Master Bedroom and Living Room Paint Colors

With our closing on Monday, Mike and I decided to spend some time today getting our appliances ordered and final paint colors selected for our master bedroom and living room, the two rooms we plan to tackle first. I know I want the whole house to be painted in soft neutrals and shades of gray, blue and greige, that delightful gray area being gray and beige. (No pun intended.) The house is only around 1600 square feet so I know I want to limit the number of paint colors to about four so all the spaces have great continuity and flow from room to room. With that in mind, picking the colors for two of the spaces that will get the most use was an important step in determining the direction things will go.

I knew right away that I wanted gray walls in the master bedroom, a nice medium shade that was decidedly gray as opposed to an off white shade that read a bit gray. Without too much difficulty I settled on Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray HC-170. It’s a beautiful neutral gray with just a tiny hint of blue undertone that is just gorgeous. Keeping in mind that every monitor is different, here is a bedroom painted in Stonington Gray:

{Photo from decor pad.}

Deciding on the living room paint was only slightly more difficult. I thought I had wanted a shade of cream or light tan, something akin to Benjamin Moore French White 1093, but when I played with the swatches against a throw pillow from our soft aquamarine couch, I knew those shades weren’t going to work. They were alternately reading too pink, too yellow, too orange, just too warm in general. After playing around with a couple of ideas, Mike and I both gravitated toward Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray HC-173 so that was the winner. Here is a living room painted in Edgecomb Gray:

{Photo from Blossom Interiors.}

The two colors look beautiful together, but are different enough that I think the rooms will read very differently. Stonington Gray is definitely a bit darker and a decidedly cooler gray, while the Edgecomb Gray reads more like a soft greige hue.

{Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray HC-170 from my perfect color.}

{Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray HC-173 from my perfect color.}

I also decided on a shade of white for the kitchen cabinets, which I’ll be painting next Tuesday. Without much deliberation I opted for perennial Benjamin Moore favorite Cloud White OC-130. I’ll be posting full details on the products I used for the kitchen cabinets plus complete before and after photos next week. Let the games begin!

Mission: Furnish and Decorate a Home On the Cheap

As we inch ever so slowly closer to home ownership (a process plagued with hurdles and numerous hoops through which we’ve had to jump), I’ve taken to stalking Craigslist like it’s my job. A couple of weeks ago I scored this pair of solid oak end tables for $50. I basically stole them they were so cheap. Eventually they’ll be painted and get new drawer pulls, but for now they’re languishing away in our den waiting to be moved to the new house. Once they’re all gussied up, they’re going into the master bedroom where we’ve always been sadly lacking nice bedside tables.

Once I had acquired the tables, I couldn’t get lamps out of my brain. I fell in love with these jade colored glass lamps from Pottery Barn when Ashley of Ashley Brooke Designs posted a photo of her bedroom (and subsequently, the lamps) on Twitter. I was even tempted to get them when I wandered into Marshalls on a whim. Low and behold, they had two gorgeous turquoise lamps, perfect for the bedroom. They were $29.99 each, but only set me back $45 after using a merchandise credit from a return. The much pricier Pottery Barn lamps, at $99 each, were momentarily forgotten, but I think I have a plan for them in our living room down the line.

So I got home last night from shopping and running errands. Mike is out of town for a few days so I decided to watch Julie & Julia and bake cookies. I got dinner on the stove and was trolling around Craigslist, yet again, when I happened upon a table with four chairs for $150. The table in our house currently is our landlord’s so I’ve been keeping an eye open for a decent set that wouldn’t set us back thousands of dollars. With Mike out of town, I impulsively decided to call up the guy who had listed the table and chairs to explain that I wasn’t sure they’d fit in my Volkswagen Rabbit. He graciously offered to deliver them and an hour later I had a table and four chairs showed up at the front door. For $150. The chairs are my favorite part – they’ve got great Quaker lines, which I adore.

So there you have it, my recent cheap finds as I attempt to block out the stress of actually buying the house itself by dreaming up lots of renovation and decorating ideas. And stalking Craigslist on a very regular basis.

Jessica Hische Drop Cap Prints

It’s really no secret at this point that I love just about everything that Jessica Hische creates. When she launched her Daily Drop Cap project, I blogged about it almost immediately. So I was pretty damn excited yesterday when Jessica announced she is now selling Daily Drop Cap prints in her online shop. I think I am probably going to need this one to hang above my desk…

{Photo from Jessica Hische.}

Kitchen Daydreams

As promised, I’m going to keep my posts more up to date as we push through this house-buying process so in light of that, I’ll let you know right up front that the house inspection did not go as well as we had hoped yesterday. There were a few minor issues that surfaced, none of which are deal breakers and one fairly significant issue we’re in the thick of handling right now. Long story short, the attic crawlspace isn’t properly vented so there is a mold problem on the underside of the roof deck. It’s a fairly easily fixed problem, but it’s a significant enough problem that it has landed us back in negotiations, the end of which we might not see for a few days. So while all of that is going on, I’m distracting myself by digging up inspiration for renovating that kitchen we’re inheriting with more late 70s/early 80s charm than I can stomach.

To remind you, here is the kitchen we will be working with:

And here are a few that I’m loving…

{Photo from Apartment Therapy.}

While I can’t forsee myself ever going with something this bright, I love the idea of introducing color on cabinetry. Why is it that we always feel so compelled to stick with neutrals anyway? And I love the combination of the bold modern color with the classic white farmhouse sink. That is just the sort of juxtaposition of which I can’t get enough. (Breathe, Mike, breathe. I am not proposing a kelly green kitchen.)

{Photo via Becoming Home.}

Ok, somewhat on the complete end of the spectrum, this all-white kitchen with it’s pretty sky blue subway tile backsplash feels delightfully “me.”  It has to be noted that I am a sucker for subway tile and lately I’ve been falling in love with colored subway tile in addition to traditional white. This kitchen has just officially made me a believer.

{Photo from pointclickhome.}

While this kitchen is definitely a bit of a departure from my personal style, I love the warm mix of materials. I love black cabinetry and find it really cozy here when paired with the granite countertops, hardwood floors and wood beam ceilings.

{Photo via At Home in KC.}

Ok, so clearly a bubble gum pink kitchen might be a bit much for most people, but I can’t help but love the playfulness of this room. The glass-fronted ceiling height cabinets on the back wall offer an envious amount of storage and the chandelier adds a touch of glamor that I find rather charming. I’m decidedly an advocate of bringing some fun and personality to the kitchen.

{Photo from Sunset via Apartment Therapy.}

This might be more along the lines of what I’m after. Classic and timeless white cabinetry, countertops, and backsplash (again, loving the subway tile) paired with sleek stainless steel appliances and little touches of color and vintage charm. While I love the schoolhouse pendant over the table, I think I’d prefer one with an all-white globe like this favorite of mine from Schoolhouse Electric. And for the dinging area, maybe something a bit more streamlined like a Scandinavian-inspired blonde wood table and chairs.

So while we’re on the topic of kitchens – does anyone have a favorite resource for kitchen inspiration? I have a feeling my daydreams are long from over at this point.

The House Hunting Adventures Begin

Mike and I are currently in the process of looking to buy a house. A few weeks ago we fell in love with a house that we really hoped would be ours only to have it get snatched up by another buyer rather quickly and unexpectedly. After licking our wounds over that disappoint, we went out house hunting again yesterday and found a place we really like. It’s cute, it has the perfect floor plan for our lifestyle and the location is great. We’re seriously considering putting in an offer and, naturally, my head has gone right into decorating mode. All I can think about are the new kitchen cabinets I want to buy, the great paint colors I can try and all of the little ways we can make it our own. The life of a potential home owner is much like that of a wedding planning bride – I’m once again officially on the hunt for inspiration all the time. I’ll keep you posted on how the house hunt plays out, but in the meantime here are a few of the things that are inspiring me right now…

Dramatic gray walls and the fun play between traditional lines and bold modern color and pattern. (From Desire to Inspire.)

Love the floating shelves behind the dining table and the soft and soothing color scheme.
(From Young House Love.)

White cabinets, aqua subway tiles and bead board ceilings = perfection.
(From Country Home via Dream in Domestic.)

Perhaps the greatest little home office I’ve ever seen – love the framed peg board for craft supply storage.
(From Brooklyn Limestone.)

Who knew twin beds could be so cool?
(From Domino from The Domino Magazine Files.)

Framed Photo Inspiration

I have always loved the idea of a gallery wall in our house and as it is, there are a whole lot of framed photos in our house. For me, photos are a major part of making a house a home. And I take a ridiculous number of photos on any given day at any given event. I’m that friend who people tend to groan at because I’m insisting on yet another group photo. The result of that though is that I have a lot of photos of great moments, great people and great memories and I would definitely love to start showcasing them in a more special way. I stumbled upon these images of this living room on Apartment Therapy and instantly fell in love with the stunning yet simple grouping of photos on the side wall. Don’t you love this?

I’m thinking I’d love to do this on one of the large blank walls in our living room choosing favorite photos from our engagement session, wedding and honeymoon. I would probably stick with all black frames, but I’d definitely switch up sizes and styles. Perhaps some are ornate with traditional white mats while others are clean, sleek and modern. I love groupings of mismatched but alike items so I like the thought of a dynamic photo display that, over time, would likely evolve as our lives do. So the architect in me (practicing or not, you can’t shake 4 years of architecture school and obsessive measuring) is thinking I might grab a level and a chalk line and start blocking out a wall and then from there let it grow organically. Heck, soon enough I might even have a disc of wedding photos so I can get this party started right.

Anyone else put together – or looking to put together – a gallery wall in your house? I would loooove to see pictures!