Lily helping Daddy spackle the wall.
26 September 2007

We decided to “redo” the living room.  The living room is the darkest room in the house, and therefore one of the most depressing.  The computer room is very depressing too, but that is due to clutter and disorganization, not lack of natural light.

When we first moved in, we put lamps in the living room.  But, even with every light turned on, the room is covered in the orange glow of flourescent light and is still very dreary.

I was talking to Mom about our problem, and she said one of the main culprits was the dark wood paneling that covered one wall.  To use her phrase, which I like very much, it is the “physics of color” and the dark wood soaks up all the light.  A white wall would bounce the light around the room.  She said Paul’s study was covered in wood paneling and was a cave.  She painted it a “soft vanilla” and now it’s bright.

So, one of the first things Matt did was remove the wood paneling.  The picture above with Lily spackling shows the unpainted drywall that was behind it.  We’re going to paint the ceiling the a light blue and the wall a light pink.  The crown moulding and baseboards will be chocolate brown.

Our color scheme came from the new couches and La-Z-Boys we got.  The new couch and ottoman are chocolate brown.  Our current couches, though very pretty, are uncomfortable — they are too short to stretch out on (they are loveseats).  My mom gave them to us when Matt and I first moved in together in 2001.  We have been wanting new furniture for awhile and finally did it.  It’s so expensive so we kept putting it off.  I’ll be sad to see the old couches go; they are very pretty… just too short for my six-foot husband.  If anyone is interested, they are for sale on craig’s list. 😉

Matt is also going to cut a hole in the roof and install skylights!  How exciting (and a bit scary) is that!  Our living room is going to be bright, airy and beautiful when Matt has finished. 🙂