Now that we've all learned patience: PAINT!

After spending a full 27 hours prepping and painting this weekend -- 9 hours Friday night, 12 hours Saturday and 6 hours Sunday -- the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived. The living room is PAINTED! We tried 3 different samples of putty/beige/tan colors and hated them all, so we went with the same perfect creamy off-white (Valspar's Homestead Resort Jefferson White) that we used in my office.

It's admittedly a little hard to see in pictures, but we are 110% gung ho about how it looks in person. In fact, we are almost giddy about it. My parents helped us paint on Saturday (thanks mom and dad!), and it got their stamp of approval as well.

The blanketed doorway (below right) will eventually have steps leading up to the dining room.

And now for a controversial surprise! Yes friends, that is a chalkboard wall.

I know it's not everyone's taste -- visit any major design blog and search for chalkboard paint, and you'll see that the general opinion is very divided on whether it is cool or not. Some people are "totally over this trend," others just plain hate it and still others can't sing its praises enough. We happen to love the idea (S especially!) and have been thinking about which wall we'd paint since the day we bought the house.

As it turns out, it looks so darn CRISP and fresh in our living room that even we are pleasantly surprised! I was concerned it would create a black hole effect in the corner, but it doesn't at all. Black accent walls are making the rounds on design blogs lately, and it kind of serves the same purpose -- except you can write favorite quotations, daily scriptures and little notes on it. My home office (essentially just a small desk) is going to sit in front of it, so it will serve a practical purpose as well. It looks so good I almost don't want to write anything on it!

BONUS: Our stair treads and railing are stained black (below), so it makes for the perfect transition and ties everything together.

We chose such a subtle, neutral wall color so that the furniture -- and the people we love sitting on it -- would be the focus of the room instead of the walls. In such a big space, a bolder color would feel overpowering. Fortunately, the choices we made are even better than we envisioned. Victory! (And how frickin AWESOME does that beam look? Good job, husband!)

We still have some details to finish up (touching up the trim, installing quarter round, socket covers and light fixtures) but those are a piece of cake. We are exhausted but in a good mood today.

So, what do you think? Do you love or hate the black wall? (You're allowed to thoroughly hate it if you want. I won't be sad.) Are we crazy or geniuses? Is it what you expected or completely surprising? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!