When I picked colors for this house, this color seemed perfect for what I had in mind. I opened up the paint can with a little bit of fear that maybe I had gone a little too far. I

stuck to my guns. I had a plan. That first day I had cracked open the paint can and started painting. With every visitor that wanted to stop by and see the new house on our first day, I saw the look in their eyes as they commented with “really?” or “repaint it white”. Luckily, I have never lived my life defined by what other people expected of me, and though I was starting to question myself, I knew that they were just unsure because they didn’t see the big picture.

I joked that the color “Carnival in Brazil” was my homage to Tom Brady and the world’s highest paid supermodel. I knew that with the children, (before we even considered the second dog), that a dark couch was going to be my best option. Anything lighter, and it wouldhave been destroyed in a week. I knew that the rest of the furniture was going to be darker in color. With the sun shining in, I saw my vision on the wall.

This color was a very prominent one in my wedding bouquet, which I had because it looked like fall foliage and my husband and I are huge fans of fall. I would like to think that it was fitting to choose orange for that reason, this is our home we built together and it made sense when I saw that giant window of mine let the sun take over the walls. I was confident that I was right.

The floor was in surprisingly good condition, considering how awful the shape of the carpet was. It was a long process to pull of the carpet in here, and it took weeks before we finally pulled up all the staples. Don’t worry, my unlucky feet that always find the danger was the victim and not my children.

My office, which isn’t pictured hereis located in this room. It’s a “writer’s area” that is completely covered in bills, various other paperwork I need to have at hand, and Post-it’s

that are stuck everywhere. It wasn’t “photogenic” enough to land itself here.

The coffee table was a clearance steal I had to put together from Kmart. The “oriental” rug was from Wal-Mart. The television stand was a hand me down, as was the recliner. Our living room also has the front door located in it, as most do. The living room door is painted with a nicer, lighter color than the living room with a more yellow-orange color and a beautiful “fall” wreath that I keep up just because I love it.

Monday, should be the tween’s room, filthy or not.