The Nursery: To Paint or not to Paint...

Y'all know I like to paint walls, furniture, etc all the things, and I'm currently fixated on Mary Graham's nursery.

For some reason, Blogger is not accurately depicting the colors in the room.  The pinks (in the crib skirt, rug, and pillow)  are brighter in person.  Annoying.

This shade is more accurate.

I'm trying to decide if I should keep the walls as is (Benjamin Moore's White Dove) or paint them a cozy blue/green.  I was feeling the clean, white vibe until I saw this image, which I have not been able to get out of my head.

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I love every last thing about this space, so there is really no need in listing all the delicious details.  Just know that it makes me feel warm inside, and I love it all!  And hey--my rug looks like it could be related to this room's rug, right?

Best $10 spent at a great little junk shop in O'fallon IL. 

I do realize half the wall is wainscoting in my inspiration room so there is quite a bit of white too…but I sure do love that wall color.    It looks to me like it is perhaps a grasscloth wallpaper, but I feel like I could achieve a similar look with a can of paint.

Benjamin Moore's Palladian Blue perhaps?

Or even Benjamin Moore's Wedgwood Gray.

Again, color not translating well onto Blogger...

What do y'all think?  Time for a change (I'll be honest, change is just kind of fun sometimes in its own right, you know?) or should I leave well enough alone?

Bamboo Blinds

Hello there.  It has been more than two months since I have been here.  I have thought to myself many times since then how I would like to find a moment to post about this or that, and yet life has just felt so full and crazy.  Lest there be anybody out there thinking I'm tackling some fun house projects in my spare time these days, let me just set the record straight--it's much more along the lines of "struggling to stay afloat!" or "this ship is sinking" kind of thing!

These two (not sure why it's so blurry?) + this one…

I sure do love them, but my, I never knew how exhausting motherhood would be, in so many ways...  I realize I'm not alone in this--many, if not all, mamas of young families probably feel this way, but it's still important to me that when you come to my blog, you get a sense of my real life!

Many days, I feel just like this little love who wasn't too thrilled about waking up from her nap. (Except this look is not nearly so cute on me!)

Now, moving on to bamboo blinds... (made even more lovely by this precious girl!)

I've had several friends ask me about the bamboo blinds I've used in my home.  Truth is, I have them throughout my house, on just about every window come to think of it.

Find this style HERE

I used them on a couple windows in our home in Richmond (I happened to find these at Target.com marked way down on Clearance!).

Bamboo blinds are great for lots of reasons--they bring warmth to a room, they are a great source of texture, and they are easily found at very affordable price points.

My favorite source is Overstock.com.  The shade in the nursery (above) is THIS style.  (Note:  The two shades I have linked at Overstock are available in three different lengths and in any width.)

I like bamboo blinds all by themselves.

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Or layered with drapes.

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On their own, they filter the light, so if you want something for complete privacy, you may want to consider having yours black-out lined.

The shade in Wade and Holland's room (above) is from Lowes.  They have a number of different colors, and they will cut yours to fit your measurements in the store.  I still favor the tones in the ones from Overstock myself, but depending on the look you are after, Lowes is a great option too.  (Plus, you can't beat the instant gratification of walking in the store and getting what you need right away!) Also! Check out Little Green Notebook's recent post on some great shade options at Lowes currently on major sale!

Here's a close up of the Lowes shade.  I lined this one with blackout lining fabric I purchased at Jo Ann's.  It's fairly simple to do this; a quick search on Pinterest or Google will turn up a handful of tutorials.

Progress on our Hall Bath

While the kids and I were in Virginia this summer, Philip took on the task of tiling the hall bathroom floor.  This was so great for a couple reasons.  First, our floor before was white laminate that looked dingy and dirty even when it was technically clean.  Now, it looks like this:

Second, like so often occurs, this tiling project catapulted our plans for giving this little bathroom a facelift.  Now, we also have freshly painted walls and a new vanity to boot!

When we set out to freshen up this bathroom, I settled on this beautiful space as my inspiration.

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I painted the walls this color.  I found a vanity on Craigslist in San Francisco.  Naturally, I convinced my whole crew to trek down there with me a couple Friday nights ago so we could snag it.

This faucet just arrived in the mail.  I found this mirror at a local thrift store, and it's waiting to be hung. It's admittedly not consistent with my inspiration image but I've always loved it, it was $30, and I still think it'll look good. (Need to figure out what to do about the current medicine cabinet situation).  Still need to find a new light fixture to replace the granny-chic one we currently have going on.  Baseboard should go in within the next couple of days.

My current dilemna is whether or not to paint the vanity.  When we originally set out to select a vanity, I was thinking we'd settle on one of the lower grade options at Home Depot or Lowes, so I would definitely paint it.  However, the vanity we ended up getting is nicer than those, and really not offensive at all in its current state.  It's a nicer, solid wood, and the dark, espresso stain is pretty nice as is.  The thing is, nearly all the bathrooms I'm drawn to (a quick perusing of my bathroom pins told me this) include a painted vanity.  I feel like I'm leaning towards painting it (thinking this color would be a good match for my inspiration image).  What do you think?

Here are a few painted vanities for your consideration…

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Sooooo, to paint or not to paint?!

Sofas: How do you like your seat?

I'd like to take a little poll, partly for curiosity's sake and partly because I've got a little something brewing…So humor me if you will and tell me your thoughts:

Do you prefer a sofa with three seat cushions, two seat cushions, or one long bench seat cushion?

I feel like the each have their own advantages and disadvantages…

For the sake of keeping other things constant, let's compare different style seat cushions with the same style sofa--in this case, the English Roll Arm style, which happens to be my very favorite :)

Three seat cushions feel the most traditional to me. (Also: I know I just recently posted this room.  It is just so good.)

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I feel like the look comes across really balanced since the three seat cushions mimic the divisions on the back of the sofa.

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I wonder if three cushions is the easiest style for maintaining nicely fluffed cushions?  Seems possible since the sections are smaller…

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I also feel like three cushions could be easier for spot treating--just remove the cushion cover that needs to be cleaned, leaving the rest in tact.

At the same time, I am not a fan of sitting on seams or being stuck in the space between cushions.  Some people say that even on a sofa with three cushions, three people rarely sit there at the same time, so the two people inevitably end up sitting on top of a seam.  Not so good if you ask me.

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Two cushions present less of a problem if you have that same scenario.  Each person get their own cushion with no problems.

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It's a nice clean look, and I think it works best when the sofa has that one division down the back to match the split in the two seat cushions…

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Lastly, we have the single bench seat cushion.

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I really love that long bolster pillow paired with the lone seat cushion!

I'm seeing one single cushion done more and more these days.  It strikes me as as a more streamlined, modern look.

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I think it's nice not to have to worry about any seams in the cushions…nobody gets stuck in a gap!  And frankly, having spent time on a bench seat sofa, it kinda feels like a big bed.

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It's a little hard to tell, but the sofa in the photo above has one long cushion.

So, what do you think?  One, two, or three seat cushions?  Maybe you think it's absurd to spend so much time thinking about the number of seat cushions on your sofa.  That's ok.  I can handle that kind of feedback too :)  I would love to know your opinion on this very important topic.

Painted Interior Doors

There are some design elements in a room that I think strike you right away.  Fabric choices on furniture.  Statement art on the walls.  A really interesting rug.  Kitchen countertops.  Fabulous Lighting.  Deciding on these things is important and definitely shapes the feel of your home.

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I also think there are some elements in a room that deliver a big impact in a more subtle way.  It's not secret that I love to paint things, and what I'm thinking about today are painted interior doors.  Maybe not the first thing you'd think to address in your home, but I love the way they warm up a space and create a good dose of contrast.  

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In our home in Richmond, I painted the inside of our front door black.

I also painted the inside of our back door and an interior bathroom door gray (Benjamin Moore's Gunmetal to be exact).  This small change did so much for the kitchen I thought!

Our current home has lots of options for painted interior doors.  There's the back of the front door, several doors in our dining room and the hallway, which in its current state is not interesting in the least.  It's lined with cheapo, hollow core doors that are just begging for some love.

My apologies for all the junk laying around…these photos were not styled :)

{I feel the need to explain the water dispenser you can see here…I have always been a tap water kinda girl.  Well, not in California.  According to the city's water quality report, Davis water may contain boron and hexavalent chromium (Erin Brokovich anyone?), so we aren't too keen on drinking it.  The trade off is this beauty in my dining room.  Philip's parents thoughtfully gifted us with water delivered to us for the year!  I'll happy take a water dispenser over toxins in my drinking water, thank you very much :) }

Baskets of laundry, always.  Also, a ceiling light fixture that I am so not friends with.

I could, however be friends with a blue door.

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Gray is nice…

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I think yellow is really pretty in this particular space.

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Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I'm inclined to go more neutral in our wee little house with 8' ceilings.

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Rachel Halvorson is uber talented and wrote a great blog post about dark doors.  One of her color recommendations is Sherwin Williams' Urbane Bronze, which is actually the color I painted the walls of our master in our Illinois house.  

Black is a classic choice, and you know what they say about it--every room needs a dose.  If you're looking around your room and noticing that you are lacking in the black department, why not grab a paint brush and give a door a quick makeover?

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We already have black countertops or else black would be a given for our front door.  I'm wondering if it might just be too much in our little place, and I should go with a gray or a brownish-black.  Hhhhmmm.  Too much or just right?  

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The thing I love about a project like this is you can knock it out pretty quickly without too much hassle.    So long as there aren't any tiny people running amuck (cue the nap time chorus!), you can paint a door without much fuss.  

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So, have I convinced you?  Who else is with me and is ready to paint some doors?!