The Beginning

Before anything could be done we needed to clear the room out - what an annoying job!  So much stuff and no where to go with it.  We are officially living in chaos as this redecorating happens!  I'm impressed with our ability to remain calm amongst the chaos that we now live in...the animals however are not dealing as well!

We decided to start with the room that will become the living room.  It currently housed the dining room so we were able to clear everything out but leave the table in there and just work around it.

 Once the room was cleared out the wallpaper border needed to be removed.  I was dreading this task!  Although I was told, "It was put on with water soluble glue." I did not believe it!  In fact I was sure that this "water soluble" glue was bought on QVC.  If such a thing existed why wouldn't' everyone use it?

Well, as it often the case I lost the argument.  The border tore right off, in big pieces leaving the glue and back paper behind.  A little warm water and it came right off!  Can you believe it? Water soluble wallpaper glue!


Finally the room is ready to become ours!

I watch many, and I mean MANY, home improvement shows.  I often hear them talk about tinted primer so I decided we should try it.  The fancy computer at the hardware store mixed it up for us.  It was a grey when wet but as it dried we began calling it the Wedgewood room!  Once the walls were primed the trim was next.  While it looks exactly the same in pictures the trim color is much warmer now. (Honey Beige to be exact!)

And finally some color...

According to the paint master at the store we should only need one coat of the color on top of the primer since it's tinted.   While that is a beautiful thought and I did hold out hope...it's not true.  Maybe if you use a light color it would work that way...but not our color!  I like color as much as I like home improvement shows!

The red is so warm and inviting! (At least I think so)




We hung new roman shades and can't wait to find the perfect curtains to bring the room together.  (There may be an exciting blog entry the day I decide to sew curtains because I can't find any that I like...that will be a funny entry I guarantee!)

We still have some trim work to do then the final touches!

Daylight 

Evening

The Plan

Anyone who knows me knows I need a plan!  So of course I have a few spreadsheets laying out the plan for creating a home in our house.  So far so good...we're sticking with the plan!

First step is the first floor.  We basically have three rooms on the first floor: kitchen, living room and dining room.  (What else do you really need?)  We decided to start with the low cost rooms first - living and dining room.  The first big decision we had to make was which room will the living room and which one will be the dining room? We've actually lived with it both ways but have decided to make the room closest to the kitchen the dining room.  (Perhaps the fact that I am prone to spills while carrying food factored into that decision!)  This also leads to a cozier living room in the smaller of the 2 rooms!

Once that big decision was made...there was nothing holding us back!