necessary supplies for a room-revamping.

For the bedroom, we selected two colors: Elephant Gray (for the wall behind the bed), and Alabaster Frame (all other walls). These colors go well with our new bedding (French Blue in color) and really change the feel of the entire room. [Ignore the mess, I'm waiting for DH to help me move the bedroom furniture back into its proper spot and need to add the new bedding.] Even though the room isn't quite finished, it seems much more relaxing and inviting than the harsh white that was previously on the walls.

The living room and dining rooms were a bit more difficult to select colors. The house has a semi-open floor plan as the kitchen table, dining room, and living room are all in a line. We needed to make sure our color selection didn’t clash with the Cedar Chest of the kitchen. We also wanted to use color to define the dining room and to define the living room. We also needed to consider the lighting. Unfortunately, we only have two windows in the living room and dining room, which makes it feel rather dark at times. We had to be sure we didn’t choose a color that was too dark. Finally, we selected the right color palette. We chose three colors for the living room and dining room. The first color was Sand Fossil (a light taupe), second Jute (darker tan), and third Pizza Pie (red). We used the colors to separate the spaces and to unify them. Rather than explain, take a look at the finished rooms below!

The living room in Jute (darker color) and Sand Fossil (lighter color).

The wall from the living room and dining room is Jute. It really combines to two spaces.

Pizza Pie really accentuates the focal point of our living room (the portable fireplace and the TV as DH would argue). Eventually, we plan to hang a collage of pictures above the fireplace.

I also rearranged the furniture to create a different look in our home.

Overall, both DH and I are quite happy with the results of this room revamp! Our home no longer feels like a blank slate, but rather feels warm and welcoming. The colors we selected really reflect what we want our home to be: a place where friends and family are welcomed and truly feel at home. At the this project cost less than $200 and took about 3 full days to complete. The next project on my list is to purchase a new couch and hang up photographs and add some charm to our home. Happy painting!