I can't believe we've been here nearly two months. On one hand, I think I thought we would have a lot more done. On the other hand, that's life, right. This room, so far, is simply a power of paint transformation. It's amazing how colors can be so time-specific.
This is a picture from before we moved in. The one thing I did within the first week of moving in was remove the old curtains. I should also include that we did refinish the floors that first week too.
This was shortly after we moved in, just placing the furniture in the room.
I started by patching and sanding all the nail holes and priming the walls. Then I got to the dentil molding and almost called for professional help. All of those little grooves are a beast to paint!
But I saw a quote that said the hardest part of DIY is getting started. So I rolled up my sleeves and decided to just get to it. I ended up forgoing priming the dentil molding. After experimenting with different brushes, I settled on using a 1" foam brush to squish paint in between each dentil(?) and then used an angle brush to follow behind on the smooth parts of the trim. I still had to go back and catch drips/runs from each groove, but this technique got the job done. I debated trying to mask off the entire room and spray the trim, but I thought it would take the same amount of time and I was afraid I would have overspray. I have three more rooms with this trim, so I may give the spray a try next time.
As far as color goes, I was torn between a neutral light greige, and a deep navy or gray. Needless to say, deep grey won. One thing that sold me on this home was the natural light. I love that there is this huge opening between the living room and dining room where light can flow between them. Plus with the wide openings, the large bay window on the back, and the light paint below the chair rail, I was able to get away with a darker paint color without making the room super dark. That's a win in my book!
The walls are Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray, and the trim work is Benjamin Moore Simply White.
I stole the table that was behind the sofa in our previous home to use in here for now. The chalkboard is a smaller version of a DIY knockoff I shared a while back. I would love for it to be a bit shorter and wider for better scale, so that could be my excuse to build a new one!
There are still a few touch ups needed (the painted seeped under the tape to my wood floors--evidently you aren't supposed to use blue tape on wood floors--why did no one tell me this?!), and the blinds and potential curtain fabric need to be hung. But this is one space that now feels like us.
Which only highlights even more the need to cover over this wallpaper in the kitchen, yikes! I mean, I do find it a bit charming, but ultimately it's got to go!
All in due time. Right now, I'm busy ripping out ivy in the front yard. Send help, please!