Paint changes everything

It is true, paint changes the entire feel of a room or a piece of furniture! 

We have been stuck unable to agree on a color for the dining room.  I wanted a rich brown color but was afraid it would either be too dark or clash with whatever color we chose for the kitchen (since they are so open to each other now).  Jay wanted a maroon color to help with the fireplace and he's always liked the idea of a maroon dining room.  He is fabulous in truly letting me chose the colors for the house, even though I ask his opinion every time wanting him to enjoy the room too.  In the end, we were both in agreement that the peachy-pink color had to go!  My friend Virginia put it nicely when she said 'If they put that color in a paint can, it'd be called Old Lady'. HAHAHA!  So incredibly true.

How it looked when we bought the house

Gotta love the Old Lady walls and those dreadful curtain/drapes

With the snow that came this past week and my dentist appointment in town, I decided painting is how I would spend my free afternoon.  So I grabbed a gallon of beautiful brown, called Scented Clove, on the way home.  I taped off the edges, did the up and down trim work on the edges, ceiling and floor boards.  I accomplished painting the two main walls flanking the fireplace that evening.  At first I felt it was too contrast to the orange-ish brick and the thick cherry wood mantle, but the more I turned the corner or walked through the room, the more I loved it! 

Today Jay and I finished the room - yes, my Husband helped me paint :)  We two-teamed it...Jay trimmed and I rolled.  The entire room was done in less than two hours!  It is a gorgeous room now, very welcoming.  It gives the brick a darker, more brown coloring and warms up the room completely!  It feels lived in.  It feels relaxing. 

We've rearranged the room over the last week making it more functional.  Previously, the dining room table was the focal point of the room - making a fabulous dumping ground for anything and everything!  Plus, together we maybe sit at the dining room once or twice a week with our opposite schedules.  In rearranging, we created a little bistro by the large windows, it's intimate and still functional, along with not taking up the entire room's quirky space.  We added a throw rug in the middle of the space to settle everything.  Beside the kitchen, we have Heidi & Eric's papasan chair with a table and lamp - this is where I'm sitting now, yet the cats claim this space often.  We hung pictures up and curtains too (bought the rods yesterday and more of the old office curtains - we are just switching rooms with the curtains).  Sidenote:  Chase the Cat just curled up with me in the chair and Hunter the Dog is laying on the carpet chewing on his bone.  This scene makes me incredibly happy. 

I know you guys want to see pictures, so here you go...

OLD DINING ROOM

Our little Bistro all lit up

 You will have to come over for dinner sometime soon!