This post was made in partnership with the Behr Paint Company, Thank you for supporting my amazing sponsors!
ROOM MAKEOVER TIME! I’m super excited about this makeover for two reasons: 1) I partnered up with Behr to try their new online paint shop BEHR® Express, where you can have paint and supplies delivered RIGHT TO YOUR DOOR! 2) I challenged myself to only spend 2 days to paint, thrift the decor, and pull it all together! The most fun part was that I could not really have a design plan, because who knows what I would find at the antique stores!
I am SO happy with how it came together, the room feels so darn cozy! Let me tell you a bit about the process!
The Before: First, this WAY before photo is how it looked when we started this renovation this Summer, since then, we painted the walls, Behr Swiss Coffee 12, and the trim, Aged Beige PPU7-09. We also ripped up the floor and added carpet. 
Picking the paint color: I knew I wanted something bold for this room, and since we had already painted the trim, I wanted a color that would complement the Aged Beige PPU7-09, plus work well with Swiss Coffee 12 because I only planned on painting part of the wall. I checked out BEHR Express and their 55-color curated palette (the colors they picked are SO GOOD, it would be hard to go wrong) and I narrowed it down to three colors: Riverdale N410-3, Iron Mountain N520-5 and NYPD N480-6. And if you have no idea on what color to pick, the website can help you find your perfect color, and even suggest coordinating trim colors. After I had my colors, I ordered their Peel & Stick samples, which are a game changer! Instead of buying paint samples, the Peel & Stick samples are great for testing a bunch of colors, and you can move them from wall-to-wall to see how they will look in different light. Check out my IG Highlight of the process @ISPYDIY! After opening it up to you all for a vote, the winner was BEHR NYPD N480-6, which I absolutely love because of the moody blue/gray vibes. I went back to BEHR Express to order a gallon, and in a couple clicks the paint plus all the painting supplies I needed were on their way to be delivered to my front door!
Painting the room: After the paint was delivered, it was go time! And the two day time limit to paint, shop for, and decorate this room started. If you were following along on @ISPYDIY, you saw that I played around with how high up to paint, and changed my mind 3-4 times, until I landed on painting about ¾ up the 9ft walls and adding trim and hooks to hang pictures. I just LOVE how it accentuates the high ceilings in this room!
Decorating the room: I challenged myself to thrift as much as possible for this room in one day. The things I ordered ahead of time where the bed, bedding and pillows, because I have not had a ton of luck getting a vintage bed that did not need repairs, and bedding is one thing I don’t buy second hand. My first antique stop was SUCH a score! It was like all the thrifting stars aligned and I got the desk, chair, rugs, stool and map art, all for about $200! I was honestly pretty set after that haul, so I ran home and shipped my own stash of thrifted items including mirror and gold lamp from Goodwill, and the little bench I found at an antique store months ago.
The beautiful vase on the desk and bells hanging came from a local shop URSA, made by local women, so not technically thrifted, but I love supporting Milwaukee women doing amazing things! I brought back the little bowl on the side table from our recent trip to Croatia. And all the books and vases came from my thrifted collection. I will admit, the little lamp on the desk is from Target, I saw it a while back and loved the size, and when I started decorating I knew the more modern shape would keep the vintage desk from looking too dated. More after the break!
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It’s true, I got a nearly white couch with two black hair dogs (who both shed A LOT…looking at you Big Papi). I know, it’s an insane idea. My hub, who usually goes along with my design ideas, thought so too. But I have been obsessed with the GABA sofa from Article for awhile now, and I was determined to make it work! Our livingroom has been a design head-scratcher, the dilemma: This room is our only gathering place, we don’t have a den or family room in the house, so it needs to be comfortable for movie nights, and a place for friends and family to gather for the holidays, but it’s also the first room you see when you walk through the front door, so I want it to look stylish!
The GABA sectional solved all those problems because 1) It’s super deep for cuddling 2) The low height meant it could wrap around without blocking the view of the fireplace 3) The light color would keep the sectional from looking too heavy in the room.
I debate between the light and dark version for a whole week, and even reached out to two of my fave bloggers Mandi and Kim (who also have the Pearl White version) to see if I was crazy for getting the light one with dogs (they both have two dog too). I got the same response, they LOVE it, but don’t let the dogs up on it. Here enters the problem: Our young pup Griff is a wild one that loves to do laps around the sectional, smooshing the back pillows while staring out the window, and every couch we have had before starts to pill immediately, which I HATE the feeling of. And Big Papi loves lounging on the couch and leaving black fur wherever he goes…
So I continued to debate, then closed my eyes and pressed ORDER on the GABA in Pearl White, and came up with a game plan that I hoped would work. I am happy to report, not only did it work, this couch has been a game changer in our home!
I know that sounds dramatic, but getting the nearly white couch meant we really took re-training the dog seriously, which has been SO positive.
I’ll start with what steps we took with the pups, and then I will “ohhh” and “ahhh” over HOW MUCH I love the couch and how it was the perfect piece to the livingroom puzzle
Tips to keeping the pups off the couch:
-The day it arrived we covered every inch of it with blankets so it would not get destroyed during the training period, we kept it covered for 2 weeks.
-Our pup know the “OFF” command, but only after they have been laying on the bed or couch for awhile. So we became diligent about saying “OFF” the second they would jump up.
-We create alternate places for them to lay, I set up dog beds by the foot of the couch. And we also DO allow them to lay on the ottoman, which we keep covered with a blanket at all times, plus you can take off the cushion cover and wash if need be.
-Consistency was key, everytime they jumped up we said “OFF” or directed them to sit on the ottoman, and would pet them from there. After about two weeks it just clicked, and when we took off the blankets they would only sit on the ottoman (which is super cute when they both try to squeeze on it). And Griff treats the couch like hot lava now, which is a huge difference from when it was his racetrack for laps.
-Our pups are far from perfect, and will slip once and awhile, but we have been SO impressed with the fabric. After a muddy paw situation I just wiped with warm water and no marks at all!
Now let me tell you a few other reasons I would totally recommend this couch:
-It super deep, which makes it really comfortable for lounging and movie watching (there is always a race for the corner seat!) but it still looks SUPER stylish.
-It’s also amazing for gathering, we have friends over and so many can fit comfortably, I can’t wait to host for the holidays!
-Every other couch I’ve had that have pieces that click together have been so annoying because they are constantly coming apart, I swore I would never get another one, but it’s pretty standard on sectionals. And I am happy to report that after the moving guys clicked the pieces into place, it has not moved or pulled apart AT ALL! Such a relief, because I hated when my butt would start sinking into the gap.
-All the cushion covers come off, so if there was spill or paw problem I would be able to launder them, which is a huge relief.
-Also just wanted to note that the couch is not a pure white, it’s a heathered super light gray which is just the slightest bit more forgiving than white.
-And it’s low to the ground, which at first, I was nervous when the movers set up the bases because I thought they were too low, but once the back cushions were added, it was perfect, and looked great in the room because you could enter through the front door and not feel totally cut off from the livingroom.
-I choose the Gaba left modular sectional plus an additional Gaba armless chair module to create a sectional that would fit the livingroom.
Let me know if you have any additional questions!
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