Before: The Story of a Boring, Brown Great Room

It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago we were deep in house-hunting mode. It had become a depressing, overwhelming task instead of the fun one we naively thought it would be. But after meeting with builders, looking for land, and trying to determine where to live, we were more than over the whole process. Our realtor suggested we pick five homes to go and look at before we made any other decisions so we took to the internet to search for homes in the areas we were considering.

Up popped images of this house. I hated it. Yeah. I'm not even going to try to sugar coat it. It was brown, brown, brown; and I had sworn NOT to live in a brown house ever. But it was in our price range and in the area we wanted so we put it on the list. Somehow it worked out that it was the first house of the night that we visited. (The photos shown below are the realtor photos from when we were searching the internet. Frankly it's decorated super cute. But seriously brown is not my favorite color.)

As we walked through the brown front door, into the brown entryway, and looked into the brown, sponged wall great room I fell in love. In that one moment I realized all the potential this incredible house could have. I could ignore all the brown surrounding me and see what this space could possibly be. It felt like home. I wanted to live here.

We closed on the house nearly a month later and moved in shortly thereafter. And except for replacing the entire first and upper flooring and painting the living room, I didn't do another thing to decorate my house. I couldn't get past the brown paint. I couldn't see the vision. I was stuck and frankly exhausted after our crazy move and house hunt. So every time I walked through the great room I looked at the ugly wall and wanted to change it. Every day I spent in that space I wanted that paint gone. Every single day.

I don't really know why the environment affects my moods so much. But it does. And that sponge-painted wall depressed the heck out of me. I could not see past it. And so for over a year that room has sat undecorated, waiting for some love. It hasn't even had more than two chairs in that room on which to sit upon for almost a year. What was the point? I didn't want to host people in a space I hated. It just didn't feel right.

But today it's getting some love. In just a few short hours the painters will be here to begin the prep work to transition the brown paint to a lovely shade of grey (Benjamin Moore "Revere Pewter"). I can hardly wait. As we moved what little furniture we had from the kitchen and great room into spare spaces around the house, I took several photos of the "before" so I could remember how much I really hated this space. Here's a look at what it looked like as of last night:

(Note the fireplace refacing. We're still working on the new design.)

(You'll notice that we've been updating lights as we go. But I'll share more about that later.)

I cannot wait to see how it looks this weekend when the painters have gone. Last night I put myself to sleep dreaming of where I would hang art, where I would place the new shelves, and how big and open the space will look with a solid paint color on the walls.

While there was nothing wrong with the paint color and style, it wasn't me and it ate at me every day I spent in that space. I'm exceedingly grateful that we are able to make this change. It hasn't always been that way for us, and so I want to make sure that I appreciate this amazing opportunity to change this space into something that soothes my soul.

As someone who often needs their soul soothed, I'm really looking forward to this change. Making something work for you whether on a simple or a grand scale can make all the difference in how you enjoy your space. I'm ready for something that works for me. Look for "after" photos coming soon!