Painted Paneling, Part II

A while ago we showed you a look at how our painting project turned out in the first half of our upstairs here http://livinginthelandoflakes.blogspot.com/2009/01/painted-paneling.html. Now, here's a peek at how the other half turned out.

Before, with the original wood paneling:







After:

Frozen Falls

Today we braved the frigid temps to check out what happens to Minnehaha Falls during the winter. We only lasted about 10 minutes at the Falls before we were officially frozen, but took a few photos to share:

Painted Paneling

Here's a look back at the upstairs of our story-and-a-half home.

When we looked at the home while it was on the market, the upstairs bedroom was staged like this:



It was kind of cute, but not our style. We tried. For about 4 or 5 months. The paneling just wasn't our thing. I'm sure it was awesome in the 1950s (right?), and it looks OK in our basement, but it didn't feel like our style in a bedroom. At all.

Our solution was to paint the paneling instead of ripping it out and replacing it with drywall. Before we got started we cleared out the room. Here's what we had to work with:







Regarding the photo above, we have no idea what this little "cove" was originally intended for.

To start this project, we had to prime the paneling. This step was fun because we started to get a preview of what the paneling would look like with paint on it.







We were hoping we could get away with one coat of primer on the paneling before we painted. Unfortunately, the stain on the paneling was bleeding through the primer so for good measure we applied another coat of primer.

Then we used a semi-gloss white paint on the primed paneling. Again, this took two coats for a really finished look. We were thrilled at how much lighter and brighter the room started to look.



The really fun part was applying a color to the white ceiling and angled walls. We picked a color outside of our normal comfort zone... Here's a shot of the color while the 2nd coat was drying.



The ceiling and angled walls took 3 coats of paint.

After all the paint was dry and the room was cleaned up, it was time to bring in some furniture, bedding, and other accessories. We know we still need to add more to the room (lamps, window treatments, and another dresser), but here's the result:

Before & After: Living Room & Dining Room

We have slowly been making changes in our house since we moved in mid-August. Our first project was the living room and dining room. We probably wouldn't have changed much right away, but the previous owners left lots of holes in the walls from pictures and the paint was chipped in a few places. We didn't have any leftover paint to touch it up so it turned into a complete do-over. Ultimately, it was a good thing we painted it. Looking back at the "before" photos, we can tell that we really neutralized that harsh mustard color into something easier on the eyes.

Living Room - Before (these photos are from when the home was on the market with the previous owners' belongings):


Living Room - After

Please excuse Max and his glowing demon eyes in this photo. He's just mad that he's not the mantle accessory anymore...





As you can see, Max would not get out of the way - so here's his Glamour Shot:


Dining Room - Before


Dining Room - After






Front Entry (no "before" photo)


We still have more accessorizing to do in these areas, but we'll probably move along to one of the bedrooms next.

Weekend in Chicago (October 24 - 26, 2008)

We took a road trip to Chicago in late October to celebrate a few things: our first anniversary, Nick's birthday, Erin's birthday, and a belated birthday for Zac.

Friday night in Chicago: Becca, Melissa, & Erin


Josh & Zac


Us at the bean in Millenium Park on Saturday: Josh, Melissa, Becca, & Nick


Millenium Park






Hazy skyline on Saturday


Zac, Becca, & Nick on Saturday night for dinner at Zac's place


Where we stayed downtown


On the Mile




Us having lunch on Sunday before heading back to MN.

The North Shore

This weekend we took a trip to the North Shore of Lake Superior in hopes of seeing some great fall colors.



We stayed in Larsmont, MN, just NE of Duluth, at Larsmont Cottages.



We arrived late Friday night after a three hour drive north of the Twin Cities. We settled in at Larsmont and mapped out our course for Saturday. On Saturday morning we woke up fairly early to grab breakfast and head to Gooseberry Falls and then over to the Split Rock Lighthouse.

Gooseberry Falls were beautiful. We hiked for several hours along all of the falls and took lots of photos.









After we finished hiking Gooseberry Falls, we drove out to Split Rock Lighthouse to check it out. You have to do some pretty serious hiking to get some neat photos of the lighthouse.









We headed back to the Twin Cities early Sunday morning due to rainy weather after a quick stop in Duluth.

We took lots of additional photos, which can be viewed here: North Shore Photo Album