Things were pretty busy at home this weekend. We have finally had a break in the weather which means we aren't walking out into a sauna every day. Sleeping has been great - with temps in the 50's overnight we can keep the windows open and still be able to snuggle under the covers. My favorite kind of weather!
On Saturday I started a project thats been on the wishlist since we moved into the house. Our house was built in the 20's and there are many things I love about it. There are also many things I hate about the house, one of which being that we have never had a "small project". It always leads into a much bigger project than we have the time (or funds) for. And now I am to the point that there are "this homeowner" projects and "next homeowner" projects. Why should I take away all the fun of home ownership from subsequent owners? That would hardly be fair to them! lol
So the main house was built in the 20's but we have an addition that was added probably in the 60's. It's a nice large room, where we spend most of our time, especially for entertaining. It's also paneled. Ugh. I hate paneling! I planned to paint it early on, but that was hindered by the fact that the roof leaked, causing damage to a corner of the ceiling, which is also paneled. So if we were to fix it, it would mean taking out all of the ceiling tiles (we would never find replacements) and trim and replacing it. At that point we would also need to take out the ceiling lighting and replace that, and who knows what shape that would be in. So it sat.
Then, a couple years ago, my hubby had a poker game. He has them periodically, just a few of his friends over to hang out and play a friendly game of cards. Well, someone apparently got a bit upset over a hand and then punched one of the sliding doors for the large closet in the hall. And put a hole in it. Don't get me started...
Hubby tried to fix it by flipping the doors so we wouldn't be looking at a hole in the door (smart, since his usually easy-going wife was seeing red everytime she walked past it. Well, the track was damaged in the process and the doors don't slide on the track very well now. So now I just see red when I can't get the door open. We were going to replace the doors, but knowing that I wanted them to be white we waited again. He didn't see an issue with white doors in a brown room, but thankfully he generally defers to me for color/decorating (smart man again). But we can't put it off any more. The doors are nearly impossible to move and realizing that we can't drywall the room we are just going to paint the walls and deal with the ceiling at a later time. It really can't look worse than it does and I'm so tired of having such a dark room.
Here is what we started with:
I cleaned and primed the walls with a Latex primer (I found out after that it's recommended to use Oil-based primer for paneling, oops). Once it dried I checked for "bleed-through", which is common for paneling, and the reason to use Oil-based primer. Thankfully, there was no sign of it. I then pulled out some leftover paint I used recently to paint the 2nd floor hall. It was a Behr paint called Swiss Coffee, and is just barely off white. There was just enough for one coat, so I tried to be as even as I could. I think it will need a 2nd coat eventually, but I'm going to wait until we make the final plunge and paint the main room.
Here is the final result:
All in all I like the outcome, though it takes a little getting used to. But it already feels a little brighter. Now we can move on to replacing the sliding doors on the left wall. I want to replace the tiny light fixture also...perhaps with a vintage schoolhouse light. I'd love one like this eventually. :) 
I did spend a little time at my craft table Sunday morning, but didn't have time to complete anything. Most of yesterday was spent cleaning the house and then had a wonderful visit from a friend who lives in Chicago. I have a few projects to complete for back-to-school so I need to get cracking. I am part of the PTo at my son's school (as if I weren't busy enough! lol) and we have a few things planned to welcome back the teachers. Being the resident crafty lady I have some gift cards to make as well as some other little goodies. Watch for them soon! :)
Have a great day!
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