color my world

I've always meant to keep a record of my paint colors...just in case I needed them again. When I first moved into this house almost 11 years ago, I was organized. I only had three kids and all of them were in school. I had a file as to just move into this place, a lot of work had to happen first.

But life happened and I didn't keep it up. When I saw that Stephanie from Frugal Home Ideas was having a paint color party...I thought it would be fun to join in and also get my paint colors all in one place.

It was interesting too. Seeing all my colors together in one place tells me a little more about what I like. Here's a peek into the colors of my world...


my kitchen:

Benjamin Moore Herbes de Provence CC-634



painted dresser:

Behr Black Suede



my livingroom/dining room:

Benjamin Moore HC 30 Philadelphia Cream




master bedroom:

Benjamin Moore Heavenly Blue 709


Basement and Back Hall:

Bar Harbour Beige CC-320



Upper Bathroom:

Benjamin Moore Bradstreet Beige HC- 48



Upper Hallway:

Benjamin Moore Sand Dunes 1072


laundry room/bathroom:

Benjamin Moore Heather Field CC-970





my creative space:

Benjamin Moore™ 2051-60 Birds Egg

I'm almost done! Full pics coming in a couple days.

Daughter's Bedroom:

Benjamin Moore Flagstone CC 516




my family room to be:

Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray HC 146


A few color notes:

• Flagstone is the yummiest color ever. My daughter and I adore it in her room and I'd recommend it to anyone
• I'm totally lovin' my Bird's Egg creative space. It's a wonderful blue...fresh and inspiring.
• My living room color is nice but it's too light. It's getting painted this spring.
• I like my funky purple bathroom.
• My kitchen color is beautiful...even with dark cupboards. Herbes de Provence is so soothing. If you buy it...beware...first coat will look nasty going on but hang in there...it will be gorgeous.

So I've decided I like cozy mid-toned colors with a touch of grey in them. Soothing colors in my mind.

What are your favorite colors to paint with?


This post links up with Frugal Home Ideas Paint Color Party...

just playin

I'm just taking a little break from painting my craft room trim. Yes...I finally broke down and am going to finish the job. That's what happens when you stop for the holidays. We moved onto bigger things and left that little chore dangling. It's already the 19th though and I'm itching to get it crossed off my January To Do List. Seriously...hubby has way more of the list than I and he's making some great headway.

I found a few on-line color sites to play around with. First one...Benjamin Moore. Love their paint. I've tried others but end up being frustrated and wonder why I strayed. Their Personal Color Viewer is so much fun to try out paint colors with no mess. Apparently you can upload your own photo but as my room is totally torn apart...I'm not going there right now. Maybe once the drywall goes on.

Here's a few different rooms I tried out with Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray HC- 146 ...




It's interesting how it looks a little different in each photo depending on the light.

Next I discovered Color-a-room at bhg.com They don't use Benjamin Moore colors so I went with a close approximate. In this program you can pick a room to color and even change up the decor colors. I tried to make this room have a burgundy/wine sofa but it fell a little short. I just couldn't get the depth of color but really...not bad. I was getting some idea how it might look. My hands are tied right now designing around it but oh well.

And here's the hideous still functional reclining sofa. It was a gift, never my choice, but it fit the budget at the time. Unfortunately...the budget still says it needs to stay a little while longer. I must say, it is comfy the rare times I actually sit in it to watch a movie. You may be wondering at the weird angle. It's currently situated in my dining room for the duration of the renovation along with other various things from the family room. A little judicious cropping was in order.


OK one last try...for this image I did a little retouching in Photoshop Elements. I found this living room set image on-line somewhere with soft white walls and then changed them to my color or something close. I also "stained" the hardwood darker to get closer to my existing flooring. It's not perfect but I wanted to have some idea how it would work. It's not a perfect representation but I think it will work ok until I can replace the sofa.



I'm sure there's lots of other fabulous on-line tools out there. If you have any links...I'd love to try them out!

Off to finish up another coat,

Julia

baby steps

I managed to make a little progress on the huge January To Do list today. My daughter and I went shopping and picked out a beautiful ceiling fan. I just have to take hubby back to see it but I know he'll love it. Ceiling fans are one of those difficult things to purchase. At least in Canada. It seems as though most of the options would suit better a couple decades ago. The one we found is 60" wide with a hefty price tag but when we've put this much time and material into redoing the ceiling, I'm not wimping out on the light fixture. It will be there for years and I just want to be able to love it. This room is going to be a bit of a long term project. I know that I have to live with the furniture I currently own for a while and add piece by piece. That's OK though. It will make me appreciate it more!

One of the things I've been totally stressing over is the paint color. My current furniture was a gift and not quite what I would have chosen. It's been well loved for the past 10 years though. Probably the best choice would be to go neutral with it but I'm so tired of BEIGE!

I decided to do a little surfing this afternoon and hit the Pottery Barn site. Can you believe I'd never heard of it before a couple months ago. There are no Pottery Barns in Canada and that's OK. I probably wouldn't be able to shop their anyway. OOPS! I stand corrected...there are! Hmmmmmm....

well, I still can't afford it probably.

I CAN window shop though for inspiration. Flipping through I found this wall color....




What do you think?

Benjamin Moore HC-146

Doing a little more surfing I found this is quite a popular color on some DIY blogs. I like what I've seen so I think I'll give it a whirl. I love the contrast of it with the white trim. I have lots of wide white trim in this old house. Pro number two...it's a historical color so it should work well in my century old home. Pro number three...a LOVELY change from this pink!

before picture at the start of the reno
I know. Scary huh?

Yay for two things crossed off my list. I also spied a couple lamps for my bedroom that I'm putting on my birthday wish list. I had hoped to get my craft room window painted but I ended up getting derailed by cleaning it up. Oh well. Step by step it will slowly come together.



Enjoy your weekend!

Julia

Some New Wall Art

I had so much fun creating this wall art using 4" square canvases. Inspired by Pottery Barn and Pier 1 style wall art, I thought I could make my own little block of canvases using some paint and some masks. If you've never used a mask before, it's like the reverse of a stencil. The plastic mask has a light adhesive on the reverse side. You adhere it over the color you want the letter to be and then paint over top. Once the mask is peeled off, you are left with your shape. They are so super easy to use.



I had the hardest time getting a good picture of it on my finished wall. The weather here has been so dark and wet it makes for very poor photos. If you're interested in a full tutorial with step outs, check it out here.

This post links back to The Shabby Nest Linky Party & Funky Junk Interior's Saturday Night Special.



Have a beautiful day! Julia

The Painted Dresser

I have to tell you, I am so excited with how this project turned out! I think I'm going to be totally addicted to painting old furniture and giving it new life in my home. Yes, it was a lot of work and yes I learned a lot but it was a labour of love and so worth it. Do you ever finish a project you are just thrilled with and keep going into that room just to look at it?

So here's the dresser in the state I brought it home in. Chips and worn off finish on the top, both drawers had major chips where they meet but all in all....beautiful lines and sound frame and the drawers worked well.



First a little repair and then a whole lot of sanding. As I got to work, I was so excited to see my vision taking shape and it looking better and better with each coat of primer and then paint. I sanded in the shop out back but freezing temperatures made me haul the dresser inside. Paint needs to dry not freeze. I pushed the kitchen table off to the side and worked right in the kitchen. A plastic drop cloth protected the floor and it actually worked well as the little boys were able to chat with me and do their own crafting as I worked.


After two coats of primer that was slightly tinted with black to a grey tone, I was excited to get up the next day and start on the black paint. I used the Behr Black Suede paint. Being inspired by Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick, I followed her advice on painting furniture and it worked out well.


Five coats of paint later, I put the original hardware back on and called it finished. I'm still trying to decide about distressing the edges. I may just leave it for now and then, when it starts to get distressed with wear, make it look like it's supposed to be that way. Hubby's not too into the distressed look so we'll see.

I love how the light from the window highlights the details on the dresser.



Finally decorating the dresser. I must admit I kind of just threw some of my favorite things together on it that I'd been collecting around my kitchen. It's a little country looking here but I think if I took of the red gingham and that metal star, the "sideboard" would look lovely and elegant in style as well. The red gingham is just using what I have on hand. It's a table cloth that I've just folded up. I think it will add a fun touch of red for the upcoming Christmas season and it cost me nothing. Use what you have!


Totally copied this sweet scrabble tiles idea from Tiffany at {happy day}. I just thought it was the coolest idea for a shop your house decoration and you can change the word each season. Fun! And whimsical too.


I'm thrilled with this project. It fills an empty hole, warms up the room, gives me a table to decorate and look at those huge drawers! You can never have enough storage can you?!

This project links up to...







Have a beautiful day!

Julia