new office!

My dining room has been serving as my office for the past 4 months. I like that I can see the living room, so when Ethan is older and playing in there, he has lots of space and I can work while we play. It's also the only room I have for it. We converted what was the office in the back into what we hope will be a playroom, for two reasons: 1) the room previously only acted as storage, and 2) we plan to have any kids from the community group we host hang out back there, since it's the farthest room from where we will be for community group.

I LOVE the color we used. It's Hawthorne Gray from Benjamin Moore, and though the paint itself is much more expensive than what you'd pay at Home Depot or Lowe's, we love the color and that it took and easy two coats to cover the red that was there before (with the help of Kilz latex primer). We know that Lowe's says they will match the color, but we were too skeptical after getting a bad paint color at Home Depot (which we hate, and is sitting in our garage).

Here are some before/during pictures:

I taped off the carpet with clear scotch packaging tape to keep it away from
the baseboards and paint-free (works like a charm, if you tape carefully!)
Also note - the trim is beige, not white.

This was after I had primed the trim (would eventually go back for the red, too)

There's my little desk!

After!

I love this color! See how it looks brown in some pictures and gray in others?
It's perfect.

Blinds up so it could dry! I mark imperfections with tiny pieces of painters
tape so I know where I need to go back to before I can say I am finished.

So far, that's the only art I have for this room.. but ta-da! I am in love!

The room now feels bright, fresh, and modern (golden carpet aside). We had a couple of paint mishaps on the carpet, so we may be checking out wood floors sooner than we think (but not before I finish the trim in the living room!).

I'm now prepping the entryway and hoping to prime the blue and the trim today so I can get started on the gray tomorrow, followed by painting the top part white as well as the trim this weekend! We previously painted it that blue color just to cover up some old, nasty, blue wallpaper (it was about the same color, which is why we chose that blue/dark teal). I'm priming the trim at the moment and will prime the blue areas tonight as well. Tomorrow is when the real fun begins! (Pardon our dust, this place is a mess!)

xo,

PS - I finally switched to the green painters tape per my friend Sarah's recommendation -  they are worth EVERY penny - you get clean, gorgeous lines around your trim & cielings. You may know her as the paper flower queen.