After we had had the paint swatch for Olympic's No-VOC Quill taped up for 2 weeks, I'm a bit discouraged with how it looks on the walls (mostly because what is on the walls is a hair lighter than the actual card sample). So the color doesn't contrast against the (dirty, dingy, yet-to-be-repainted) white trim and accessories as much as I'd wanted. But I like the color, and when we hold up the planks for our new flooring (which yes, we bought, but are waiting to install after all the painting is done so that we can continue to be sloppy....and by sloppy, I mean in a stupor of exhaustion which causes us to drop rollers and brushes mid-stroke!), it warms it up just as I had hoped the original color would appear. Besides, the house is a constant work-in-progress, right?
Let's remember back to the view on our first morning in the house, before we finished cleaning enough to unload the moving truck!
And now...(I promise the walls aren't white. Though the warm gray is so subtle that it appears nearly white in the brightest sun-lit patches on sunny days)
First the entry way. We need to take down the light fixture to clean it and paint the brass part brushed nickel...at least until we can decide what to replace it with. We're currently considering options including, but not limited to, this, this (a personal fave), this, or the more classic one like this.
I had been wanting a sign like this but was too confused to try to find one myself. You see, yes, we were married in 2005, but we didn't get a home until 2010 (moments before 2011), so I didn't know which to go with (seems silly now that I was confused). But my best friend, Alicia, is quite the crafter and made us this frame for Christmas! And I couldn't have found something so perfect if I'd searched for months!!
Thanks, Lic!
Now, on into the living room. We still have many plans for this area, besides the new floors.
We want to remove the light/fan combo, but we aren't sure what to replace it with, so it stays until we decide.
We had our chimney cleaned this week, and plan to tile around the black part of the fire place just inside the white mantel) with the same mosaic glass tiles we plan to use as the kitchen back splash.
We have ordered white gauzy curtains to hang from the rods to the floor from IKEA, but they are out of stock. (A local company called Modernash takes orders and drives to Atlanta every 2 weeks to pick up whatever we order for lower shipping rates than IKEA charges and for less than the gas and time we'd spend to go ourselves!)
And most importantly, we are saving up to replace our current couch and giant chair. The chair will move up to the office as a reading chair (who are we kidding? It's a perfect napping chair!), and we will sell the couch to replace it with this white corner sectional. Now, you may be saying, "WHITE COUCH? Are you insane?" but I have talked with several other moms who swear by them. The slipcovers come off and are bleachable, unlike colored slip covers, to remove any stains my son, husband, and future kiddos may spill).
And yes, we're still planning to top those white bookcases with crown molding so that they look more polished and built-in rather than dorm-y. The to-do list is long, and that is not at the top!
I want to replace the lamps on the mantel with smaller-shade, smaller-based ones but haven't ordered them yet (from IKEA, where else?) partially because I can't decide what to hang on the wall. There are so many rectangular shapes and corners in the room that I want to do something round. But there is so much natural light, that a mirror is unnecessary to bounce light. But that's the only thing I can let myself consider since I am not into giant floral wreaths on the wall (though I am in the South, so they are more than acceptable on the door as long as they are colored appropriately for the season). I'm thinking of getting a plain round framed mirror and using caning gel to DIY a version of this $500 beauty from Pottery Barn (but obviously for only about 10% of that total cost!)
And I finally (4 cans of white satin spray paint later) have all the frames matching on the Gallery wall!
On into the dining room, we find my collection of water color/paintings. They are what I like to bring home from all of our beautiful travels...of yore. (Yet, stupidly, I don't have one from London, where Hubbs and I met and fell in love! I guess we'll just have to go back to visit and find one....someday) This one is a painting of the church where we married, painted by my talented artist cousin, Amy.
The rest of the collection has yet to be hung since I'm on the hunt for a china cabinet of sorts for the back wall before I decide where to hang the remaining frames.
And pardon the pile of boxes & stuff on the right. We are amassing quite the inventory for our neighborhood's annual yard sale (I think in August?)...the proceeds from that sale as well as the sale of our couch (around that time, too, or just after) will hopefully pay for our new couch!
I also have big plans to make a drum shade to go around the existing chandelier, which I will spray paint satin nickel/stainless to peek out at the bottom. Unfortunately, I need a 24-25" hoop, and the largest sewing hoops I can find are only 23", leaving me to invent some other way to DIY the shade like I learned here.
And last, and probably least too, is the hallway. I don't know what/if I want to hang anything in the hall. I had always planned to get a collage I made of London photos we took printed on a long, narrow, canvas. It was inspired by a similar collage we saw at our favorite restaurant in Wisconsin. So until I decide and/or fork over the cash for that "custom" sized piece, it remains bare. But it looks so much roomier in the new color, especially at the end where all the doors to the 3 bedrooms and bathroom are located!
PS: Disregard the paint trays on the bathroom floor.
That's where we leave them to dry the day after painting!
To reward ourselves for a week of nearly-midnight bedtimes staying up to prime and paint and clean up the mess afterward, we are taking the weekend off from painting. My mom is coming to visit, so she and I will take my son to the mall, and the Hubbs and I plan to veg out in front of the Oscars and a rented movie, enjoying sitting in our newly painted room for a few nights!
wow, amazing job! i've always wanted to paint something a subtle gray.
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