Lucky number 13 - that's the number of years it's been since we've painted our living room. You can only scrub and touch-up so many times. The time had come...
I remember exactly when I did the stenciled border (which I saw Mary Engelbreit do in an adorable cottage she re-did for her magazine, The Home Companion). I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, in the
throes of the creative/nesting burst you get right before going into labor, and was obsessed with finishing it before the baby came. Kevin protested the project but he couldn't have stopped me any more than he could've stopped an oncoming BART train with his bare hands. He's tough but not THAT tough.
Up and down, up and down on the dining room chair until by the last section my legs were shaking like a bowl of Mr. Cosby's jello. I had just completed the very last dot, stepped down off the chair, landing my tailbone right on the pointed tip of the ladderback of the chair. If you've ever had a tailbone injury you know the pain I was in! Let's just say, it prepared me well for the transition phase of labor. Who needs an epidural after that?
Right before leaving for Santa Fe, my brother-in-law, Dan, a talented contractor, had a few days in between jobs so we jumped at the chance to get the living room painted while we were away. Dan and his crew did a fabulous job. What a treat to come home from vacation to a freshly painted living room. This could be our new family tradition: Go on vacation, Dan comes and paints, we return, voila! Room done! Love it!
Paint color: Daisy White, by Kelly-Moore Paint Co.
Here's the finished room. Simple. Neat. Clean. Fresh! I'm sure I will continue to add layers, but I'm enjoying the pared-down look of our new living room, which I pulled together by "shopping" around our house and by picking up a rug and a few pillows at IKEA - plus, finally getting to hang the amazing portrait of my Mom painted by our son-in-law, Matt. The living room the rest of the house look down-right dingy...gotta start planning that next vacation...Oh, Danny!
Do you think I should add curtains to the windows? Just some simple panels of mattress ticking? Brown and white gingham? Natural linen? Let me know what you think!
The living room looks so nice and fresh. It always did look good, but I love white so I'm really partial to this version of your room. You might do curtains or valances at a later time but for spring and summer it looks great the way it is.
Posted by: Judy | 04/11/2011 at 06:10 PM
What a refreshing room! And your photos are fabulous! Since I don't have a curtain in my house I'd say leave it like it is! Maybe something minimal in the fall.
Posted by: Sally Hart | 04/12/2011 at 06:19 AM
Very nice Vicky. We were so fortunate to have a beautiful paint job when we moved here, I hate painting! I also don't have a single curtain in my home, just nice Hunter Douglas blinds.
Posted by: Christine | 04/18/2011 at 06:21 PM