So, how did we get there? Well, when we moved into our house in 2008, it had really awful brown walls that made our couches fade into the background:

In addition, the paint job was just BAD. They clearly only used one coat of paint, but it wasn’t enough because there were streaks where the white undercoat was still visible. Just a sloppy, lazy paint job. I really think that if you’re going to do something, you need to do it right. So, we figured it was time for a new paint job.

But first, I had to spackle the bajillion holes in the walls:

Who the frig makes this many holes and then paints OVER them? How lazy can you get? Argh! Spackle, spackle.

Next up: primer, woohoo! (Sorry the pic is so gray; I took it with my iPhone before the sun really came out.) We used Valspar High Hiding Primer, which is really good, but since the brown was so dark we had to use two coats.

Two walls primed, but at this point, we ran out of primer and had to go back to Lowe’s for more.

I can’t say enough about how important it is to tape off the edges! (Yet something else the previous owners didn’t do.) We used Frogtape, which is apparently treated with something special to ensure sharp lines. We were kind of skeptical at first because it felt like regular masking tape, but were very impressed once we removed it. Out of four walls, including the base boards, ceiling, and two doors, we only had to touch up two small spots after removing the tape.

And we have blue walls! woohoo! We used Valspar Signature Colors with high-def something or other, eggshell finish, in the color Surf’s Up.

This is pretty much what our living room looked like all weekend. We had pushed the furniture to the center of the room and covered everything with plastic. The floor was covered with plastic, too. We were very careful and managed not to get paint on the furniture or carpet. When I took this pic, we had one wall left (the wall with the windows)–but we had to pause because we ran out of paint. Arrrrrgh. Time for another trip to Lowe’s. We didn’t need that much, so we only bought a quart to finish the job.

And here’s the finished product! I’m so happy with the result. Our furniture doesn’t blend into the walls anymore, and the room overall is just so much lighter. I really hated how gloomy the brown was, but now, it’s light in the room, even at night time.

This was my first time painting and I thought it would be easy…haha. I mean, it was easy, but it was a lot of work–we dusted the walls, spackled/sanded spots, primed (two coats), taped off, and then painted the top coat. My feet were KILLING me by the time the work was done. I didn’t wear very good shoes for this, so as a result, my feet and back really suffered. We were constantly on our feet or bending/crouching to reach every spot. Again, it was a lot of work, but so worth it. Now I don’t hate sitting in this room. Plus, it’s easier to see my knitting or reading.

Christmas at my parents’ house went ok. I gave my sister and mom the gifts I made–sister got a Double Cable Scarf, since I promised her a cabley scarf about a year and a half ago…I sewed my mom a table runner:

She likes it a lot, and so did my sister–I might make her one next. I gave my other sister a gift card because she didn’t really ask for a specific gift; also, she is moving to Florida this weekend, so I didn’t think she would have much need for a knit hat or scarf.

Earlier this week, I sewed some curtains for my office/yarn room:

They look much better than the curtains that were originally in there (left by the previous homeowners), and they also match my fabric tiles on the opposite wall. The fabric is by Joel Dewberry and the print is Tossed Flowers.

I did a bit more sewing today–made a checkbook cover, which overall I’m happy with, but in which I see all the flaws and mistakes. It kind of drives me crazy. Being crafty and a perfectionist is not a good combination–I obsess over the slightest things! Anyway, pic of the cover coming soon. I also want to sew a cover for my Moleskine journal…I am pretty intrigued with sewing right now!

Before:

And after:

I added a second bookcase on the left, a comfy satellite dish chair (that’s what I’m calling it, lol) and ottoman, and–squeal!–my fabric tiles above the desk.

I am so proud of my fabric tiles! The fabric is by Joel Dewberry and is from his Ginseng line. I took 12″ cork tiles and wrapped them in fabric, securing the fabric in the back with staples. The tiles can be used as bulletin boards, but they’re so pretty that I just don’t want to stick push pins in them! But they do have a function, if I wanted to use them that way.

This is my new desk area–I love all the colors on the wall above the desk.

The chair is pretty comfy, and it’s right under a window in the corner with my books. I love being around my books.

I think it looks pretty spiffy right now, and this has become my favorite room in the house. It is definitely the most colorful room, and is a haven from all the brownness of the living room (which, btw, we’re going to end up painting eventually). I will probably take the stuff that’s on top of my yarn cabinet and move it elsewhere because I want to put framed photos over the cabinet. I also have one more project planned for one of the other walls, but that’s going to take more time to prepare.

I love this room!

The police officer told M not to worry (??), but she took photos of everyone’s houses and the stuff in our front yards, apparently? And she said to let them know if we see anything “suspicious.” I am assuming this was a drug-related incident, hence the forensics unit? geez. We looked but didn’t see anything in the local news about the incident, which I think is weird–shouldn’t this be in the newspaper or something? At any rate, I’m hoping this was an isolated incident…it’s really unsettling because we’ve only been in this house/neighborhood less than one month…

Here is our living room. Right now it’s nice and open because we don’t have a coffee table yet and we’re still deciding whether we even want to put one in the middle of the area rug. I like the free space and I think we might end up just putting an end table in the far corner, at the intersection of the sofa and loveseat. In retrospect, I would have chosen a different area rug because I feel like the room is soooo brown, but am resolving to love it nevertheless and call it caramel/mocha/chocolate room. Our couches are microfiber, very comfy and soft.

This is our fake fireplace–it is kind of hilarious to me because I took this photo with the cord sticking out of the back, haha! It is basically a heater but I think it even lights up to look like fire/embers…we haven’t tried it yet since we’re in the dead of summer! I want to get some type of area rug runner to put in front of it because the stains on the carpet get on my nerves…we haven’t tried to remove them yet, so maybe that will help. The door on the left opens into the half bath, and the stairs lead to the master bedroom, office/yarn room, and master bath.

Here is the kitchen! We seem to spend a lot of time in here since my dogs have taken over the dinette, which is connected to the kitchen. I am crazy about the cabinets–that was one of the first things I really liked about the design of the house. Also, the countertops are a pretty granite finish–black/tan/white. What you can’t see to the left are a set of mirrored sliding doors, behind which are the washer, dryer, and water heater.

This is our dinette, the eat-in part of our eat-in kitchen. I really like our table and chairs–they are a chocolate color and I’ve been sitting here with the dogs in the morning, knitting before I go to work. Behind the blinds are sliding glass doors that open into the backyard.

dun dun dun…YARN ROOM! Actually, it’s an office/yarn room and the other half will be M’s to put all his workout-y things. But I love my half, it’s probably my favorite part of the house! The previous owners used this as a baby room (they have a boy, kind of obvious by the baby blue paint). But I liked the wall color so much that we decided to leave it up. My bookcase and cabinet are from Target. The yarn cabinet is actually sold as a china cabinet, but I thought it was perfect for yarn since it has doors. I’m terrified of getting a moth infestation, so the doors protect my yarn while simultaneously displaying it all! And yes, I am really that OCD and arranged my stash according to color. Actually, originally I had arranged it according to yarn weight, then according to color, but I think this looks more visually appealing, hehehe.

I was really surprised to see how much reddish yarn I have. I would have thought I’d have more blue or purple, but nope!

My yarny rainbow…

The room is very much still in progress–I need another bookcase for the left side of the room, as I haven’t even dug my knitting books out of boxes yet! Also, I think the printer will go on the bottom shelf and I need a chair for the desk. I already know how I want to decorate the walls–just need to frame some photos and put them up!

And finally, here are my doggies, enjoying their new pet beds…I took this photo this morning so they were still sleepy, and Autumn was camera shy and only showed me her backside, hehe. They are still adjusting to their new home but I think they like it.

I need to take more photos–the master bedroom isn’t finished yet, as M is still assembling our dresser and there’s a bunch of boxes on the other side of the office/yarn room (aka the blue room). I need to take more photos of the backyard too and the front of the house!

It definitely feels more like a home every day, and not simply a house…not just because of the furnishings, but because we’re all there and we’re happy to be together. That sounds very Brady Bunch probably, but I’m just so much happier now than I used to be.

Change isn’t always bad.

More pics to follow!