a more liveable living room

Our living room has been, by far, the most challenging room to paint and redesign, especially so because we're doing it on a very tight budget, trying to make the best with the furniture and decorative items we already own.

Before I could even apply paint, I had to contend with the "stuff" in the living room area, much of which was simply clutter and had to go. Before de-cluttering, the living room looked something like this (at its worst):



At its best, it looked a little more contained, if over-stuffed:



After putting in storage or giving away about half of the things seen above, I attacked the painting in three stages, moving everything into one corner or another while I painted a section of the room at a time.

Long before I moved in, Alex had picked a gorgeous, soft orangey-yellow color for the walls, called, not very accurately, "butter cookie." Its warm, cheerful glow significantly brightens up the living room (and also the hall and breakfast bar where we've already applied it). We decided to make things easier and paint the ceiling the same color, which has given the house a sense of being wrapped in warm, muted sunlight. It's quite nice, I think. At least, it's a major improvement on the aged wood paneling, original to the house. Here's a close-up showing the difference between the paint and the paneling:



And here's what resulted after the painting and a bit of furniture re-arranging:





It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint, new curtains, de-cluttering, and a touch of feng shui can do for a room. I recommend it.