Courage

Today’s post about being courageous in your own home is inspired by this post from Under the Sycamore about the floors in her bedroom. I can’t post the picture, but you can see it on my pinterest here, and remember to check out her original post for more eye candy and a how-to!!

Okay, you looked at it? Great. Now we can get to the point.

Get this: she ripped out all the carpet, evened out the plywood that lay underneath, added a few coats of paint, stenciled a design, and sealed the whole thing. I think it looks absolutely incredible, and all the project took was a few days and less than $100. I’d love to do this as an alternative to carpet. I mean, hardwood floors are what I’m totally digging right now (and probably always will–they are timeless, durable, and go with everything) but they can cost a pretty penny. So, in the meantime–Ashley had the right idea–take a risk and the payoff can be huge! I’d love to recreate the look of sealed concrete in this way.

A “risky” thing that has really paid off around here is the yellow paint in the living room that stops a couple feet short from the ceiling. My genius mom came up with the grand idea in order to save our backs (ceilings are approximately 12 feet high?) and to save almost a whole can of paint (taking into account the strip goes all the way around and would require two coats.

I haven’t seen another house with it so I know that I stand out. In fact, painting this way lets the true color of the green show up better, and it’s one of the first things people notice and comment on when they come over. It wasn’t as easy as painting the whole wall–we had to meticulously measure and level our painter’s tape, and I wouldn’t have been able to consider it without my rockstar mom (can you tell I love her?). I definitely think it paid off  and hope the next renters to move in love it as much as I do and decide to keep it this way.

Basically, what all this rambling is trying to say is, even if something seems risky, if you stay true to your design sense, more often than not it will become the think you love the most.

Have you tried anything risky in your home? Did it pay off, or not so much?