Funny story.
We bought our house almost 6 years ago when we were 19 and 20 years old (best investment we ever made and smartest thing we did as young adults given the market back then.) It was a foreclosed home and had awful builder grade paint, although the color was pretty much what I wanted it to be.
We went to Home Depot in search of a higher quality paint in a similar color and ordered like 8 million gallons of it to paint the entire house. And…the paint in the buckets didn’t match the swatch, like at all. As I said, 6 years has gone by and I still have that swatch because I am so bitter. haha. My walls were straight up YELLOW, and for 6 years I loathed them. Honestly, painting an entire house after it’s packed full of your furniture sounds like an even bigger nightmare than painting an empty house that you just bought, which is why I put off repainting for so long. But I finally bit the bullet and painted it these past few months…and I am just SO happy that the yellow is gone that I could dance through my living room every time that I think about it. It was the first of many steps on my way to brightening up my whole living room.
The first step was definitely the paint. I’m still in love with the new color (Oatbran by Valspar,) it is, I am convinced, the perfect greige. Depending on the lighting at the time, you can’t really decide if it’s grey or beige and whether it’s warm or cool toned. Which I really love, because I just can’t commit to hardcore color schemes or overly matchy themes – and pretty much everything (all of my non matching stuff 😉 ) matches it. Funny how a better color paint made everything feel different.
(I also realized that I seriously need some updated photos on my walls. I take a MILLION photos and never order prints of them! Get it together, woman.)
Then I swapped out some of my frames and wall art for lighter shades and cooler tones. I hadn’t really noticed how dark my living room looked before…despite the walls being bright disgusting yellow! I am drawn to dark accessories…but I’m working on it. 😉 Incorporating lighter wall art freshened up a barely changed gallery wall.
Also, I got a killer deal on curtains on clearance at Target (you’re shocked, I know.) Seriously though, like $12 for Threshold brand curtains. I haven’t hung curtains around the window the entire time we’ve lived here… and I was missing out for sure. They make everything look so pretty and finished! They have like gold and gray coloring which really plays into my “is it tan or is gray paint?” thing. 😀
I also added some bright summer touches by the front door. I mean what screams summer like succulents and Shock Top? I snagged these wooden crates from work and I LOVE them as a rack by the front door where our shoes and junk tend to collect.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with how things are coming along. The house has been in limbo for a few months since I was partially bedridden with nausea the first trimester. Since then I’ve been playing catch up – holy laundry.
Do you spruce things up for summer… or just because?
