Since gardening keeps me busy three seasons of the year, I save all my inside home projects for the winter months. I find if I schedule enough of them, I am scrambling to get them all finished before spring, and it makes the winter go fast.
Over Christmas break, I repainted the kitchen. That leaves me the living room and the utility/laundry room to finish before spring. I have started on both of these rooms, but have only finished the living room.
Now, the living room didn’t receive much of a makeover, just a slight change in paint color from off-white walls to white. I am always looking for ways to brighten my dark rooms. But what did get a new color of paint is the inside of the front door and the fireplace.
I was a little nervous to paint the door. I’ve always liked colored doors in photos, and really wanted to attempt this in my own home. But traditionally, inside doors are white, so it took me awhile to work up to this change. I ended up using the old paint from the color my kitchen used to be, and I can honestly say, I love it!
It’s a nice subtle color and compliments the other shades of green in the room.
My home is quite small, so I try to keep just the things I truly need and make everything functional. This coat rack started out as a decoration to balance the wall. I don’t go in and out through the front door, but I found it really helpful when I’m getting ready to leave in the early mornings, to have everything I need handy, and in one place.
The other change was the color on the fireplace. It was originally white and a few years ago, I painted it a dark green. A few unsolicited comments said it was too dark, so I lightened it up. I used the old kitchen paint again, but added some black and green paint to it, to make it a slightly darker shade of the door with depth and body.
What I love about decorating with green is that it is such a universal color that plays well with every season of the year. Here, I still have my Christmas mantel display up, but it makes a perfect wintry scene.
The TV stand, a flea market find, I painted yet another shade of green.
Another flea market find, this vintage Swedish botanical print, embodies the essence of the color scheme in this room.
And across the room, beside the sofa, is another piece of green furniture. Lest you think this is an overpoweringly green room, the white walls and wood tones help balance the green and in the end, it is more of an accent color.
So, on this wintry weekend, here’s to inside makeovers, and warm cuddly homes.
Love it, Cindy! Simply beautiful!
Thank you Barbara. I’ve always been a firm believer that your home should be a reflection of you and the one place you most enjoy being. That is usually what I strive for.
Beautiful and inspiring, Cindy! Love it!
Thank you Dodi! It wasn’t a huge makeover, just a huge amount of work. But it’s always so nice to have fresh clean walls and paint. Just one more room to go for this winter, and it will be the hardest. I’ll work on it one wall at a time.
It all looks beautiful, Cindy. Simple but homely. The perfect living space.
Thank you Ali. When a room makes me smile when I walk into it, then I know I’ve arrived at the look and feel I want.
Glad you all are enjoying an early spring. We’re having record lows here and your photos give me hope.
Love the color of greens in your living room, especially the door. Awesome choice!
I’m so glad I took the plunge and painted the door. It gives the room a whole different look that I love.
Hi Cindy, I’ve been waiting for a moment to sit and ponder your living room makeover and I LOVE IT!!! Green lover here!🙋🏻♀️ The green tones play off each other beautifully and those wood hues simply pull it all together. Did you plan to repaint the walls all along or find it necessary to lighten up once you did the door and other pieces?
Curious? Do you use trim paint for your furniture?
Thank you for sharing this fun project with us!
Fondly, Terie
I find the older I get, the more I need light and bright rooms. That is hard to achieve when you have so many large trees. Winter is the brightest months in my house. It seems like every few years, I lighten my walls another shade, but now that I’m at white, that’s as bright as it is going to get. I know many people consider white a boring color, but I use the green to spice up the room. I have quite a bit of green in this room, but I consider it a white room. I change the pillows and decor for each season and they all coordinate so well with green.
My daughter and I used to restore furniture and sell it at shows and fleas, so we use the special expensive furniture paints. They hold up better in the long run. The TV stand is a Caromel Color paint. We’ve used Annie Sloan paint and Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint. The milk paint is my favorite and it is a powder that you mix with water. Have you ever seen her blog? It’s called “Miss Mustard Seed” and after years of viewing, it is still my all time favorite blog. Her style of decor is my favorite and she has tutorials on painting furniture. I think you would like her, if you haven’t already seen it. She uses a lot of white, wood, and blue. Having said all of that, I did use house paint on the fireplace and door.