It took a few months to complete my living room make-over, but it is finally ready for sharing:
Click above to see a larger image.
My living room was previously styled in turquoise (my favorite color) but I decided a change was needed. This makeover was primarily accomplished by updating existing accessories and furniture. Come take a look at how I turned my living room/home office into a peaceful yet enjoyable place with a neutral color scheme.
During my recent vacation, I planned to finally paint my wooden tanker desk. Problem was, I couldn’t figure out what color to paint it. I’ve been updating my living room from turquoise and red to a neutral color scheme of black and white.
I wavered between painting it in gray/white or turquoise/teal (my favorite color). While a neutral shade would’ve been practical, I thought “what the hey” and decided to go with color. I even went a step further and chose a different color than turquoise: green. I bought “Garden View,” in the Behr Premium Plus Ultra line; I wanted to eliminate extra work with a paint that included primer. This line of paint seems to have worked well so far.
Unfortunately, this color appeared much brighter when I started painting. Thankfully, I began this project with the desk drawers. I knew I wouldn’t be happy with seeing that color close up, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Plan B: new color. To save money, I used some leftover paint and only bought an additional quart of a color I’d previously used when I created some Moroccan-influenced wall art. It’s called “Pacific Sea Teal” and is in the same line of Behr paint that includes primer:
I like that it’s one of those colors that looks different in light. In the daylight it appears bluer but at night in artificial light, it’s more like a true teal/green-blue. Here’s some shots of my revamped pride & joy:
(click to see a larger image)
… history repeats itself. Let’s take a look at how during the short-ish span of my life so far.
Are there DIYaholic Anonymous meetings out there? Because I think I may need an intervention.
In keeping with the high I get from creating new stuff for my home, I recently made an ottoman. I’d been weighing how to create more seating space in my home and considered buying an armchair. Building an ottoman was a great (and cheaper!) alternative. You can buy or build some with storage for cheaper than I made mine, but how unique will they be?!
I determined my expenses would be less or equal to the cost of a new footstool. The great thing about DIY is that you can customize the style, shape and color of your project. (Yes, that is a justification for my habit.) AND I also won by getting some new tools and supplies to use with future projects (hello, staple gun!).
Several months ago, I’d purchased some mid-century bi-level end tables from a thrift store. I was on a search for some furnishings that would complement my new decor and I’ve been very drawn to the retro/min-century look lately. I scored 2 of these tables for about $10 total.
I used to have one of these tables years ago, as my grandma had given me some old furniture when I first moved away from home. I eventually got rid of the table once I could afford something else, because I didn’t like it so much. Funny how styles come back around.
Ever since I struck out on my own, I’ve lived in apartments. I’m actually one of those people who prefer being a renter, as it suits my lifestyle best. Over the past 13 years, I’ve adapted quite well to the disadvantages of apartment dwelling. One of those is not having much of a choice in the architecture and interior design.
Before I moved here, I badly needed a new place to stay and this was actually a place I’d had my eye on before. Because my real estate company owns this property and my last apartment, I had an inside connection to scoring this apartment. Also, because I trust my company, I signed the lease for this place before viewing the actual apartment I’d take.
My agent told me the bathroom would be a neutral shade. Boy, was she wrong. Almost everything is this retro/vintage mint green. Behold:
