In our new living room we have beautiful custom raised paneling but it was painted a dull sage green. Now if we were back in colonial times…this color would be perfect. But we aren’t!
After living with it a week I felt like there was something dark and sleepy about it…I literally felt like taking a nap every time we walked in our living room.
We gave our living room with dull sage green walls a complete refresh with just a can of white paint & a few 2nd hand furniture pieces!
Living Room Refresh – Paint Goes a Long Way
*this post contains affiliate links for more information check out our disclosure page here*
Our Living Room Before with Sage Green Paneling & Trim Paint
Here is a picture of what our living room looked like soon after moving in.
Why I Chose White Paint
I have a love affair with white trim. It is classic, like vanilla ice cream. You can never go wrong with white. White or light paint allows you the freedom to be more bold with furniture, pillows, curtains, & decorations.
It also is a lot easier to bring in seasonal decorations & not worry about things clashing.
We decided on painting the walls with Sherwin Williams Kestrel White (which is a cool light tan) & the trim is Sherwin Williams Bright White.
It makes the room so much bigger & brighter. What a difference!
We also painted the old black recessed lights white. (you can read about how we did that HERE)
The old denim couch wasn’t working in this room. The size, style, and color just didn’t fit the room.
We found this new restoration hardware couch on craigslist for $200! (read about our craigslist finds HERE)
Here an updated pic of what our living room looks like now from our winter home tour.
We are still incredibly happy with how our living room paint turned out.
by Tara Lehman
Some more DIY Projects you might enjoy
You inspired us to paint our living room the same colors. It looks beautiful. But now we have the fun (and difficult) challenge of decorating. We have no tv or fireplace in this room. We have a huge double window on one wall, two windows on the other. Half the other wall is the stairs and foyer from the center hall. The last wall is open to the dining room. We have a piano and a club room chair and couch with nail head trim. Now what?!! We think maybe natural fiber blinds with natural fiber rug. And botanicals like ferns, pussy willows. We have a brand new bamboo floor. The windows face northeast and northwest. The walls have panel wainscoting.
Thanks so much for checking out our living room refresh Laurel!!! Neutral colors are the best because you can always change the other décor as seasons and tastes change. Your plan sounds awesome and all that natural light is such a plus!!!