Before and After: A Dark, Dated Living Room Is Transformed, Thanks to the Perfect Shade of White Paint

When it comes to reviving a dark room, it can be easy to feel discouraged. It’s not exactly simple to just install brand-new windows. Sometimes, though, all it takes is a fresh coat of the perfect white paint.

That was the case for blogger Liz Dineen when it came time to redo her living room. After purchasing her dream home in 2019, she began renovating it to make it more of her own. “The house was built in 2000 and I definitely think it needed a revamp,” Liz says. 

“It was very dark in there and very yellow in the beginning,” Liz says. But the living room did have a lot of great features to work with, including large arched windows and a beautiful brick fireplace. Although the windows let in a lot of natural light, the red brick and original paint color on the walls and ceiling made the room feel darker. 

So with the help of her contractors and a painter, Liz completely transformed her living room with white paint. She used Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White in every room, alternating between sheens depending on the surface. She chose eggshell for the walls, semi-gloss for the moldings, and flat for the ceilings. 

For the real showstopper, the brick fireplace, she went with Sherwin-Williams’ Loxon Masonry paint (she stuck with Pure White) for the exterior, and then painted the inside of the fireplace with high-heat spray paint. This gave the formerly dark and cave-like fireplace a light and airy feel.

Then came the finishing touches to modernize the rest of the room, including a new light fixture, mirrors to further brighten the space, and a palm tree to complete the living room’s new breezy, coastal vibes. 

“I really like what we did with the space by making it feel very bright and airy,” Liz says.

If you didn’t believe in the power of a white paint before, this living room transformation just might change your mind.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.