Home makeover

Painting the family room is a project that has long been in the works and marks the beginning of home renovations leading to selling our house. Since the day we've moved in to our lovely abode, the walls have been brightly colored, showcasing our crazy Busbee personality. The kitchen is Afternoon Tea, a bright golden orange. The master bedroom is Irish Moss, a deep earthy green that we selected after a trip to Ireland. The family room, shown below, was Cadet blue – a more saturated hue of Carolina blue.

The colors are energetic and exciting, but just don't make the cut when putting a house on the market. Buyers want neutral palettes.

In the family room we have camel brown upholstered couches and natural honey brown wood furniture and flooring. We needed a muted color on most of the walls of the house. My mother-in-law (Debbie) and I selected a pale, smoky blue called Orchid Ash. I wanted one accent wall in the family room where we could showcase family photos. Debbie and I hunted down a deep chocolate brown called Roasted Sepia.

With the help of my very dear friends Pam, Rick, and Misty, the family and I painted our hearts out over the course of two evenings, while my mom (Mimi) watched baby Caleb. We painted 2 to 3 coats of both the brown and the blue and also painted all the trimwork bright white.

One room down...countless more to go. Thank you to everyone who selflessly helped make this room come together.