to paint, or not to paint

I love our house. I really do. I have my moments but since I convinced Mikey to let me fix up the basement (or since I just walked into the store and ordered new carpet and bought a new TV on my own ;) the house feels double the size... which could be because I did double the size of livable space!

I want a new kitchen but feel like we aren't going to be in this house long enough to warrant that kind of investment so I painted the cabinets myself. Mike offered to buy me new countertops but at the last min. I got scared that I would regret spending the money on new counters for old cabinets so I changed my mind. There are plenty of little projects around the house and once I actually complete those I am sure my dad will find something new I should fix/change.

For now I have totally gotten the painting bug. I really, really want to paint the living room. When we purchased the house we had about 4 days before we were going to actually move in, and we were getting new carpet. The house desperately needed some paint so we went ahead and rushed in those 4 days to paint as much as we could while we didn't need to worry about making a mess. Also the carpet we purchased was this beautiful cream, almost white color. I loved it. So the olive/tan and the red accent wall worked. I was able to get away with the darker walls because I had this light carpet and very neutral hand-me-down furniture from my parents.

Then we got new furniture. Then we got two dogs. One year with those dogs and the carpet had to go. So we put in laminate which I LOVE, but its dark. So now here we are 3 years later, with dark floors and furniture that gives the room a whole different look. Now, I hate the paint.

(Sorry that was A LOT of backstory)

About a week ago I was telling Mike how much I would love to paint the walls a washed out grey/taupe color. Something very light. Also, that I think we should paint the fireplace white which is currently a natural wood that I hate.

Fast forward to earlier this week and the house down the street from us which is the exact same model as ours has a for sale sign in the yard. I went in and looked up the listing and there it was, my living room looking EXACTLY how I want it too.

So here is our before... Our entertainment center has these two bookcases which make it look like we have just way too much clutter! (although I think I am going to flip the tv and couches too.)

And I will keep you posted on the after... which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. I have a baby shower tomorrow but I think in the morning I am going to prep and prime the fireplace!