We bought my parents' house in June of 2008. It was the house that they built when I was in 2nd grade. Over the course of 23 years there were some updates done to the home, but nothing very major. Basically new wall paper here and there, and enclosing the laundry room.
So, when Ellis and I moved in, we were instantly overwhelmed with the many changes and updates that we wanted to do. So far we painted the master bedroom, closet, laundry room, and downstairs bathroom. We have replaced eight light fixtures. We have a new refrigerator and dryer. And our new carpet is ready for installation! Hopefully I will have pictures soon!
Once we have the new carpet, our bedroom will be totally finished! And the living room will almost be finished. I still have a little trim to paint. And the question of the one wall in the dining area that needs something done to it. Originally, I wanted to strip the wall paper and just paint that one wall an accent color. Now that I partially stripped it and found how hard it will be to complete, I got a quote from a local painter and it seemed a little high for the one wall. So Ellis suggested just wall papering. At first I was hesitant, but after browsing some on-line styles, I am convinced. And, my mom is a Wall Paper Expert, so the cost would really be a lot less than removing the wall paper and painting over it.
Here are a few of the designs that I liked. Currently, we have a deep brown paint on 2 walls and a neutral beige on the other two walls. This would be used on one accent wall. Also, our furniture is a rich brown with an aqua tapestry on the accent pillows.
I like the simple stripe.
I like the contemporary circles in this design.
The is one is strange and cool..... Might be a little too trendy.
I started to get really excited when I realized that once the carpet is installed and the wall paper situation is fixed, the living room will be finished (well, except for the fact that I haven't found a dining room table yet.....but that is ok.... the time will come for that purchase!).
My thoughts next turned to our kitchen. Similarly, there are a couple of bigger things that could be done in the kitchen to make it really ours. First would be deciding what to do with the walls. There is wallpaper all over the place now, but maybe I can come up with a creative remedy that will look good and be cost efficient, too. Second, the counter tops are country blue. Yes. COUNTRY. BLUE.
Since I am economically minded at all times, I have already picked out a Formica laminate at Lowes that I think will totally make the kitchen look updated quickly and easily. I will have to touch up the cabinets here and there.... but they are in good condition for the most part. Here is a SIMILAR counter top to what I have in mind:
While I was browsing different styles and ideas, I ran across this picture. And I am totally thinking about using this picture and the colors as the inspiration for our kitchen palette. I love the crisp, clean lines of the black, whites, and small red accents.
It is not much, but I do get excited! It has been fun to plan and dream about the things that I want to do around our house. I will try to take some "Before" pics soon. That way, once things are moving along, I will have some "After" pics to show, too!
