{Color Therapy} Paint Color Party!
I love blog parties! I stumbled across this blog (via Hooked on Houses) called 320 Sycamore today and saw she was hosting a Paint Color Party and I just had to join!
She’s asking for some paint color photo inspiration today so here goes!
Here is the new “reading nook” in my living room. The walls are Ashley Gray by Benjamin Moore.
This ivory wall is actually old wood paneling, but we just painted over it with Acadia White by Benjamin Moore.
My kitchen has white cabinets (High Hiding White door, trim and cabinet paint by Ace Hardware), and the green is called Misted Fern by Benjamin Moore.
Someday I’d like to paint the kitchen a color called “Sulfur Yellow” by Benjamin Moore, but that has to wait until we get new countertops. We have the fake blonde wood laminate right now and it won’t go together, but I really, really love Sulfur Yellow (#1).
The dining room stripes are using the Misted Fern from the kitchen and the Acadia White from the living room in two different finishes. The green is a semi-gloss and the ivory is a satin, which gives it a wallpaper feel.
The bathroom is painted “Pumpernickel” by Ace Hardware paints. If you’ve been reading lately you’ll know we’ve been very busy on that project!! Click the link for more pictures of the surrounded-by-earthy-brown bathroom.
The bedroom’s upper 1/3rd is painted “Pilgrimage Foliage” by Benjamin Moore, and the lower 2/3rds are in the Acadia White (like the living room and dining room. We have a TON of it!)
My daughter’s bedroom is painted in “Everlasting” by Benjamin Moore and the bottom is..you guessed it! Acadia White!
My very unfinished office is painted in one of my very favorite colors: Old Salem Gray by Benjamin Moore. It depends on the light, but it can look beige, gray or green. As you can see this picture looks very green, but if you choose this color you won’t be sorry! It’s so pretty! I wish I would have gotten the office painted before the kitchen because I would have picked this for the kitchen instead of the brighter green.
And Melissa at 320 Sycamore showed a wall that she painted “Danville Tan” by Benjamin Moore…I had a client choose that color so here’s another shot of it paired with “Branchport Brown” by Benjamin Moore as well.
And there you have it – all the colors of Casa Christensen! The next room I’d like to paint is our laundry room, which I want a very light, barely there robin’s egg blue or light sage-y green like this photo. Mmmm…you know how I love pretty laundry rooms! And paint!
(image linked to flickr source)
Have a good weekend, everyone and thanks for stopping by for some color inspiration!!!
If you’d like your very own paint color consultation, then feel free to contact me (lindsay @ lindsaychristensendesign.com) or click here for more information!
Read MoreBusy on the Bathroom!
Blogging or bathroom? That is the question. Hehe! We’ve spent a lot of time recently working on the bathroom plan, and it is coming into motion! My handy-dandy husband ripped out the old shower surround and then put a new bright and shiny one up! He also put up new trim and sealed everything! I painted the walls (while I was home alone with our 9 month old – go me!), and he painted the ceiling because it would have taken me forever and he whipped it right out! And last night he painted the new trim nice and white. Now we just need the finishing touches; new light, new mirror (so we’ll have to paint a little more soon), new shower curtain and new towels.
We were going to re-finish the bathtub in white, but after reading the directions it just didn’t seem worth it. It was very complicated, very toxic, and very easy to screw up! Plus we couldn’t use our tub for 5-6 days. So we decided to keep the green tub because the color won’t clash with the design, plus we are just so lucky to have a green tub! Now I’ll quit talking and get to the pics. Thanks for stopping by!!
Here is what it looked like back in July when we bought it. Notice the lovely, faded flower motif on the surround. Nice, huh?
And here is a shot after Glenn ripped everything out.
Here’s a tip: use the box the surround came in to make a template.
The walls and new trim are up!
And now I begin to paint!
Ahhh…finally done! Ceiling and everything! We’ve never painted the ceiling the same color before, but we thought it would be nice to surround ourselves with this earthy brown.
Finishing touches added back.
As you can see it was quite a transformation over Memorial Day weekend. The room is a lot darker now, but I’ve found I can still put my makeup on, phew! I decided on a dark brown with purple undertones called “Pumpernickel” by Ace Hardware paints. It was very hard to photograph because of the light and the reflections and the darkness, but you get the idea. The old shower curtain and towels are okay, but now that the room is so dark I’m looking forward to lighten it up with new towels and a new linen shower curtain. Plus the green and brick shower curtain and towels don’t match the pistachio bathtub. I’ve also decided that I want a clock in there so I don’t have to bring my phone in to watch the time when I’m getting ready.
So there’s what I’ve been working on…what projects are you hard at work on, or have finished and are proud of? I’d love to check them out!
Read MoreHallelujah! New dining room pendant!
I’ve had my eye on this pendant lamp from Pottery Barn for months! I actually mentioned it in an earlier post, proclaiming my love for “faux bois” and tree prints. It was already on sale, so I kept checking and checking on it to make sure that it didn’t sell out. As you might know, we went on vacation for a week earlier this month, and when I got back I decided to check on my pendant to make sure it wasn’t sold out and to my surprise it had DROPPED $30 MORE IN PRICE! Woo-hoo! So I bit the bullet and a few clicks later it was mine…I mean ours. 
Here it is in it’s Pottery Barn loveliness. I love the lamp with the black, white, neutral, cool and warm tones. I can’t make a decision on my favorite design styles, so I like to mix it up!
Here is the “before” shot (that is not the actual light fixture, that is a paper lantern from our wedding that Glenn cut to fit over the hideous “wagon wheel” fixture with broken glass – bleh!):
And here is my wonderfully handy husband installing it for me! Wasn’t the paper lantern an improvement?? I’ve been dying to get that thing out of the house since we bought it last July!
To switch out a light, first of all – turn the power off! And all you do is re-connect wires. If you have an extra set of hands, connect them as you disconnect them so that you know you’re getting the correct wires.
Here is Glenn connecting the ground wire (the copper wire, screwed down with the green screw). That is very important!
And that’s it! Now he’s screwing the housing back onto the mounting plate.
It works! Yay!
As a general interior design rule, a pendant hanging over a dining room table should hang at least 30″ above the top of the table. Our pendant came with a few different sized bases and we chose the one that hung the bottom of the shade 32″ from the top of our table – this thing is pretty massive!
Ta-da!! I’m so glad to have that old one gone…I did a happy dance as I took it to the trash!
I even like it when it’s off.
See, I told you it was massive! Harper looks teeny underneath it!
Aawww…he installs my pendant and then cooks me dinner! Thanks, honey!!
Now I can’t wait to finish the dining room! On my list: 1). A slipcover for the loveseat that is at the table. We were going to sell that loveseat, but had no luck. After I was sick of it in Harper’s room I had Glenn help me move it to the dining room and I love it there! It’s just ugly! 2). Some kind of valance to cover the top of the sliding panel system that covers the sliding glass door. 3). Some white shelving to replace the poster and candle sconces that are above the loveseat. The black is too harsh in the kitchen – it needs to go back to the living room by the pool table. I think I’ll actually try to keep a corner of my house light and airy instead of dark and dramatic! 4). After I get my shelves, I’ll need some knick-knacks and candles, photos, etc. for the shelves. Like the lovely Pottery Barn photo. Ahhhhhhh….
{DIY} How (Not) To Cut Down a Tree in Your Backyard
Happy Spring, everyone!! To kick off the new season, here’s a little DIY action that we did a few weekends back on a GORGEOUS March day!
WARNING! Do NOT try this at home, people! Okay, so this isn’t really a “how-to” but I wanted to write up a little post about our backyard. Or lack thereof. But that is what this summer is about – pretty up the outside of the house! Now that the inside is livable, the landscaping, paint, etc. is our priority!
We had this half-dead, skinny pine tree in our backyard – right next to the house and we decided that it just had to go to make room for some bigger plans! So here are some photos of Glenn and the day he decided to cut it down!
Getting his PPE ready (personal protective equipment, ha!). Notice the rope attached to his belt loops, and to the chainsaw. Right now I should mention that Glenn is a professional wildland firefighter (an engine operator) and has a lot of experience with chainsaws and cutting down trees. This is not the best way to cut down a tree (hiring a professional is probably most people’s bet), but Glenn knew he could do it on his own. The tricky part is that electrical wire that goes from our roof to the power pole – that is why he had to climb up and cut it down in sections.
Here he is climbing the tree…
Scoping it out to figure out how the heck to get it down safely!
Using a hand saw to cut off branches.
Now using the axe to chop off some branches to get a good foot-hold.
Getting ready to start cutting the top 1/3rd of the tree off! He cut it down in 3 pieces.
Now you’ll notice how I have no more pictures until the end. I was either helping Glenn by pulling on the rope, which was attached to the tree, so it fell in the right direction (avoiding the power line), or I was inside consoling a hysterical 7 month old who decided she doesn’t like the sound of the chain saw! It was quite a team effort, but it seems to open the backyard up a lot more – don’t you think?
Aaahhh…much better!
Now if we only had some more grass. Soon, though!!
The dogs seem to like it! :) Now to get rid of that ugly “porch.” And build a new fence. And paint…I’m so glad spring is here!
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About Me
I'm an interior designer and a draftsperson, but I live in the country. I like it that way. I'm also a firefighter's wife, mom to 2 cute kids, and a homeowner and I like that even better. But right after that is a pretty and affordable space...and I mean a REALLY affordable space. Because I believe good design can be for EVERYONE!
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