Patch + Paint....Plus...

This week was soooo busy.  Weather was nice, boys were crazy and I went out with friends. 

And...we got the kitchen patching and painting done.

Before

After

See the lines where the patches are?  Me neither.  It's perfect.  I'm in awe.

That's the Patch + Paint.

So here's the Plus: When we called our plumber's guy to do the kitchen ceiling, we thought about having him quote painting the rest of the rooms.  Our grand master plan for the house includes painting everything BM Cloud White, just like the basement.  Why not get the whole first floor done in one shot?

Surprisingly enough, the quote was great.  And he fit us in this past week.  Ready for a hundred amazing before and afters?

Hallway:

Coming In Before

After

Going Out

After

And a shot from the staircase:

I'm telling you, the narrowest spot in the house -between the living room doorway and staircase post- is actually wider now.

Walk in that living room doorway, here's the view:

Before

After

The wicker chairs are going.  ASAP.  As is that lamp.

Here's a look from the same spot but to the left into the dining room.

Before

After

Yes, we need something here.  The TV needs to be downsized and the stand has to go.  (Don't talk about that purple toy tub) Work in progress.

Now, walk to that opening between the living and dining room and turn around to face the living room. 

Before

After - I love you

Right!?  Stunning.  I'm telling you, sitting here on that couch is amazing.  The room feels 10 times bigger. 

Not to mention new curtains.  The old heavy red canvas ones had to go.  It didn't help that they had a thick layer of renovation dust still sitting on top.  Whoops.  Perfect timing, since I've been dreaming of these babies from West Elm.  I got our designer-by-night's approval and picked them up the same day. 

Now look to the right, toward the front door.

Before

After - love you too

After living with Sage Green on the walls for 9 years, it feels so liberating to have clean, fresh white walls.  I can't believe it took us that long to do it.  Must have been the six year blur of children.

And yes, we fixed that hallway patch behind the mudroom door.

Original moulding & crazy wallpaper

Gone!

Our painter did an amazing patch job.  You can't see or feel where the hole was. 
At all.

He also painted the trim in the kitchen and in the mudroom.  I only got as far as the walls.  He painted the mudroom door, too.  Notice the knob.

Antique-y White

Cloud White - Black Hardware

I told him not to bother priming and painting the knob & plate.  My plan was to strip the paint back to the metal.  I had half done it on the front - then ran out of naptime...last summer.

Kinda not finished stripping

Beautiful Black

But he offered to paint it black.  It was a quick decision.  I almost regretted saying yes.  Steve hated the knob immediately upon walking in the house.  But funny enough, we both love it now.  The black knob plays off the black rotary phone on the wall and the black wrought iron frame of the hurricane hallway light.

Oh and I was ready to strip again...

Back in the house, through the living room and into the dining room.

Before - with diaper box

After - too many chairs

This room needs the most help now.  But no worries, we'll get there. 

Go left, here's the view from the hallway.

Let there be light

The bay window looks North - little light, mostly shadows.  But lucky for us, we are a key lot and see backyards instead of a brick wall of house.  With the white walls, the little natural light is so much brighter now. 

Lastly, the view from the kitchen:

Before

After - my fave

I love this view, looking all the way into the living room.  It's just so much brighter overall now. 

Broken brighter record?

Here's another favorite of mine.  That bad light switch situation.  The switch on the left is a knob & tube kitchen light.  The double plate on the right are the new downstairs lights.  The patch in between is the we-thought-we-could-put-them-together-but-nope-it's-knob-and-tube situation left over from the basement reno. 

Before

After

Much better. 

So, now it's off to craigslist.  To post almost all the furniture in these photos.  West Elm's not cheap. 

Ok, not everything.  Just the sideboard, tv stand, wicker chairs, stools, coffee table (unless you want it, sister-in-law), and lamp.  Well, not the lamp - the metal pull is broken.  Maybe we'll just post that one for free...