Painting | Making it Lovely

Archive - Painting RSS Feed

Working on Where I Work

I’m working with Sherwin-Williams to redo my office. I’ll have a $1000 budget to use, and I’ll be trying out the new line of HGTV® HOME by Sherwin-Williams color collections and paint. I also have two giveaways to tell you about too! But first, let’s discuss the office.

I started to make some changes to it last year. I rearranged the furniture, brought in a pretty mirror and a crazy zigzag rug, but that’s where the progress stopped. I was going for a kind of granny chic look, remember? Then I found out I was expecting (and I had zero energy), and we also started on the basement remodel (yes, I still need to finish my studio and the playroom too). Then I had my baby (sweet little August), and well… work on the office kind of stalled.

The room is more than just an office though. You’ll see in the video below that it’s also where Eleanor and August spend much of their time playing, and I would like the room to feel cozy and happy. Want to see how it looks right now?

To recap, these are the main issues I’ll be addressing.

Either the rug needs to go, or I need to reupholster or replace my office chair. They don’t match, and since I do like the rug a lot, I’ll probably switch out the chair. The Eames Management Chair is still the chair I dream of owning, but they’re very expensive and I don’t want to buy a knockoff. I’ve been watching eBay and Craigslist, but I may have to keep looking for an alternative.
I need to move the redundant computer and clean up the cords on my desk.
Storage and organization: Yes, please.
I’ve had a curtain for a closet door since we moved in to this house in 2007. Our house is 100 years old, so nothing is standard. We’ll need a custom-sized door, which is why we’ve put off fixing it for so long.
The window needs curtains and a new shade.
I’ll be painting the trim white, and painting the walls. The HGTV® HOME by Sherwin-Williams colors are grouped into 8 collections to make it easier to choose colors that will work from room to room in your house (I liked the Livable Luxe and Traditional Twist collections). There are a lot of nice greens, but I’m leaning toward a light, creamy neutral for the walls, along with painted white trim.
It’s time for the ceiling fan to go. It’s not terribly ugly, but it hasn’t been working well lately and I’d like to replace it with a prettier light fixture.

Now, about those two giveaways…

Need some color and design help in your house? Enter the What’s Your Color Now? sweepstakes for a chance to win a $5000 home makeover from BHG.com and HGTV® HOME by Sherwin-Williams!
I also have a 4GB Flip MinoHD camera to give away (so you can make stellar videos like mine, ha). Just leave a comment on this post to enter for the camera (one entry per person). This giveaway is open to US and international entrants, and will run through June 30 at midnight CST. One winner will be chosen randomly on July 1.

Good luck to you in both giveaways!

p.s. How much do you think it would cost to reupholster an Eames Management Chair? Say, if I found one from 1986 with really awful fabric?

July 1: Congratulations to Jennifer, winner of the Flip camera! And remember, there’s still time for everyone to enter the What’s Your Color Now? sweepstakes.

'F' for Freebies, Office, Painting • 473 Comments • June 27, 2011

Basement Floor Paint

January
25 Bookmark or Share 149
comments

I’m having second thoughts about using Benjamin Moore’s ‘olive tree’ for the floor paint. Maybe I should go a shade or two darker? Brandon said the basement color palette was looking a little Easter basket-like, complete with the green Easter grass on the floor! I think going a shade or two darker might be the way to go to keep things from floating off into pastel territory.

The other two greens (‘mossy rock’ and ‘okra’) are both from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot, but I’d have them matched in Benjamin Moore’s floor paint. I’m going to use IKEA’s Stockholm Rand rug for a little punch too. As you can see, this paint decision has been weighing heavily on Eleanor as well.

(unedited photo here)

Basement, Painting • 149 Comments • January 25, 2011

Laundry Room Paint Color

January
20 Bookmark or Share 41
comments

And the winner is… pale blue! As I had mentioned, I’m not normally a fan of blue. I like certain shades though, so I’m willing to give it a shot. This laundry room may have tipped things in the color’s favor.

Plus, I do love blue with red, so I think the color will look beautiful with our red washer and dryer. I’m having Martha Stewart’s “Cumulus Cloud” color-matched to Benjamin Moore, but if you’re looking for an existing B. Moore color, it’s close to “Fanfare.” A nice grayish blue.

I’m also painting the storage/tool room in this color. It will look great with the olive painted floor! The only room I have left now is the half-bathroom — I have no idea what color I’m putting in there.

*Update*
Benjamin Moore’s “Whirlpool” is an even better match than “Fanfare.”

Basement, Laundry Room, Painting • 41 Comments • January 20, 2011

Basement Paint Colors

January
19 Bookmark or Share 56
comments

We’re tiling the half-bathroom and laundry room in white Octagon & Dot with charcoal gray grout, and we’re going to paint the rest of the basement floor. Since it’s just paint, I figured I’d pick a fun color (as opposed to tan/brown/gray), so I’m going with “olive tree” by Benjamin Moore. The studio is getting my favorite shade of pink (“wild aster”), and I think the play space will get “sweet pear,” a lighter version of the floor color.

I still need to choose colors for the laundry room (something that will work with our red washer and dryer, which you can kind of see in this lovely picture), and the half-bath (with its very short ceiling and lack of windows). I had a dream that I painted the bathroom orchid, like the Crayola crayon color, but I don’t know if that’s the way to go in reality. And maybe a creamy white for the laundry room? I think a robin’s egg blue would look nice too, but I’m not normally a big fan of blue.

Any suggestions?

Basement, Bathroom, Laundry Room, Painting, Studio • 56 Comments • January 19, 2011

The Dining Room with Painted White Trim

November
22 Bookmark or Share 128
comments

I know, I’ve taken far too long to show you the ‘after’ photos. The problem is that I don’t really see the dining room as a completely finished room yet! It does look a million times brighter with its painted white trim though.

Here’s why I decided to paint the wood trim, and here’s what the room looked like before. Still to do:

Paint the wall above the picture rail and the ceiling. Probably the same color as the background of the wallpaper.
Paint the doors.
Paint the trim in my office and in the living room.
Find new window treatments. Maybe simple white shades?
Either get new chairs or reupholster the ones we have. The fabric isn’t very practical for our expanding family.
Remember to flip the handles on the buffet back the right way before taking pictures next time. Eleanor likes to flip them all up, and I hadn’t noticed until I was editing the photos!

Before and after shots: