September 22, 2008

• A New Day – A New Color

  I guess I’ll paint ’til I drop, or at least as long as I can hold out, in order to save us money.  Don is on his way over to start the exterior paint job.  I have to take the cats to the vet (Stormy still doesn’t feel well and Chirper need a nail trim and “weigh-in”) and then I will try to start on the guest room’s new cream color.

  Someone asked about me painting the guest room “white on purpose” and I replied it is neutral because I don’t know if foster children will be girls, boys, or a mix.  Also, it’s the room you see through the hallway when you step in from the front door and foyer area.  It needs to be less dramatic.

  That said, let me assure you, I AM NOT AFRAID OF USING DRAMATIC COLORS!!! 

  Pictures below will show my love of drama and making a statement with accent walls, etc.

  The least color dramatic room is our bedroom.  It has toasted pecan accent walls (on walls that form an L-shape for the dresser with mirror and our bed.  The ceiling is different heights, but all white on the bottoms, with the drop being a pastel sage green and the other walls the same sage. 
  
  I’m not sure what that
  smudge is on the “Jesus” wall, the one that is pastel sage green.  Didn’t see it until I saw this photo. 
  Amazing what trash you find when you take pictures of a room.  Stuff
  you live with everyday but never see!!!

  What makes the master bedroom dramatic is all the black in there.  Floral black bedspread, black sheers in the windows, with a floral black valance (currently not hung), and a dark gold love seat (part of the den furniture’s set) at the end of our bed – with all dark mahogany furniture.  Thus the lighter colors to off set the heavy, dark furniture and fabrics.

  Then there is my screaming red den!  It’s called chili pepper red, but it’s not really red red, more like barn red.

  The den’s entry from the formal dining room doorway.  Cream walls, white ceiling, red accent walls.
  

  The walls opposite each other are red. 
  The right wall that looks into the backyard.                        The left wall is angled and red & looks into the kitchen.
  
  The kitchen is a soft yellow with bright, white cabinets.  The accents are in black and red to tie in with the den.  The cooking area also has a few cobalt blue things mixed in.  I found perfect fabric about 3 years ago (no snickers, please!) to make a valance for those windows.  It’s a black background, with reds, some blue, and creamy flowers.  It would tie in with the den and cooking area perfectly, but I’ve never taken the time to make them, and they are the easiest things in the whole world to sew.  Just two straight runs on the machine per drape.  Talk about a procrastinator!!!

  Then, still not shying away from the dramatic color flair, I have an eggplant wall in my dining room.  All other walls are kind of a peachy or creamy pastel.

  It looks much softer and “lighter” when the cream sheers and drapes aren’t cat-proofed and tucked up into the rods!!!!
   
  When I first painted this (September 4 years ago, before we moved in) no one but me could visualize the finished product.  Even the carpenter commented that the alcove looked like a black hole!!!!  The wall opposite holds the china cabinet with mirrored back and that reflects light from the windows or chandelier back into the “black hole” room!

  The formal living room and foyer are around the corner on angles (it’s an open floor plan) and I picked up the eggplant color, again, one room over and on an opposing wall, plus the edge of the little wall the divides the front door from the rest of the foyer. I hung a purple velvet valance on the foyer’s window to tie the colors together.

  I took this picture standing against the eggplant window wall in the dining room.  (see china cabinet on right?)
  
  See the hallway door to the left of the eggplant wall and my desk?  That looks directly into the room I’m painting cream.  Anyone standing in the foyer can see directly into that guest room and that’s the one that needs to be neutral.

  The girls bathroom will be a light taupe and I will let this painter paint it because of all the things you have to paint around – a mirror, the door frame, the cabinet, the tile and window over the tub area . . . .
  

  It’s decorated with creams and taupes right now and the paint will be the lighter background color in the large picture on the wall.  It might be slightly darker, but VERY close to the light taupe you see.
  

  And here we are with the BEFORE pictures of the exterior of our house.

  This is a full view of our walkway.  White door and white window trim . . . and bricks.
  

  This is to the right of the entryway.  To the left is the 3 car (white) garage door he will repaint white to freshen it up.
  

  
  This will be changed from country, slate blue to the new darker color.  See the few bricks that are dark?
  

  As will the wall opposite it.
  

  The reason I showed you the red den and the eggplant purple dining room and desk area was to show that this porch and entry walkway won’t necessarily look like a black hole when I’m done with it!!!!  LOL
  
  There are enough white windows, doors, porch light, year round greenery that should offset the darkness of the color.

  Our back yard has very little brick and will be dark looking with the white trimmed windows, but I’m not back there often enough to care! LOL!!!  Plus, Jesse found a fantastic pool deal (4′ x 16″diameter)  with metal frame at Sam’s on sale for $150 (pump, ladder, ground cover, and top cover included).  It’s normally $500 and they wanted to get rid of it.   The light from the water will reflect off the darker color and help things seem lighter.  Plus, the sun shines all day back there, so it won’t be terribly dismal!!!

  In 1990, when I bought my first house, I so wanted it to be country blue.  That was VERY popular back then.  Instead my first house was pale yellow, the second one was cream, and then this house (built in 1990) was the blue I had always wanted.  I imagine this is the original paint job.  And now I’m going to change it!!!!  Some people are never happy!!!!  LOL

  Time for a face lift “blue house”!!!!

  Also, Jesse went to buy the paint and it was on sale.  He called and said he was 30 dollars short of reaching the $300 mark to qualify for 6 months financing with no interest.  He added a few things and the bill’s total came to $331.89 and we have six months to pay it off with no interest or finance charges!   Waaaay better than $500 to pay off. Yaaaaay!

  • 11:05 am
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