Living Room Redo: The Halfway Mark

I wrote back in the summer that Hubby and I were saving up to make some changes around the house. Well, after several months of scrimping and saving, we got started on the main living area over Thanksgiving break, and we've finally hit the halfway mark.

Since it will be months before we are completely finished with the living room, I thought I'd share a few before and during pictures. There's already been a big change with just fresh paint and couches.

Before: The living room suit was about 22 years old. The fabric was worn and the rocking recliner popped and ground.

After: New paint and furniture with more seating space.

We decided to go with the same "doeskin" color we used in the school room because it's warm, neutral, and well, we just liked it. 

Before: That really bright spot, it's not just the sun. The paint was really thin there from multiple scribblings.

After: No more thin spots, ink that won't wash off, or the four or five dozen dings that were there. This is also truer to the paint color than the first after photo.

The paint and tinted primer covered exceedingly well. The damage to the walls didn't actually show up in the photos, which I didn't get around to viewing until this morning. I was rather surprised, because many of the marks and dings were obvious in person. They're all gone now though.

Actually, the only problem with the paint was it covered too well. We wound up with two gallons each of primer and paint left over, even leaving the 3/4 of a gallon we have left with which to paint the girls' bathroom sometime next month.

Before: Yeah, just more of the same. Though that dresser's staying. It's one of the few good bits of furniture we had.

After: Yay, holiday fru-fura!

So, that's our new living room as it stands this morning. We're still planning to replace the gashed ottomans with an end table and coffee table, add a rug and some artwork when I get around to painting it, and finally get some new curtains. Those burgundy ones have served us well for the past five years, but ten dollar bargain store curtains only hold up so long. They don't really go with what we have planned for the room anyway.

What exactly is that? We're going for a modern look in autumn colors, all geometrics and clean lines. I'm rather tired of the country cottage thing we've had going on for the past seven years or so.

I'll share more before and after photos as we go along. Sorry, but I didn't get photos of the kitchen before it was painted. I'll take a few before we get working in there any more though. That's one room that's going to take a whole lot longer to complete than the rest of the house.