After the kitchen remodeling was done, we gave ourselves a few weeks to enjoy the house without breaking out any paint brushes. Still, the living room was begging for attention. It's the first room you walk into from the front door, and we wanted something fun, energetic and warm. After scouring through design books, image searches on Google, Pinterest, and some decorating magazines, we decided to take the plunge and go bold with red. "Forbidden Red" from Behr was the choice for it's deep, rich tones that stopped short of being too candy apple red.
Rather than rip down the wood paneling which had (you guessed it) WALLPAPER underneath, we opted to simply use the paneling as texture. The truth is, when freshly painted, the grooves of the panels add an extra hint of charm to the room. What did come down however, was all of that old brown molding. This stuff was thin and just plain unattractive. Similar to the kitchen, we used a borrowed air compressor and nail gun to add crown molding (thanks Joe!). To eliminate the need for tedious mitering cuts, we found a great alternative called "interior corner blocks". The molding simply meets the blocks in the corners to add a nice architectural element.
We still had a lot of bare wall space, so we chose to hang a photo grouping of my scenic images. Rather than color images competing with red paint, I converted all 5 images to B&W in Photoshop. I had them printed at adoramapix.com who always does a terrific job at a great price. The basic layout was also worked out in Photoshop to get an idea of how they would all look together. We did all of the matting and framing ourselves with supplies from AC Moore. The total cost of the finished artwork was just under $100!
We are so happy with the way this room was transformed. It went from an outdated, cluttered space to a comfortable respite to watch a movie, play scrabble, or enjoy wine and conversation with friends.
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