Fresh Beginnings

You may have noticed my absence over Christmas (or maybe you were too busy to notice anything!)

I took 2.5 weeks off work and wouldn't you know it, I was down with severe headaches for ALL of it.  I'll not mince words - I felt like hell.  And of course, in customary fashion my headache cycle broke yesterday and with 2 days before going back to work, I started to feel human again.  Oh, it is so nice to feel like normal people do.  I suddenly want to make plans and cannot believe how alive I feel.  Chronic pain is a bummer - you don't even realize how depressed and listless you become.

Anyway, before the pain chasm swallowed me up:

I was planning to get a lot accomplished over my vacation, starting with a painter arriving at my house on December 18th to paint my TV room.  It was a major job unloading this room - there are a lot of bookshelves, and did I mention - I felt like hell. 

Anyway, here is the final product!  Sorry the light is not great as I grabbed this photo with the overhead light on earlier today.  This room gets beautiful light and I can't wait to show you once I get some decorating done here.

The fireplace was painted Skimming Stone (a Farrow & Ball colour) while the built-ins were painted BM Cloud White.  I regret that I didn't use a brighter white on the built-ins, but I was so pleased with the soft creamy beige of the Skimming Stone, a colour I've been dying to try.

I know you're probably thinking this room still looks pretty dated, with the brass semi-circular fireplace and the old hardware...  

But here it was before:

Uglissimo 

This was The Room That Time Forgot (back in 1973).  For six years I've been asking David to let me paint this room and he's refused.  I didn't want to push as he so rarely expresses a decor preference and he was the one spending most of the time here - watching football!  So it became the dreary man cave, with all our neglected furniture in here, and I simply didn't bother to decorate it.  

Until finally...he caved!  He finally said I could paint it, and I didn't hesitate one second to call my painter!!!

In Progress:

First our painter taped and covered everything and then sprayed all the built-ins white with an oil-based latex.  This saved sooo much time, although taping took forever.

The Other End:

The other end of the room (which normally sits behind the sofa), is 100% shelving and is so useful for our large book collection.

After removing all the books, I culled a LOT out and will only return our favorites to the shelves, for a much sparer look and also so that we can truly value and use our favorite decor, cook books and reference books which got lost in the clutter.

After the painting was done, I threw a few things on the mantel.  Here's a quick pre-Christmas photo to show you the wall colour.   Again, the brick and the walls are painted Skimming Stone while the built-ins are BM Cloud White.  Again I wish I'd chosen a starker white.  

Now where to begin decorating this room?  It has so much potential, especially with all the natural (dappled southern) light it gets.  

I'm going to start with a large new rug.  And then try to find a decent piece of furniture for the television to sit on - something low and antique?  I've been thinking of different furniture arrangements too and may run some ideas by you later.

I'd like to do a nice upholstered ottoman that relates to the sage green furniture.  And I'm also thinking of console tables and lamps and new side tables.  It's a good-sized space that I want it to feel airy and uncluttered, but still inviting.  I love being in this room now!

I brought in a little modern table I had, and like the black lines against the panelling.  I think I'll stick with black accents and a white/sage green palette, with soft stone and linen colours.  And maybe a little butterscotch gold, as it appears in the blanket basket and the little painting frame on the shelf.

I might buy a black fireplace screen to hide the brass fireplace, or I just might leave it be.  I kinda like it now, and I can't hide the vintage of this house without major renovations (which we are considering, but until then...)

So the moral of the story is:  if you can't change it - decorate it!  
(oh and don't cling to old panelling and ugly brick any longer than you have to)

Summer Bed

In summer, we often sleep in the downstairs bedroom, as it's much cooler.

The room has great soft light and is very small and cosy. It has a great wall of bookshelves, as reflected in the mirror.  It is decorated primarily in white and blue (the walls are painted in Skylight by Farrow & Ball).

I like to put a thin quilt on the bed in summer.  It doesn't match the room (ivory-cream) but it is so old and soft that we like it very much.  Sometimes an imperfect thing is better than a perfect-looking thing.

Biscuit likes to sleep on the bed:

I am showing this photo in particular because of the knitted peach afghan (blanket) that my late Grandmother (Dad's Mum) made for me when I was in university.

She was quite a prolific knitter, but with 12 children and 23 grand-children, I was not first in line for a time-consuming blanket.  We were lucky to get socks and mitts when we were kids.  But in high school, I requested a knitted blanket and a couple of years later, I received this lovely double/queen-sized blanket for Christmas.  The colour was her choice (I think I was hoping for blue at the time).

I really love the colour now, as it adds a much-needed dose of comfy-cheeriness in my otherwise quite neutral home.    

She was a wonderful, kind lady who always sat down for tea when you came to visit and never seemed in a hurry.  I have so many fond memories of her and they often come to mind when I see this blanket.  What a gift!

Happy summer.

The Painted House

The front of our house is a work-in-progress, but I was long overdue to share the new paint colours with you. I was holding out for our tree pruners to finish the front yard, but regrettably we're still on the waiting list for service...(if you're an arborist, Calgary needs you).

So, without further ado, I'll share the photos I took right after the painters left...complete with overgrown spruce. We love the new colour, a custom greige (i.e. taupe) I struggled over for weeks, together with crisp black on the shutters and doors:

In case you've forgotten, this is where we started. We were so tired of green and pink (which the previous owners also used throughout the interior)!:

After the painting was done, I updated the front planters with these lovely little boxwoods and got a new mat. I am still on the hunt for a great lantern and promise to show the whole thing in a future post:

The back garage and fences also look better in the taupe and black, which matches the existing iron work in the garden:

Our little potting shed looks so great in its new colours. The deck must be replaced next year (there's always something!) and then I'll buy some proper outdoor furniture:

Although our house is from the early 70's and only has so much curb appeal potential, I finally feel like we've at least arrived in the current century with the paint colours!

More to come...

Exterior House Painting

We have to paint our house this summer. It is currently a pretty sage green, but with dark pink shutters, it looks dated. I will post a photo once the yard is cleaned up!

Our house is a four-level split from the early 70's, so it doesn't have a lot of character (unlike the stock image below!), but it is very nicely laid out inside and we have a lovely lot. I want to make the house look "current" but not too trendy.

Many homes in our neighborhoods have been recently painted dark taupes that I find a little gloomy. The dark taupes remind me of Benjamin Moore's Weimeraner, below.

(white shutters brighten this up, but many people are using dark trims too)

I prefer lighter body colours. I am thinking a medium taupe for the body, like Stone Hearth from Benjamin Moore, below (or perhaps a little darker). I like the idea of white shutters since we have a lot of white trim already on the house (white vinyl windows and soffits, etc.). I think I'd like a black or off-black door. Our mailbox, lantern, and house number are black.

This picture shows a lighter slate blue door, but I am thinking darker.

Because our house has a rather plain facade (some brick, which we are thinking of painting) and the roof is not visible from the front (side slant), we don't need several colours. I think three will suffice on the front.

Do you have any favorite combinations for contemporary houses?

I love the Benjamin Moore personal colour viewer, which I used to create this sample....

Final Paint Experiment on my Mirror!

Final result:  a weathered pearl silver finish over a taupey base

I really hated the chocolate brown paint colour I showed on my mirror in the last post.  So last night I decided to paint it again, this time a lighter brown.  I mixed up a batch of the leftover dark brown (HC-70 Van Buren Brown) with some Cloud White I had on hand until I achieved a nice milk chocolate colour.  I even threw in a few drops of Flax, a pinkish brown, to give it a rose cast:  This effect seemed only vaguely less dull than before.  I liked the colour, but it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi.  So today I tried my first attempt at a faux finish.  At lunch time, I dropped by Benjamin Moore (luckily there's a shop one block from my office!) and bought a pearlescent base paint that gives a pearl-like lustre to your finish.  

When I came home, I started by dry brushing a very thin layer of the F&B Charleston Gray on top of the brown, on the raised bits only, to give it a little depth (following Mrs. Limestone's suggestion).  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this step.  When it dried, I added the pearl finish randomly all over, to give it a little lustre:

The mirror looks quite good (sort of silvery and weathered-looking), but in the photo, the finish looks a little spotty.  Since I'm not a machine, and it was my first attempt, I wasn't very good at applying the layers evenly, so it looks a little splotchy in places! 

But I think it gives a really wonderful effect (I just need some practice and no close-ups)!  And unless you inspect the finish closely, the effect is lovely and interesting from a couple of feet away.

I applied a lot of the pearlescent glaze at the end, but if you want a simple weathered look you can stop after the second layer.  You can use virtually any paint colour and then simply add a lighter highlight colour by brushing over the raised surfaces only.

In my case, I used: 

1st layer:  A mixture of Van Buren Brown and Cloud White, to give me a medium brown taupey base. 

2nd layer:  A light superficial brushing of F&B Charleston Gray on the raised bits (for highlight), using a small firm brush

3rd layer:  For lustre, a layer of Pearlescent base from Benjamin Moore. 

There's a whole range of gorgeous pearl effects that can be achieved using the pearl base over a regular eggshell.  Benjamin Moore has a whole brochure of pearlized colours that you should check out.  I can't wait for my next project...

Oh, and I didn't like the way the mirror looked in the entryway, so I have moved it to the sideboard where it fit in with all my silvery things.  But now I'm back to square one, with no mirror I love in the front hall...

This is so typical of my decorating style - I never end up using things where I plan to!

A Farrow & Ball Experiment: Good Colour Gone Bad

This weekend, I finally got down to business and painted the gilded golden mirror from my front hall.  Sorry, I forgot to take a before picture, so I snapped this right after I tried the first stroke of paint:  I have owned this mirror for 18 years - it was part of a trio of affordable antiques I bought at a shop in Montreal as a student.  This photo was taken in my comfy, cozy family room (which you never get to see... it needs a decor intervention) where I could paint whilst watching HGTV! I was getting a little bored with the golden look, so I decided to paint it Farrow & Ball's Charleston Gray, which appears to be a milky medium brown with a gray undertone on the card... However, the mirror basically turned out a taupey-gray, reading much more gray than brown after two coats.  

You can really see the difference in lower light:

I will note that the finish doesn't look great because I painted it with an eggshell finish (since I used a $7 sample pot and this was the only finish available) and planned to urethane it with a semi-gloss when I was done.

But I was very unhappy with the colour and didn't bother to finish it.  I wanted it browner, like the card, to match a brown rug I have in the foyer and pick up the brown lamp in my living room (which is an almost identical shade to the card).  I do like this colour - complex and unique, but it looked like total crap on my mirror.  

Since it was now Sunday and Maria Tomas (the Farrow & Ball supplier) was closed, I went to my local Benjamin Moore store and bought a chocolate brown, called Van Buren Brown (HC-70), which I have read decorators rave about in House Beautiful (I read their "Color" pages in each issue religiously).

Here is Van Buren Brown, in progress:

And on the wall (below).  The colour is much too dark, but at least it coordinates with the darker tones in the furniture.  This is after a single coat!

I'm happy to see that the colour matches the chip, perfectly:  

The colour looks just like melted chocolate and is quite lovely, but too dark.  I will note that I went darker than I wanted because, in the past, Benjamin Moore colours have looked significantly lighter on the wall than on the card...(with three shade I've tried to date).  So now I will have to paint a second coat and mix in some white paint to lighten it.

Eventually I want a new, much larger mirror in this location, and I really need to add some art.  But for now, I hope it will suffice when it's toned down a little.  The brown will coordinate with my cushy brown rug and my rose-pink light fixture.

'Til next time...

More Guest Room Ideas

An inspiring concept for my guest room!

It's been a very busy week, and my decorating mind is rather unfocussed.

I'm still considering a look for my guest bedroom but can't seem to make progress.  I'm soul-tired after work these days and also joined a book club (silly me), so with gardening and other home projects, I don't have much left at the end of the day.  

 I also think I'm slow to start this room because it needs so much work.  Not only does the room need painted, it sorely needs new lighting, window coverings, a headboard, and a new nighttable.  Even if I find budget versions of all of these, it's still a lot of time and effort and I honestly don't feel like opening my pocketbook either.  Maybe I will have to hit some garage sales (wink)!

I did find two pretty light fixtures, from Thomasville Lighting.  The room has regular 8 foot ceilings and the light fixture sits off-center (near one corner, over the bed), so a chandelier won't work and is too fussy for me anyway.

But these two options are simple and pretty:  

The room has a weird window/ledge, so I think I will be forced to replace the existing blinds and use a valance for decoration, as much as I love the look of curtains.  Custom valances cost a mint, so I may have to haul out the sewing machine and my grade 8 Home Economics notes.  I love the pretty valance below and the crisp white blinds:

And maybe I can disguise my old side table with fabric.  Oh dear, more sewing.  I think I might need a glue gun.  Isn't this pretty?:

Surpringly, I also found a super-affordable cotton-slipcovered headboard at Home Depot which might suffice until I find a bed I truly adore.  A bed looks so much more finished with a headboard at least...

I shall keep you posted on my snail's pace progress and will post "before" photos when I'm ready to start painting!

Room Photos:  1. Houzz, 2. House Beautiful, 3. House Beautiful

About A Mirror (please help!)

My favorite antique store has a mirror I admire.  I like the unusual shape and detail.  The price was recently reduced and I'm considering buying it.  You see, I have a thing for mirrors (an illness really).  

I would place it in our living room or perhaps the front hall.  And no, we don't need it.  It's been in the shop since summer and I was shocked to still see it there today - her stuff moves fast. But the price is a little steep, so I might make her a lower offer.  

Here's a closer view:

The bottom (blocked by the lamp) does not have the same flourish of detail as the top but is just rounded (like the sides).  I find it quite pretty and odd.  

I don't care for the gilded (gold) colour and would consider painting it.  To get a feeling for what it would look like painted, I photoshopped the photo to show different paint colours.  

Metallic Chocolate Brown (I love this):

White (not so much), but cream might be nice!

Black metallic (nice also)

I'm even considering a grey or taupe:

The possibilities are endless.  But I'm wondering:

(i) do you like this mirror (or is it too granny)?

(ii) do you think it's a crime to paint it (it is an antique and has a lovely crackle to the glaze)?

Opinions are always a helpful reality-check, so give me yours!

~ Our Home Office: Debut! ~

At last - one half of our home office is complete! The other half of the office (where the desk and the old farm table are located) will undergo its own transformation in due time. Then I shall reveal the whole thing...

For now, I'm delighted with the colour of the furniture! It's so gentle. Once the paint was dry, I spent much of Sunday afternoon reorganizing things. The brown fabric boxes on the shelf are from Martha Stewart. They were expensive, so I waited until I got a sale coupon and picked them up for 40% off at Michael's. They are lined inside with a brown & white plaid! I use them for my stationary.

To be honest, now that the furniture is painted this soft blue, the darker blue wall colour doesn't thrill me anymore. I think a soft cream or pale linen brown would be prettier. But for now, I'll leave it as-is. I still need to paint the trim work (soon) and slipcover the armchair. Although David and I are now considering putting a chaise, small sofa, or daybed in here, so the armchair might get the boot!

I think the space looks a lot more tranquil. The little dresser (which I shall put a mirror over) holds bills and house files, and I bought some white storage boxes at Ikea. The big ones on the floor hold files and the small ones on the shelf hold jewellery and craft supplies!

I also treated myself to a bulletin board makeover. I had bought a cheap corkboard at Michael's, and this weekend I covered it with plain brown linen from Fabricland, a relatively inexpensive fabric shop.

I used a staple gun to attach the linen to the frame at the back. I also bought some pure white braid and added trim work (and a bow!). The trim is a little feminine for my liking, but I think I'll leave it pretty for now.Now I have a home for all my inspiration pictures (which I often photocopy from magazines instead of ripping them out).

Here is the other side of the room (opposite the bookcase) which we don't have well organized (sorry the picture is kinda tilted)!

I know decorating magazines complain about displaying family photos too prominently, but I think that's rubbish - we like to see our loved ones every day (even if they're not in classy black & white)! Eventually I'd like the built-in bookcase to look more coherent, so I may re-frame a few items and style it a bit.

I also covered a small bulletin board (below, $5.99 from Ikea) with linen, for snapshots and postcards. I'm not smitten with the location, but I'm running out of walls, and it's accessible for quick changes.

Biscuit really likes the new room as he looks best in complementary colours.
I will share more with you when I attack the other end of the room. I'm now thinking about putting a cozy chair (and footstool), daybed or sofa in here, so we may remove the big table. David & I often spend time in here together, so we need a little more seating.

In the meantime:

* I must hang curtains (white cotton)

* I have big plans for the desk thanks to a suggestion from Joni at Cote de Texas

* I have to install some shelves and figure out some art work for over the desk

* See where we can fit a chair or daybed!

Stay tuned!