The living room.
Also known as the thorn in my side.
Also known as my first real room makeover.
Also known as a project I’m both super excited about and dread to work on.
Its a massive project that has been in the works for a couple of years now.
Year 1: Planning and plotting. I was still working full time and didn’t have the time to put into effect the ideas that I had for the room. Plus I’m extremely indecisive so I wanted to be sure I knew what I wanted to do with the room.
Year 2: Still working full time the first few months of year 2. Still plotting, but flooring was done, paint had been semi-decided upon. We’re actually at the tail end of year 2 now. And we’re starting to see LOTS of progress!
Yay!! Paint on the walls just in the last 2 weeks. Molding going up.
Other projects seriously planned for and timeline present… We’re getting there!
On with the visuals! These are all just peeks at our progress. Hopefully the full reveal won’t be but another month or two!
Last spring we ripped up the carpet in the living room and hallway and put down wood laminate. I know, I know… why not hardwood? With kids and pets, laminate seemed the way to go. Plus it looks amazing! I also picked out an awesome area rug at a rocking price at Rugs USA.
We picked out a new couch in January and it finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. We are in love with it! Its a big sectional roomy enough for the entire family to spread out on.
You can see in the above photo other areas that still need work. We are raising the baseboards and also plan to remove the carpet from the stairs. They may get painted. We’ll see…
The television is no longer hanging above the mantel! Can I get a virtual high five???
I never wanted the tv to be the main focus in the room. It is staying, but somewhere less conspicuous. And now I can really decorate the mantel for the holidays!
We have just begun adding framing to the living room entryways and windows. It really provides a cleaner look for the room and adds great detail. They still need to be caulked and painted (we did opt for the pre-primed pine).
Also, the hunt for the perfect curtains is on. I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to make my own.
If you have a favorite place to purchase curtains I would love to hear it!
With the new sectional, we no longer have room for a side table next to the sofa. That means we’re losing lighting in that area from the table lamp we had. The hubs had the brilliant idea to add recessed lighting above the couch! I figured if he was willing to tackle that project then we would go for it. Doesn’t it look amazing??
This photo is great for showing off the new wall colors (full reveal on colors later). We’re going to put up chair rail with a lighter gray above and a darker gray below. All of the photos and art on the wall will need to shift up slightly once we add the chair rail, which won’t be a big deal. I also plan to color some of the frames and the wall art to match our new color scheme.
We found a new light for the stairwell which I’m kind of in love with. It definitely beats the builder grade light that came with the house.
I also plan to restain the railing to match the dark floors.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Lots of work, right? Can you believe a lot of it was done over the last two weeks?
I’m going to have to give another YAY!!! 🙂
If we can keep this momentum going we should be able to knock out everything in the next couple of months so long as nothing major comes up. Even with the new paint, the entire room feels different in a fantastic way.
I hope you enjoyed the update!
And I hope I have another one before too long. 😉
Crystal
Tuesday 25th of March 2014
Looks great already! I can't wait to see it when it is all done. I love your couch!! The color is beautiful and it looks super comfy. Congratulations on the tv removal from the mantle. It looks great!!
Deneen@dreaming-n-color
Tuesday 25th of March 2014
Yay! You have done a lot since I was there. You know how I feel about the TV. So glad you are moving it. (Maybe on that big wall in a built in?) Redoing a room always takes longer than you think. At least you are doing what you like. You will enjoy it when it is done. Good luck!
Gail Wilson
Monday 24th of March 2014
It's already coming along nicely and looking great Michele! I can't wait to see the big reveal.... I hope it happens sooner than later. gail
Beverly {Flamingo Toes}
Monday 24th of March 2014
Wow - that is all going to be amazing! I love the colors and the sofa and the flooring - I can't wait to see it all put together! I love how the doorways look framed. Such a small thing but it makes such a huge difference. Yayyyy! :)