January Makeover Edition

Wow, has January been super crazy around our house! It started back in October when Seth and I decided (well mostly I decided) the house needed a new paint job. The main living quarters hasn’t been painted since the day it was built and the walls and ceiling matched each other with a lovely mauve beige color (the color of fry sauce might be a better description). After getting several bids, we settled on Mario from A-1 Fine Line Painting.

Little did I know, that finding the painter was the easy part. I spent weeks and weeks and lots of money in search of the perfect color for our home. Our house looked like a war zone with different patches of paint throughout. After nearly giving up, I called a gal in our ward that is an interior designer and asked her for some suggestions. I was leaning toward a gray, but all the grays I tried seemed really cold and dark. I wasn’t a fan. She turned me on to a Sherwin William’s color, “Amazing Gray”.

Initially, I didn’t love it. The sample on my wall looked a bit green. I still felt frustrated and uneasy about using it, but I knew my painter was coming in one day so I had to make a decision. My dear friends Emily and Jenni came over and helped me decide. We also went and viewed “Amazing Gray” in another home and decided that was the best option. It was gray, but a warmer gray. I didn’t want to use any browns as I was heading away from those tones in my house. So “Amazing Gray” it was. The next day Mario arrived and we were banned to the basement for three straight days!

Mario did a fabulous job (and I highly recommend him if you are looking for an affordable, quality job). It took a day or two to adjust to the new color but I liked it. I was especially happy to have my dark brown accent wall gone and I loved my ceilings painted white. Paint done, now it was time for a little matching decor. Nearly everything I had on my walls and shelves was outdated and needed to go.

The hardest part was I had already spent most of my budget on paint, a new dining table and a hutch. With the help of Emily and her cousin (Candice), we scoured every store in search of things I loved. All my life I have had things in my house that were given to me. Very few things had I bought just because I loved them. Candice, who does interior design work on the side, viewed all my bookmarks of things I liked as well as all of my Houzz.com favorites and decided I was leaning more toward Shabby Chic. I didn’t want to be locked into anything but that gave us something to go on. I repainted my benches and a few other items that I liked and sought out to find other items for an affordable price.

In the end, I think we did a great job. Of course I would love to re-stain my floors and cabinets but I just don’t have the budget right now. Eventually that will come. I would also like to redo my bar in wide white bead board, but I will let Seth tackle that when he gets some free time. I quickly realized that once you start fixing up one room, you want to keep going. I have since repainted my front room and my bedroom, but those posts will come soon. Anyway, I am happy to say that I love my home. I finally feel like it is mine…maybe not perfect, but it is getting there! 🙂