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It wouldn't be fair to give you decorating and design tips without giving you a glimpse into our own personal projects too, right? Aside from quick shots of my ever changing office wall (which I will admit, has changed. AGAIN.) and the occasional bedroom linen adjustments, I wanted to give you a glimpse of our living room refresh from start to almost finish. The final touches that I thought would be completed today are postponed for about a month due to the busy schedule of our electrician. That's right, I don't actually do all the hands-on work for design and restyles. I'm more of the visionary, the architect... in the words of my WWE adoring husband, the "Seth Freakin' Rollins" of interior decorating. We'll get into all that detail in another post though - the designing details, not WWE.
**I just can't bring myself to part with our lumpy old chair and a half, she's too comfortable.
Anyway, lets talk about how my vision for our living room refresh came about. About 5 years ago (I'm not entirely sure because I'd like to say 2 years, but it was definitely Pre-Covid so I know it's been longer than that) I decided to add some color to our living room walls. The color we chose during the construction stage was a safe, neutral beige. I believe my color choice was Vaguely Mauve, but it's not what ended up on the walls. The color was fine during the day, but the setting sun shines brightly through our dining room windows directly on to the back wall in our living room and turned those big beige walls pink! No friggen thanks. I started to consider new colors that would blend with the line sight of other colors in the home, and of course our brown tiled fireplace. I would love nothing more to than to change the tiles, but my husband is a fan (and would like to avoid the mess) so I wanted something to work with them. I ended up deciding on a color called Agave. It was green with a slight blue-grey undertone, and much like the name suggests it was the same color as adorable little succulent plants. It contrasted well with the fireplace and really made it pop. It worked great for a bit, much better than pink after all. Until the setting sun decided to play her glowing game again.
The summer sun would shine through those windows and turn that Agave paint color a very Caribbean teal, and as much as I love a tropical paradise - it wasn't really the color I was going for. It was bright and new though, and maybe I could get used to it. It was really only the summer months when the sun would cast it's golden hour glow that completely messed with my paint choices anyway so we kept it. Fast-forward through 2 years of WFH life with nothing to do but stare at our succulent walls day after day. The itch for change started creeping back in, and summer was eventually going to be here again bringing that horrid teal (that looks lovely in paradise) back into our NNY home. I started researching colors yet again, picking up paint catalogs, and looking at a million photos for inspiration - and then I had a dream. It wasn't exactly the type of dream that would influence a substantial improvement across the globe for all of mankind, but it would improve the living room situation. For us. I told my husband about it the next morning, and although he admitted to not being able to envision my idea himself, he trusted me and told me to start looking for the colors.
Do you know how hard it is to physically find a color that matches what you saw in a dream?!? Do you know what kind of looks you get walking out of a home improvement store with 37 color swatches (each) for TWO different colors. The kind that make you smile kindly and walk faster to the exit thinking to yourself: "I'm not crazy, I'm creative." So, now I'm back home with 74 color samples to sort through, and as to not make the same mistake yet again (that would be crazy), I attached them all to the back wall of the living room for the first round of elimination. Sun, do your thing!
** Daisy was supervising the process to keep us on track.
After we removed the colors we didn't love from the back wall, I moved all the samples over to the fireplace wall to see what worked best with that... beloved.. tile. I placed them on the right side of the fireplace to check the color in the morning sunlight + compare it to the bedroom sightline: remove what we don't love. We looked at them again at mid-day: remove what we don't love. Then I moved them to left side of the fireplace to gauge the evening sun + compare it to the front foyer sightlines: remove what we don't love. I'm not going to lie, the whole thing was a process, but a very necessary one that many people rush through and then end up regretting. "I'm not crazy, I'm creative." I must also mention this process took place for BOTH color choices... plus they needed to play well together too.
Sidenote, I didn't think my husband was taking my process seriously so I would periodically rearrange the samples and make him remind me which one he liked. He always picked the same one.
So we have our colors. It took some time, but it was also going to be our third time painting (this room) in the almost 7 years we have lived here - I wanted it to be a lasting decision. Now we call the painter - again not the hands-on stuff - although I do love to paint, it was a big project. Here we go!
** Shout out to my little sister for best plant pot.
If you are looking for a quality painter, I know a few - feel free to reach out, I promise it won't be me! For this project we used Advanced Property Services, and I HIGHLY recommend them. This project was no small feat, it involved 2 coats in our entire living room, hallway, and stair well. What would have taken me days with horrible cut-ins, it took Kevin a few HOURS with clean, crisp lines on every edge. He takes serious pride in the quality of his work and he doesn't half-ass anything. Although he may not tell you the same about the way I dust our trim, but in my defense... I just forgot a spot or two because they were hard to reach.
There is always that anticipation of seeing the color spread across the walls: am I going to like it? Was this really the best color? Is it going to dry this color? As my vision started to come to life I was excited to get to the finished product. I started visualizing the decorating changes I would make -a mirror here, a large print there, stacked photos here. But the biggest and most obvious change was the impact it made on the SIZE of our home. Not literally of course, although if you ask my husband he is convinced we raised some walls and lengthened the hallway, but it appeared as though our living room walls were expanding outward. It was just the effect I was hoping for.
**Char Blart: Yard Security keeping lookout while we work.
By the time the first coat was on the walls I had forgotten what the green even looked like before. It was like these new colors were supposed to be in our house the entire time. Covering the green definitely required a second coat, even with the better paint that includes the primer. This is pretty typical when you are covering a darker color with lighter paint, but it was also true with the dark color we chose for the fireplace wall. This was the scariest part for me, because brown is NOT one of my favorite colors to put on a wall. I was terrified that it would come out looking a little.....fecal? I felt a little better when he compared the first brushstroke to Godiva chocolate instead. Whew!
I received an in-depth lesson on paints & painting that day as well, and I'm not upset about it. There is so much to consider when picking your paint, and so much to be done before you ever start painting. Yes it's true if you pick a color & you don't like it, you can always paint over it; but that will probably cost you so much more in time, effort, and MONEY in the long run. The wall conditions + prior layers of...well anything.. can make a huge impact on how the final product turns out and what can become visible when the new color is applied. After the second coat was finished I look around the house and thought "wow, our house is completely transformed. It feels so high-end now". Like I went from colorful, Country Living (which I love, no disrespect) to a page out of Arhaus. I literally could not wait to put it all back together for the finishing touches.
By now I have had a few days to add back some details to the walls. I was hoping to show you the final details which include new wall sconces & some updated kitchen lights, but we will have to save that for another time. Be sure to follow my Instagram for updates on house projects, art projects, and some helpful tips for your own home @homeofhyggelig & if you're wondering what kind of weird handle that is Hyggelig is defined as "a feeling of openness, warmth, & friendship; a complete absence of anything irritating or emotionally overwhelming." I mean is that House Goals or what??
However, I think you can get a good idea of what I saw in my dream by what we have been able to accomplish so far. The neutral palette allows for easy holiday + seasonal décor changes, and the rich color of the fireplace finally makes it the focal point feature that it should have been since the start. Adding wall sconces to the face will dress it up even more, I can't wait. They are long iron pieces in the same color as the wall, so really the light will appear as if it's just floating there. And the tile... well that looks okay too.
The blue frame print is a nod to our Portugal trip, and it adds pops of color + cohesiveness to the sightlines around it. And then the cheese boards, oh the cheese boards! This was actually a last minute idea to do something different and add a touch of the natural warmth of wood to that space. Plus easy access - who doesn't love a good "chart" board at any given moment?!
So there you have it, the story of our living room transformation. I guess the whole "If you can dream it, you can do it" thing is kinda real? Afterall that's really how this whole thing got started - the living room, the website, the design services!
Before I leave you though, I want to point out that even though I did purchase a few new things to "change it up": a new frame, a mirror, some light fixtures, and pot rack - most everything in my living room was already there. Restyles don't have to break the bank, and they don't require new everything. Reusing pieces that you already have is a great way to save money and honor your creativity. For example check out that funky light on the entry table - I made that (as if you couldn't tell) by throwing together a few random things I had, & it gives off the coolest lighting effect in the evening. Now that I've brought attention to the entry table, you've probably noticed my husband's sweet WWE belt as well. His reference to Seth Rollins makes a little more sense now eh? Anyway, I used to try to hide it away but it would always find it's way back out in to the living room some how, so I've embraced it's existence and there it sits. On display, but out of the way. I hope this gives you some inspiration for your own projects you’ve been contemplating, and as always if you need some direction don't hesitate to reach out.
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