Our living room is finally painted!

Our living room is still a work in progress, but the walls and trim are now finally painted!

If you were expecting a lovely colour, you might be surprised that I chose white. I know it might not be a popular choice, but I'm really happy with it.

It is an overcast day today, but I think these photos give an idea of the colour.

The photos might not show a huge difference in colours but this room really lacks natural light. In real life the change in colour is quite significant.

The before (after Christmas and as accessories were being switched out):

I began the process of redoing our living room by asking for your opinions here. This is what we started with in January, with items just piled on surfaces after putting all the Christmas ornaments away. The walls in the photo above look white, but they were actually a soft yellow, a mistint of BM Monroe Bisque. I liked the lightness but wanted to lose the strong yellow undertone. Then one day we ripped the mantel shelf off the wall and I emptied out the room (except for the larger pieces) and lived with the room bare bones for ~~three months~~ a bit and tried lots of different paint chips to try and pick a colour.

My favourite suggestion was a soft very light blue gray, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't see it in this room. I was inspired by lots of photos of beach/lakeside homes and country homes with white walls.

image: Simply White

image: Kelly McGuill O so D

image: Southern Living

I kept coming back to white. I finally decided on Benjamin Moore Cotton Balls in eggshell for the walls, and the trim colour, BM Snowfall White, is from the new board and batten in the kitchen.

A soft blank canvas that could be accented with colours really appealed to me. I can add pops of blue, or change it if I want.

The trim was finally painted and it is surprising how a detail like that can make me so happy. We installed the flooring a few years ago and neglected to caulk the nail holes in the quarter round and repaint the baseboards. Primer barely covered the quarter round in some spots. It wasn't horribly noticeable but one of those pesky things that just needed doing. Now the surfaces of the room are fresh and finished. (I still need to figure out accessories and small furniture.)

I am considering changing out the white lampshades to a different colour. I had suggestions to lose the dark checker board end table on the right, but I need to find something else first so it will stay to hold the lamp for now. When I do find a little table, I may paint it a fun colour. I'm open to suggestions!

I have a few ideas for artwork above the leather couch and hope to work on that in the near future. I will probably bring the white slipcovered chairs back in too. I was considering white curtains, but thought that might just be too much white. For now I am going with my blue paisley drapes. I think they look good with the quilted pillows I made. So what do you think so far? Any suggestions?