Living Room Update: Paint

Remember a million years ago when I chose a color for our living room?  I actually painted the living room that day, too.  I've been waiting to share it, though, because the living room has kind of looked like a wreck since then.

I left for Thanksgiving a few days before the hubs.  While I was gone, he cleaned the entire house.  I love that man!!!  It looks fabulous, so now it's time to share!

Let's start with some good "before" shots.  The walls were three shades of sponge-painted beige.  There were damaged spots from the previous owner's art, where we removed the curtains, and from the house settling.

Living room, the day we closed

Living room, post-curtains, post-move in

Living room, post-curtains, post-move in

First things first, I chose the color.

Then I went up to Sherwin Williams and picked out the type of paint I wanted.  They have this amazing new paint called Emerald by Sherwin Williams.  It's zero-VOC, washable, durable, and self-priming.  Not only does zero VOCs mean it doesn't smell while you're painting, it also means your walls aren't off-gassing carcinogens for the next ten years.  The self-priming aspect was awesome, since I was painting over a medium-tone sponge paint.  Can we skip ahead so I can tell you my favorite part?  It only took one coat of paint.  I'm 100% serious.  Never in my entire life has that happened.

No, they're not sponsoring me to write that...yet.  I'm working on a deal with them to sponsor my next painting project!  I've never been so excited about a home improvement product.

While at the store, I also stocked up on a giant drop cloth (which I cut into smaller cloths at home), a new angled brush for edges, and some nice rollers.

Once I was home, I started by moving all the furniture to the middle of the room and covering it with drop cloths.

Then I started filling in nail holes.  I also put joint compound on some areas of the walls that were cracked or uneven.  Once the compound was dry, I sanded the areas smooth.  I used this cool compound that goes on fuchsia but dries white, so you can tell when it's ready.  Better life through chemistry.  I wiped down the walls with a damp paper towel, and vacuumed up any remaining dust.

Then I got to the painting!  I rolled some, edged some, and rolled some more. Initially, the color looked really light, but it dried darker and greyer.

Somehow I managed to forget to take a single picture of everything in the middle of rolling.

It went quick!  Between the one-coat wonder paint and all those doorways, it only took me 6 hours from when I left for the store to when I finished putting away dropcloths.  It cost about $40 for the amount of paint I used.  While this is one of the more expensive paints out there, I decided it was completely worth it.  Time is money!  And Sherwin Williams offers lots of coupons.

Here's the after!  We love how fresh and clean it feels.

And for fun, some before and afters side by side

We still need have a decent to-do list for this room, including:

• Wider trim around the sliding doors
• Paint all trim white
• Curtains
• Art
• Sectional sofa
• Hang the TV
• Large area rug?
• Upgraded lamps