We all have our skills and strengths, but decorating and designing isn’t one of mine. I just don’t have the eye for colours, or the creative mind to blend styles and concepts.
So, my Hubby takes charge of most decorating.
Now, decorating for us is usually minimal in style. We like clean lines, and simple accessorizing. We usually keep things “neutral”
Moving into our new home April 1st had us dreading the decorating stage. We had an almost 100 year old home that had only being painted once since it was done originally. The whole home (minus the papered bedrooms and kitchen) where “off white”
Like primer “off white.” Not cream, but not white… something in the middle.
The beautiful wood trim was the feature, but we still wanted to add a little “something” to the walls. A hint that we had moved in and the space was ours.
Our living room oozes heritage appeal, from the tiled fireplace, to the trimmed out walls and ceilings. Both hubby and I were hesitant of where to start to add some modern touches, while still honouring the age of the home (1920).
Before we had moved in we had ordered a set of leather couches.
Yellow couches. Already this was a leap from our normal brown or grey, but we had a feeling that with the dark wood paneling in the room a hint of butter yellow would brighten it up.
But how does one blend butter yellow, with dark wood and a “creamy/white”. . . and still add colour?
One does it with some help!
The team at our local Benjamin Moore shop helped me find “creamy greys” that would be the perfect tone to highlight our furniture, without pushing our room into the “BOLD” category.
We grabbed an assortment of colours that could work and brought them home to the space. They hung there in the living room through a range of different light stages- bright daytime, evening light and even a rainy day. We wanted to be sure that the colour was PERFECT since we only wanted to do this once.
We had MILES of trim work to work around and for the first time ever actually used the painters tape. Hubby and I had always looked at the tape in the pile of sundries by the paint but never actually bought any to use. This time we went with the ben & ME bag, which included
- 2 gallons of premium paint with 1 quart for trim
- Sleeve roller, paintbrush, paint tray, drop cloth, paint can opener and green painters tape
- How-To Guide and even a playlist to keep you on a roll!
(basically ALL the supplies we needed to get our room looking fabulous).
Included were some great tips from the team at Benjamin Moore to help us decorate without the stress. We needed to make sure we prepared fully for this paint job! With 3 kids (and a new exchange student) running around the house we had limited “wet” time, and miles of trim work to paint around.
Everything was taped off before we began and (following Ben’s tips) we heat sealed the tape by rubbing our finger across the edges. This prevented drips and leakage.
No one ever wants leakage!
Miles of taping later, we got our paint on. We hadn’t used the Benjamin Moore product before and it went on smooth and covered our walls with just ONE coat! Quality wins over quantity with paint!
After painting hubby was going to leave the tape on, but since I had read the tips with the ben & ME kit I knew they suggested taking the tape off while the paint was still wet. It came off smoothly with no splattering or leakage. Hubby had tested one panel previously and left his tape on . . . needless to say the paint had dried to it and he had to take a knife to loosen it.
Just shows: READ THE RULES before you start!
Even with kids running around, a blind dog stumbling through the living room and hubby and I on a time crunch, we still ended up having FUN doing a living room makeover. It took about an hour or so to tape everything off, and then another hour to paint, and clean up . . all in all a successful morning!
And the result?
Well, we were worried it wouldn’t blend in well, and that the colour would be too grey. It actually took us over a week of staring at ONE painted panel before we were brave enough to do the whole room.
But, in the end, we LOVE it. It pulls in the hints of colour from the fireplace surround, and somehow, matches our accent chair perfectly (we totally didn’t plan that by the way) We switched some pictures around and still have some decorating to do, but I finally feel like the living room is a place to spend some time, vs a pass through to the kitchen.
In fact, we like it so much I think we have opened a can of worms! Next up on the list is the front entry hall! A bit of updating and I think it will blend nicely into our living room!
I feel now that we have a space I can welcome guests into. Visions of a bustling thanksgiving are in my head, and I can see exactly where I will set up our Christmas Tree.
A living room should be the heart of the home, and until now we just weren’t spending time in ours. . . I think that is about to change!
The ben & ME promotion is running until October 5th, 2014! During the special you can grab the ben & ME kids for only $109* for a limited time only! (regular value $169)
Visit your local Benjamin Moore Signature stores or to the ben & ME website to find your nearest participating dealer.
And join Sheblogs Canada at the ben & ME twitter party on Sept 18, from 7-8pm EST! Be sure to RSVP & tweet at #DIYWithben to WIN
And then get started transforming your home with ease!
Although this post has been generously sponsored by Benjamin Moore, the opinions and language are all my own, and in no way do they reflect Benjamin Moore.
* With a qualifying purchase of two cans of 3.79 l ben® interior flat K625, eggshell K626 or semi-gloss K627 and one can of 946 ml ben® interior semi-gloss K627 for $109.00 suggested retail price, receive a FREE ben® & Me tote and painting kit at participating dealers. Limit one (1) per customer. While supplies last. No substitutions. Qualifying purchases must be made in single transaction. Actual price will be determined by dealer at checkout. Offer cannot be combined with other offers, discounts or promotions, or applied toward prior purchases. Offer valid August 25, 2014 – October 5, 2014. See your local participating dealer for details. Void where prohibited.