The Johnson Journey

Friday, March 12, 2010

New Look

The previous owners of our home definitely had different taste than us....not that their style was wrong, but just, *ahem*, different than ours. And, not to say that our sense of style is all that great, but *you know*, just different from theirs.

For example, we didn't like the bright-mint-green they had chosen for the walls (and the ceiling) of the kitchen or the robin's-egg-cotton-candy-blue they had chosen for some of the living room and hallway walls. (I made those names up, obviously...not sure of their official names.)

Many of these walls were repainted just as we moved in, or shortly after.

However, some colors have managed to stick around for a while.

If you have visited our home, you have most likely used our downstairs powder room.
You would know, then, that this room was quite *loud*...

with bright & shiny red walls,
hardwood floor that is painted black , and
even a black toilet...
(yes, i said black toilet).

I mean honestly....what bathroom is complete without a black toilet?

This room definitely had a personality! I once had a little boy visit, use this bathroom, and exclaim "Mommy, I can't see my pee!" Yes, folks, it is true. You can't, in fact, see your pee (or anything for that matter) in a black toilet.

Anyway, making over the bathroom in its entirety (stripping and staining the wood floors, replacing the toilet, etc.) is not a project we feel like undergoing any time soon (or, in reality, will ever feel like doing), but we did decide that it was high time to change the color.

So, being that my aunt is a professional (and wonderful) painter, we hired her for the day, and she replaced those high-gloss-blood-red walls with a much more subtle (yet still colorful) green. "Urban Nature" by Benjamin Moore to be exact.

While she was here, she also repainted over three walls in our living/dining room. She painted them blue. Yes, they already were blue, so there is not too crazy of a change, but we wanted to freshen it up a bit.

Bathroom color BEFORE (I call it "Blood Red"):

Bathroom color AFTER ("Urban Nature"):

Blue BEFORE (not sure what it was called):

Blue AFTER ("Charlotte Slate"):

A transition shot, so you can see the difference.
The lighter color is the new one.
Of course, it dried a lot darker than it looks here.

Thanks, Aunt Deb for doing a fantastic job. And, thanks Mom, for helping out as well!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Outside...Finally!

Wow, it felt so wonderful to play outside for a bit today. It was a *bit* wet, and quite muddy, but who cares! I took the kids to the park after naps today, and it was a great change from being stuck inside. I brought some towels to dry off slides and swings, and we were good to go.

Off we go!