Wood purists, avert your eyes.

Here is what the family room looked like before two gallons of Snowbound White paint came into town. (Disclaimer: this is a realtor picture of the house before we bought it.  That nasty couch is not mine nor ever was.)

Yes, that's a bowling pin on the shelf.  We found it in the storage room when we moved in.  Its old and distressed, and I think I like it.

Isn't it shockingly brighter?  It seemed to take forever.  It is just overwhelming to cover all that oak.  Oak has such a heavy grain, so it takes a lot of paint to cover it all.  The walls got a nice coat of Sea Salt, and it looks so great.  It is cloudy today, but when the sun shines it looks even better.  I am waiting for some pillows to show up and then I'll finish accessorizing the walls, bookshelves and mantel.  That's where I get stuck.  We'll replace the fan with a light since the only lights in the room are the two spotlights over the fireplace.  We are also going to change the fireplace surround.  I think real granite on the hearth in a gray and maybe gray penny tiles around the surround.  Then I will spray paint the insert black soon.  Here's a picture of gray penny tiles.

We'll see what I end up deciding.  I don't like to make decisions.  I'm going to have to suck it up and make some decisions quick though.  We had a contractor here last night to see about fixing the floors and doing some work in the kitchen, bath and laundry.  I'm excited but lay awake at night thinking about all the decisions that lay ahead.  Good thing we didn't build a house.  I may not have survived.