Living Room Before & Afters a.k.a. It is Done!

Remember the post of my living room wall? The red wall with the oak stained built in?

Here's a refresh of the before:

I liked the red with the oak just fine. I was never a huge fan of the oak, but they worked well together.  Trouble arose when we tired of the red wall after 2 years & desperately needed some lighter colors after a long MN winter!

Now there's nothing terrible here. But for me, I hated the combo of the walls with the oak. Please excuse the dog bed in front of the fireplace. They are smart & like to cuddle there on a cool evening. This is REAL life, people! I also can't get rid of or move the gigantic flatscreen. Hubby loves that thing. It's a forever piece. I didn't want to have to keep a red or brownish wall in order to make the built-in work, so I talked my husband into being "okay" with painting the whole thing white. It was a much easier sell after we finished the kitchen & it turned out SO great.



During: My least favorite part and when I always tend to question "What the hell am I doing? I HATE painting!"

After!

If you look closely here, you can see that I still have some cutting in to do near the floor. My husband always makes fun of me for this because in his world "rolling the paint on is the gift you get after cutting in" to which I respond "I've been painting for years before knowing you. I think I can figure this out. Different styles, same end result."

The fabric on the ottoman will be used for pillows. I changed out the art for a mirror.

Clearly, Miss Daisy was exhausted after watching all of the painting! Look at how tired she looks! I've changed out the decor a bit since this photo (it's a habit, I move stuff constantly) by removing a few family pics as it seemed too busy and changing out the birdcage to the left of the fireplace. There just seemed to be too much stuff over there.

I think we should also just ignore the wheat thins up there. I was hungry. What I LOVE now: How much more updated and clean it looks. How a lot of the detail that was lost in an orangey oak stain can now be enjoyed.

LOVE the detail!

Paint is Behr Ultra. No primer needed. I did sand everything just the tiniest bit so it would take the paint more easily.

**Of note: I WILL finish cutting in within the next day or so. Surely before we have Easter here on Sunday. This is just how I roll.

Finally..random flower pic courtesy of Aldi! God bless Aldi. Seriously. The deals are just too much. I think this set me back a good $4. Azaleas. They  make me smile everyday!

I would say I'm tired of painting and I am- but I've also got spring fever! I just started painting my laundry room. Good god, it doesn't stop!

Have a delightful evening! I just watched Oprah & Tony Robbins live in NYC on OWN and am feeling quite inspired!!

xoxoxo