Foyer Facelift In Progress

We have been in our new house for almost a year now (about eleven and a half months). This house needs lots of cosmetic work (the paint colors the former owners chose were all dark and dark and more dark) and some more serious stuff too, sigh but that's another story.

Since we've moved in, we have (and when I say "we," I really mean my dear dedicated Captain Obvious) been fixing and painting room by room, making it much more attractive. Right now the foyer is getting a facelift. Here is a before picture. You see both grey and white on the walls now; neither of those will be the final color. The grey is the color the previous owners chose.

 
We had the front door replaced a few months ago (water damage and also it was UGLY). Here is a photo of the old door followed by one of the new door.

Now we are working on the rest of the room. First the drippy ceiling (acoustic? patterned? I don't know what it is called, but it is not attractive!) get sanded. This does not make it completely flat, but it is flat enough. Once painted white, (it was painted beige? or was it just dirty?) the now much flatter texture is almost invisible. Because of the sanding, everyone working in the room has to wear eye, nose, and ear protection. Here's a pic of Captain Obvious after sanding; here he has removed his protective wear.

We are also removing the old tile floor and replacing it with a cork floating floor. Here is Captain Adorable in his protective gear and hard at work.

I worked on sanding the banister. Of course I was (as usual) the one holding the camera, so here's a pic of my hand.

Capt. Obvious is working hard on all the preparation required before painting the walls. (The previous owner of the house used a paint brush, not a roller, to paint the walls! and he was the sloppiest painter in the world. Nasty paint drips everywhere! The drips have to be sanded down the the dents have to be filled in.) I am working on picking out a paint color. This is very difficult since there are so many criteria that have to be accounted for. First, both adults in our family have to like it. Second, it has to go with the door and the floor. Third, it has to go with the paint of the hall, the dining room, and the playroom, since all those rooms are visible from the foyer. Fourth, it has to go well with the rooms upstairs since one of the walls of the foyer extends into the upstairs hall. So in order to pick paint for the foyer I have to pick paint for the entire house! Not an easy task. I've put a lot of thought into it already.

And no, white is not an option. :P

And yes, I am aware that I could have worse problems than picking the perfect paint color!