Paint Fixes Everything

The process of repainting the cottage has begun. I was lucky enough to have my husband, a friend who is a contractor, and a friend who loves to paint (sometimes, she repaints walls in her house just for fun!) assist me last weekend in giving a whole new look to the living room in the little cottage that could.

First, on Saturday morning, attempted to cover up the green walls - those things just sucked up paint! My plan was to accent the awesome decorative trim in the room with crisp, white paint. I was thrilled to bid goodbye to the color my friend deemed "psychiatric ward green" - ha!

I'll be honest, one of my favorite parts of the process was taping around the trim after we finished the second coat of paint on the walls. My husband actually suggested adding a blue stripe in between the beige and the white - not a bad idea, eh? But I decided to stick with the original (albeit slightly more boring) color scheme.

Yup, that big ol' ball of painter's tape is what it took to tape up my teeny living room. I can't imagine how many rolls it would take to do a house-sized living room!

But look at the results! Freshly painted with two coats each on the walls and the trim. I love, love, love the the colors!!!

It's probably hard to tell the real color via your computer screen, especially since I took the pictures with my Blackberry, but hopefully these photos will give you an idea.

I read a lot of reviews and got a lot of recommendations from friends on paint brands, but ended up going with Behr in the end not only because of good reviews/recommendations, but because I liked their web site. The main color in the room is Behr 730C-2M Sandstone Cove in an eggshell finish, while the trim color (which will be used throughout the cottage) is Behr W-D-700U Powdered Snow, also in an eggshell finish.

The color is definitely looking darker than it is in this picture. Care to guess what's behind the tiny door on the right?

The entire entry wall from the far side of the room. You can see the partially-painted bookshelf in it's new home, on the wall in between the door to the hallway and the door to the closet (on the left). So what else makes a cottage a tiny home? Textiles, of course - time to make the curtains!

The fabric for the curtains came from a tablecloth I picked up at Value Village for $3. Going along with the neutral theme of the room, I decided to edge the semi-sheer white curtain panels with a pleated eyelet trim from JoAnn Fabrics. The edging was...let's just say the most expensive part of the curtains was definitely the trim.

It's hard to see the curtains in detail with so much sunlight, but I definitely like the overall effect. I'll tell you one thing: I sure am glad I have the luxury of painting before I move in. My cottage is so teeny-tiny, I have no idea how one could repaint it with a functional amount of furniture in there! As it is, I am happy that the living room is complete so I can move the bits of furniture from the bedroom and kitchen upstairs so there is room to paint in those rooms. Little cottage, here I come!