At Home: Living Room update

I think it's probably about time to update everyone on the living room progress. Earlier this summer, I decided the room needed a major change, so I went to Home Depot with a sample of my rug and found a color I thought would be perfect. From what I can determine, most people spend a lot of time deciding on paint colors for their home. They go to the store, get paint samples, bring them home, tape them to the wall, think about the options for a while and eventually select a color. I am not one of those people. Once I decide to do something with my home (and actually start the process), I'm rather impatient, so I tend I go with my gut instinct. I definitely spend a bit of time looking at my options, but once I figure out what I like, I just go with it. Such was the case with the new living room paint color.

Before we get much further, here's a couple before shots, so you can see how heavy and dark everything was.

Pretty bad huh? Don't worry, it gets better.

Our rug is a blue/grey color so I wanted to select a paint that picked up on the rug but in a much lighter shade. I ended up going with "Limelight" by Behr. It doesn't exactly sound like a good match based on the name, but I find paint names to often be grossly misleading. I decided to get the paint and primer in one because the sales associate recommended it and because my new paint was MUCH lighter than my old paint.

Once I started painting the walls, things began to feel much more modern. The new color really brightened things up and I started to think maybe I should paint the built-in bookcase too (in a glossy white). I talked about it and pondered the idea for a while. I knew it was going to be a HUGE project. The built-in is pine which is full of knots that are notorious for bleeding through paint. I definitely needed to prime that sucker first. In order to save a bit of time I again sprung for the paint and primer in one by Behr. It's a bit pricier, but that stuff is pretty thick and although I still had to apply three coats, I think it would have taken even more had I gone the traditional route of separate primer and paint. In the end, I think the living room turned out really nicely. Quite a change from the old version.