Priming & Painting Dark Red Walls To Lighten Things Up

When Melissa sent us some fairly dramatic before and afters, we simply had to share the eye candy. It is remarkable what a can of paint (and some primer in this case) can do. Here is her letter:

Could these living room colors have been any more dark and pukey?!

Primer, three coats of paint and some wobbly ladder-climbing later, the dark and dreary was gone. Now, fresh, crisp aqua walls flood the space with light! Beechwood laminate floors gave the room a modern, clean feel and were well worth the investment! Then, I was browsing in Cary Street in Richmond (perhaps we crossed paths and did not even know it!) one weekend and fell in love with EQ3!!! I ordered the sofa, loveseat and lively/funky lounge chair from there. The tables, fan, screen-curtains, art & floating shelves came from Ikea. The rugs, lamp and accessories are from Target. I have since updated the pillows with some dupioni silk in neutral shades and brought in some pops of hot pink that give the room some lively lively. The room has skylights so plenty of natural light makes the color on the walls transform throughout the day. It is a lively room and consistently gets the wow-factor when friends come over for the first time. We are consistently dreaming up new ideas, but perhaps our wallets will thank us if we take some money-saving advice and simply swap things out from other rooms when we need a swift change!- Melissa

What a difference, eh? We enjoy the lighter and brighter wall color. Bravo Melissa- and thanks so much for sending your before and afters our way!