Updating the Living Room: In the Begining

When we moved in, the living room was not high on the priority list of things to change. The master bedroom and bath topped the list followed by the kitchen. We put off fixing up the living for almost a year. We decided that we needed to “live” in it for a while before we could figure out how we wanted to update it. It didn’t take long, though, for the list of projects started adding up…

The walls were a really, really minty green color and the ceiling had splotchy tinted primer that didn’t cover the cracks in the plaster. Because the ceiling had been patched by previous owners, there were places where it was smooth dispersed among places where it was textured.

And the “tinted” primer was too dark so it made the ceiling feel low and cramped.

And while our furniture fit nicely, the tone of the walls and ceiling wasn’t warm or inviting—the feelings we wanted to associate with a room we spend so much time in. Plus, 1940s houses didn’t have overhead lighting so we were dependent on floor and table lamps to dimly light the cave.

As the focal point of the room, the fireplace was really the first project in the room we knew had to be updated. The hearth was tiled with the original 1940s 6x6 brick tiles, the surround was sooty brick, and the “white” mantel wasn’t white anymore.

Let’s be serious, the room wasn’t that bad. The original hardwood floor was still gorgeous (although it needed a good buffing). And, after several iterations of furniture arrangements, we found one that really worked. So, with a (long) list of to-do’s and a plan for the room, we got started!