Catchin' Up

We're in Michigan right now relaxing with family and enjoying the lack of any type of schedule.  Sleeping in, playing ice hockey on the lake, eating home baked cookies and catching up by browsing some of my favorite home decor magazines.  I'm currently loving these pictures - great for some fantastic color inspiration....

SW Meander Blue (#6484)

BM's Wood Grain Brown (#2109-30)

BM's Hawthorne Yellow (#HC-4)

I also was able to catch up on the recent Renovation Style magazine featuring Meg Braff.  Here are two of my favorites pictures of her work...

Lastly, if you ever happen to find yourself in Ann Arbor, MI, you must go to The Treasure Mart.  My sister in law and I went there and it was amazing.  She walked away with a fabulous bamboo dresser for $75.  Not too dissimilar to this......

via

I hope you all are having a relaxing holiday week.  I plan to be back in full swing in the New Year!!  Happy New Year's!!  

Our House: Before & After

Oh my - what a week!  My supposedly "part-time" job is more like a full-time job and has me super busy.   I am trying my hardest to balance it all so I bear with me as I try to gain some control.  Anyway, some of you asked how our tag sale went last weekend.  It went well, but I think it could've been better if it was in the summer.  I was excited to earn the extra cash to hopefully put towards one of these

but those dreams quickly vanished as I got pulled over the next day supposedly going 50 in a 40 mph work zone.  Oh, yeah, a big whopping $200 ticket!  Bye bye tag sale $$$!  Do these things only happen to me?  Well, onto some better news.  I finally have some before and after pictures to show you of our house.  Remember, I told you in this post we were finally getting our house painted and I was having a hard time selecting colors, but I finally found the perfect colors!  Well, it turned out better than I expected and I cannot believe what a difference paint can make.  Seriously.  See for yourself....

BEFORE

AFTER

It's a huge improvement.  I can't tell you how much I don't mind driving up to our house now!  It makes me happy.  As you can tell, my husband (and fellow neighbors) cut down the tree right in front of the house which makes a huge difference - it really opens it up.  Sorry, we still need to remove the stump.  Here is a before and after of our front door.  

BEFORE

AFTER

I love my new black door!  I took off the old storm door which I think makes a world of difference.  I am still not finished, I have a knocker I'd like to put on the front door, I'd like to change the numbers and sconces, but all in due time.   Well, happy weekend and happy halloween everyone!!  I've missed you guys this week - thanks for bearing with me!!!

Exterior House Color Contenders

If you remember this post, we are finally painting our house.  Per advice of a friend, I received some help from a color consultant and here are her recommendations:


Option 1: Body (Martin Senour Desert Cactus), Trim (Martin Senour Linen White), Shutters/Door (Martin Senour Black)

Option 2: Body (Martin Senour Owlet), Trim (Martin Senour Baseline), Shutters/Doors (Martin Senour Black).  She originally wanted to do a burgundy red for the shutters and doors, but I prefer black.

Option 3: Body (Benjamin Moore Weimeraner), Trim (Benjamin Moore Mascarpone), Shutters (Benjamin Moore Wenge)

While, these are great recommendations, I just wasn't 100% happy with them.  And, while I liked the idea of the color green for a house, I didn't love the green the consultant chose.  So, it wasn't until we were down in Florida visiting family when I saw this house and thought I like that color!   This is the house:

Have you ever walked up to a complete stranger's house and knocked on their door to ask them what color they painted their house?  If not, I highly recommend it.  Seriously. 


Think about it?  Who wouldn't like to hear, "Oh, I love the color of your house!  Do you mind me asking...?"  Well, these folks did, and a couple of beers later (no joke) we walked away with the color names in hand!   Sandy, thank you so much!  The paint line they used was Porter's Paints - Body (Tulip Poplar) and Trim (Soft Antique White). 


So, if you're looking to repaint your home, don't be shy and go ahead and knock on the doors of the houses you like!  Hope to have before and afters soon!

And, thank you again for those of you who suggested your favorite headboard in this post, my friend was giddy with excitement.  She goes back to NYC in 2 weeks and will make the final decision.   I'll keep you updated!

A Remodeled Cottage

Browsing the internet this weekend and came across this remodeled craftsman inspired cottage.  It was love at first sight.

Love the open feel of the kitchen and grass colored green backsplash.  And, how about that box beamed ceiling?  Yes, please!

The contrast between the ebony stained island and flooring with the white cabinetry is so attractive.  I love the hardware on the cabinetry and I'm digging the light pendant.  

Ahh...that window seat and look at the built in bookcases and all that storage space!  Heaven!

Love the clean lines of the staircase!  

I wonder if the color of the door is intended to be a foreshadow of the pop of green to come from the kitchen backsplash!  

To see more of this cottage, go here.  And, they even detail all the paint colors used in this home here.

Hallway - Horizontal Stripes (Part 2)

Last weekend, I painted the upstairs hallway walls Benjamin Moore's Cloud Cover (satin finish) and while it was a huge improvement, I felt like it needed more.  I have been wanting to try some type of stencil or stripes on the wall for a while now.  And, recently, I was re-inspired by Emily's post and I thought, 'Why not?'  So, I decided to do subtle tone on tone horizontal stripes.  Subtle was the emphasis here and I decided to paint the stripe one shade away from the wall color called Benjamin Moore's Winds Breath (eggshell finish).

Hallway before:

And, hallway after:

Hallway before:

Hallway after:

A lot still needs to be done, but I was thrilled with how the stripes turned out so I decided to post it now.  Two tutorials I followed pretty closely were Young House Love and Emily Clark's.


Our hallway (more like an upstairs landing) has a lot of corners, so when marking the walls with the painter's tape, it was important to keep it straight and level.  My husband helped me and we used a "L" square and a level to insure the markings were straight.  

I also decided to have the lighter color as the first stripe and I believe it made a difference and kept the landing feeling lighter and brighter.

Note: Mr. Zebra (from my last post) was intended as a hint, not a red-herring.  I'm going to have to get better at leaving hints! :)

Exterior House Colors

We're finally going to paint the exterior of our house.  And, let's just say our (poor) house is in some serious need of a new coat of paint.  Our cape cod house dates back to the 1940's and honestly, I think it was only painted once in its life (when it was built).
 
Don't mind me while I post some of my favorite houses taken from our neighborhood.  BTW, below is not our house.

Love this cool blue/gray color

Picking out a color for your house is a little more complicated than just picking out a a color to paint a room.

1) If you pick the wrong color it can turn into a very expensive mistake.  Who can fork up several thousands to have it repainted?

A nice subdued pale yellow color

2) We have aluminum siding so I am told I can not paint a swatch of the color on the side of the house, so I have used large poster boards to test the paint colors.  I find this very annoying.  Isn't there an easier way?

An unexpected green with a light blue door.  Very fresh. 

3) It's hard to imagine the entire house in your swatch color.  For example, if the color looks too dark, I am told not to worry because painting the exterior of a house is like blowing up a balloon.  At first, the color of the balloon is saturated, but once you start blowing air into it, the color becomes more diffused (this advice was given to me from a color consultant).

I don't know if it is my lack of experience (having never painted a house before), but I have a hard time visualizing what the color will look like.  How much more diffused will the actual color be?

A classic white home w/midnight blue shutters and door.  

4) We hope to move in 12 to 18 months, so the colors I pick need to appeal to the masses to increase our resale value.   At the end of the day, I think I am just going to have to play it safe and try to pick conservative colors.

5) I've also been told that you must consider your roof and foundation color.  It is also important to consider the style of the house and the color of the houses on your street.

So, do you have any tips to help with the daunting process of choosing a paint color for your house?  

Lighten up the hallway (Part I)

So, our upstairs hallway is as dark and dim as they come.  No natural light.  The hallway leads into 3 separate rooms (an upstairs bathroom and 2 bedrooms).  It is only when the doors to the adjacent rooms are open does the hallway get any natural light.  So, I've been researching a bit on how to brighten this shoebox up (literally, our hallway is the size of a shoebox). 

First and foremost, paint.   Paint is the easiest and cheapest way to transform a room with the most impact.  So, this post (part I) will focus on choosing a paint color to help lighten up a dark space.  To help me with this daunting task (daunting for me because the possibilities are endless), I pulled out my trusty guide: HB 500+ Favorite Paint Colors.

I jotted down some of my favorites, but also knew I had to consider a couple of givens.  The staircase leading up to the hallway is painted Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter (above picture).  Love it.  That same color is in our living/family room which receives the most light in the house and this grayish color with taupe undertones is the best neutral out there.  It's the perfect mix of cool and warm.  I can't use this color in the hallway because it would look too dark - it's amazing how the same color can look so different in another room all because of the lighting.  So, I need a bright color that reflects light.  Since I know I will have a cabinet in the hallway that I want to paint this color... 

Benjamin Moore Galapagos Turquoise....for no other reason other than I love this color and saw it used here , I need a wall color that would at least complement this color.  I initially went down the road of light/sky blues; for example, Benjamin Moore's Ice Blue and Icing on the Cake.  Both are beautiful colors.  They are bright and went well the paint color for the cabinet, but unfortunately (in my opinion) they didn't transition well from the Revere Pewter coming up the staircase.  So, I finally decided on Benjamin Moore's Cloud Cover.

A lighter and brighter version of Revere Pewter and a bit warmer.  I'm considering painting it semigloss finish with the hope that it will reflect even more light??  Thoughts on this??  Painting will occur this weekend so I hope to have before and after pictures soon.  Also, stay tuned for part II when I show how I am going to add accessories to help brighten my space up!   

Sneak Peek: Big boy's room

Finally, I am ready to show you a corner of my son's new big boy room.  But, only a corner!  The rest of the room is still in progress.  So far, I am really happy with how it is turning out.  Here it is (after):

The walls are painted Benjamin Moore White Dove.  I found the vintage '3' number sign at Anthropologie for 50% off - so appropriate since my son just turned three.  I framed three vintage Guinness post cards that my husband bought in Ireland and hung them in a frame above the built in drawers (My husband is Irish, need I say more?).  

Remember, I was trying to find inexpensive bookracks?  Well, one night I was complaining to my husband that I couldn't find anything inexpensive that I liked.  He, then asked me, "How about I try and build you one?"  And, I was like, "Are you serious?"  And, being the wonderful husband that he is, he said, "Yes."  And, that was music to my ears!
We spent the next half hour or so drawing a sketch (based on a picture I showed him) - him asking me questions here and there.  He did all the math and figured out all the measurements.  And, then he proceeded to take the next couple of nights (after the son was in bed) to build it using all scrap wood we had leftover in our basement.

He used dowel rods (cylinder rods) to keep the books from falling out.  He painted it white and I cannot believe how awesome of a job he did.  It turned out better than I imagined and literally we paid nothing for it.  $0!! He did such a great job.  He used toggle bolts to secure it to the wall and viola, it was ready for all of Luke's books.

Prior to the big boy room transformation, this is a snapshot of the same corner before we painted it (before).

It's come a long way.  I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm really happy with how things are progressing.  Below is a snapshot of some (not all! elements I plan on using in his new room.  I'm not revealing everything,  because I definitely want there to be some surprises!

If you remember, I found the spindle head and foot board for $35 at an antique store.  I picked out a warm brown color, Benjamin Moore's Natura (zero VOC) Maryville Brown and my husband painted it.  The duvet cover is from Ikea.  I plan on doing a framed series above his bed of cut out pages from his favorite book, 'Caps for Sale' in natural Ribba frames .  I found the map at a consignment store and it is perfect because it reflects the colors of his room (yellowish green, warm brown with hints of turquoise and red).  
So, that is it for now.  What do you think?  Stay tuned for more.....hopefully, soon!

It's here....

Martha Stewart Living paints at Home Depot.  I couldn't believe it...walked into HD today and BAM....there it was!  

I guess I wasn't expecting the line to debut until March, but hey, I'm not complaining.  Of course, they had Martha's top 12 picks and I took a swatch of each.

Sorry, for the poor picture.  The cool thing about these swatches are that they are idiot proof.  Each swatch has a color symbol (sun, moon, star, flower, etc.) and all you have to do is to match up the symbols to coordinate the colors for your home!  

On the back of each swatch, they show you a suggested ceiling and woodwork color against the main swatch color.  And, the paints are low VOC!  Pretty cool, huh?