Living Room Makeover

If you have followed this blog for the last few months, you know that I've been in the midst of a living room makeover.  It's been "in progress" for many months!  Although it is not completely finished, enough is done to do a little post :).

I'll start with some before pictures...

All woodwork and baseboards were 1960's orange tone stained oak.  Walls were yellow.

Railings were yellow metal.

Woodwork was 1960's

Old stove was recalled so we couldn't use it.  It just took up space.

Pulled this old picture from several years ago....can see old stove, old railings, and the old door leading down to the basement.

Pulled this picture from several years ago...this is the color of the 3 doors in the entryway.

Pulled this picture from Christmas several years ago as it shows the entryway with the yellow paint, 3 wooden doors and old trim (I forgot to take a before picture of the entryway)

Step 1: (January) Start brainstorming what I wanted to do!
Step 2:  (February) Paint woodwork around window white and baseboards white.  Decide on wall color.  (This took me like 3 weeks and many samples!)
Step 3: (February) Paint living room, entry way, and loft.  Replace all electrical outlets with white (was dirty almond before).  Order and assemble an awesome farmhouse style tv stand.
Step 4: (March) Take out old ballusters/railings and build new ones (we hired a contractor!)
Step 5: (March) Remove old stove from corner of living room (contractor).
Step 6: (March) Replace 3 entryway doors (basement/bathroom/closet) with white paneled doors (Paul and my dad)
Step 7: (March/April) Paint doors and trim white.
Step 6: (April) Re-carpet stairs. Start refinishing coffee table.
Step 7: (May) Get new couch and lamps.  Finish coffee table.

Paul bought this coffee table for $20 at a garage sale before we got married.  We used it for a TV stand ever since we moved into our home.  I removed the side rails and lower shelf  (with the help of carpenter Mr. Leonard, our neighbor, who has a wood shop in his garage!)

I spent hours sanding it down.  It had a very thick stain and finish.

Larkyn helped with the sanding too :)

I stained it with a mixture of steel wool and vinegar which greyed the wood.

Then I whitewashed the wood with a mixture of 2/3 water to 1/3 white paint, dry brushing it onto the wood and rubbing with an old clean sock.

Then I finished it off with several coats of water based sealant.  I love how it turned out!

 And now for some "after" pictures...

I love the fresh wall color, white woodwork, and white railings.  (Note the railings look curved because I used the Pano feature on my phone!)

The far right corner used to hold the old fireplace and green tile.

I plan to use a carpet remnant leftover from carpeting the stairs to bind and make a rug for the living room.

The entry way is such a dramatic difference with white woodwork and railings, white doors, and the new paint color.

It's not completely finished, but it is so comfortable and fresh and clean looking and it just makes me happy.  We all love it!