Our Happy Place
We did it!
We are moved in and are truly madly deeply in new house love. The house is about 20 years old, 2650 square feet, in a wonderful neighborhood, and we could not be happier. It really feels like a dream for us, having a pool just a few steps out our backdoor . We have had family over the last couple of weekends and it feels so good to have a little more space for everyone to spread out a bit.
Moving is haaaaarrd work. I think I had forgotten how hard since our last go around. We still have boxes stacked in every room. I'm steadily chipping away at it and could not be happier or more grateful.
Like most houses 20 years old, this place needs some updating. Mostly paint and carpet upstairs. However, the first order of business was to paint my office. It was the traditional suburban stained wood paneling with picture moulding. Fancy, right?
That's a lot of brown!
The interior of the house had recently been painted in soft blues and has a nice coastal vibe which we really love (more interior shots later...). I love all the beautiful fresh gray rooms I've been seeing, so I took the opportunity to have some fun with gray in my office. Dude's might want to look away...they don't get why anyone would paint over perfectly good wood (my husband was the exception, he trusts me :)
I love it!
Being tired and more than a little impatient to get this done, I broke one of my most rigid design rules and didn't sample the paint color before we started. I walked around the house for a couple of days with my Benjamin Moore paint deck and kept coming back to a color that just felt right, Gray Owl (OC 52). I had a gut feeling that the color would be good and I was right. Turns out it's a popular "go to" neutral gray and one that I will be using again. Also, my friends at Benjamin Moore told me this color recipe doesn't break down accurately in quart size, so keep that in mind if you're sampling paint.
My painter sanded the walls to get rid of the 20 year old grimey shine, primed the walls and built-ins and then painted with a satin finish enamel on the walls. On the built-ins and crown moulding I used Snowfall White (OC 118) in semi-gloss.
I love the new color and atmosphere of the room. It has a bit of a French Salon feel. Don't you love the bang for the buck you get from simply painting?
Also, check out the pretty bamboo clock my parents gifted us with for the entry.
I'm presently unpacking accessories for my office/girl room and filling up the white Liatorp cabinets from Ikea with some of my favorite goodies.
New lighting and window coverings are still to come, but all in good time.
I tend to get a little distracted:
We are moved in and are truly madly deeply in new house love. The house is about 20 years old, 2650 square feet, in a wonderful neighborhood, and we could not be happier. It really feels like a dream for us, having a pool just a few steps out our backdoor . We have had family over the last couple of weekends and it feels so good to have a little more space for everyone to spread out a bit.
Moving is haaaaarrd work. I think I had forgotten how hard since our last go around. We still have boxes stacked in every room. I'm steadily chipping away at it and could not be happier or more grateful.
Like most houses 20 years old, this place needs some updating. Mostly paint and carpet upstairs. However, the first order of business was to paint my office. It was the traditional suburban stained wood paneling with picture moulding. Fancy, right?
That's a lot of brown!
The interior of the house had recently been painted in soft blues and has a nice coastal vibe which we really love (more interior shots later...). I love all the beautiful fresh gray rooms I've been seeing, so I took the opportunity to have some fun with gray in my office. Dude's might want to look away...they don't get why anyone would paint over perfectly good wood (my husband was the exception, he trusts me :)
I love it!
Being tired and more than a little impatient to get this done, I broke one of my most rigid design rules and didn't sample the paint color before we started. I walked around the house for a couple of days with my Benjamin Moore paint deck and kept coming back to a color that just felt right, Gray Owl (OC 52). I had a gut feeling that the color would be good and I was right. Turns out it's a popular "go to" neutral gray and one that I will be using again. Also, my friends at Benjamin Moore told me this color recipe doesn't break down accurately in quart size, so keep that in mind if you're sampling paint.
My painter sanded the walls to get rid of the 20 year old grimey shine, primed the walls and built-ins and then painted with a satin finish enamel on the walls. On the built-ins and crown moulding I used Snowfall White (OC 118) in semi-gloss.
Black french doors. If you're considering this, go for it! It's beautiful with the gray.
Also, check out the pretty bamboo clock my parents gifted us with for the entry.
I'm presently unpacking accessories for my office/girl room and filling up the white Liatorp cabinets from Ikea with some of my favorite goodies.
New lighting and window coverings are still to come, but all in good time.
I tend to get a little distracted: