Friday, February 28, 2014

Project Add Character, Part II: The Living Room

Last November I talked about adding architectural detail to the living room, calling it "Project Add Character", and in January I talked about how confident I felt that it would be my best DIY project to date. Well, folks, the living room is now done, and I couldn't be happier with the results. This really could be my favourite project so far - it looks amazing!!


Last month I revealed the dining room wall which received the same treatment. That wall was my starter project, where I added one large section of trim moulding just to get a feel for the method and level of difficulty. If you're looking for the step by step DIY tutorial, click on the "Adding Character With Wall Moulding" link in the right sidebar of Cherish Toronto. The living room wall is a serious transformation. What do you think?

Here is the "Before" shot:
 

And here is the "After":


Since I had to work around the air vents & sprinkler I chose to place the mouldings 12" from the ceiling and left the same amount of space at the bottom for balance. I used the same placement on the dining room wall so that both spaces are at a consistent level. I want to add crown moulding eventually, but I've heard that installation can be tricky so I may just leave that to the professionals. Currently up for debate is whether or not to return the paintings to this wall, and exactly where to place them. I can't decide if I like the idea of both of them stacked vertically within the frame to the left of the television. I'm looking for second opinions on this one.

Of course there are a few things I dislike, but which I cannot change - one being the white sprinkler head poking out at the top of the wall (never paint the sprinklers), and the other being the ugly white thermostat on the right. I tried switching it out for a NEST thermostat, but my HVAC wiring wasn't compatible with that system. Boo :( Maybe this Honeywell will work.

 
 

You may have noticed that I switched out the lever door handle leading into the master bedroom for a beautiful diamond crystal knob from Emtek hardware. Shout out to my buddy Frank for getting me wholesale pricing ;) It's all in the details, like the way the brass finish of the rosette picks up on the gold leaf detail on the moulding.


The hardest part of this whole project was painting the wall and trim - first coat on Saturday, second coat on Sunday (thank goodness it only needed 2 coats). I must have been up and down the ladder 237 times getting into every nook and cranny from the door trim to the vent cover to the baseboards. I love the look of painting everything out in one colour - it adds even more height to the 9 foot ceilings and reminds me of Parisian apartments.


Since this is an open concept space, I'm happy with the way the living room & dining room relate to each other with the same treatment on both walls. Now I'm struggling with how to create flow through to the kitchen and study nook beyond. It's always something, isn't it?


*Thank you to Para Paints for supplying the paint for this project. The wall colour is Marine Bay, P5156-75, in an eggshell finish.
**Thank you to Home Depot Canada for supplying the Ryobi cordless brad nailer for this project. I'm pretty sure it would have take a lot longer without this fabulous tool.

15 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Love all the colors, they're so rich and vibrant!

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    1. Thanks, Abby. I love the warmth the colour brings to the space. I love the look of white walls in magazines and on other blogs, but I just can't do white in my own home - I'm a colour lover ;)

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  2. looks absolutely amazing! you did an awesome job!

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    1. Thanks, Julie :) I am soooo happy with the results of this project. The effort was well worth it, the new walls have so much more personality!

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  3. AMAZING. What a dramatic before and after. The wall colour and moulding really transformed the space. I love it!

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    1. So glad you like it, Amy! I wasn't sure about the dark colour, but after seeing the Before next to the After photo, I knew it was the right decision.

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  4. It looks amazing Pam- so beautiful!!!!! I'm doing that same pattern with the notched box inside a box for one of my clients and am so happy to see your project because I had it all planned in my head but seeing it actually alive is amazing- so delighted to see how gorgeous the reality is! Oh and love, love the gold detailing you did- just stunning.

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    1. Christine, thank you so much for the lovely compliment. I blended three inspiration photos into this one look, and it turned out just the way I had hoped. Isn't imagination a wonderful thing?

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  5. Wow Pam - I'm super impressed and completely jealous of your space! You should be so very proud of it. I now want to add moulding to my space ;)

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    1. Thanks, Michelle, that is so nice of you to say! This is definitely one of those projects that is worth the effort!! There are a lot of steps, but it is relatively simple, so I would highly recommend giving this DIY a try.

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  6. fabulous work Pam!! Love your new place and how dramatic it looks + your attention to details! BRAVO!!

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  7. Wow! Adding the moulding made such a big, beautiful difference. I love your dark walls. Such a lovely space you've created.

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  8. Wow its amazing!!! what a beautiful living room I like the color combination.

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  9. OH. EM. GEE. Dude, this is so awesome, I love love love the colour and mouldings. What a transformation!

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