A Room with Another View..

It has been so nice to hear all the positive comments on my blog so far.  There have been quite a few requests for more pictures though so here you go….

Here is my inspiration room.  I loved the sophisticated color of Sara’s room but as I mentioned I just couldn’t get there with the match so I went with another neutral that I am truly happy with.  I so love Sara’s room in its entirety (especially the sofa) but I did not want my room to be quite as feminine so her room is truly an inspiration room – my goal was not to simply copy it but infuse some of her elements into my style.  I stole her accents of red idea – a color choice I never would have added on my own and it really does bring some punch to both of our rooms.

This is the front side of my room before:

It’s hard to see but, there was a built-in wooden valance above the windows.  The afternoon of day I closed on the house I left the lawyers office and drove directly to my new house.  One of the first things I did that afternoon was to remove the valance (and the hundreds of screws holding it up) and take the very dusty curtains down.  I left the window shades in place for privacy until I had decided on what I was going to install for blinds.  My room stayed that way for a while – a good long while during which I tested paint sample after paint sample….

These are the front windows now:

I have installed wood blinds in the rest of my house so I was a bit concerned about installing the cellular shades here but I really wanted the ability to close the blinds for privacy yet open them wide to let the light in.  This room gets tons of sun so I really wanted to let it shine in.

I don’t seem to have any before pictures of the other side of my living room but I am confident given the other pictures I have shared you can easily imagine the before shot.  Here is the after:

The door is my front door and there is a small vestibule between it and the outdoors – it was a faded brown color when I moved in kind of like baking chocolate that has been sitting too long and has that white coating. Not attractive!  My first plan was just to replace the door with a French door but I was a bit concerned with the lack of privacy as well as keeping heat in during those cold winter months here in Boston. 

So, while mulling my door issue over I happened upon a picture in a Serena & Lily catalog (love, love, love their linens) that gave me the inspiration to do something similar to my door. 

I have to say I love it now, I never thought a little paint would make such a difference but it really does help balance the window on the opposite wall (from last post picture).

So, that’s the finished product in its entirety.