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Goodbye to Swine and HogI dream of finished rooms like this one from Cove Interiors via Queensland Homes!

I dream of “finished” spaces and finally, on this very day, we have painters and contractors in the house! Not for the kitchen project, yet, but for other important rooms like our living room, dining room, family room, office, Luke’s room and the staircase.

I’m happy with any progress at this point and the updates to these rooms are going to make a big difference in the feel and function of our life here. If you only like after pics, feel free to move on from this post and wait for the prettier afters that will be soon to follow. But for those of you who understand how long it takes to get a house from start to finish and want to celebrate this momentous day with me, I’m glad you are here for this update.

As you can imagine, I’m so ready to say good-bye to swine and hog colored paint. It is true, ridding a home from the presence of swine seems to be the never-ending story of my life. It follows me everywhere. Don’t be upset if you love swine colors, they might work well at your home but they just don’t bring me joy here.

Goodbye to Swine and Hog

See the swine ceiling? It’s time for it to go.

Goodbye to Swine and Hog

Our living room (our new daybed, a test painted wall and the newly painted fireplace!)

When we bought this house it had several shades of white, tan and yellow (and even red) paint colors throughout, including a swine-ish mauve hued ceiling in the living room. Because I really like to make a house my own, I’m pretty excited to see these spaces all freshened up. Something about new paint really just makes a house feel like yours, doesn’t it?

Our main rooms will be white, a much brighter but still warm hue than the several different shades we started with. We tested other neutral color options to be certain what would look best, but due to the bright natural light in our home, this shade of white is the only color that enhanced the space and didn’t make it look washed out or dingy. That is a case in point why waiting and living with colors matters so much. We also have new bamboo window shades to install which will really finish off these rooms nicely!

My office and Luke’s room will have different paint colors! I’ll show you those soon in separate posts.

Goodbye to Swine and Hog

Dining room – removing doorbell, adding planking and painting walls one consistent color

We also are adding a planked wall to our dining room to cover up the doorbell niche (my apologies to anyone who loved that niche) and my newly relocated office in the lower level will be getting a brand new wall and door to make it an official room.

Goodbye to Swine and Hog

The lower level family room room looked great from this angle with the white brick fireplace and a new chair as a great starting point, but we still had all the swine walls surrounding it (see the chaos below) so it will be fun to have a clean slate in this room, too.

Goodbye to Swine and Hog

Next steps are a new sofa we ordered will be delivered and hopefully new flooring at some point, too. The opposite end of this room is where my newly created office will be, but I’ll have to show and explain the changes in a separate post.

Soon we’ll redirect our attention to the kitchen remodel (yay) and while I’ve been so anxious to get to that project, it is pretty thrilling to know that this very week contractors will transform so much of the rest of our house and we’ll be able to finally set up each corner!

For those of you wondering about our side yard project, that’s a saga all on its own, but rest assured, there will be lots more progress and afters to come!

Meanwhile, today I’m over at Proverbs31 sharing about Make Room for What You Love with a giveaway so you can check out my post here!

25 Comments

  1. Christine

    I love that shot of your living room. The daybed/couch looks very inviting and is saying “please come over with a good book and lay on me for awhile.” Can’t wait to see the progress with your rooms.

  2. Jayne

    I had tolaugh at your characterization of the ceiling color! Very funny. Love your paint choices.

  3. Terry

    Do you mind sharing what brand and color of white paint you’re using? There are so many choices and I’m having trouble finding the right one.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      There really are so many whites, it is hard to decide! It is surprising how many variations there are. It is so important to try them on your walls because each one will read differently depending on the type and level of natural light in your space as well as the other elements in your room. I’ll for sure do posts to explain new color choices as they are completed, but we have landed on two whites so far in this house. Glidden Swan White and Benjamin Moore Simply White. The Swan White is more of a gray white but reads as perfectly warm white in our house. It is really lovely in our “darker side” of the house, definitely feels fresh and light. We love it, my daughter is using it in her townhouse as well. Simply White is brighter white that works really well in our brighter room. Trial and error but we are pleased so far! :)

  4. sandyc

    Not used to getting a post from you at 2:00 in the afternoon so had to go warm up a cup of coffee to replicate my usual morning routine. I’m so excited to watch your progress. Besides constant wonderful inspiration, you practice good principles: Waiting and living with colors is critical, and it’s amazing how often even name designers don’t communicate this to their clients or at least don’t explain to their clients why the client’s color choice isn’t going to make them happy in the end. What I enjoy so much about following your projects is that, even though your palette is white and mine is cream, there is always inspiration.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      I guess I’m keeping you on your toes with an afternoon coffee break instead! :) I’m so glad you enjoy the posts, it’s a joy to share the inspiration and even the slow progress :) with ladies like you who enjoy the things I do!

  5. Sandy

    Love your living room, but what a surprise to see your “swine” ceiling! I know how nice a fresh painted room is, we just had painters here on Monday and Tuesday to paint our entry, kitchen, dining, family room, laundry and staircase. With 20 ft. Ceilings in the family room there was no way we were going to attempt that. And the bonus was they finished it in two days instead of the week we anticipated! It all looks so fresh and clean. I know how much joy you will get out of having your rooms done. Enjoy!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      How awesome to have had painters at your home, that must feel wonderful! I will indeed be happy with newly painted walls. (I thought you might get a kick out of that swine ceiling!)

  6. Jackey

    I just love all your posts and enjoy following and learning!
    Thank you

  7. KATHYSUE

    I understand the waiting process only too well. You always do such great job in making a house your home, I look forward to seeing your progress. I take my time to do any changes so it is few and far between progress post for me too. I think you have done a lot already and I know the upcoming projects will be spectacular. I just posted about some new lighting we got for our great room, on light fixture at a time. Keep up the great work and attitude Melissa!

  8. Kathy

    Love following along with your progress on making your new home yours. Received your coloring book today in the mail, can’t wait to get started on that.

  9. Cheryl

    I am following each of your “new house” posts with keen interest. I love that you’re sharing the process and not simply the finished projects! We recently moved from the farmhouse we lived in for 35 years (!!) into an all-on-one-level house, and I have been inspired by many of your thoughts about setting up a new home….like living in a house a while to see how it functions…like being flexible and tweaking your plans. Thanks for the inspiration!!

    Good luck with your “swine” transformation! (With us, it’s mint green.) :)

  10. Cheryl

    I am following each of your “new house” posts with keen interest. I love that you’re sharing the process and not simply the finished projects! We recently moved from the farmhouse we lived in for 35 years (!!) into an all-on-one-level house, and I have been inspired by many of your thoughts about setting up a new home….like living in a house a while to see how it functions…like being flexible and tweaking your plans. Thanks for the inspiration!!

    Good luck with your “swine” transformation! (With us, it’s mint green.) :)

  11. Sarah

    Hi! What’s the name of your chair’s blue color swatch on Wayfair? Love it!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Hi Sarah! Thank you! It’s called Bryant Calypso Textured Slub! It’s such a fun color. I believe you can order free samples online which I’d highly recommend to be sure you will love it in your space! :)

      • anne

        I came here to ask this exact question. Thanks, Sarah and Melissa!

  12. Carolyn

    I know what swine is, but what’s “hog”? And what is a doorbell niche? I, too, love seeing the before and the in-process…and the occasional puppy shot.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Ha, well hog is the affectionate term one of my daughters used to describe a deeper version of swine. :-D hahaha. I’m glad you enjoy the process, too. And puppy shots are the best!

      • Carolyn

        I saw a feature on “clay pink” in House Beautiful yesterday…I thought it looked suspiciously close to Swine. Or maybe Hog.

  13. Maggie

    So happy for you!!! I’m hating the swine here too!

  14. Carol O'Malley

    Ok, I’m feeling pretty dumb. Please give me some examples of “swine”. I’m looking at paint colors for our laundry room and main living area and I certainly want to avoid swine and hog. I think I’m the only one who doesn’t know what colors everyone refers to when talking about “swine”. Thanks!!

    • Carolyn

      Look in old posts. It’s a pinkish-beigish color that Melissa must eradicate from every house she buys. Apparently former owners of houses she likes really favored this hue!

  15. Karen

    I laughed at your description of the color. It seems every time I’ve picked a color I want to be taupe, I’ve ended up with what I refer to as “pig flesh beige”. Mind if I copy your description? It still invokes the image without the gag reflex..grin.. Love the way your house is taking shape. Have been a fan for a few years but this is my first comment. All the best!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Welcome, Karen! Thank you for your comment! I laughed at Pig Flesh Beige. You may definitely use my description, it’s just not a color one really hopes for, is it?

 

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