Come see the before and after of our living room makeover with only paint! Just one simple first step can transform a room.
Our living room is one of the rooms we spend the most time in as a family. And I’ve been waiting for the time to transform this space. Instead of giving a huge full room overhaul, I decided to share our living room makeover with only paint.
We’ve all seen the amazing before and after transformations when a room full of junk has been changed into a showstopping reveal. But what about the rest of us? The rest of the time? You know, when our budget doesn’t allow for that type of makeover. Or maybe we have just enough time for paint.
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I’ve got you covered today because I am going to show you that by simply repainting a room, the result can be dramatic enough. Besides clearing out a space, the first real step of any good room makeover is to paint it. And that is all I did in our living room.
LIVING ROOM BEFORE
Let’s go way back. As in the day we moved into our home. {Click HERE for all those fun before pics!}
We tackled the fireplace fairly early on, mostly because there was rain pouring in and then a wind tunnel issue that caused quite a draft. The fun part of giving it a makeover was just the icing on the cake…after those other things were taken care of. {The fireplace makeover can be see HERE. And the DIY mantel right HERE.}
There has been so many different additions to our living room, but lets speed ahead to what it looked like right before this makeover.
My goal had been to use the space we have and to make it cozy. {Our sofa definitely made it super cozy.} And while I am so thankful that our entire home was freshly painted a neutral beige before we moved in, the color became drab and dull to us. A simple room makeover with only paint was definitely needed!
ROOM MAKEOVER WITH ONLY PAINT
The very first step was to prep the room by removing as much as I could. And then combining larger items into the middle of the rooms. Curtains had to be taken down and surfaces like baseboards and window trim were wiped down.
After that, NAIL holes needed to be filled in. There was also some electrical work and the removing of two old outlets above the fireplace that needed to be done.
Two coats of primer and our living room was ready for paint. {The color I used is Behr Swiss Coffee and you can see it in our kitchen, dining room, and staircase.}
LIVING ROOM MAKEOVER AFTER
Eek! I knew that a room makeover with only paint would make a huge difference. And I couldn’t be happier!
Our living room feels fresh and new now.
I get asked about this rug often and I really do love how soft it is. However, I don’t advise that anyone use it in a high traffic area due to the soft braiding of the fibers. It works great in our living room though. {Click HERE for this rug.}
This dresser turned entertainment center pops now next to the fresh off-white color on the walls.
I have an idea about how to fill the wall above our sofa. That is coming soon. At this time, I really wanted to focus on sharing a room makeover just with paint to show you how much of a difference just that can make.
Our living room is long and narrow. The other side from our fireplace is this area that holds our vintage upright piano and new loveseat.
To give you a little perspective of the layout of our living room, I snapped these pictures.
Our living room now easily flows together with our hallway/staircase and entryway.
Pssst…there is another part of our living room that also had a recent makeover. Check back soon to see the new name for that space, find out the vision, as well as find out what it looks like now!
LIVING ROOM FIREPLACE
To help visualize the transformation of this room, I kept all of the decor the same. And every time I compare these before and after photos, I am reminded that paint really is a makeover’s best friend.
Now that this room has been painted, our entire first floor has had a makeover. And I am so excited about that! It started with our laundry room and has worked across our home over the past year. Little by little, room by room, we are making this house our home. ♥
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Wow, Leigh! Paint really does make a difference. It looks so fresh and bright. The little by little home has come a long way. Kudos to you and your amazing painting skills. ❤️
So love the transformation that the paint has done, incredible!!!! And all your hard work…. also really like that you styled it the same as this is my favourite of all the different mantles you have had…… um my only change and please I don’t want to sound critical because I love your feed and all that you stand for. ( and you may have tried this already) is to put the white chair that is in the corner on the other side of the TV . I just find it looks a bit squished there.
Ditto. All is amazing. Chair needs some space 🙂
That chair is typically on our back porch, but was moved inside for the winter. We don’t need it for seating and that space was empty, so it ended up there. On the opposite side, there is only 6 inches before the room opens up. It’s purely here to fill the space.
It really does change the look so much! Looks great!
Your living room looks so great with the fresh paint job! I have to laugh because this past week, I did exactly what you did! Our house came with a yellow/tan color on all the walls and I just painted it BM White Dove…. It looks so fresh and bright and feels like a whole new room! Great job Leigh!