New Paint Reveal - Finally

We had the house painted over the summer and I have spent a lot of time rethinking a lot of things in my house since then. Everything is painted Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, perhaps the most overused color in the blogosphere but it's a fabulously versatile color. Here's the long overdue reveal. Apologies for the sometimes not so great pictures - these were taken on a gloomy, rainy Sunday. Also, I cleaned up the major clutter but the toys and kitchen stuff is the stuff that is always on my counters and I chose to leave thing as they are so you can see how we really live (sort of - it's usually way messier!!).

Pot of chili bubbling on the stove on a rainy, cool fall Sunday afternoon - nothing better.

And our family room which is the hardest room to photograph in the house. So many windows and views into other spaces. I never put the curtains back up and I still love the open feeling, especially on the back doors.

Here's the living room. The color really works well with the wheat colored furniture and brass accents. I would love to replace the coffee table but haven't found the right thing. I may change out the art over the fireplace with another piece that I already have.

Perhaps my favorite shot of this reveal is this one of our front door. The new paint color really sets off the painted front door. I loved it before but now I love it even more. This is also a very accurate depiction of how the color looks in person, in case you are considering it for your own space.

"We can either paint or move. You pick."

I uttered those words to Handy Hubby a few months ago. He quickly said that painting was a good idea. Of course he hates moving and I know that so it was a slam dunk (and, no, I really don't have any desire to move). I love yellow but I was just tired of being hemmed in by a somewhat specific color (although if you like warm colors then it's a great, versatile option). I felt it wasn't working with the direction my decor was going, and I was feeling bored.

I sampled a ton of paint thanks to the generosity of friends and clients with lots of gray and taupe paint samples. I finally decided on Revere Pewter. Actually, it was an easy choice. As soon as I put the sample on the wall I liked it so it quickly became a contender. I also liked Sherwin Williams Alpaca and a few others but Revere Pewter had the right mix of gray and tan, and it also worked really well with blue.

I also felt like it was a color and not just a variation on white which was my goal. Although I do like white... maybe my next paint job.

And here's how it looks today.

It has been 2 weeks since it was finished and I love how it came out. I am so glad we made this change. It has also been a great opportunity to rethink my art choices and various accessories. Any time you take everything out of a space, it's an opportunity to think again about how you want your rooms to feel. This time my dad put the blinds back up but I decided to leave the curtains off for a while and see how I feel about it. The curtains were weighing the room down and who needs a heavy-feeling room in the summer? 

Of course, this has led to several more projects. More to come!

Handmade Desk {Family Room}

Handy Hubby strikes again!  He made a desk!  After he made our great toy storage shelf, I asked if he could make a desk for our kids to keep in our kitchen/family room.  My daughter does a lot of art projects and second grade now requires a lot of homework (WHY?!!).  Most of this ends up on the kitchen table which poses a problem when we need to eat a meal!  Her art table was getting way too small for much of anything besides a pile of junk that never got used.  So we are now moving that table to the basement, and the Christmas tree is currently in its place.  The space is narrow and I found it hard to find a desk that would really fit the space so Handy Hubby made one!

I couldn't resist waiting until after Christmas to show you but here it is...

Check out the dovetail drawers!

For those interested in details, the base is made of poplar, the top is a butcher block top that we purchased at Habitat Restore  for $25 several years ago for another project but never used.  Handy Hubby joined two pieces together to make it deep enough.  He then finished it with an ebony stain (Minwax). I wanted it to blend well with our kitchen.  The drawer pulls are from Home Depot.  

He did an amazing job, didn't he?  Love my Handy Hubby!

Shade Upgrade {Family Room}

I recently realized that I don't always practice what I preach to my clients about layers and texture.  I tend to get my own rooms to a point where I like them but they often lack the final touches to make them great.  One good example is my family room which still needs some work around the fireplace but we just haven't found a good solution.  

I think the family room also lacks wood tones that tie it to my eating area table.  Fortunately I found a relatively easy and inexpensive remedy for this quandary.  So, on a not-so-busy Friday I wondered through the shade aisle at Home Depot and found these.  Perfect wood tone, great price, and decent quality for the money.  A quick look for similar custom shades came in at about $150 each so I figured $150 for 4 shades wasn't a bad way to solve my problem.  I was able to install 3 out of 4 of these guys myself but one bracket on the 4th needed Handy Hubby's attention.  

And now I have this...

I love the layered look, but I'm debating whether to keep the sheers.  For now they can tuck behind the curtains out of the way.  

I'm fairly certain Handy Hubby is perplexed by these shades since I told them we will likely never use them.  We use the sheers if we need privacy but we rarely shut those (dark windows at night don't bother us).  

What do you think?  Too many layers?  

Toy Corner Evolution {Family Room}

I am a big fan of baskets for storing toys (read more here).  I particularly like open baskets because I like kids to be able to see what's in there.  As my kids have grown over the past couple of years, I started to feel like our toy corner in our family room was a bit crazy.

I had been looking for some sort of shelf for my beloved open baskets.  I found a few such as this and this.  I could not find one that I really liked that also fit the space.  Fortunately Handy Hubby was looking for a furniture project so he made me this.  

I ended up buying new baskets because I wanted them all to match.  I'm sure I'll put the old ones to work somewhere.  By having the varying size baskets, I was able to organize the toys a bit better.  The bottom basket is all Disney Cars related toys.  We have soooooo many cars.  The middle basket is miscellaneous remote control cars and larger toys.  The top left basket is all Leapster games and gear (my kids love their old Leapsters!).  The top right basket is miscellaneous small toys that they play with a lot.  

I accessorized the top with a fake topiary, a vase my sister-in-law gave us for our wedding, and a little ceramic bird.  The books are oversized children's books which seemed fitting for the top of a toy shelf!

The art was done by 7 year old daughter.  She brought it home from school in her art portfolio during the last week of school and I instantly started looking for a frame to put it in.  I had it propped up in the kitchen for a few weeks but this seemed like the perfect place. 

I'm encouraging the kids to pull the baskets out and play with their toys.  So far, they have been playing with a lot of toys but generally keep the baskets on the shelf.  I'll let you know as time goes on and they get more used to the shelves.  Of course, I am still tripping on tiny Cars all over the house!  

Any favorite toy storage tips?  

Family Room: Things Coming Together

Since purchasing the new sectional and ottoman, a few months back, I felt like this area really was not finished.  I love both of these purchases.  The ottoman definitely needed a tray (you know I loooove trays), but in this case it really needed one just for its flat surface but the consolidating feature was a bonus.

At the beginning of yard sale season summer, I found a fabulous tray at a neighborhood sale.  The man had $10 on it but I offered $7 and he grabbed the money before I could second guess.  This baby is HEAVY - no lightweight silverplate here.  It's also tarnished, but I don't mind it.  Originally I had intended to use it in the dining room as part of a centerpiece but it seemed just too big and oversized.  Besides, I need my dining room table for junk that has no other home in our house!  So, it sat in the dining room against the wall for 3 months while I pondered its fate.

The other day, I had an epiphany!  The tray could go on the ottoman. Just the right mix of contemporary (the ottoman) and traditional (the tray).  Pretty much exactly my style!  So, I threw it on there and it worked.

Next I plunked on a glass vase that I had just bought last weekend at a flea market, also for $7 (irony?). I saw this vase and although I don't think it is anything particularly special, it just spoke to me.  I had to have it.  People complimented me on it as I carried it around while we shopped for another hour before heading home.

By the way, that's my new Kindle under the artichoke candle.  LOVE that thing but of course, it's now outdated only 3 weeks later.  ARGH!

I love how the tray leaves plenty of room for books, card games, or cars to be run around the ottoman.  I also have enough space to pop my feet up there while I watch my nightly HGTV fix.  It's a tough mix to have functional with pretty so I love when it comes together so nicely.

I'm off to watch Sarah's House on my DVR.  Anyone else watching?  It's Saturday afternoon on HGTV - LOVE her shows!

Back to School Mantel

The kids are headed back to school today after a great summer vacation.  Virginia seems to be one of the only southern states not already back in school.  I love that my kids are out of school until after Labor Day - it seems to make summer feel so long.  Elizabeth is headed to first grade and Alex is headed to the "upstairs" class at his wonderful preschool.  Elizabeth is truly excited about not being the youngest in her elementary school!  Alex is a bit nervous and does not really understand his friends are also moving up as well, and he gets to do so many more fun things!

In honor of this fun day, I surprised the kids with a quick back to school mantel last night.  I used things I had around the house including small fake apples, a bouquet of pencils, lots of books, and glass containers of crayons and scrabble letters.

I'll share some first day of school pictures of my kids on Facebook later so be sure to check there!  I also have to say "hi!" to my reader Caitlin who so kindly introduced herself on the street last night and told me that she loved my blog!  So exciting for me!!

Linking to Domestically Speaking

Family Room: Putting my feet up in comfort

Hope everyone had a great long weekend.  We spent part of it in upstate New York with my family for my sister-in-law's baby shower.  So excited to meet that little guy or girl - they aren't finding out the sex which I love! We didn't find out for either of our children and although the suspense nearly killed me (especially the second time around), it made the delivery that much more fun and exciting.  Back to the blog...

When we got our new sectional a few months ago, it quickly became apparent that our coffee table was not going to cut it any more. It was a hand-me-down from my parents who bought it at Macy's circa 1973 soon after they were married.  I really wanted an ottoman here instead to make movie and TV watching more comfortable and enjoyable.  We also don't need a coffee table here because we have one in our living room which is great for games, puzzles, etc.  

So, I set about looking for an ottoman. I was looking for something between 30 and 34" square. This gave us a little more floor space but gave everyone sitting on the sectional a place to rest their feet.  I was open to fabric and leather, but did not want pleather or vinyl. Turns out - this was no easy feat!  Most ottomans were small - around 24" or huge McMansion ottomans - closer to 40" squire, or made of vinyl/pleather.  Not going to work for our small family room.  You can see some of my finds on my Pinterest board.

Then I considered making an ottoman.  In theory, it probably would have worked but I think ultimately, I would have ended up buying something after a few years. I feared it would look homemade which I most certainly did not want in my family room where we spend all of our time.  

I scoured HomeGoods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx, Target, World Market, Macys, JC Penney, Kohls, etc., but none of my discount sources were revealing anything great. I found a few good options on One Kings Lane and Joss & Main but nothing perfect enough to take the plunge on something non-returnable!

Finally, it came along on Gilt in a Safaviah sale earlier this month.  Clean lines, not too much tufting to interfere with magnatiles or other toys which make it onto this surface.  And the $239.00 price tag didn't hurt either. It's just about 30" square and the fabric is called gray but it has tan undertones which work well with the rug, curtains, and other golds and greens in the room.  

Fortunately the 3 week delivery window turned out to be only about 4 days!  I couldn't believe it when I came home and found it on my front porch on a Thursday afternoon.  When we first put it together, right before Alex's birthday party, I have to admit, I thought it was way too small.  In hindsight, I think it was just an adjustment from the too-big coffee table which was wider and taller. The ottoman actually fits the scale of the room and sofa better than the table did.

I love the tweed-like texture which plays off the sofa and other fabrics in the room.  I put together a little summer centerpiece while I was at it.  All the better for blogging from!

Any furniture purchases in your neck of the woods?  Fun Memorial Day weekend stuff?  Did you watch the Hatfields and McCoys on the History Channel?