Dining Room Refresh

I've been planning to repaint the dining room for a while now. The first time around I used flat paint which shows every scuff and smear.  After five years of wear and tear the walls were looking a little worn.  Despite my best efforts I couldn't get the walls clean.  So I decided to repaint with satin paint.  And now that I'm four months pregnant seemed like the best time to paint, haha!  I figured I'd better get it done before I start working on the nursery!!  :)

So after a pow wow with my sister about paint colors (she painted her bedroom and bathroom a beautiful green that I love) I went off to Lowe's to get some new green paint.  It's barely different from the original color (Bayou Shade by Olympic).  The new color is a bit darker and has a bit more yellow in it.  It's called Jekyll Crane Cottage Green by Valspar.

I blasted through the project in one day by prepping the room a week ahead of time.  I cleaned the room from top to bottom and even washed my drapes and the rods, too.  They were filthy.  I think all the spiders that don't live in the garage live behind the drapes in the dining room.  Ick!  I vacuumed the ceiling and walls and trim before starting to paint, too.  No more cat fur and spiderwebs!

I rolled on the first coat, did the trim work against the ceiling and the baseboards, and then rolled a second coat.  I only did one coat on the trim because I am lazy and they tell pregnant people not to climb ladders. ;) It looks good anyway!

Here is the result:

I took these photos with my new Canon Rebel that Michael got me for Christmas.  I'm still learning how to use it, but it's really nice! :)

I decided to ditch the burgundy accents I've had in here for the past eight years and go for something lighter and brighter and more akin to the rest of the house... blue.  :)

Since I got new curtains in the living room (reveal coming soon) I thought I might try the white linen ones in the dining room for a while and see how I liked them.  The cream floral curtains were nice, but these go with the rest of the house better.  I'd really like to make some new drapes for this room that are a bit less "white."  But that will have to wait until after the baby's room is done!  :)

And while I was at it, I stole a bunch of accessories and artwork from the den.  This print was my new addition to the den last year, but we have since put a TV in front of it so it needed a new home.  It's certainly more inviting than the two little dinky art prints I had on this wall before.  

I think it looks really nice with the paint color and it flows with the adjacent living room color scheme as well.  

I'm really enjoying the fresh new look and since we just got a snowstorm, everything outside is bright, bright, bright.  Makes for good photos! ;)

Here is a final look at the before and after transformation (in which you can't even tell I've painted, haha!)

                     Before:                                                                      After:

I'll be back soon with an update in the living room!  Stay tuned!