paint fumes

I've been spray painting today, so forgive me if this comes out wonky. I blame the fumes.

The delicious fumes. Hee hee!

I've been working on a project for our dining area in my great room. I mentioned that I was not happy with the three dining areas that dominated my great room before, so I've whittle it down to two. Which has caused a great deal of furniture shuffling throughout the house (surprisingly everything seems to be falling into place - almost like I had a plan). And with the shuffling I am also reworking a few pieces.

Anyway. Stay tuned for a tale of intrigue, (white) lies (No honey - I have no idea why there are white over spray stains on our freshly sealed driveway.).

if you need me I'll be painting.

the "great" project

Last weekend we started painting the great room. We are not quite done, but it should be finished soon (we're headed to a wedding this weekend!). After we finish painting I can really get into redesigning and decorating this space.

I love change!

I figured it would be nice to include a few before shots of the room.
So here it is, in all of it's former glory, moving in a (kind of) circle to the right:

formal dining area (complete with guinea pig)

This is how we live in the space - we have an 18 month old who loves to climb on everything, so all non-essential dining chairs have been banished, and the guinea pig landed in the only safe place we could find. I never intended for my pet to become my centerpiece, but that's how it is.

Like the "antler" on the wall up by the ceiling? (it was a hook for hanging surround sound)

Neither did I.

It's gone!

a glimpse into the kitchen (far right)

I bet you want an "arrangement" just like the one in that flower basket - don't you? That was a project that I never really finished, but I have let it sit (just like that) for more than two years.

Now it's gone!

the kitchen (well, a chunk of it)

the kitchen dining area

I took this picture while were prepping for paint, the drapes for the sliding glass door had already been removed - they were the same as the drapes pictured here.

the living room

We have a lot of toys.
And books.
And a big empty area to play in.

more living room

You can see the fireplace iin this picture, there is a large bank of windows to the right of the fireplace. I took this picture from the formal dining area (notice the GP cage in the corner?).

I don't have any good before pictures of my kitchen, but there is a large (roughly 5' x 5') granite island in the center of the space, which is an absolute magnet for all of the clutter in my house. It also makes it feel like there are three large tables in the space - which is totally not working (I have a plan!). Some of the pictures I have hanging up were hung there, by me, with a plan in place - others were hung on nails that were left by the previous owners. This bothered me, big time. I'm so excited to fix it!

I think I'm just, generally, excited!

painting psa

We spent our weekend painting the great room.
It's been great.

Not really, it's sort of been a pain. Especially because we can only paint after the little man has gone to sleep for the night (luckily one of my friends kidnapped him on Sat. so we could paint for the entire afternoon). We have three walls left.

I LOVE the areas that are finished; they were a drab green - nothing obnoxious, just not me. Now they are a sunny yellow (the paint color is actually "Butter," so it's got to be awesome), and they are invigorating and fresh. LOVE.

And the one thing that I am most excited about?
(okay, I'm excited for a lot of things, but this ranks pretty high on the list)



I am painting the air-return vents to match the walls.

They were white.
The same color as the trim.
They were really noticeable.
I noticed them everyday.
Not anymore!

Can we agree on this? Can I make you all converts to the "air return vents are not a focal point in the room club." It would really make my day :) To me, vents should be like visible panty lines - non-existent. And it's so easy! Just take down the vent and slap a few coats of paint on it.
Done.
And now your room has lost its VPL's and you won't find it in the pages of Marie Claire with a black bar over its eyes.