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Painting our Living Room

February 15, 2013 by Shatzi

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:

living room 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:

living room 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.

images

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! 

DSC_1157

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.

DSC_1162

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

DSC_1172

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.

There’s more to this post! Click to keep reading.

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Comments

  1. Erin Biggers says

    February 15, 2013 at 9:44 am

    I’ve been looking at grey for the living room but wasn’t sure if it would go with my brown leather sectional. I absolutely LOVE how it looks in your space.

  2. Andie Thueson says

    February 15, 2013 at 10:07 am

    So Cute! Love the new look!!!

  3. Jenn Korolewski says

    February 15, 2013 at 11:58 am

    Gorgeous! Love it!

  4. Ms. Morgan says

    February 15, 2013 at 12:07 pm

    I love the new look. Very classy.

    I’m a new follower thanks to the Weekend Wonders hop.
    msmorgansrealitycheck.blogspot.com

  5. Darby Hawley says

    February 15, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    Shatzi! This looks amazing I love the boarding you added!!!

  6. The Thriftiness Miss says

    February 15, 2013 at 4:12 pm

    I love it! The color is beautiful and is goes great against the color you already have in there. The board and batten looks fantastic too. What an awesome friend you have :)

  7. Chelsea Fanders says

    February 16, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    Great color choice! Looks awesome!

    http://whatchamakinnow.com

  8. Tom and Michelle says

    February 16, 2013 at 10:18 pm

    I Love it, it reminds me of helping you redecorate your bathroom in your old house. Oh what fun

  9. Ashley at flats to flip flops says

    February 19, 2013 at 10:32 am

    Love this color! I want to repaint sooooo bad! But there are so many walls to do!
    Ashley:)

  10. Sky says

    February 19, 2013 at 10:52 am

    This turned out awesome! I bet that makes your house feel so refreshed with just a little bit of effort! Great job :)

  11. Emily {Bits of Everything} says

    February 19, 2013 at 11:14 am

    Wow! This looks amazing! I painted grey in my home a while ago, but I love the white bottom part. Nice job! If your husband is like mine, he LOVED not having to do all the work! ;)

  12. Niki Caron says

    February 19, 2013 at 11:36 am

    I love the paint colors you used! It looks amazing!

  13. I Gotta Try That says

    February 19, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    Wow that looks great. Pinning!
    Have a great day.
    Hugs,
    Marcie

  14. Amy Graham says

    February 19, 2013 at 5:03 pm

    I love the white board at the bottom. Good choice…it gives a nice contrast to the rich brown of the couch and keeps the room from being too dark!

  15. Emily @ The Benson Street says

    February 19, 2013 at 11:22 pm

    I love the white planking you did on the wall. I want to do that in my house, but I am too scared. Are you thinking of doing a tutorial on it?

  16. Rachel says

    February 19, 2013 at 11:55 pm

    Wow what a difference! It looks great! I pinned as well :)
    Rachel

  17. Kristina says

    February 21, 2013 at 9:39 am

    I love it! We are thinking of doing the boards in our bedroom. So beautiful!

  18. lilacbunches says

    February 22, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    I really like it. You all did an amazing job. It looks more updated

  19. Sarah says

    February 23, 2013 at 7:20 am

    I couldn’t love this more. The dark grey contrasting with the white board and batten…perfection!

  20. Alliwhite4477 says

    December 27, 2013 at 9:48 am

    Did you just use plain white on the bottom? Or is it a tinted white?

    • Shatzi Webster says

      December 27, 2013 at 11:10 am

      I painted it the same white as our trim. =)

  21. Terri says

    June 13, 2018 at 12:58 pm

    Hello, Can you tell me what your original wall color was? The lighter gray?

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