Hope Street Renovations: Living Room

The Before, 70's laminate panelling and all

This is what our living room has been like for the last 2 years.  It was functional, and we enjoyed it, even with the fake wood panels and stained carpet.  But we were also happy to get to update it a bit!  We attempted our first room renovation in July.  There was a lot of ups and downs, and I fully admire those who are pro DIYers, designers, etc.  Those that can just attack a project with confidence awe me!  David and I are NOT handy by any means.  But thanks to those who live near us (Thanks Willis'!) we made it through.  Replaced the floors, added a dining area, painted, removed and replaced molding, had a scare that we were infested with black mold,  replaced some sub flooring, and now are in love with our space.  So thankful for our new living/ dining room!

The Fireplace- super easy and one of my favorite parts.  We just watered down some grey/cream paint and brushed it on with a rag.  It took maybe an hour and we were done.  Super easy idea for a facelift for an old brick fireplace.  The wooden frame was a find my mom had gotten from a yard sale and never had made it into what project she was thinking for it.  I like having it as a focal point because it reminds me of her and her creativity.

David likes things that look like they are "as old as France".  He says the fireplace reminds him of things he was around growing up, looking ancient and cool :)

The floors, the fireplace, the new paint, all together

Whole Room Pics:

We get great light in here- now I just have to figure out what to do with our lovely cane/brass/wood fan....

The Dining Area: 

This wall was kind of bare, so I did a gallery wall (below)

The kids helped me pick everything out from Hobby Lobby.  Sadly, I think it is their favorite store.  They did a great job!  So really, it was a group effort :)

This wash stand used to be in our foyer places in homes when I was younger.  Super old and well-made.  It makes me happy to have it here :)

The Floors:
We got an AWES deal on the laminate floors.  I originally was thinking grey-ish old oak looking floors.  But these were .69 cents a square foot.  That price was hard to argue with!  And at first I was second guessing them, but I actually like them much more than a grey.  They really brighten up the room and even have grey streaks and "knots" in them.

As I mentioned above, we had a mold scare.  Turns out it was most likely a fire, since there was a lot of charring on top of the sub flooring.  Maybe a Christmas tree fire?  But the black was just burnt wood, and not water damage.  There was no leaking near any walls or the fireplace.  We had several people come and check it out to make sure!  David replaced the bulk of them with a new piece of sub floor.  And can I say that I loved pulling up all the carpet pad staples with pliers- my favorite part!

A lot scarier than it looks!