Welcome to the living room. Instead of the traditional all-white lake-house palettes we see in the Muskokas, I decided to add a bit of colour. With a pastel theme in the main living, dining and kitchen areas. From the pillows to the coffee mugs, to the accent-painted bookshelf we see hints of pastel blues and pinks.

We took this

To This!

The Living Room – Cottage Series Makeover

The 3 large windows in the main living space maximize unobstructed views of the lake and trees and make the view from the couch outstanding. Originally this cottage had a lot of furniture, multiple couches, a massive dining table and extra chairs stored in the bedrooms.

The view from the couch is pretty – surrounding the fireplace this almost U-shaped custom-made couch is the perfect conversation spot while looking out over the lake and the exposed rocks of Lake Muskoka. Our lovely paddle was purchased at Ropes and Wood.

We sold off all the beige living room furniture and started fresh. I was having a really brave moment when I said I wanted a white couch, I decided to slipcover the armrests as well as the ottoman for easy cleaning. Adding an extra scotch guard protection against spills and stains was a great choice. I’m so glad I went with the off-white. It blends in nicely with the space and allows the decor and Fusion colours to shine.  

Fireplace

The fireplace was originally bright red brick, far too bold for the overall light, a white theme I had created.

I toned it down with a whitewash finish using Hotel Robe Milk Paint by Fusion, which highlights the textures in the brick.  The fireplace will always be a focal point, but now it doesn’t dominate the room.

Painting a fire surround is easy with Fusion or Milk Paint. As brick is porous it will absorb the milk paint and give me the aged whitewashed look I was going for.

The easy way to paint your fireplace surround

In this video, Jennylyn shows you how to easily change the look of your fireplace with a few simple supplies. The fireplace is usually the focal point of the room and updating it can be simple by using Milk Paint and Fusion.

Fusion for Artists

I was also excited to collaborate with a local Canadian artist Justine Marie who used a variety of our products to create incredible canvases, such as the painting over the fireplace, inspired by the sunsets and pink skies at night.

Fusion for artists

If you thought Fusion Mineral Paint and Milk Paint by Fusion was just for furniture and walls, you were wrong! Fusion and milk paint works great for art and more and more artists are turning to our high-quality paint for their art.

Watch as Justine talks about creating this beautiful art piece for the cottage living room.

See this tray makeover with Milk Paint by Fusion

A custom tray on your ottoman makes the perfect vessel for spillages and to keep things organised.

Storage

The row of shelves have been given colourful backdrops with beautiful pastel shades that almost glow against the white walls. An oversized ottoman is super functional as storage, a footrest, a surface for playing games and serving tea, snacks and drinks. I whitewashed a tray with Milk Paint by Fusion, giving it a rustic finish that adds to the cottage character.

I wanted to include a door over the stairs and was inspired by the trend we are seeing today of sliding hanging doors. They are appearing in both urban and rural decorating schemes. This barn door saves lots of space and injects a big dose of character that is visible throughout the entire living area. And looks quite grand painted in Fusion’s pastel Mist.

The white oak furniture offers a soft wood tone, and a warm counterpoint to the white wood panelling and walls. A mix of individual and benched seating makes entertaining large groups easy. These benches also double up as excellent wood storage for the fireplace.

This entire space was an addition to the house many years ago, you can still see the original large logs from what was the house’s exterior. This feature connects the old and the new, keeping the heritage of the cottage alive.  

Painted stairs

The staircase linking the living room to the laundry room had to be rebuilt. I decided to milk paint them to give them a whitewash look and later painted the Bellwood tread. You can watch that Facebook live here. We purchased cute metal side tables for either side of the fireplace from Heirloom 142

How-To Milk Paint stairs

In this video, Jennylyn shows you how to paint raw wood stairs with Milk Paint by Fusion. To learn more tutorials on the Cottage makeover watch this video series to see how you can make that possible with Fusion Mineral Paint, and to see the before-and-after of the Pringles cottage makeover with Fusion Mineral Paint.

The living area is now bright and cheerful and a perfect picture of easy living and comfort. It makes me happy. How about you? Is this a space you would treasure? Let me know how you have reinvented a room with paint to brighten up your life.

Catch up on the cottage makeover so far

 If you enjoyed this makeover and want to see more of this series, check out these room makeovers we have shared so far!

• Introducing the cottage series
• The nautical-themed bedroom
• The Roots-themed bedroom
• The kid’s room makeover
• The HBC bedroom makeover
• The Laundry and Mudroom
• Complete bathroom makeover
• The Cottage kitchen

Let us know in the comments which one is your favourite so far.