The *Perfect* White Wall Color & HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE!

Before I get to the nitty gritty of my post today I want to wish a very happy birthday to our lovely, sweet, amazing Jamie!  Today is her 30th birthday! We celebrated over the weekend with lots of good food, wine and cake (chocolate cake + chocolate frosting per her request).  I hope today is a marvelous day - just as marvelous as she is!

image found here
Last week, you saw my white and cream test squares on the walls in my living room.  I know a lot of people prefer to paint their test squares on white posterboard so the paint is not right on the wall, but in my case, I find painting the squares on the wall motivates me to make a decision and paint the room faster.  So last Friday, I decided it was time to start on the big transformation in the living room.  Here are the before pictures:






The color on the wall wasn't bad at all: it was Wool Skein by Sherwin Williams (and that color is in almost every room in the house).  It's a nice neutral and very much reminds me of the Parisian Taupe (Behr) that I had in our first house.  But I wanted a change and I really want a soft tone-on-tone living room with lots of white and cream and oodles of texture.  I decided to give Lowes a try for paint and once there, I went with Olympic One (paint and primer in one).  I was a little nervous: I know that taupe paint can be a bear to cover and I was going white ... but I hoped it would be a two coat job.  The color on the wall was matched to Sherwin Williams Alabaster.  Here's a shot of the room in progress.


I am happy to report that Olympic One is terrific!  It took just two coats to beautifully cover the walls.  I like my paint to feel a little thick, and while Olympic One isn't quite as thick as Sherwin Williams, it has a good consistency.  I'm beyond thrilled with the end result  - both the paint and the color I chose.  Alabaster reads a little grey in my living room, which is just what I wanted.  I wanted the room to feel white but not stark white. And, as I hoped, the Alabaster makes the taupe furniture feel cooler and greyer in tone, which will add to the flow of the house once I paint the entryway, hallway, kitchen and den varying shades of my favorite grey.  In person, the color is a little lighter than it appears in these pictures.   Enough chatter, here are the after shots of my living room!





I set things up as much as I could.  I moved the white and cream rug from the den in here and it works much better.  I covered the taupe pillows that came with the couch with striped pillow covers from IKEA (I think I paid about $4.99 for each of these - steal!).  The large cream and blue pillow is from Pottery Barn, but I'm not sure if it will stay here. I brought in the lamps and set up the tables.  I'll also paint the coffee table white.  Oh, see the green chair?  I found him for $15 on Craigslist.  I'm going to paint the frame white and reupholster it.  The green patterned pleather just isn't doing it for me.  I know ... 



So for now, I tried to temper the green with some pillows.  I'm planning to paint the white side table next to the chair, too. It's from IKEA and I think it was about $20.  It's a little too ... something.  Boring? Outdoorsy? I don't know.  But I want to make it look a little more special, maybe with a metallic finish.  



Oh while I was at it, I tackled a small project.  The floor by the couch was a little worn in one spot.  See?


Nothing a little Old English scratch cover can't fix! Love this stuff! Here's the after.



So there you have it!  I painted the room solo and it took me from 8-12:30. I broke for lunch and then from 1-2:30 I set up the room.  Next up, I have to build my desk from the door, figure out the curtain situation and add lots of accessories! Can't wait.  What do you think? Any suggestions?

See you swoon,





7 comments:

  1. Love the color! It's so crisp! Love the chair, it has great charachter, can't wait to see the re-do!


    Happy Birthday to you.....Happy Birthday to you....happy birthday dear Jamie, happy birthday to you.....

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  2. It looks great! And that Old English stuff is amazing. Can't wait to see how you pull it all together once you tackle your other projects.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE!!!!

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  3. The new wall color looks great. I love how everything pops against it now.

    Happy Birthday, Jamie!

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  4. Lookin good girl!!!! Love the wall color and gotta love old English!!!!

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  5. Nice job! Can't beat old English. . . . Everything is looking very nice!

    Now Following!

    ~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage
    www.shabbyfrenchcottage.com

    See my kitchen featured in September 2011's Romantic Homes magazine!!!

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  6. Love the alabaster walls, what color did you use for your baseboard trim?

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  7. Hi! The trim is Dover White by Sherwin Williams. It's not a pure white - has a lot of cream in it.

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