Before & After Photos

So, it's been a long time since I've updated you on the house, but not because we haven't been doing anything. Trust me, a lot has changed.

You already know we've painted our bedroom and the trim in the living room (even though I never showed you a picture like I told you I would). Here it is, by the way.


Can I just tell you how much I can't stand red? I absolutely hate it (something I've inherited from my dad, I believe). I like it in other people's houses, but it's just too bright, or too obnoxious for me to want to look at every freaking day.

And, I haven't quite figured out why, but our living room and dining room were both red when we moved in, but different shades of red. Which, would be somewhat tolerable if they weren't so open to each other. I mean, we're talking about some major clashage going on here, and in rooms where we spend most of our time, no less.

The living room was sort of an orange-y red, and the dining room was sort of a burgundy red. Neither of which sat very well with me. So, after we finished the big bathroom remodel, these 2 rooms were next on the priority list.

Not only did both rooms need to be painted, there were some huge gouges in the walls (from goodness knows what), so we had a lot of spackling to do, which you can see here.

You can also see our test patches above, where we experimented with some new colors. Nothing like forgetting to take a "before" picture until after you already started. Whatever, you get the idea.

So the new living room color sort of looks like cement. It's kind of a grayish brownish green. It was an "oops" paint we found for $10/gallon.

We're amazed at the difference. These colors really suit us much more... they're more mellow and chilled out, like us.

We painted the living room first, and then we had a hard time choosing a color for the dining room that would "flow" well since they are so open. I'm normally not a fan of purple, but I think it works.

It looks really purple here, but it really varies depending on the time of day. In the evenings it looks more gray.

You'll have to excuse Oliver. He heard that orange and purple are complementary colors, so he decided he wanted to be in the picture. We also painted the archways a sea-foam green, which is a nice accent (even though it looks almost white).

So, there you go! That's just a small piece of what we've been doing. More updates soon!