refresh

After testing many, many colors and having paint swatches painted on the walls for months, I finally got around to painting my living room this week. Basically, it looks exactly the same as before, just lighter and brighter. I love it. (It's Canvas Luggage by Behr. You can see the old, darker color here.)

My house is not a gray wall house or a white wall house. There is not a lot of natural light built in to these desert houses (it keeps them cooler), so having a color that moves the light around the room is important. I found this post by Emily Henderson very helpful.

While I was painting, I filled all of the nail holes, and I can't bring myself to rehang any of the old pictures. I also removed some furniture and paired down our book collection. This room is where we spend most of our time, and I want it to feel clean and spare. I dream of replacing those wobbly Ikea bookcases with built-ins someday.

I always get the urge to freshen our house in the fall. It's so much easier to be motivated when it's cool outside! We've had the top of our dutch door open all week. The fresh air is totally worth the mosquitos that come pouring in.