The prescription is unapologetically, authentically effective and true on planet Michele! I know, I know! Mostly colorless rooms with low-to-no contrast ’round here. Boring as hayull my Facebook followers might say. Good lord, is the woman COLORBLAND? Indeed. And also ever the Colorblonde. But is she simply passing through her Sad-Beige era? Nahhhhht likely, neutral-despisers. She breathes easy when the volume lowers and moods turn softly serene. And she never got the memo that ‘pops of color are required’ so (gasp!) she’s full of colorful sass and not sorry. Let’s peek at real life before/afters for Hello Lovely’s Family Room (from a greige-y, beige-y, sassy colorbland ambassador of mostly white interiors).
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Before/Afters: Hello Lovely’s Family Room
Our family room adjoins the kitchen with 8′ French doors and accesses the hall through a pocket door. My husband insisted on keeping the existing French doors even though I felt the two rooms would flow better without them. He likes the ability to create privacy from the kitchen and hall. A future owner may want to demo the separation.
Psst. Whenever I mention we are “real life renovators,” it isn’t boasting or taking a stab at other renovators. I suppose I am distinguishing us from pros with access to the trades, a film crew, and craft services. It’s just us two lovebirds living real life. That means it takes a mighty long time and there is an absence of glamor.
Transforming Doors & Trim
The doors were the first thing I addressed with layers and layers of bright white primer and enamel (Sherwin-Williams Emerald Enamel Paint in White – satin finish). They don’t look half bad in the photo, but the finish was orange and felt dated. Here’s where they started:
Easy Light Fixture Swap
So much time and labor painting but well worth it! You might think I started painting windows next, but nope. Next, we hung this iron lantern pendant (it’s huge in real life!) which is original to the house and in the breakfast nook. Breakfast nook?
In its place, we hung the pièce de résistance, a Thomas O’Brien Elizabeth chandelier.
This modern European Country lantern feels just right and has a Belgian modern feel. The open design keeps it airy in spite of its scale.
Electrical Wiring & A Fireplace Facelift
My husband opened the wall above the fireplace to add the necessary wiring for a TV. The only place for a television before was an angled space in the existing built-in. We couldn’t figure out how to arrange seating with that configuration. What a dramatic transformation when I painted the fireplace Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray to convince my husband we would not necessarily have to rip it out and start new.
I also removed the glass and brass doors for a less fussy look and painted the inside of the firebox with heat resistant black paint. It was suddenly elegant and felt more timeless. I can imagine adding quartz or marble later on the surround.
Here’s the fireplace before I decided to erase the brown and red for a more balanced look with the TV.
Once the fireplace was transformed, my husband no longer had reservations about my plans to paint windows and trim.
Six Coats of White for Windows & Trim
Heaven help me, I began to paint six windows, six transoms, a pocket door, and all of the trim. Obviously there was no turning back. All of the painting done in this house on trim, cabinets, and doors has been brush work. We used our sprayer just once to prime the cabinets installed in the pantry, and I just didn’t like the flatness of the look. I’m never after a “brand spankin perfectly new” look as much as a timeless one. I resorted to brushing over the sprayed cabinets! In the end, absolutely everything was handpainted including the exterior garage doors and deck!
Welcome to an Emotional Rollercoaster
Thoughts on painting over dark colors and stain…If you are brave enough to do it yourself, get yourself added to every church prayer list in town. 🙂 You’ll first feel like a champion getting the first two coats of primer on everything. You may even feel on fire, invincible and elated…for 10 straight seconds.
Because suddenly the reality of adding at least four more coats of enamel over all that primer on all those surfaces including narrow window muntins will sink in.
Any victorious delusions will leave you.
Your mental health may even slip from time to time. Was the dark trim really so depressing? you’ll ask. Would drapes have been more feasible?
You will come to terms with the inability to turn back time. And then the reality will sink in that you will also need to address a full wall of cherry-stained built-ins after all the trim. The rolleroaster is real, but so is the healing and restorative power of rest. So is a gorgeously fresh new day without mistakes in it where baby steps inch closer to the happiness of AFTER.
Know Thyself & Give Thyself Grace and Mercy
Not everyone will agree with your choices and share your affection for beige. But who are you aiming to please? In our case, the ups and downs were very much worth it. Our room was freshened with a new identity to serve our particular lifestyle. It feels like a beige-y cozy, unfussy, European country library/family room that suits us.
Because this room is informal (slipcovered sofas, nothing precious, rustic tables and nothing new), it’s easy to LIVE IN. Plop down and take a nap. Watch the game. Curl up for movies. Gaze at the peaceful forest beyond the wall of windows (the whole reason we bought this place!).
I forgot to snap a photo of the pocket door closed, but the doorway (below) leads to the front section of the home. There’s a two-story entry with a huge window above the front doors you can see below:
Console & Original Art
I painted baseboards and windows white, but the built-ins and a console (antique victrola cabinet below) were painted the same beige-greige as walls: Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray.
The restraint exercised with just one color reinforced the serenity and neutrality. You could easily change the wall color down the line, and the choices will still make sense.
Quieting the Dark Brown Corner
To paint the built-ins, we removed the hardware, removed all of the shelves and…
yes indeed, like everything else, I primed each side with 4 coats by hand.
Six coats later, shelves returned to the built-ins, and we allowed it all to harden for a couple of weeks.
Shelf styling is not one of my talents so it is destined to evolve with the rest of the room. (My husband loves minimalism…the color from the watercolor pet portraits below is pushin the envelope as far as he is concerned.)
Furniture & Finishing Touches
Without window treatments or rugs at this stage, it doesn’t feel half bad as a minimal collection of things we already owned.
The custom Belgian linen slipcovers from BEMZ on the old sofas are wonderful. I commissioned them when we re-designed our second home in Arizona. My $1 garage sale find from 15 years ago (industrial stool/table above) still brings us a smile and holds a drink.
I have yet to buy new pillows! The inserts are past their prime so they’re on my list. Come to think of it, every single item has been with us for many years. My painting of the Oscar Wilde quote is from 2008 when I began a creative journey selling my art.
By the way, if you are wondering what we store in the built-ins, cupboards, and bountiful closets throughout this home?
Most remain empty. Our huge walk-out basement is presently used for storage of the “stuff we think the kids will want” when we know full well we’re just not quite ready to let it go. 🙂
Powder Room Upgrade
Here’s the powder room around the corner from the family room at the point of removing the dark finish from the hardwood:
Refinishing floors always sounds brilliant until the process begins. Because dust. Oh, guys. Red dust if you have dark cherry-stained oak. Should you not have advanced carpentry and renovation skills (my husband has ’em!), it’s worth every penny to pay someone who does. Refinishing costs around $8 per square foot so it may be sensible to simply start fresh.
In this space, my husband framed leftover wallpaper from the mural, installed upgraded timeless sconces and a new faucet, and added a very old mirror I’ll never part with! The antique etching is one I have owned forever. Paint color is Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray.
Repose Gray is cooler than Agreeable Gray, has blue undertones, and is a bit darker.
The sconces above are special! Hand-rubbed antique brass, super heavy and made with quality to last for generations. Find the exact Chapman & Myers classic sconce HERE.
The living room and foyer around the corner are also Repose Gray:
In another post, I share the living room details.
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Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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