Before and After Living Room, adding built-ins

My client came to me looking for new paint colors for their living and dining room.  They wanted to get rid of some the 'stuff' collected over the years, replace the furniture with smaller scale furniture and keep it a comfortable place for hanging out with family and friends.

The room felt dark to me, whether during the day or night.  I recommended adding some ceiling lights. The 2 downlights in the before picture didn't align with anything in the room, My client removed them and added 4 new slightly smaller recessed downlights. One pair centered above the fireplace and the other is more centered over the bookshelf (even though is looks a little off in the picture).

I recommended adding built-ins to display their photos and items they have through out the space. Changing them seasonally is a way to keep it interesting and not have to get rid of everything.  My client is a carpenter/handy man so he was able to do all the work himself and got it done quickly!

I chose a soft warm white for the millwork, not too bright so it worked with the warm colors in the house. 

Progress:

Glad to see my clients are enjoying their fireplace, even though there's no where to sit yet! 

Furniture will be in the next few weeks.

The green tape to mark where artwork will be.