entryway LOVE.

what did you do for the 4th?  barbeque with friends, hang by the pool, or maybe just light off some sparklers with some cool lemonade?  well, not me my friends.  i did this.

 

but that lovely, calming blue used to be dark maroon red, and it was the worst.  and we finally did something about it. i have a blue entryway, blue staircase, and a white ceiling.  who would have thought?  it makes the space look at least twice as big, and it wasn't nearly as hard as i thought it was going to be.  with the help of my mom (the expert painter) it only took us an afternoon.  and we were done in time for sushi and a late trip to ikea :)

of course nothing is totally done - trim still needs to be painted (probably this weekend), decor needs to go up, stairs need to be carpeted - but i can finally start planning the wall collage up the stairs i've been dreaming about for two years now.

a few more pics of our super-productive independence day.  please note that for a little while, our entryway and hallway was red, white and blue.  very patriotic.

swatches of the new paint

downstairs detail with light fixture

mom painting the top ceiling corners!

philip hard at work (with mussolini darting down the stairs)

door looks amazing with the new wall color!

updated entry decor (still in progress)

 

 

what a difference a day makes (a hard day that is).  

until the next project... have a happy thursday!

hallway update: fini!

after a week of no painting (no paint fumes for me on doctor's orders!), i finally finished the hallway.  phase one of the artery's demise is complete.  kind of.  i'm not allowed to paint the ceiling (husband's orders this time due to my excessive clumsiness), so philip is doing that part next.

but so far?  it looks great.  and i absolutely LOVE it.  it has made our hallway look at least twice as big as it did before.  it still needs a little fixing up - some pictures, artwork, maybe a little table or something.  i'm not sure.

phases two and three: the entryway and the hallway, respectively.  i'm thinking the entryway will come next (maybe even next weekend?), and i have a gorgeous shade of blue, behr's faded denim, that i have in mind for the entry.  but then there are the questions of... what to do with the stairs (previous owner painted them white), carpet, wiring the stairs for lighting, do we really like the entryway?... so much to do.  but one thing at a time, we'll get it done :)

i'm surprised and happy about how easy and fairly quick this project was.  i was able to do it in the searing heat, with no AC, while taking summer school.  but mostly it was relaxing and almost therapeutic to just sit upstairs and paint while listening to spotify, fixing something i didn't like about our house.  the red paint over the wallpaper was so intimidating that i built it up into something so difficult it would take years for us to cover - when all it took was two coats of primer + paint in one, along with a few half-days.  not so bad.

but here we have the before and after of the upstairs hallway!

makes the floors look nicer too :)

til next time (i'm itching for my next project!!!)...

xoxo

hallway update: trim paint

since i last shared pics of our newest house project on saturday, i haven't done a whole lot.  father's day was sunday and since then i've been a little under the weather - but i did start some of the trim paint!  it looks wonderful, and i can't even believe how quickly it's going.  at this rate i should have all of the upstairs done by friday morning - just in time to start the entryway this coming weekend :)

here's the trim:

old trim

new trim

progression from old (on top) to new (on bottom)

i am not used to so much white in one place in my house!  we have colors EVERYWHERE - and the only thing i've painted white in the house is the ceiling.  the trim is behr's oyster, which i love.  it's turning out lovely so far - after the painting is done i'll treat myself to a new light fixture for my fancy new hallway :)

should have more updates soon - happy tuesday!

til next time - xoxo

death of the artery

there is a feature in my house that we not-so-lovingly call 'the artery.'  this monstrosity is actually just our entryway, staircase, and upstairs hallway - but the walls and ceiling of all three are painted a very deep, dark red.  and did i mention that the paint is over wallpaper?  because it is.

every since we first looked at this house, i knew if i lived here i'd have to do some major painting, especially in the artery.  but due to the dark hue, i figured i'd have to hire a professional and it would take at least a week to get it all done.  i actually priced it out last year, but seeing as the cost was over $1000 i figured we could maybe try it ourselves.  a few days ago, i decided it was time to start the big job.  we have a laundry list of projects to get started on with the house, because it has been months since we've really done any updates to it.  so a quick trip to home depot, and here you go! 

hallway before

hallway after

 today i just accomplished the upstairs hallway, but it's a start.  and what's more is that it only took me a few hours and two coats of paint to transform dark red into white.  or, more specifically. behr's camembert.

some walls white, some still red

finishing up!

LOVE this! looks like lights are on upstairs now!

 next up is the trim tomorrow - can't wait!  next weekend hopefully i can tackle the entryway - now i have some good momentum and motivation.  plus i smeared blue paint on my wall as a sample, so now i kinda have to do it :)

happy saturday all!

xoxo