Two (Fairly) Quick Ways to Update, Style & Change the Feel of a Room

Good morning Painters and Paintettes!

The Seattle rain, a welcome change from the scorching heat we had last week, has given us the opportunity (solicited or not) to focus on the interior fixes that have been on "Winter To-Do List" such as painting and lighting.

And as you may have read in one of my recent posts, the master bathroom was in DIRE need of some TLC, particularly in the paint department. So far, we've got one coat of primer (TOTALLY necesarry) on and the ceiling painted -- and I have to say it already looks a thousand times better and WAY bigger. Its former Mountain Dew color (ceiling included) made it feel rigid and cheap; with just a few hours of work, it already feels brighter and cleaner.

Here are some pix of our progress so far:



















Hopefully we can finish the primer coat and get the walls painted by the end of the week. I would LOVE to move in and actually use this bathroom by the weekend!! Stay tuned for final styling pix :)

Total cost so far:
$100 for materials + 3 Hours (prep, painting, and clean up)
No more Mountain Dew color: PRICELESS

The second thing we've been having fun with lately is lighting. Our house came with a few good lighting set-ups, but mostly they were the cheap, dim ones that never give out enough light and always burn through bulbs more quickly.

Here are the three we recently installed:

The top light is in our office/travel room, the one in the middle is the bedroom light we finally decided on (we went for about a month with no light.....!). The last is one of my favorites -- ignore the wall color and the need to patch the ceiling, that will come soon -- it is the inspiration for my future walk-in closet renovation.

In short, if you're looking to spend minimal cash and time updating, styling, or refreshing a room start with a couple coats of paint or a new light fixture -- it can change the whole feel of your space.

Enjoy!
Shanti