A Little Before and After

I thought I should share some of the changes that we have been working on since we moved into our first home about 9 months ago. The house did not "need" any work done to it according to some, but I felt our home was in dire need of a splash of color and some of our own blood, sweat, and tears.

This is the living room before. I thought it looked too much like an apartment with the white walls, and beige carpet and broken blinds. (Oh, and the "window treatment" on the top was a couple place mats sewn together with beads glued to the bottom. EW!) That was the first thing to change. I LOVE my windows, and would not cover it up with furniture or ulgies.

I tried to include Naveen as much as possible in the color and decorating choices for the house, but most of the time he just says I can have what ever I want, as long as it looks nice. Such a good husband!

I struggled with the wall colors for a long time because of the open floor plan. I finally settled on a pretty Gray for the main color and a splash of springy Green for the big wall.

The orange tapestry-like thing hanging is a table cloth that Naveen bought for me on his last trip home to India. It seemed too fancy to spill food on and my mom suggested hanging it up. It looks much lovelier now that there is furniture in the living room and no dog kennel upstairs.

I love my open window so much I didn't want to cover it with anything, but it looked so naked without curtains I ended up getting some sheer winter white linen-like curtains with gentle floral embroidery on them. They are perfect! I should take a picture to let you see the full effect of a completed living room ( OK, completed once I decide what to hang above the couch. I am sooooo indecisive.)

On to the entry way.

Again with the white.....or white smeared with dirty hand prints.


We went from this.

To this.

The light really isn't off center from the door and the star, that's just my awesome camera skills. One thing that Naveen always told me he liked were those metal stars, so I surprised him and picked one out for the entry way. The light fixture is original to the house and while I don't LOVE it in all its unoriginal (every house in the neighborhood has the same one) golden glory, I do LOVE the way the light reflects off the glass and onto the walls. And so it will stay. Until I have an epiphany as to what I would rather have.