what a little paint can do

We moved into our house just over four months ago and in between Ryan's work travel, the holidays, and a new baby, we painted. Wanna see?

This is Theodore's bedroom. Upon arrival the walls were a pinkish lavender. Now, Resolute Blue by Sherwin-Williams. Once carpeted, we riped it out and painted the wood floors underneath (not restorable) a deep brown. The windows have been finished with red ticking panels.

The upstairs hall, originally painted in a green faux finish, was changed to Window Pane by SW. The carpet was also removed, but the floors remain unfinished.

Our bedroom was wallpapered in a cream color and also carpeted. We removed the peeling wallpaper, a careful job with the plaster walls underneath, and painted the room Abalone Shell by SW. After taking out the carpet we also painted the wood floors. I finally have a place to put the cedar chest passed down from my Grandma Krutzig. We also have a dresser passed down to Ryan from his mother. My brother painted this room for us. That's him in the photo with Teddy the Helper Boy.

At move in our stairwell was carpeted and had a terrible railing hastily put up by the sellers in order to pass inspection. We removed the railing and repaired the ceiling damaged by it (the rail had actually been nailed into the ceiling!) Under the carpet we found many layers of paint on top of beautiful hardwood. Unlike the cheap flooring uncovered in the bedrooms, we decided to try and restore the stairs. Unfortunately the grey paint (seen in the photo to the left) was lead-based, therefore making the job tricky. We weren't comfortable sanding lead-based paint with Jack and Teddy in the house, so it was a long job of careful stripping. I'm excited with the finished product though!

I'm not sure a before shot was ever taken of the guest bedroom downstairs, but it was wallpapered, then painted a country blue. The wallpaper seams showed throughout the room. After consulting a few people, we decided it too damaging to try and remove the well adhered paper. Plus again with the wee ones in the house, we didn't want exposure to old, dangerous materials under the paper. A professional was hired to paint over the paper again, and hide all the seams. He did a beautiful job. The room also has a built-in dresser that was refinished white. The closet had no doors at move-in, but we found these (photo on the right) out in the barn and painted them white also.

I apologize for the poorly captured before shot of the dining room, but you can see it was red. We repainted in Halcyon Green by SW. My favorite color in the house thus far!

Last, I'll leave you with a few photos from Jack's bedroom. It's in the works. The carpet was recently removed and wall repair started. We haven't decided on definite colors yet, but I'll be sure to share when we do!

I've been inspired by so many fun things lately and this magazine gives me a bucket full of ideas! If you haven't ran out to get this month's release, GO NOW! It's so great! Big thanks to my sister-in-law for introducing it. We are making our little home improvements on a tight budget so other than painting, decorating is more about dreaming than actual doing. But goodness, it's fun to dream!