It’s About Time: Dark and Dreary to Light and Bright!

Happy Friday!

This year, there are a lot of makeovers and re-dos that I have in mind for our humble abode. To start, our guest bathroom hasn’t been touched since we moved in. After slapping on a coat of paint and putting up some of my really brightΒ beachy decor from my college days, I called it good. Yikes. Do you ever have those, “what in the WORLD was I thinking?!” moments? Yeah. It happens to me all. the. time. That poor room needs a major overhaul. And, you definitely know it’s true when one of your friends comes out and says, “wow, could your bathroom BE any brighter?!” (and did you catch that Chandler reference??) πŸ˜‰Β Here’s a little peak…

SONY DSCYeah. See what I mean? It needs HELP. There’s no window and it’s really small, so it’s super dark and dungeon-ish. I’ll definitely be going bright in here; but in a “light and bright” way, not a hot pink and orange way. πŸ˜‰

We also have plans to do something fun in our master bedroom, which we’ll tackle this summer. Our tiny laundry room also needs major help, which we’ll get to at some point; hopefully real soon! And our living/dining room will also get a few updates. When we moved in, I must have been on a black kick because ALL of our furniture was black. And still is. I never noticed how dark it made our alreadyΒ too-small living space seem, so I’ll be freshening and brightening it all up soon. I hate that dark dungeon feel, especially in the gloomy winter. We don’t have a ton of natural light in our living room. So basically, I’ll be doing lots and lots of painting in the months to come! Yay for paint and easy fixes, right? πŸ™‚

For right now though, I’ve been working on updating our “entryway.”Β Our living room, entryway, dining room, and kitchen are all one gigantic space with no separation. I’m totally all for open floor plans and lots of space, but it’d be nice to have a little separation of rooms. Someday. For now, the wall when you walk in our house has a little console table with some knick knacks, and above that is our picture gallery. We also painted this wall green for a little boldness, which extends all the way into the kitchen. We loved having some contrast and excitement in our huge living area, but I’m tired of being “stuck” trying to match colors with this green to decorate. I’ve really limited myself. We also had touches of orange in our decor for brightness, but it’s time to do away with them.Β Here’s what our entryway looked like before Christmas:

Entryway before 2

So, we decided to paint this wall gray to match the rest of the room. Here’s what it looks like now (with my XOXO Valentine Wall Art and my T.P. Roll Heart Garland!):

SONY DSCMuch better. It already lightens up the space a tad (aaaand there’s more black furniture. WHY did I paint it with high-gloss, you guys?!). I really hate that visible outlet under the table. That little basket houses all our wifi and internet hardware, as the builders thought it’d be cool to wire it straight up through the floor. In the entryway. Super awesome.

Bye bye, green wall and orange decor! Hello to light, bright, and natural wood (very soon!). Neutral will now be the name of the game. Woohoo!

For this space, I’m working on a beautiful vintage dresser that will become our new entryway table. It’ll double as extra storage, which I’m super excited about. It will house and hide all those internet wires and will cover that wall outlet. Yay! However, this dresser is not coming without it’s fair share of work.Β The several owners before me thought it’d be fun to paint it 542,647 times in all different colors. Ok, only 9 colors. But still, it’s been such a headache trying to strip and sand and refinish,Β and I’m so determined to get all that paint off.Β It will be beautiful when it’s all said and done. I’m certain!

Gallery Wall BeforeWe’re also changing up our wall, and it’ll no longer be ourΒ picture gallery.Β We have a rustic DIY statement piece in mind for that spot that you won’t want to missΒ the tutorial for! It’ll be coming soon. πŸ™‚

The challenge to all these little updates? A BUDGET. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the whole, “let’s see how inexpensiveΒ ANDΒ pretty we can actually make our house!” deal. It can be done. Follow along, and I’ll show you how! Stay tuned for the reveal of our entryway coming in a couple of weeks!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

What room in your house are you currently (or wanting to!) makeover?

(I link up at these fun parties!)

38 thoughts on “It’s About Time: Dark and Dreary to Light and Bright!

    1. Thanks, Amanda! I can’t wait for the even greater changes coming! It’s going to look soooo much better. I love how color can totally change everything. It’s something so simple and cheap, and can be so drastic! Thanks for stopping by, happy Friday! πŸ™‚

  1. I really love the grey color on that wall, it is much easier on the eyes and I just love grey! I can’t wait to see how your bathroom comes around. I’ve been working on our Master Bathroom for over a year and I just need to paint the vanity and get a hand towel and I am calling it DONE. So close! Then, I’ll probably start on our Hall Bath… AND, I’m working on Autumn’s room and my office downstairs… its a lot, I know… I’m crazy. haha.
    Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom recently posted…Ipsy Review (#2) and Meal Plan Week 46My Profile

    1. I agree! I seriously don’t know what I was thinking when I chose THAT green. Oops. πŸ™‚ I can’t wait to get started on the bathroom either, though we’ve been reining in our budget a tad so it might take longer than I thought to work on it! Gotta love budgets! πŸ™‚ Way to go on all your work too, can’t wait to see the results! πŸ™‚ Have a great week, Carrie!

    1. Thank you, friend! It’s most definitely a step up from the ugly green. Ha! Can’t wait to finish and share it all! Have a great week! πŸ™‚

  2. I love the change to the gray color. Although most of my living area is some kin of gray, so I am a little partial to it. Both of our bathrooms are small and dark with no windows. It makes it really hard to decorate. We put subway white tile up the wall where the mirror is above our vanity. It helps light reflect and brightened up the space nicely. I also have a “entryway” right in my living room. I wanted to create somewhat of a barrier and separation too. I did it with wainscoting on that wall.Neutral enough to go with any color palette. Can’t wait to see what you do!
    Emily, Our house now a home recently posted…Opinions needed on dining room chairsMy Profile

    1. Thank you, Emily! I really hate those small window-less bathrooms!! It’s just so hard to lighten them up. Great idea about the subway tile, reflection is always a good idea! I’m debating even painting the whole bathroom a stark white to brighten it a bit! Also great idea on Wainscotting, I love the look of that! I’ll have to keep that in mind. πŸ™‚ Thanks so much for stopping by!

  3. Love the grey wall, Amanda! When I was reading all about the changes that’ll be coming to your home this year, it totally felt like our story! So many paint projects and lightening up to do!!! Good luck… I can’t wait to follow along on every single DIY project! I know they’ll be amazing πŸ™‚ Hope you’re having a great week, friend!

    1. Thank you, friend!! I feel like there’s sooo many projects and just not enough time (or money!!) πŸ™‚ I can’t wait to see all your projects too, Kendra! Enjoy the rest of your week!

    1. Thanks Christine! It’s most definitely an upgrade. πŸ™‚ And I agree, sometimes I don’t know what builders are thinking!! Thankfully we can sort of hide it. πŸ™‚ Thanks for stopping by, hope your week is going great!

  4. Popping over from Totally Terrific Tuesday =) I love grey on walls. I’m hoping to someday redo my bedroom gray and navy. I look forward to the reveal! Be sure to share your crafts & DIYs at Two Uses Tuesday (Mon 11pm EST to Fri 11pm EST) over at Sarah Celebrates if you don’t already!
    Sarah J recently posted…Two Uses Tuesday Link Up 17My Profile

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah! I love gray too, it is a great neutral that anything will match with, but still light enough that it doesn’t darken up a room! Thanks for the invite, I’ll stop by! πŸ™‚

  5. You know color is an amazing thing and I don;t think a lot of people know this! color makes ordinary, extraordinary and it’s OK to put together the unexpected as shown. Great combo!

    1. Thanks, Michelle! I do love color, that’s for sure! I think I’m going to move into a neutral wall, so I can add more colors in with decor. πŸ™‚ So appreciate you stopping by! πŸ™‚

  6. It looks like a completely different space! I love Gray with all of my heart and soul πŸ™‚ Can’t wait to see what else you’ve got going on. We are also doing our whole house- but we just moved in. holy long to-do list! Never-ending, right!?
    I’ll be back for more!
    Jamie @ All That Srocks recently posted…Customized Wine GlassMy Profile

    1. Thank you, Jamie! Isn’t it amazing how a little paint can totally transform a space?! I love it! I love gray, too! A whole house sounds like a lot of fun, but you’re so right; never. ending. πŸ™‚ Enjoy! Hope your week is going great!

    1. I know how hard that is, Deb! What about adding pretty pictures using command strips? Unless they don’t mind nails. If so, hammer away! πŸ™‚ Hope you had a great day!

    1. Thank you, Erica! I wish I had painted it gray to begin with. Ha. Live and learn I guess! πŸ™‚ Yay, another Friends fanatic! πŸ˜‰ Hope your weekend was fab!

  7. I love grey walls. My bathroom is painted about a shade darker and its probably my favorite room in the house lol maybe tied to my newly painted mint green kitchen. I loved it when you did your gallery wall and painted it green, but I think the grey really makes it pop, especially if you are going rustic decor there! I cant wait to see what you come up with!
    Thanks for linking up girl! I am excited to be seeing more of you!!
    jessica recently posted…DIY Ruffled Valentines Day Pillow CoverMy Profile

    1. Thanks Jess! I really love gray too, it’s such a great neutral to pair anything with! Oooh mint green kitchen sounds awesome!! I’m almost done with the wall now, just finishing up the piece that’s going to replace that black table. πŸ™‚ Can’t wait to share! Hope you had a great weekend!!

  8. Beautiful room! I have a similar color sofa and am having the hardest time choosing which gray paint would look good with it. Would you mind sharing the name of the paint you used?

    1. Hi Leslie! I hear you, it’s a struggle to find the right gray! We used “Armory Gray” for this space, which has a colder, more of a slight green tint. We JUST bought a new house and are painting the living room a little warmer gray called Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore. It goes on the walls tomorrow, so I can let you know how it turns out! πŸ™‚ Hope that helps!

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