This post is long overdue. We actually had this work done in July, (by the fabulous Jay Henderson!) and I am just now getting around to photographing it and blogging about it.

Don’t get me wrong, I was superrr excited about the way things turned out and couldn’t wait to show it off! But, maybe that’s why I just sat back and enjoyed it all being finished for a while before I dove into the pictures and blog posts.

But here it is, our “Going Gray” downstairs makeover.

First, we hung new light fixtures to provide some more light to our downstairs and glam it up a bit.

Then, we had to pick a paint color. This was TOUGH! We started with looking at taupe-ier colors, then we focused on light grays, but I kept being drawn to dramatic dark colors. I looked through my Pinterest boards of interior design that I love and sure enough dark, dark, and more dark rooms.

People warned me that a dark room would make the space feel small, dark and cramped. Well, our downstairs is small, no amount of white paint in the world will change that. And, I felt like white walls didn’t do anything for the (lack of) natural light, because you could see dark shadows in every nook and cranny.

So, I went with my gut and we went with a dark gray. We did the dining room and living room walls in Glidden Seal Gray- a nice clean gray without a lot of brown, blue or green undertones. To contrast that and add some depth to the room, we painted above the cabinets and the wall behind the stairs a lighter gray- Behr Granite Gray, lightened 50%. I’m so happy with the colors that we chose- I think it’s unique, cozy and has a touch of drama without seeming dark and drab at all!

Since between the cabinets and counters was really shadowy and wasn’t cooperating well with any colors that we liked, we went ahead and did something fun! A chalkboard back splash! I love it!

We also hung shelves above the buffet and some new mirrors.

So without any further ado, here it is: (forgive my lack of skills with my DLSR- I’m working on it!)

(So glad I didn’t sell these antique cane bottom chairs!)

Well, now I’m off to clean up dinner and spend some quality chill time on that big comfy couch!