Living Room: Before and After

Let's start in the living room, shall we?

BEFORE:

When we bought the house, the living room was dirty (which is to be expected with a house that was vacant for several months), but more importantly it needed some seriously perking up. The floor was dark, the walls were brown (not tan, but BROWN), the windows face large southern trees... So even in the retina-searing light of a Kansas summer day, the room was dark dark dark blah gross. And it smelled funny.

Behold, the Lair of Darkness:

Depressing, right?

AFTER:

First thing, we painted the walls a soft gray, and the bottom molding and picture rail white. VAST IMPROVEMENT. New cordless blinds, a fluffy white rug, some hand-sewn drapery magic compliments of Nemmie (microsuede, niiiiice), and voila:

I am much more comfortable in the room now, thank you very much.

So: what do we still have to do in here?

Lots. Well, at least a little: we need to create a compact entry area for coats/bags/shoes, and hopefully we'll find a nice bookcase to put against this wall:

I believe it's the bathroom up next!