Last But Not Least

I finally got around to updating the living room this weekend. This was the last big home improvement project I had to do. The previous owners had a great affection for folk-art, Americana style borders (see previous posts). They also thought dingy white looked 'country' (it really looks like I smoke two packs a day in my living room and never clean) I didn't even try to take the border down and went straight to sanding and priming (see previous posts about that, too). I chose a nice gold that would transition well with the burgandy of the entry way and the green of the dining room. I think it turned out really nice! I liked the color so much that I painted the kitchen, too. I did leave the border in the kitchen (Art begged me to) but the walls, much like the living room, were a very dingy, I mean 'country', white.

Living room before and after

Kitchen before and after

A quick note to those of you thinking about putting up borders. I have nothing against borders; I have a very cute surfboard border in our bedroom. Please remember that self-adhesive borders DO NOT need additional wallpaper paste. Also, please make sure that when applying the border, keep the border on the wall and not on the ceiling. This does not look good nor does it make it easier to take off if you or a future owner decides it's ugly.

Another bonus of painting was the cleaning that happened. I'm not going to lie, I am not a good housekeeper. I don't dust regularly, there are cobwebs in the corners and I make my husband vaccum because I hate it. I had dust bunnies the size of actual bunnies underneath my couch. So now it's spic and span around, behind and under all the furniture and cabinets. It may take another several years for this to happen again.