Why Paint Neutral Walls? Because the Rug Will Be Everything!

Hello hello hello my friends!!!! 

So it's been a hot minute since we've shared anything substantial in the home decor department. After finishing our kitchen redesign earlier in the year, we took a beat, which was nice. But now the weather is getting warmer, school has officially ended, and we're looking at everything we could squeeze into the extra free time that comes with Summer vacation. 

One thing that's been on our mind (ok, mostly my mind) is our living room. Since the beginning, I've had this vision of a black fireplace surrounded by white built-ins. With the bolder look of our kitchen, and how it's one open room in combination with the living room I thought lighter might be better on the walls, and color would be amazing everywhere else. 

To confirm this thought, we of course created a MOOD BOARD! 

After feeling very confident that this was the direction to go, I began implementing pieces of the design bit by bit. I first painted the fireplace black, which immediately made it feel SUPER chic and was a massive improvement. 

The power of paint is real honey! 

What cracked me up the most about painting our fireplace was the number of comments I received on the blue wall. That wasn't even the thing that changed and everyone was "ooohing" and "aaahing" over it. 😑 It's a nice shade of blue, don't get me wrong, but every time I looked at it the only thing I could think about was what color to change it to. Eric couldn't understand this unrelenting urge to paint. Why do the work to paint something we're just going to repaint and build cabinets over??? 

Because I wanted it to be MINE! Gah! 

That's why at 3:00pm on a random Sunday, I got on my tiptoes, looked Eric in the eye, and said "I'm going to paint this wall black and white. We already have everything here, Harrison said he'd help, so stand back!" 

Once my little assistant and I got started it went pretty fast. The pace really picked up though when said helper got distracted by watching "Sing 2". Kids are the most okay-ist helpers ever. 😂

By the time we went to bed the whole project was complete, and this is what greeted me in the morning! 

With everything back in place, immediately I was blown away by how much LARGER the room looked by switching the blue for white! The perspective totally changed once that singular wall wasn't being pulled by the dark shade. Adding black behind the fireplace created a fabulous bold moment while also serving as a simple trick to camouflage the TV. 

The sunshine just bounces around, filling the whole room with light airy goodness. And don't get me started on those gold velvet macrame curtains. Obsessed. 

With the paint done, the next item I wanted to tackle was the rug. I had been on the hunt for the perfect rug for MOOOOONTHS. Months and months of scrolling, thinking, checking sizes, and swapping this for that in my mood board to see what would look the best. 

But by having the new color on the wall (or lack thereof), I was able to zone in for one more deep dive into the world of rugs. A few clicks later and this beauty stopped me in my tracks. 

She's big, she's bold, she's FUCHSIA, and I fell so hard. 💜 Because if I'm going to have white on my walls, you better believe the floors will be popping. 

So here we are gang! The end of our little living room journey and where she stands today! 

A semi-traditional but slightly bohemian purple rug may seem like an odd choice, but I've been gushing over the play of color and pattern since the moment we laid her down. Plus the 10'x14' size adds another layer to make the room appear larger compared to our old 8'x10'. Choosing the proper size rug for a space can make all the difference.

Thank you for coming with me on this journey. 😄Here is a fun little throwback to when we first moved in. 

My heart flutters a little every time we pull a room together. Eric and I have talked about taking on the built-ins over the summer, and I'd like to freshly paint the rest of the space while also replacing the trim...but we'll see. So even though it's not "complete", our living room now feels cozy, colorful, a little cooky, and well...us. 

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.