Living Room: Part One

So here it is, the big, fat, "oh no we just di'nt!" project. As some of you may know our living room used to look like this:

{I only have enough patience to sort through pictures and this is what you get}

This is how it looked for the last thirty years of it's life. With blue floral wallpaper I saved to frame for my mother when we tore it out, and blue carpet. She loves her some blue my mother.

Everyone LOVES the woodwork my dad did in this house. As do Chris and I. Although beautiful, the oak just isn't quite our style. We wanted to freshen it up a bit. I guess our style is like many others these days, clean, but cozy. Everyone has always said how comfortable our house is and we don't want to lose that.

The project started one day while the kids were asleep and we were having a much needed snuggle on the couch while watching TV. Conversation led to the kitchen remodel-which was supposed to be happening now- and then lead to the living room and the oak panels on the walls. Chris popped up and pried one off behind the front door. Came off with such ease! Could it be so easy? Then the next panel. Glued on and nailed tight like the Fort Knox of wall paneling.

Let's just cut past the first few stages of remodeling. The ripping, the mother effing, the caulking, oh the caulking, the sons a bitches, the regrets, the solutions, the multiple trips to Kwal, Home Depot and Lowes. And cut to this:

We ended up going with a bead board. We wanted to do traditional shaker style paneling - like our kitchen will be- but due to the condition of the walls and trying to stay financially responsible we had to forgo that idea. Next house for sure.

We went with a wider plank bead board because we did not want this looking like a nursery or that we were going for a country style room, where you typically see bead board. I'm hoping the rest of the decor and design aesthetics will help this room seem more like the traditional/contemporary look we are going for.

{A little dash of this in a room will always make it look fabulous}

{This part is was no fun. No fun at all.}

And this is where we are now. I have white paint in every crevice of my body and will neh-he-hever hand paint a piece of furniture again. We knew we should have sprayed it. But we just didn't. So take this piece of advice, ALWAYS SPRAY LARGE FURNITURE. Or small for that matter. It will look loads better and take up a lot less time. We are definitely living with it and learning from from it.

Next up, the wall color. I know you are super excited to see what we do!