What a difference some paint makes...

Last night, I came home knowing that there would be some new paint on my walls. I didn't know which rooms the painter would have worked on, so as I stepped into the house, I turned the lights on slowly. Yes, it was already dark when I got home :( The kitchen looked the same, which was fine--she's here today and tomorrow too. The street light cast a small glow into the dining room and I could see a blue hue.

I flipped on the light. WOW! My dining room came to life. It went from boring old contractor white to a vibrant shade of blue. Misty Blue by Benjamin Moore, if you're interested. The cream-colored curtains POPPED off of the walls. What a wonderful contrast. My dining room furniture--the table, chairs and hutch was an estate sale find; the buffet is IKEA--seemed to look richer. The white trim looked so crisp and sharp.

(Turtle's reaction a few minutes later, when he got home: "I love it." I was not expecting that!)

Wandering into the hallway, I noticed that wasn't painted yet either, but that was fine, too. I turned into the office and saw that the furniture had been moved back to their proper home. I smiled, knowing that this room had been painted as well. I flipped on the lights. The office looked so warm and inviting. While I chose a soft color, Frosted Cafe by Benjamin Moore, it worked really well with the tan/floral curtains and the slip-covered secondhand chairs (chocolate and taupe). The color also highlighted the brick around our fireplace.

(Turtle's reaction wasn't as excited as the dining room, but he thought it looked fine.)

Pictures to come--she's expecting to do the kitchen and our bedroom today, and will finish up the entire project tomorrow.

I plan on writing a post or two about furnishing your home on a budget, and to keep it real, I'll share with you what we've spent on getting almost our entire home furnished. For what some people would spend on a piece of furniture, or maybe an entire room's worth of stuff, I'm getting almost my whole house painted. I am fortunate that we were able to furnish our house with things our families no longer wanted or needed (still in great shape!) and that we received IKEA gift cards for shower and wedding gifts. We've spent very little money buying actual furniture for our home, and with those savings, I was able to afford the painter. Which, to me, was so much more important. It's starting to feel so much more like our home, instead of a place with boring white walls. It's about time!