Lame, I know, but I find painting super relaxing and it just feels so darned good to finish something I had beet putting off fooorrreeevvveeerrr. Plus... it looks purty good if I do say so myself.
Let's see the before photos shall we?
Lots of peachy beige... then Tim and I added our furniture...
Still very, as Morgan from The Brick House would say, brown town. I'm very glad to be past this "just moved in" looking stage. Very glad.
The nice thing about this transformation was that it really only took four minor-ish changes. First, the paint; everyone always says it, but it bears repeating - paint it the cheapest way to make a dramatic change in a room. I chose Behr's "Snowbound" in Flat Enamel for our dining nook (and kitchen, but more on that later). Flat enamel paint is nice and soft in lighting, but still sturdy enough to take a little cleaning. The color is a subtle blue with a lot of yellow, so it shifts from powder to minty blue depending on the light. I love it.
The second change was our chairs. I love the mis-matched chair look, but the chairs we had just weren't working for this space. Some inspiring photos from the likes of Desire to Inspire convinced me cafe style bentwood chairs would be perfect. With a litte criagslist stalking, I scored these four chairs for $20 each! For seating along the wall, we repurposed the hallway bench from our last apartment. The end result looks collected, but not so "I'm a college student who inherited or found all of my furniture."
The third change was small, but made a surprisingly huge difference. I've never been a table cloth girl, but this cross stitch table cloth I found at an antique mall has converted me. It's feminine, but not over the top girly, and its handmade style matches the rustic wood tones of our chairs. Bonus - it covers the green formica of our vintage dining table. I love that table, but the green was all kinds of clashing in this space.
Last, but not least: wall art. A dear friend gave us this shark print as a wedding gift. He made it himself from a REAL SHARK! It's awesome and huge, so when we looked into framing it, ouch! Very pricey. Then, I saw this post on A Beautiful Mess showing a print beautifully hung using binder clips. DONE.
Progress has been so super satisfying, but the kitchen still isn't done. See that light fixture? It's fine, but not very us. I've been brainstorming some renter-friendly solutions. Fingers crossed!!
Maybe a rug as well... We'll see :)
So there you have it! Four small(ish) changes and a room is transformed! Whatcha think?
