in-tim-i-dey-shun

in·tim·i·dation

ɪnˈtɪmɪˌdeɪt/ Show Spelled

1. to make timid; fill with fear.

2. to overawe or cow, as through the force of personality or by superior display of wealth, talent, etc.

3. to force into or deter from some action by inducing fear.

 

This was what I felt when it came to painting. Usually I love to paint. I mean I've been known to have my husband leave for the afternoon and he comes home and a room is a new color with everything back in place. But for some reason the thought of painting our new home has intimidated me. Think every. single. surface. Gulp. I'm breaking out in a sweat just typing it.

 

So when my parents generously gave us some money for an early Christmas present we spent hours mulling over how best to use it. We finally decided that we'd use some of it to PAY SOMEONE to paint our house. Let's face it. I'm all about a do-it-yourself project but sometimes with toddlers, it's best to opt for the easy, albeit more expensive, option. Finding days and days of large chunks of time was just not realistic. I could just picture them playing in the paint every five seconds which would result in yelling, time outs and me drinking heavily. Not necessarily in that order.

 

In comes the painter. Score. 

 

Let's remind ourselves what we started with in hallway, living room, foyer and dining room. (That's where we chose to start painting)

 

Before:

 

 

All the walls were primed but not painted. Our painter had actually started painting trim work in the dining room and living room but only did one door casing and the crown molding (all during our renovation since we came in under budget). And yes, I'm the crazy person who hung up pictures despite not having paint on the walls. I was tired of them being on the floor and I needed some warmth on the walls.

 

I had already picked the shade and had it sitting in a few test spots for at least a few weeks to be sure I liked it. I've never used a warm brown on my walls before so I wanted to be sure I didn't see peach undertones at any point during the day. Peach = bad.

 

 

 

The night before our house looked like this. Anyone else annoyed that once again our stuff is sitting in the middle of the room, completely disheveled. Didn't we just do this 2 months ago (called move-in day)? Anyone? crickets. crickets.

 

 

And then it turned in to this wonderful cozy space in just 2.5 days. I can't believe how much difference it made in making the house feel more home-y. Once you live in a blank white space for so long, you forget how much color makes a difference.

 

PSA Announcement: Paint color on your walls people.

So without further ado, here are the after shots: 

 

 

Ahhh warmth. The color is Sherwin Williams in Macadamia and I chose eggshell as the paint finish to help it look a little more luxurious (and clean better, you know grimy hands and all).

 

So you don't have to scroll again here are a few before and after shots.  

 

Living Room



 

Dining Room

 

 

 

Foyer

 

 

Big difference. Huge. You may notice a few extra pieces of furniture in the dining room. More on those changes soon...I might have been feeding my addiction to a few estate sales lately.

 

What do you think of the color?

 

The office and master bedroom are being painted this week. Tears of joy are streaming down my face.