Testing Out More Greens & Trim Colors

Posted on | April 19, 2010 | 9 Comments

DSC 2261 Testing Out More Greens & Trim Colors

Round two of picking a green paint for the den. I love Farrow & Ball’s paint colors but all the greens are just too dark for the den. I got a lot of votes for #2 Teresa’s Green (F&B) but to me it’s too blue. I want a sage green.

This morning I picked a few large paint samples from C2. I’ve read/heard C2 has a similar paint structure to Farrow & Ball. I think we have a winner with #4 Cucumber. I like the shade and it’s a nice green! I’ll have to live with it for few days. But I do feel confident if Cucumber doesn’t work I can find something similar in C2’s line.

Now onto trim colors. I tried out a few samples over the weekend. Trim colors from left to right: Off White, Joa’s White, Clunch, and Lime White all by Farrow & Ball. I’m leaning towards Off White, Clunch, or Lime White which are brown/grey/warm whites. I’m not a fan of yellow whites. #2 Joa’s white is pretty but too pink.

Below a video of the paint samples. The colors are so hard to photograph. I was hoping the video would give you a better idea of what the colors look like in real life. View on youtube in HD.

Category: house renovation, paint colors, video

House Renovation: Cleaning Up Living Room Mess

Posted on | April 15, 2010 | 16 Comments

I got an e-mail from a blog friend (who is also going through a big renovation) asking me how I deal with the mess? I don’t. At first it overwhelmed me. Tools, wood, work clothes, extension cords all over our house. I can’t contain it all to one room. And I don’t have it in me to keep it clean everyday. If I move something I hear the proverbially, “Kate where did you put my drill, screwdriver, chisel?” over and over. The problem we have right now is that nothing has a home. If only we had a garage??

My mission the last few months has been to get our first floor cleaned up. We lived in the house a year and half and it’s become a wasteland. Everything I don’t want to deal with on the second and third floors gets thrown down to the first. It’s out of control. If neighbors could peek in they might think scatters have taken over the space.

This week we finally got one room on the first floor cleaned. I can’t say I didn’t do some slinging of crap to other rooms but we did do 4 dump runs. We must of gotten rid of a few things, right? The room was full of wood and scraps. Check out the ugly beam below that was holding up part of the house. We organized everything into three piles. Keep, dump, and recycle.

Now we are thinking about moving our office to the first floor and converting our third floor office into a painting studio for me! The stove is in the room because the first floor was going to be an apartment. I think I finally won the single family battle. Wouldn’t the space make a lovely living room?

Update! I put together a quick little unedited video of the living room and a few more rooms (below). My videos are total amateur hour but I don’t really mind. I write a blog which to me means it should be a little informal. Thinking about getting a Flip so uploading would be even easier? And maybe I would share more? Scroll down to view or check out on youtube.com.

beam being thrown out1 House Renovation: Cleaning Up Living Room Mess

living room mess in piles House Renovation: Cleaning Up Living Room Mess

looking out to street House Renovation: Cleaning Up Living Room Mess

first floor living room two House Renovation: Cleaning Up Living Room Mess

first floor living room House Renovation: Cleaning Up Living Room Mess

Click here to learn more about the upstairs den.

Category: house renovation, video

Video: Paint In Den Stripped

Posted on | January 25, 2010 | 15 Comments

I made my first youtube video over the weekend. I have a lot to learn about shooting, editing, music, intro etc. I can’t wait to share more of the house. It’s so hard to get a real feel for the space with just photos. Click on the video above to learn more about our den.

I’m still unsure what color to paint the molding. Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my post. I read every single one of them. I am leaning towards painting the molding off white. The room is really dark. I’m afraid adding a dark color to the molding will only make the room feel smaller.

Over the weekend we stripped more paint; I painstakingly cleaned each individual fluted molding, all 257 of them. I want the lines to be as crisp as possible. Hopefully, when the paint is applied we won’t loose any of the detail. Greg finished removing the ceiling from the little room off the den. The space is a total mess. Ug, another room to clean. Photos below.

Category: house renovation, video

Liane from Enhabiten

Posted on | December 11, 2009 | 2 Comments

Tara sent this great new handmade portrait etsy video she shot of Liane from Enhabiten. I’ve gotten to know Liane via the blogging world but seeing her in her element completely captivated me. Liane who started as a painter makes beautiful pillows using vintage fabrics and natural materials. Her studio in New Hampshire is filled with gorgeous florals and linens she has collected at local flea markets. I know she was feeling a bit shy about having a video of herself out in the world. Root her on and tell her she’s great on her blog. Below just a few of wares for sale at her etsy shop: enhabiten.etsy.com. My favorite are her cross pillows.

Category: artist, pillows, video

Edna Lawrence Nature Lab @ RISD

Posted on | August 4, 2009 | 3 Comments

Edna Lawrence Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence looks so cool. Full of amazing inspiration. Check out the video Etsy.com did of this treasure filled museum.

(discovered via acquireboutique)

Category: inspiration, travel, video

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