So sinister. Anywho, Jason and I  and his brother Jeremy finally finished up the drywall in the living room a little over a week ago. This is what I did while they worked. We had planned to have our party the next weekend and I was having panic attacks thinking it’d never be finished. There was an excessive amount of dust on the floor from the mud being sanded smooth and our furniture was strewn among different rooms. Even Jeremy didn’t really think we’d get it done on time. But that was our deal: no room, no party.

 That’s Jeremy, Jason’s brother, helping him mud. That’s the “new” couch the school gave us! Hooray for no more butt numbness!

So we worked. The days leading up to the party were insane. We were always hungry. We were too busy to eat. When we did there were midnight runs to Taco Bell or Whataburger. We covered all the furniture that we couldn’t move and sanded on Jason’s lunch breaks. Poor boy didn’t eat lunch most days the week of the party.  After that, we vacuumed the room, swept the room, and mopped four times. The dust is finally gone.(I just found some on the side tables.) And our floors are really clean. But we finally got it finished. Through all of the dust, painting, sanding, moving, driving around, and sweating (LOTS of sweating), we finally did it. So without further ado I give you the many before and afters of our living room.

BEFORE: 

We affectionately called this stage “Rich’s Asylum”.

AFTER: The hutch you see at the end of the room was also given to us by the school. It needs a good sanding and some paint but it’s an excellent piece to fill that awkward space by the windows. I’ll be sure to post a before and after on that piece once I get to it!

We covered that 80s couch with a suede two-piece slipcover and we love it. It looks so much better than our futon and it’s a great in-between until we can afford a new couch. I love that Mexican blanket! An old purchase from a mission trip there.

BEFORE:

That’s the wood behind the wood paneling I’ve talked about. In some places it was in great shape and looked Anthropologie-ish, but other places had bad water damage and were rotting away like above the fireplace here. There was also a layer of some kind of cheesecloth fabric underneath the paneling and what seemed like billions of nails. Once we figured those things out leaving this wood up was not an option. So drywall it was!

AFTER: I decided early on that I wanted to paint the brick to match the trim. It wasn’t bad brick but it wouldn’t blend well with our new colors. It turned out better than I could have imagined! I am in love with the fireplace now. I can’t wait for the winter! We still plan to paint that concrete hearth black to make a nice contrast with the white.  My sister made those adorable pompoms. Tutorial here!

I am so incredibly happy with the way it turned out. We wanted to quit so many times but it really paid off and I am so proud of us for doing that together! It’s such a huge accomplishment and I love showing it off. We still have some top trim to hang. We tried hanging it before the party but since we put up drywall it doesn’t fit anymore.

I still want to do some things to it decorating wise, like, hanging up a big picture collage above the couch to fill that dead space. I’d really love to hang a deer head  in the middle of that picture collage. Just have to sell Jason on that idea first!

So, what do you think? Happy Tuesday!