I showed in a previous post that our living room went through several changes during our first 3 years here. We took it from these:
to this:
By now, I felt so exhausted from all the extra work on this room (and every other room) to ever think about doing anything more. This felt perfect! New furniture (thanks, Grandma!) made it feel even cozier. I thought it would stay like this for a long time. That was in 2011. By 2013 Chris was very impatient to fix the room. It was not by any means finished in his view, and he knew what it needed: wainscoting and a new color. Yes, another new color. The nice warm brown didn't flow with the rest of the downstairs, so we needed something brighter. I didn't see any need for this at all, but since all the work fell on his shoulders, I told him to change whatever he wanted. In the fall of 2014, he spent a weekend remodeling the room, and now it looks like this:
Was it worth his time and energy to make this room over again? I have to admit that it was. As always, I saw no need for improvement but later I thanked my lucky stars that Chris can see more potential in a room. This last project was very cheap, with plywood he cut to be wainscoting, an old trim piece above it that he'd never used in a previous room, and leftover paint from the nearby playroom. Ripping the plaster off the wall behind the stove didn't cost a cent, but it sure made it look cool! He was going to paint the lath to match the walls, but decided to keep it natural instead. Now all the rooms here have wainscoting and bright walls. I think we're finished with the living room!!! In five years it has had too many makeovers. Well, I'm finished. Chris will probably be ready to improve it within the year.