Paint!
We did it. We painted! The "we" here being most certainly NOT my husband (who was kind of a stinker about it), but my friend Heather and I. On a balmy Saturday with windows wide open, we painted with Olympic Icon no-VOC paint, in "light raffia".
First, the before...
Our living room and dining room share an open floor plan with natural lighting from some very large windows. Despite that boon, photographs in this space often come out oh-so-dark. Partly this is just indoor photography, but it's certainly not helped by the medium brown wall color which doesn't bounce much light.
I caught this shot at the very peak of natural lighting in our space. It's my brown walk of shame. Sad brown couch, brown piano, blah brown walls, and look... a mostly brown painting. Are you excited yet?
No? That's why I didn't hang the painting. .
Actually, I do kind of like that brown color. It was cozy and contrasted nicely with all my bright decor in the dining room. But, it was definitely a problem in this corner. That particular brown certainly did not play well with this brick wall and the golden tones of our bamboo flooring.
Really don't know how that slipped by me all these years. Well... I hadn't written Color Intensive yet (wink). Seriously, I do grow so much from my classes. Haha!
Ready for the After shots?
I definitely like this view better. My new sofa (smooch!) looks even better against this creamy color and the floors/brick wall are happier too. Good news - I got the "go ahead" to piece something to stretch on custom panels and hang behind the TV to hide those cords. I think it will be slightly wider than the TV and floor to ceiling. He's requested something with lots of negative space. Hmm.
Photos going this-a-way are definitely lighter and brighter. Yay!
And I don't even want to paint the piano now. Without the distracting brown walls, I noticed how well the wood tone of the piano blends with the floors. It works for me.
But that wall behind the piano needs Major Attention. Now that it's white/cream, it's just screaming "Help me!" (Note: It probably was screaming before, but I wasn't listening.) I'd like to do something with texture and color and fabric on that wall, but still be able to hang the large painting. Any ideas? I considered doing a hoop wall art collection, but since the wall to the left is my frame collection in the dining room, something decidedly different would probably be better.
Oh, and I think I'll also change those living room curtains when the right fabric presents itself. But, shhhh, don't tell my husband. A few changes at a time, people. A few at a time...
First, the before...
Our living room and dining room share an open floor plan with natural lighting from some very large windows. Despite that boon, photographs in this space often come out oh-so-dark. Partly this is just indoor photography, but it's certainly not helped by the medium brown wall color which doesn't bounce much light.
I caught this shot at the very peak of natural lighting in our space. It's my brown walk of shame. Sad brown couch, brown piano, blah brown walls, and look... a mostly brown painting. Are you excited yet?
No? That's why I didn't hang the painting. .
Actually, I do kind of like that brown color. It was cozy and contrasted nicely with all my bright decor in the dining room. But, it was definitely a problem in this corner. That particular brown certainly did not play well with this brick wall and the golden tones of our bamboo flooring.
Really don't know how that slipped by me all these years. Well... I hadn't written Color Intensive yet (wink). Seriously, I do grow so much from my classes. Haha!
Ready for the After shots?
I definitely like this view better. My new sofa (smooch!) looks even better against this creamy color and the floors/brick wall are happier too. Good news - I got the "go ahead" to piece something to stretch on custom panels and hang behind the TV to hide those cords. I think it will be slightly wider than the TV and floor to ceiling. He's requested something with lots of negative space. Hmm.
Photos going this-a-way are definitely lighter and brighter. Yay!
And I don't even want to paint the piano now. Without the distracting brown walls, I noticed how well the wood tone of the piano blends with the floors. It works for me.
But that wall behind the piano needs Major Attention. Now that it's white/cream, it's just screaming "Help me!" (Note: It probably was screaming before, but I wasn't listening.) I'd like to do something with texture and color and fabric on that wall, but still be able to hang the large painting. Any ideas? I considered doing a hoop wall art collection, but since the wall to the left is my frame collection in the dining room, something decidedly different would probably be better.
Oh, and I think I'll also change those living room curtains when the right fabric presents itself. But, shhhh, don't tell my husband. A few changes at a time, people. A few at a time...