Changes to Pinnochio

I've blogged about the Pinnochio Room in our house before.  It has bugged me for a while whether to embrace the wood moldings and millwork and live with it, or to just paint it all together and open the room up in color.  I have really liked the cozy library feel the wood gives the room.  But, painting has been on my mind since day one.  I figured since I can't stop thinking about how the room would look dressed in ivory and cream, that was a sure sign it is meant to be painted.  So, I decided for the new year that would be my first resolution I would keep. 

Paint the living room.

Well, painting anything obviously means picking a paint color.  I want the room to be a creamy white.  Sounds easy enough, right?  No way.  There are way too many whites available out there, and I think I went through half of them... Not really, but it began to feel that way.  The rest of our trim is a soft off-white/creamy color, but it isn't yellow.  I knew I didn't want Asylum White, or Hospital Bed Linen, or Highway Reflector Bright White, but I also didn't want Buttercup Baby or Big Bird Surprise either. And so the testing began... and when I get my mind to something, I cannot stop until it is completed.  So my mission this week was to find the right color.

Aside from bringing home 20 something paint chips.. I actually tested out several small paint pods. 

I tried Glidden Antique White:

I tried Behr Creamy White:

I tried Behr Innocence:

I tried Behr Polished Pearl:

Now, if you are my husband, you swear these are all the same exact color.  I promise they are not.  Maybe it is just a curse that I can see a whole range of colors.  It would be easier if I were color blind.  But, I definitely am the opposite of that as I have way too many opinions about colors.  Antique White- it has just a touch of creamy tan to it, but is mostly still white.  Almost like a dull piece of paper.  Creamy White- I didn't see the cream in this at all.  It was the whitest of the bunch.  A step up from Creamy White is Innocence- the paint guy told me Creamy White has two drops of yellow in it, and Innocence has 4 to 5.  Well, Innocence is pretty, but it was a bit too yellow for me.  Like I said, I was not wanting Buttercup Baby or Big Bird Surprise.  ( I promise there are 4 colors on these boards...)

And then, I tried Polished Pearl.  This was very, very close to Innocence, but has more of a gray/taupe undertone to it, making it less yellowy and more creamy. 

It almost was the winner... until night fell.  At night, it just seemed too bright to me.  I still want this room to feel somewhat cozy.  I don't know, the brightness bothered me enough that I wanted to go a few shades deeper into the off-white world.

So, in the morning I thought I'd try again.  This time, going to the garage to fumble through old paint cans.  I found what I thought to be the same color as our kitchen cabinets, and I like that color.  It is called Windswept by Benjamin Moore.

You can't tell from this picture, I know, but it is a really good creamy color. I'd compare it to white chocolate. So, I accomplished picking out a paint color.  Phew.

Along with the task of changing the room's look is to paint the grasscloth... or remove it altogether.  I tried painting it first to avoid unwanted work of scraping and pulling it from the walls.  At first, I thought it was going to work out.  But then, I realized something was happening that all the blogs and how-to sites warned me about when painting this funky stuff... BUBBLES.  This just won't do.

Sometimes, the paint will seep through the cloth.  Depends on your wallpaper.  If you have the real stuff like we do, which is literally strands of straw stuff stapled onto fabric and glued to the walls, the paint tends to seep through the strands of straw and back behind the paper, creating unwanted bubble effect, and pulling the strands away from the wall.  Not good.  So now, we'll be removing the paper.  Hubs wanted the grasscloth gone the day we moved in.  He has never liked the stuff.  He doesn't like texture at all.  If it were up to him, our whole house would be made of stainless steel and all the walls would be brown and beige.  :)
And that's our big plans for this weekend, removing the grasscloth and sanding the rest of the wood (which I've already sanded half the room, at least we have part of it done, right?).  Happy New Year!

Confession

I cheated on Pottery Barn.  There, I said it.  Moving on.  I came across a great Etsy shop recently.  It is called Chic Decor Pillows.  It is a mother/daughter team that creates beautiful pillow cases of all different sizes.  Most of their prints are modern/bohemian influenced, but all of them are unique and different.  The pillows have also been showcased on the Nate Berkus show! That is pretty impressive I think.  Anyways, I decided I'd give them a shot... and the more I browsed their selection, the more in love I fell. 

I'm a nut for pillow covers anyways.  It doesn't take much to wow me.  I love pillows because they are so easy to switch in and out as the mood hits you.  Unlike paint/furniture/etc that costs time and money, pillows can instantly change the look of a room without the elbow grease.  With all that being said, y'all I have to confess that these are some of the best pillows I've seen.  Yes, even better than Pottery Barn.  The quality is amazing.  You can certainly tell this mother/daughter team is gifted in the art of sewing, and the fabrics they choose are nice and sturdy.  I'm glad I decided to order a few of these pillows to add to our in-progress-neutral-bedroom scheme.  After browsing, and browsing, and window shopping the store over and over (they add new pillow designs all the time), I settled on the following wonders:

Gray and Cream Ikat

Neutral Ikat

 Ivory Geometric Circles

 Antique Champagne & Metallic Silver Damask

I'm totally impressed that anybody can sew, period.  I should note that I joined a sewing class at the beginning of this year with my friend, Flower.  I attended the first class, in which we received some homework.  A simple task for anyone but me, really: buy your supplies from the given supply list at your local fabric store.  I spent close to 3 hours in the stupid store, (yes, it was stupid), asking myself- notions? what the heck are notions?  I gave up right then and there, realizing this wasn't fun or interesting to me.  I'd continue to pay other people to sew things for me from their magic notion loving fingers.  But, I'm really really blown away that the women of Chic Decor Pillows sew this well.  The edges are perfectly done, and the zipper is so well hidden.  The covers fit like a glove, too.  Awesome work! 

So, if you are on the hunt to change up your own room, you should of course look at Pottery Barn, and, as I've confessed already, Chic Decor Pillows will not disappoint either.

Merry Christmas

This year we did something we have never done before; we had Christmas at our own house!  Somehow, we convinced my parents to make the drive over and up to Atlanta to celebrate with us in the new home.  Actually, we had strength in numbers being that my brother and sis-in-law are here, and my sweet little niece, too.  Somehow, grandkids have a pretty big pull with grandparents.  Who knew?

In any event, Christmas this year was awesome.  I had forgotten what it is like to not have to travel on a holiday.  This year didn't feel rushed or stressful at all (at least not to me!).  My parents came in on Thursday and Friday, and we literally ate, drank, and lounged around for 4 days straight.  It was perfect! Well, maybe not 4 whole days.  Dad (poor guy, love you Dad) can't come visit without working on a project with me... I just like to have his advice and know-how when I'm starting a new project that involves anything electrical/wooden/painted/etc (I think that covers most of it?). This trip, he brought the rest of the built ins he has been working on for hubs' office.  Hubs painted the rest of the door fronts, and then the assembly began.  I'm always so impressed by my dad's work.  I don't know how he does it!  And I know hubs and I couldn't have a furnished home without both my parents' help (like my mom handing over the screened porch and kitchen of her own home for "drying racks" for the doors and cabinets... and giving over time with my dad when he was busy working on our projects.. and of course all of my dad's own hours put into awesome furniture.  I'm so grateful to have parents like this.)  

Ok, ok, I'll stop going on and on about my wonderful folks.  You get the idea, I love 'em.  So, here's what took place this weekend (aside from Christmas): painted the rest of the white door fronts, assembled the office furniture, and hung new sconces over the fireplace.  Sheesh, the office has been soooo much hard work on everyone's part, but it has been fun watching the transformation. Taking down wallpaper, scraping walls smooth, repainting gray molding to creamy white, 3 coats of brown on the walls...

Office progress:

Before

 After

New sconces (thanks Meg Mont):

But, like I said, the weekend wasn't all work.  We did manage to relax, a lot.  Christmas Eve dinner was at our house with my brother, sis-in-law and niece.  Hubs cooked a london broil on his new grill, my mom made her famous mashed potatoes, and I made some of hubs favorite family dishes- Grandmama Ruth's veggie casserole and and Grandmother Thelma's lemon pound cake.  He was away from his family over Christmas weekend, so I wanted him to have a little something familiar that he loves.  After we stuffed ourselves silly, we opened presents and played with Grayson.  She gets all of the attention, and for good reason, she is a freaking doll baby!

 Hubs enjoying his new chair:

 Ohhhh, what happens next Di?

 What's that on your lip Papa?

 Cute parents:

Gray says Merry Christmas, y'all (told ya, doll baby!):

Great weekend with family, and doing house projects.  Next up- painting the wood a creamy white in the Pinnochio Room.... say a prayer for me...

Throws

It's the most wonderful time... of the year! And a great time of year to be beside a crackling fire under a plush blanket, right?  Too bad it is 70 degrees here in Atlanta, Georgia today.  Arg.  A girl can dream though, right? (IIIII'm dreeeeeaming ooooof a cooooozy plush throooow.....)

Ever noticed how stores like Pottery Barn (my beloved), Ballard Design, Crate & Barrel, and even Bed Bath and Beyond pair bedding/living room/upholstered furnishings with a nice blanket?  Even in the summer months, you won't catch a leather PB chair or sectional sofa without some sort of throw draped across a corner, tucked behind a toss pillow.

Pottery Barn images:

Crate and Barrel images:

And Ballard Design, too:

Somehow, a blanket just completes a room and makes it really comfortable and welcoming.  And you guys, I found (actually my MIL found- that's mother-in-law y'all) the ultimate comfortable/welcoming textile you ever did see.   I'm serious, this blanket might just send you snoozing looking at it... but certainly when you curl up under this heavenly thing.  And, its name really suits it...

THE LUXURY PLUSH THROW- Restoration Hardware.  Luxury, quite so.  It's like something a queen would sleep on.  Softer than velvet, softer than fur, and softer than no blanket at all, of course.  I'm not sure what it is made of, but I'm guessing angel kisses and a breath of heaven.  And plush?  Definitely.  This isn't for the skimpy blanket lovers of the world.  If this blanket were a hamburger, it'd be the Vortex Cheeseburger (for those of you that don't understand, that's the best burger in the world).  If it were a car, it'd be the Rolls Royce.  A champagne, Don Perignon.  A museum, the Smithsonian.  A QB, Tom Brady  (sorry hubs, it's true).  An 80's band, GNR (please take me home, yeaa yeaa).  A sitcom, Modern Family.  And certainly, if this blanket were in your house, you'd be a happy camper.

Luxury Plush Throw, Restoration Hardware:

Don't you know, I bought one for the guest room and our master bedroom.  I haven't looked back.  And the best part, these babies are 50% off right now, so get yours while this special is going on (get yours here)! You won't regret it, but you might sleep better.  And longer.  Zzzzzzzzzz.

A Half Bath

The half bath on the main floor has already changed a lot from the day we moved in to now.  We've (well, mainly I've) painted the bathroom from the move-in burgundy to the now-present Behr Silver Sage (like the kitchen here), spray painted the move-in gold mirror to what's now a textured oil-rubbed bronze, hung an extra towel rack (Dad did this), and fixed the broken towel rack (hubs), and hung a few pieces of artwork. 

A few pictures ala my iPhone (I really have got to get a real camera):

Before

After

(I need to hang a little artwork or a little mirror above this smaller towel holder.. this picture shows the negative space created and it is totally bugging me... but anyways...)

In flipping through magazines, I noticed a trend.  Layered towels.  I know it's to display all of the patterns and towels available, but they just look so pretty all stacked together, and I love all the different monograms:

(all images from Pottery Barn)

So, I decided I'd try and recreate the same layering effect with several different towels of my own in our half bath.  I picked towels of different sizes and colors, both patterned and solid.  Oh, and definitely the ones that were monogrammed.  Here's the end result of displaying a whole lotta towels:

Then, flipping through websites, I began noticing yet another trend.  Stencils, stencils, stencils.  Oh me, oh my.  Like I've said before, pattern is fun, and it makes me really happy (whether it is gray paint, or modern furnishings, or chevron rugs, or sundial mirrors, everybody's got their thing, and pattern happens to be mine).  Being the nerd I am, I started doing a ton of research on the art of stenciling, and its cousin vinyl graphics. After a brief time, it occurred to me that stenciling is more for me.  It's crafty, it's "easy", and it involves painting... all of which I love to do.  I say "easy" because that's probably a relative term.  And, most importantly, it is way easier to change if I don't like the outcome.  So, one decision down, stenciling > vinyl.

But, now.  What stencil?  There's only about a gazillion trillion to choose from.  And me, loving pattern so, it's hard to pick, gulp, only one? What do you mean I can only pick one?  This is going to be harder than picking out a husband (just kiddin' hubs).  Several patterns that I love (these stencils are from Royal Design Stencils shop here, and from Cutting Edge Stencils shop here) :

 Ikat

Modern Moroccan

Animal Print

Chain Links

Trellis

However, this had to get narrowed down.  After a ton of consulting with my friend Flower, she helped guide me from the ledge and back to sanity. First of all, we took into account the other patterns I already have on the main floor.  It's mostly casual florals and stripes. While I love the more modern stencils, they aren't going to work in my half bath with the rest of the downstairs being casual and leaning closer to traditional than modern:

(images from Pottery Barn, Bosporus Toile from Forsyth Fabrics)

Well, traditional can also take you down the path of formal, which can in turn become stuffy.  And if there's anywhere you don't want to be stuffy, it's in a bathroom of course. ;)  Traditional damask prints, beautiful, but not for me:

Somewhere between a modern and a floral is where I wanted to land... but I didn't quite want to be on the road to a super traditoinal damask, and at the same time I didn't want to be, well, grandma-ish.   Florals can do both you know (see Pollyanna).  But, after many anxious days and nights of flipping through pattern after pattern, I think I've narrowed it down to TWO choices, and I still need to choose only one of them.  Whichever I end up trying out, I plan to do the silver sage and a few shades lighter (to create a muted tone on tone look).

And here they are:

Choice #1 The Large Allover Brocade by Royal Design Stencils:

To me the large scale of this stencil (which you can't tell the scale from this picture, but the stencil is 13.25" x 20.5") helps make it a little bit more modern, and the movement helps make it less stiff and rigid like a traditional damask.  I think this one will work well with the already existing patterns on this floor, what do you think? :

And Choice #2:

Now, with choice #2 I might be kidding myself.  This is a print-it-yourself stencil from this blog post.  This may take more time and patience than I am willing to give.  But it sure is pretty (and free!). 

So, help me to decide.  What do you think?