We have gradually been repainting our house ~ last fall we had the entry, living room, staircase, guest bedroom and main bathroom re done ~ the goal in doing this is to not only freshen the walls & trim but to lighten up the rooms as well. We have so liked the new colour (Benjamin Moore – Muslin – CC110) that this fall we have had the great room redone with the same colour. The dining room/family room part of the great room was quite a dark colour so I was somewhat nervous to go so much lighter, as I thought it  would change the calm & cozy feeling considerably but I have been wanting to create a lighter, softer look. So, with baited breath we watched as it changed from this ….

to this ….

and the scariest of all…

and finally to this….

The photo above of the new colour looks as though there is a pink undertone but there really isn’t – the quality of the lighting is affecting the colour I think. I have a couple of more shots to share with you that may make the change more evident.

We are very happy with the results ~ while the great room has become much brighter it has retained the cozy feeling it had and continues to provide us with the calm environment we love so much.

Putting the great room back together has been good, prompting me to move some of our decorative pieces around and start decorating for Christmas. My theme for the whole season this year is based on keeping things simple ~ so decorating the house has been no exception. I like a natural look with just a hint of glitz ….

We were really needing a new table runner and place mats and I couldn’t find anything in the stores that fit the look I was after ~ so I went to Fabricland to see what I could find to sew some ~ I used to sew all the time so thought that I could do something as simple as this! Low and behold, this boiled wool caught my eye ~ no sewing necessary, just cut straight lines and they were done! It fulfilled my need to be creative, was quick and very cost effective. A 6′ table runner, 12 place mats and a table runner for the coffee table ~ all for $48.00! Mind you the wool was on sale half price that weekend, I was just tickled!

I will do another post later on the change to the kitchen ~ it is minor in that most of the walls are covered with cabinets but the ceiling and wall that were repainted look great. We are having our staff party here on Friday night so the kitchen will be all nice & tidied up for a photo shoot!