You can't go wrong with AF Collector's Item

Every morning I wake to Benjamin Moore's AF 45 Collector's Item. I like it so much and it is so versatile that I plan to paint my guest room the same colour!  Of course, I will have different accents and the room will look different because of those choices. It is a beautiful colour to hang art work on, and if you are fair it makes your skin look beautiful! Not a bad thing when you have to look in the mirror every  morning. I can't think on an accent colour that would look terrible with  Collector's Item.  I choose a soft green with a secondary accent of grayed purple. There's a mix of silver and gold in the accessories and there's even a little pink and soft blue floating around.

 

 My mid centrury love is showing in all the furniture. I'm getting ready to upholster the  chair which has to just sit there because the space is so limited.  On the left is the ensuite door. .  This  geometric fabric left over from another job is my current like, but that could change next week.  I know I want something with a little pattern.

 I can't seem to re-gift my Tiffany lamp even thought it is slightly off in the room. Sentiment wins with me every time. I guess you've already figured out I don't have matching furniture.   It's the artist in me.  I love to take assorted items and make them work.

 The official description of Collector's Item  on the B Moore website as a "soft off-white hue with pink undertones" that "quietly supports a space like a pedestal supports a sculpture" is spot on.  Don't be thrown by the pink undertones in the description.  I like it because it doesn't have any  hints of yellow which is not complimentary for  someone with silver hair  and fair skin.   If you want to look good in the morning this is a the wall colour for you.

 I've  also seen  Collector's Item  used as a trim colour  with darker neutrals such as Ashley Gray or Taos Taupe (2111-40) as seen on the Benjamin Moore Site. 

Check Us Out!

We're in print!
Last spring we were contacted by Better Homes & Gardens' Real Life Kitchens and Baths magazine to be included in a feature about bloggers and their renovation before & afters. The issue is now hot off the presses.

We're in good company too. The full article includes a kitchen reno from the blog, Retro Ranch Reno and a bath renovation by Jenna Sue Design.

This is one of the coolest things to ever happen to us.

My proud parents went straight to Kroger's the night I told them that the magazine was available. My dad took pictures of my mom holding the magazine in the middle of the supermarket aisle. She asked me not to use the pictures on the blog.
I understand. If I was the mother of a famous daughter and son-in-law I'd want to keep a low profile too :)

A special thanks to Maria Charbonneaux for writing the article, now available on Zinio and newstands.

Modern mini homes designs ideas.

Modern mini homes designs ideas, front Exterior views.

A Real Life Kitchen Makeover

No, this isn't my own kitchen, unfortunately. This beautiful new kitchen belongs to Chris's Aunt Neesie.  Neesie lives in a gorgeous oversized cape in a picturesque neighborhood in Washington. Chris and I have been eagerly following her kitchen makeover via email over the last few months. 

Her new kitchen is bright, clean, and uncluttered. This isn't a large space, but it certainly packs a lot of design punch. 

A remarkable change over what it looked like previously!

Neesie agreed to humor me by answering a few questions
Q: The countertops are beautiful. What is the name of the granite you used?  
A: The granite is called Bellisimo Lumineaux (or White Galaxy).

Q: How long did the renovation take?  

A: The kitchen portion of the project took about a month; however, because I remodeled the family room fireplace wall, the powder room, and put in new hardwood floors throughout, the total project took about two months.

Q: What do you love the most about your new kitchen?  
A: It is hard to pick one thing.  I have been dreaming of a new kitchen for 20 years and spent hours pouring over kitchen magazines.  The overall design of the kitchen came out exactly as I envisioned.  I love how open it feels without the upper cabinet over the peninsula.

Q: Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?  
A: The opening for the fridge is a bit too tight which makes it hard to open the left door.  The cabinet maker warned me about it, but I didn't want to sacrifice any more cabinet space.  I had my heart set on a counter depth French door refrigerator with custom panels which was wider than the standard refrigerator.

Q: Where did you splurge and where were you able to save some money?  
A: I splurged on the French door refrigerator with custom panels and on the induction stove.  The induction stove is amazing.  You can boil water in a minute and it is really sleek looking.  My biggest savings was hiring a very reasonable contractor who did an outstanding job.  He 
is my new best friend.

Q: What advice do you have for someone about to undergo a major kitchen remodel?  
A: Do your homework, don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions, be flexible, and be prepared for the unexpected.  You never know what is behind the walls, so have a contingency built into your budget.  Also, make sure you have a great contractor who can handle things in your absence.  Talk to people who have worked with the contractor and cabinet maker.

Thanks for sharing, Neesie! Chris and I can't wait to visit and enjoy your new kitchen for ourselves.

Paint Prep

We're finally in the last stage of our exterior house transformation.

The painters showed up bright and early last Friday morning and began scraping away the loose paint and caulking gaps.

There are EPA rules contractors must follow when dealing with houses older than 1978 in order to keep properties, their inhabitants, and neighbors safe from the dangers of lead paint. The painter we hired will safely scrape the paint, capture it on sheets of plastic, then properly dispose of it. He can't sand because sanding will produce dust that would require a more serious level of abatement. We did get a quote from a painter who was willing to strip the paint down to the original wood following EPA guidelines, but it was going to cost us over $15,000. Maybe next time.

Chris and I don't have high expectations that scraping will remove all the bumps from previous layers of paint, but it will do the job. The way I see it, she's an old house and has earned the right to show a few wrinkles.

Barring any weather related delays, this should be a quick project. Good thing, because the anticipation of seeing our freshly painted house is driving me insane.

Modern homes wall paint Colours ideas.

Modern homes wall paint Colours ideas.

Modern homes glass steps designs ideas.

Modern homes glass steps designs ideas.

Modern housing society home designs ideas.

Modern housing society home designs ideas.

Upstairs, Downstairs

With the exterior painting scheduled to begin this week (and hopefully finishing shortly after), Chris and I are beginning to concentrate on our next project: The foyer, staircase, & hallways.
The hallways & stairs are centrally located in the house, so cleaning them up will surely make a big impact.
Here are pictures I took just shortly after moving in.

Downstairs hallway just inside the front doors.

Upstairs landing (That's our master bedroom straight ahead. The guest bath is to the left)

Close up of the sconces upstairs

Upstairs hallway (facing the front of the house)

There's a lot of potential here- I especially love how open and bright the upstairs hallway is-but there's also a lot that needs to be done. Right now it looks so old.
We're going to remove the wallpaper (it is vinyl and gross), refinish the stair treads and railing, hang picture molding and chair rail in the downstairs hallway, and paint all the dingy trim and doors bright white.

I got a head start two years ago when I painted the inside of the front doors black. According to those early blog posts, I was going to leave the wallpaper. Ugh! What was I thinking?

Small homes designs ideas exterior views.

Small homes designs ideas exterior views.

Cyprus Protaras modern villas designs.

Cyprus Protaras modern villas designs.

House Bling

As part of our home's exterior makeover, Chris and I are taking the opportunity to change out all the lighting. It is all about the details.
I didn't think that choosing exterior lighting would be so difficult until I started looking around. The selection out there is HUGE and it felt like everything was either too craftsman, too ornate, too expensive, or too blah. I wanted something simple, but not boring.

Look at the dinky lantern that's hanging over the front door now. This thing shines bright enough to attract bugs and that's about all it is good for.

We're replacing it with this one. (in powder coated black). Simple, elegant, perfect.

The light over the side door also needs to be replaced. It will go from this

To this

Finally (and this might be my favorite), we are replacing the utilitarian flood light over our garage

With a barn light that will be a little more decorative.

The icing on the cake is that our new lighting will be set up on a series of timers and motion detectors. One less thing for us to think about, I'm all for that.