6th Street Design Home Tour

So this was kind of fun.  I got an email from Kirsten over at 6th Street Design asking if she could feature my home last week on her blog during her feature friday.  I felt a little silly gathering photos for her since I feel like there are a million things I'd love to do/add/change with the time and budget.  And I never feel like any room is "done" of course.  But of course I was flattered she asked! and it was fun to see my home on her darling blog.

So if you haven't seen enough from me over-sharing on my own blog....

 Check it out. 

My New White Kitchen

 

This was a bit more of an experience than I'd hoped.  I love my new white kitchen. I love it a million times more than when it was dark--- I pretty much love everything in my home lighter brighter and whiter right now.  BUT I did learn a few lessons that I thought I'd share.  Please don't mistake this explanation for me being negative or ungrateful!  But I've alluded to my kitchen dilemma and figured I should share.  Clearly I would have wanted to know.

I chose White Dove by Benjamin Moore... My painter had it matched somewhere.  He brought in a cabinet door after he sprayed it to get my ok and it looked lovely.  However, if I'm being honest, I wasn't exactly looking that hard. I trusted my research and it looked great.. I wasn't expecting anything else.  But after he took my cabinets and painted, then put them back on.  My heart sank.  It didn't look like that nice thick soft white kitchen.  It looked almost just primed.  Kinda...... blue.

It took me over a week to get up the nerve to call him back.  I figured it was my fault and I'd chosen the wrong color--- and I was just sick about it.  But then I went and picked up a can of white dove myself, painted a board and compared.  It was So so so so different.  The white I chose had some yellow in it--- in fact, if anything, MORE yellow than I thought I'd want.  It looked more yellow than my swiss coffee mantle.  The white on my cabinets looked blue.  It was a totally different color!

Luckily when I called him, he assured me he'd do what it took to make me happy (!!) --- he came back, agreed that it looked like there weren't enough coats.  That must be the problem .  I really considered changing the color completely, but felt like I was pushing, as it was.  And he seemed confident that all it needed was a few more coats.  That it was the hint of dark wood coming through that dulled the white to a blueish grayish shade.

So now it's done.  And it is an improvement from the first time, and I LOVE it.  But I knew right away that it wasn't perfect.   I still saw the hint of blue.  But this is what he ended up explaining to me when he brought them back.  Had I known this I WOULD have chosen a different color.

He explained that they have to dilute the paint with lacquer to spray it on the cabinets.  Depending on the size of the spray gun, they dilute it more or less, so it comes out nice and smooth and doesn't clog the gun. That completely changes the color.  He said it would never match the color painted on by hand.  He didn't feel like he needed to explain this to me before because he sprayed the sample before hand, but he accidentally used a different gun to spray my sample so I got one version on the sample and a more diluted version in my kitchen.  He was the nicest guy--- totally happy to do the WHOLE job again for free to make me happy.  And I would actually use him again--- now that I know this.

My sister had told me that she chose swiss coffee for her cabinets and feels like they just grabbed a can of pure white because it looks too stark.  Now it all makes sense? Is this what happens to everyone who paints their cabinets?

WHY wouldn't they just explain it all before, so you'd choose the color accordingly.  A more saturated warmer white?  OR why wouldn't they have a formula where they buy your color at a higher opacity to compensate for the diluting process????  Why wouldn't they tell you that while you spent hours researching and sampling to choose your white, you'll just be ending up with watered down elmers-glue white?  I just don't get it. But in case you're in the market for having your cabinets painted... I would ask your painter if this will be an issue... and how you can be sure to get your color.

Hopefully you saw the photos and thought... what is she complaining about? And don't see the blue and just think I'm obnoxious.  Or maybe you're impossible to please and see every flaw like me. :)

So, do you remember the before? Of course this is all I could come up with.  The one I snapped with my phone after they took  the cabinets off.  I realize it's not a fair comparison since it's under construction, and there's junk everywhere... but you get the idea.

A few Changes Around Here

A few new prints from our recent family pictures by Lizzie.

I've taken a picture of this room way too many times. I'm sorry if you've noticed. But it seems to be ever-changing... so I can't help myself.

One of our favorite Dave Matthew's songs. Ross was obsessed with them when we first met so all of their songs remind me of those days. I've always just really loved these lyrics. So I made this in photoshop and printed it as one of Costco's posters so it's nice and thick (since I've got no glass in this old frame.)

I'm still waiting on the hardware before I blog the kitchen... but I also had part of my banister painted white. These ones above are the AFTER. Below is the before. I've been searching for a picture of a white banister with a dark handrail where the wrought iron had been painted white to see if I could do it. I couldn't find that. And was worried that painting the wrought iron could look scary. So I gave up and just painted the base. It still brightens it up a ton for me--- there was just something about that dark wood baseboard that drove me bananas.

Seeing these photos makes me feel like I might finally need to come clean on something. I feel like I've been keeping a huge secret since I've been DREAMING of painting my house for so long and -- ahem--- I did.

But then (duh duh duh).... I didn't love it.

Which is like the worst feeling in the world when you've been saving your pennies for a project. So I lost my desire to blog before and afters. :( So so sad. I continued to pin great paint colors--- I felt like I had a weird addiction and Ross was going to have to pull me away "it's already done! get over it woman!"

You see, I thought I wanted white. But not TOO white. But not gray. For whatever reason, I thought I didn't want gray even though I'd wished I'd done gray 4 years ago. It makes tons of sense. (You'll see that my more recent pins are mostly gray. )

I thought I wanted a creamy white. Just a shade off of white. I went too off. Way too off. Way too creamy. Way too yellow. I chose linen white by Benjamin Moore. It's a huge improvement from what it was (see above.) So it's not like I hate it. It's just still a warm yellowy tone which means I don't walk into my home and get a whole new vibe. I was hoping for a new vibe. I paid for a new vibe.

Live and learn right? I'm beginning to think I'll have to view every project as a huge mistake learning experience for that custom dream home we'll build some day. ;)

My kitchen!

Of course I forgot to take a "before" until after they removed the cabinets.... but you can still get the idea. Don't you dare zoom in and try and see how out-of-control my cupboards are. I very much appreciate the ability to close a door. holy cow. I don't think I've wiped some of these cupboards out since we moved in almost four years ago. eww.

SO-- the next photo you'll see of my kitchen will be WHITE! Hopefully it will have hardware finally too..... unless I take too long to find what I want and take a photo before that part...

They took the doors today, and start painting tomorrow. I think it will take a few days before they can put the doors back on-- maybe next Wednesday? I'm dying.

Anyway--- hope the suspense doesn't kill you.

P.S

I've been working on a face lift for my photo blog... opinions? Too plain? Too many lines? Check it out.

The Girls' Room

Did you already read this post? Check out my I'm-not-as-abnoxious-as-I-sounded disclaimer below in red! Phew.

I've given up on waiting 'till it's "finished." I should know better by now. It's just always a work in progress. Here is their room, for now. I bought a few drawer-pulls from anthro that I'm debating between for that little side table... I meant to put some on before the photo.... oops.

Brooke's mom made me these pillows out of a tablecloth I found at Cost Plus. I LOVE them.

This is where the Target poufs I blogged about have ended up for now. I wasn't planning on silver in there. Do you think it distracts? This room has sort of been a huge head ache to me. Maybe I went a few too many ways and feel a bit modge-podgey.... but it's feeling personal now which I love.

This, of course is what makes it the most personal... their collage wall. I wondered if it was too much or too big for the room. But I think I love it. The painting is one my Grandma did, when she was alive, of me and my sister, Lacy at the beach. I still remember when she snapped the photo (she later used to paint from.) I remember that Lacy's t-shirt actually was a Mickey Mouse T-shirt... something she chose to leave out. :) It was painted in 86 which means I was 5, just like Sophia. It feels good to get it up on the wall in such a perfect home. ALERT ALERT-- yikes... my mom just told me she read my blog today and thought it was weird that I said I had a perfect home. That it didn't sound like me. "What? I would never say that, mom." Then I read that last line above... YIKES--- what I meant was that it was nice to find a "perfect home" for this old painting from my grandma.... the girls' room. NOT that I have a perfect home. Hopefully this scary red font forces you to read it. what else should I squeeze in while I've got your attention..... hmmm

The green striped curtains are made, of course, by Brooke's mom. Did I mention I took photos of their family and she is doing projects in exchange? Best trade ever.

I've had a few requests for the fabric source... I've tried finding it again and it's nowhere. But it was originally from fabric.com and it was called "awning striped" fabric. Specifically: For Your Home Awning Stripe Ivory/Sea Urchin PS-5189

The drawer pulls are from the old purple room.... not the purple I'm going for now, but I'll replace them later. And I don't plan on leaving the frame empty. :) I think I'll get a mirror cut. Is it too much to have two distinct mirrors in the room? Not sure.

I spray painted that lamp and it was the greatest spray-painting experience ever. It's high-gloss, where I think I usually buy satin. And it's labeled as paint and primer in one. It seemed to go on fast and smooth and I loved the sheen. It felt so much less "spray painted". The shade is from Target and just kind of happened to go really well with the paint.

I think this little frame is homegoods. Isn't it darling? It's like candy to me. I want to eat it. Or wear it.

Confessions of a pillow-holic. And some other house stuff...

This is my living room.

I have a pillow problem. I change pillows like every month. I have a few different pillow graveyards. I tire of them quickly and yet I have a hard time getting rid of them-- thinking I might cycle back through them like I do old t-shirts.

These pillows still have the tags on because I'm not sure they work. I sort of think they're BEAUTIFUL and love their watercolor effect. But then I wonder if I've got too many colors going on. Or too many florals? Or if they're too grandma?

Or these stripes? opinions?

The Dining Room.

Looks the same as the last time I took a photo... but it was in the folder so I posted it.

A wall near my front door.

I don't know about this pillow either. The tag is also still on it... like several other pillows in my house. I usually have one in a corner of the settee.... but happened to take the photo when I was trying out this one...??? Also, I want to paint the "b". white? pink? not sure. And the walls... don't get me started on the walls. I really want a new neutral-- much lighter, much cooler-- but that takes much time and much energy and much moolah.

The Family Room

These are my new pillows for my sectional! I had my friend, Brooke's wonderful mom make them for me out of a tablecloth from Anthropologie that I found. I wondered if they were too bright and wild at first. But I I'm loving them now. I'm still working on a third pillow. You can guess how that might go.

Still working on filling these book shelves. I can't decide how full they have to be to look pretty and clean but not just sparse and unfinished. Pretty sure they're still the latter.

Two of my favorite items in the house.

Their room to come.

I WANT TO MARRY IT

Meet my new mantel.And a little before picture: (I can never bear to put the "before" picture BEFORE the "after" picture. I'm just too excited to open the blog and see pretty.

The room is still in progress. I think I want to switch to the zebra rug now, that's up in my room. The colorful pillow is a tablecloth I planned on returning to Anthro, but now I think I'll have Brooke's mom who made Finn's bedding etc... make me some pillows for the couch out of it. (I know... how did I land her?) I can't stop staring at the mantel--- I'm in love with it. And I think it deserves better than the mismatched leftovers I've got on my couch right now.

Also-- can't wait to get to Homegoods and see what inexpensive knick knacks I can get for the top since I stole the orchid from the dining room... maybe I should just pull out the Halloween stuff a little early... cute.

Thank you Nate. You are amazing. And what was this, like a week from conception? I'm still pinching myself.