A little over a year ago, we closed on this 1970s ranch style house and started a long (and sometimes painful) renovation. It was a crazy year full of stories I only tell when I’m drinking with friends. Haha! But we’re on the other side now, and I can honestly say we LOVE this house. And we never want to leave. So I guess it was all worth it, right?
And as an added bonus, I now have dozens of progress reports to share with you guys!!!! Wooooo!
So let’s start with our dark red and green den. First, a walk down memory lane…
This room had a very dark color scheme, dark wood shelves and a dark stone fireplace. You can see the before version of the whole room here. The fireplace was actually a deal breaker for me. I told my husband if he wouldn’t let us paint it, that I didn’t want to look at the house. He was definitely hesitant about painting the stone, but he agreed.
The bookshelves are BIG and they were very pretty. I fully expect at least a few of you to say you like the “before” better. It’s cool. 🙂 However, as pretty as they were, they didn’t fit my vibe and style at all, and I knew I wanted to paint them bright, fresh white. Sometimes you just know!
It was a big project and a risk, but I am SO happy with the result!
We did paint them ourselves, and my only tips are to use a stain-blocking primer (blocking 40 years of furniture polish is hard, you guys!!!), and get advice from a professional when choosing your paint.
We decided to contrast our mostly white room with a dark charcoal gray on the walls. The shelves, the white stone fireplace and one white shiplap wall take up most of the visual space, so a little pop of dark wall color seemed to fit. I could write a book about how much I hate choosing gray paint. This one is pretty, but it comes off as navy in some photos, and I still think I might change it in the future (and this is the second gray color we’ve had up!). Uhhhhh! It’s pretty for now, though.
My bullet planter is from Hip Haven, by the way. The “factory irregular” ones are the way to go. You can save, like, fifty bucks for the teeniest little scratch!
Here’s a pulled back view! Fresh, clean, bright.
I am really happy we chose to go white!
For the hardware, I went with our favorite Schoolhouse Electric hexagon knobs. We have them in about 3-4 different rooms in our home.
One of the things we discovered after closing on the house was this AMAZING 1970s feature – a built-in record cabinet. I LOVE it. I spent a night recently alphabetizing all our records like a huge dork. SO FUN.
Here’s my Penny art! She’s my angel.
Well, that’s how it’s coming along! I hope you enjoyed this little update. We are having so much fun making this house into a home! xx- Elsie
Credits// Author and Photography: Elsie Larson, Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
Really Nice post. I loved it.
This is really nice post. I love your blog.
This is really cool! Love it very much 🙂
Could you share the rug source? It looks beautiful!
Amazing idea. shelves really looks so nice…
I LOVE the painted white shelves. Excellent decision 🙂
I would also love to know the answer to this! 🙂
Painting books shelves can really transform a room. Great look.
Looks great! Could you share which paint you used for the bookshelves? I have the same project ahead of me and have been scratching my head about it. Thanks for the post!
I love the white!!!!! Totally would have painted over them if I had your house 🙂
And I love the navy in the grey, it’s beautiful xx
Hello,
I love the cactus sculpture that you have on the shelf. Can you tell me where you found it?
Stunning transformation! It really brightens up the room.
shannoninthecity.com
Hello..
Again great innovative idea. Wow.. It looks really great.
Stunning! Love the white paint, it looks so fresh and modern.
Such a lovely transformation!
www.eatwearwander.com
I really LOVE how the book shelves turned out in white!
But.. will you let us see the painted fireplace too? I’m sooo curious!
Kay
Oh my goodness. Every detail is perfection. Please tell us where you got the adorable painting of your pups!
OBSESSED with that deep wall color. What’s it called and who makes it? I am in the white-is-an-upgrade camp, for sure. So modern. LOVE.
Seeing your home progress is probably my favorite thing on the internet lately. It’s incredibly inspiring. I’ve never seen myself being financially stable enough (thanks to student loans and being a public school art teacher) to buy my own home…but the more I see of your renovations, the more I hope it happens for me someday. So thank you for sharing all your incredible hard work. I wish we were real life friends so I could see it in person. Your photos are completely gorgeous though, so that feels close enough!
I LOVE this! So, so pretty and bright!
-Kate // classyandkate.com