Living Room Dinning Room Makeover Part One

We've been living in our house for a little over a year. When we moved in, we decided not to do any repainting. Instead, we wanted to wait and live in the house first, then paint according to how we felt about the house. So, for the last 17 months, we've lived with yellow walls in our living room and dinning room. But, all of that's about to change.
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At the start of the year, Amy and I decided that it was time to make some changes around the house. Our commitment to serve our church helped to make the decision for us. We want to invest in our church family and our community, and our home is a big part of how we do that. We have always enjoyed welcoming friends and family into our home. Whether for dinner, a bible study, or a backyard cookout, we love to entertain our students and friends from the church.

We decided that over the Easter break, we would begin the makeover process. So, we spoke with the church property team (since we live in the manse) picked out our colors, gathered our decor, and got to work.

Together, Amy and I have painted a lot of rooms. I (Jay) hate painting. I always have. Fortunately, Amy likes to paint, so while I head up the patching, removing of outlet covers, and furnisher moving Amy attacks the walls. This year, though he's not pictured, Asher joined in and was a big help for Amy painting a significant amount of the  walls while Amy cut in the edges.
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As I said before, the walls were a bright yellow. All the walls were bright yellow. Dinning room AND the living room. Instead of the yellow, we wanted a warmer, more rustic color. So we went with a great color called, Quiet Zone. (Yes, there's irony in that we painted our living room and dinning room with Quiet Zone.)

Paint, while an inexpensive makeover tool, can still be a little pricey, especially with brands that claim one-coat coverage. Fortunately, one of the local hardware stores runs some pretty incredible paint sales and we were able to pick up our paint at a reasonable price.

The paint? Clark + Kensington, Paint + Primer in One. Amy chose the premium interior, eggshell enamel. It's a thicker paint that coats well. It's smooth and holds its color really nicely. We did apply to coats to our walls simply to be sure that we didn't leave any spots. Overall, I think we're pretty happy with our paint choice.
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With the walls now patched and painted, both the living room and the dining room took on a new look. Fresh, clean and warmed up, the new color actual does what its name suggests, quiets the zone. Don't get me wrong, the room is still filled with commotion, but when you sit down in the space, there is a quiet calm that comes over you.

We let the walls dry for a couple of days before the decorating. Once everything had set, we began the task of laying out the decor for hanging. I have been trolling Pinterest for a number of weeks looking at different"rustic" themed pins, and I love the look of the hodge-podged, eclectic stacking of wall art.

We combed the house for some of our favorite, rustic pieces of wall art. I wanted to fill our focal wall with art that spoke to who we are; our faith and our family. We found just the right amount art to fill the wall without overwhelming the space. And, the best part...we didn't have to buy any of it!
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We love these two items. From the days when Amy sold Southern Living at Home, the candle holders are perfect for the space and look awesome on either side of the main living room window.
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The makeover isn't complete. We are in the market for a gray sectional sofa that will fit into the corner of the room. Amy did pick up these amazing curtains that absolutely pop against the wall color and tie the decor and paint together.

Along with a new sectional sofa we have plans to build two end tables, a coffee table, an entertainment stand to house the TV hardware, and 2 bookshelves that will frame our wall mounted TV.
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We'll post the update photos as we complete the final project pieces. So, be sure to keep an eye out for part two of our living room/dining room makeover!

​- the higham family

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