Mustard Olive

This apartment by Brockschmidt & Coleman is featured in this month's House Beautiful and I can't get enough of it.  I mostly can't get over the color and the stair like bookcase. The color is Mustard Olive by Benjamin Moore.  I love the color in House Beauitful.  I like it on New York Social Diary (pictures you see).  I hate the color on the Benjamin Moore website.  It gets progressively browner.

One cool detail that I plan to steal is the small molding along the ceiling.  Can you see it?  It's a thin black molding.  

Huis

I have no clue how a professional goes about designing a room.  To me there seems to be a few big things that have to happen.  Furniture. Lighting. Art. Accessories.  Late last year I felt like all the furniture and lighting had come together.  I have never felt finished with either of those in any living room I have lived in.  Probably has something to do with owning versus renting.  Feels good.

I had almost all the artwork done.

I felt so close but so far.  The last wall was the biggest wall and it really made half of the room feel cold and sad.  After some thought I decided I wanted one big piece of art. The walls that touch this big, blank wall have 3 and 4 frames on them.  With all the color and patterns already happening in the room I thought having multiple frames would be insanity.  Unfortunately, having two babies that need new wardrobes every season means I can't afford to buy a giant painting or print...or frame that I really love...and I don't want to spend a moderate amount of money on something that fits just for the sake of fitting and I am not totally in love with.  Also, I am impatient and don't want to bargain hunt or save. I decided to paint something myself. I got the biggest canvas I could find for half price at Michaels.  Sweet.  Done.  Then I had to figure out what to paint which is extremely limited b/c I don't really paint.  And by don't really I mean don't at all.

My first idea was an abstract-like colorful, blobby painting.  It's easy to be tricked into thinking you can do it..I have seen plenty of DIY abstract art in the blogosphere. It doesn't look that hard because you aren't trying to end up with a painting that looks like anything.  But as those attempts in the blogosphere prove...finding colors that work well together and don't look childish and cheap is the hard part. I spent a few months staring that the blank canvas having an internal battle between my "I can do anything" voice and my "be realistic and don't waste money" voice.  It's probably a good idea that I didn't attempt it because if I had succeeded I don't think this room or I could handle more color crazy art.  I needed something to ground room a little.

Then I saw this.

Jackpot.  A big black and white word.  That's it.
...
...
...
...
More months went by while I tried to figure out what word to paint on the canvas.  It's for the same reason I don't have a tattoo.  I can't figure out something that I am 100% sure will never be lame.  A word on canvas is obviously not as permanent and/or expensive to remove as a tattoo but there is a lot of labor and emotional energy that goes into painting something for me and I don't want to get tired of it in a month.

After wasting lots of time coming up with lame words I brainstormed with my brother who was smart enough to turn to the internet for inspiration.  After looking at lots of lists of words we decided to look at words in other languages.  Bingo.

Huis.  It is Dutch for home/to house. Dutch?  Yes Dutch.  I lived in Holland for a summer and I have never felt more at home in any place.  It's my soul country...like a soul mate.  I love it.

I love the effect it has in the room.  I do not love how my photography skills make things look awkwardly proportioned and terribly spaced. I tried to get pics of the walls from floor to ceiling so that the proportions would look normal but that is HARD.  I only got one kind of decent one. So I gave up.  Sorry.  Trust me.  It doesn't look this tiny in "real life".  Oy.

Next...edit those pillows.  Yikes.  So many sizes.  So many colors.  Too much.

Saddest of news.

There it is.  All finished.  Just waiting for the pulls that are arriving tomorrow.

 It has been a very long process.  I first painted it the dark pink after which I decided to switch up the way I did the design...which required the entire dresser be repainted the light pink.  Then I spent forever taping it.  When the super sticky paint tape wasn't quite sticky enough to grab every I waited forever to start the next step because I didn't want to find out that my design wouldn't be possible.  I wrote earlier that this might be the biggest craft fail of my life.  When I got tired of it taking up space in my dining room I started painting and was pleasantly surprised that the tape did a better job than I expected.  Touch ups went more smoothly than expected. The sealing was painless as well.  Thank God the last few steps went so smoothly.  If they hand't been this next bit of news would have been much much harder to take.  

the top

We are having Sean's birthday party next weekend so the dresser has to be moved so I can clean this week.  Today is the day for moving.......I just found out that the dresser will not fit up EITHER of our stairwells.  

I know.  I can't believe it.  I never thought it wouldn't fit.  We have tried everything.  Sean says the only way it will go up is if we cut it in pieces and glue it back together.  

Too bad this dresser isn't from Ikea.   

I don't know what I am going to do yet.  I am trying to figure out where to put it downstairs but I am doubtful there is a home for it there.  So sad.

Two things.

My parents have arrived for Christmas.  My children did not nap because of the excitement and have gone to bed early.  I have time to be on the computer for the first time in weeeeeeeeeks.  I am taking this opportunity to catch up on pretty pictures I have missed in the blog world.  I have over 1000 unread posts.  Yikes.  

I have to share these two pictures.  I think they are both from this blog, that I love.

I love the pillows on this bed.  The fabric is so nice.  Want.  Want.  What is that painting is of but I find it equally creepy and cool.

WHAT?! HOW?  WHAT?! I love everything in this room.  I think it is overloaded and cramped all together.  But the pillows, the chairs, the wall paper, the sofa.....  I love them.

I'm coming along. I'm coming along.

I have been watching toooo much Thomas the Tank Engine.  Why do the coaches always repeat themselves?

Anyway, my living room is slowly coming along.  This weekend we got a rug!  After much debate my husband won.  A soft comfortable rug we got.  (I love Kilims and would only own Kilims if he let me)  I know this color is going to be frustrating with kids but...it works.  Carpet shopping has proven to be too overwhelming for me.  There are so many options...colors...designs...materials....high/low pile.  ahhh.  This rug adds nice texture to the room and makes it so much more cozy and welcoming.  It's way more comfortable for the babies to play/sit/lay on.

love the texture

beach glass pendants

I was talking with Susan, the woman who sold us the rug, and she makes jewelry and sells it on Etsy.  She works with metal and stones.  I want to learn metal working so badly!!  Anyway.  Always happy to meet another jewelry maker.  She makes some beautiful things.  While exploring her Etsy store I discovered she water paints too.  

I love the movements and colors of this painting.

This weekend was nuts.    B got his first stitches.  He was so tough.  Thank GOD Sean was home.  I barely kept it together...in fact, I lost it for a few minutes and had to leave the room.  He has had his entire hand bandaged for the last twenty four hours.  He has managed incredibly well.  I am impressed.

Made it Monday: My Mom Made It - Colorful Wingback Chair (!!!)

I have been waiting for this moment for months.  Months!  I bought this Kaffe Fassett (Russian Rose) fabric in March while I was visiting my parents.

My Mom and I decided it would be awesome to cover my Wingback Chair with it.  I just had to wait until she came to visit in...JUNE.  It was a long wait but definitely worth it.  I am so psyched about how it turned out.  She is the BEST!

I picked up this chair at an auction this winter.  $10.  I had no idea what condition it was going to be in but no one was bidding and....$10...seriously...why not?  Luckily, the frame was in perfect condition.  The fabric was just olddddd. And dirty.

Waiting for its glory moment in my garage.

Waiting...

Waiting....

Waiting.............. .. . .

JUNE!

Ka-chow! (B has been making we watch cars everyday.)

I LOVE IT!  The green background plays out muchhh differently against the green walls than I anticipated.  It actually tones the fabric down.  I love it.  It makes the flowers pop without making the entire chair POP off the wall.  That might have been too much.  I am really glad it worked out the way it did.

Having said that, the next chair you will see me post about will probably pop off the wall.  It might jump out of the window.  I am excited.  And scared.

Some detail shots:

Look at how my mom lined all the fabric up to match.  Impressive.

These legs were originally a cream color.  My mom roughed them up, painted them and then stained them.

I just want to thank my Mom!  What a talent.  I wish I could just strip a chair down and recover it like it was nothing.  I really appreciate her taking the time to not only come up here to help out with B and W but to also reupholster some chairs.  I am so thankful for her.

Made it Monday: Round Table + Skirt

B and his camera  helping with the pictures. 

As if my living room could hold much more color...especially green.  The side table between our two sofas is juuuuuuust too small.  Just enough that I am bothered every time I look at it.  You know that feeling?  "Something is off."  My Mom and I decided a round table with a table skirt would do the trick.  The circle would be a better shape than the current square where our sofas make an L.  The skirt would allow for some colorful textiles!  Instead of buying a new round table Sean cut a 30" table round out of OSB wood and screwed it to an end table that we kept our giant, pre-flat screen TV on.  (see below!)  Once he did that I sewed the table skirt.

What's under the skirt?  That end table the TV is on + OSB table round.

I do NOT recommend trying to make a large round table skirt while you are 8+ months pregnant.  First, I was incredibly limited physically and trying to work with large pieces of fabric was uncomfortable and frustrating.  Second...pregnancy brain.  I minored in math in college....I love math...half of why I love making things is the math in the planning...I can do math!  The source I was using for guidance to make sure I ended up with a round table skirt used formulas (yay!) but one of them was wrong.  Because my pregnancy brain has failed me on other simple math tasks...adding...I was ready to just trust the provided formula despite it making me do a double take while reading it...but it would cut more fabric than I thought it should.  After the frustration of getting around my belly to make a large square piece of fabric I was not psyched to have to start over.  So I worked it out in the most basic ways...pictures..and checked it...checked it again...checked it one more time...asked Sean..checked it again.  I think he might have started to worry about me at that point.  I can't believe how many times I wavered about doing it my way.  Well, I was right....thankfully.  My skirt is the right length.  Phew.  Craft fail avoided!

B inspecting my work and straightening everything out for the picture.

There is a lot of green going on with this table skirt..against a green wall.  It is between two dark brown sofas but I worry that it's too much.  It also makes me realize I am going to have to edit my pillows a little bit.  I went a little nuts with the sofa pillows in rebellion to the reddish brown and brown that we lived in for months.  As the room comes together the pillows are not required to pull so much of the color weight and I may have to tone them down.

With every move I make in the green walled room direction this lamp
becomes less and less acceptable as the i-just-need-a-light-there-for-now
light.  I think it is time to look for a new table lamp!

B approved.

I always consider my decorating adventures a win when Sean has something positive to say.  He is a man of few words so getting an enthusiastic compliment really means something and that's what I got!  Win.  Oh and don't get me wrong.  Sean doesn't insult or trash my choices ever...he just doesn't usually have much to say about things like table skirts.

One more of B just because I can.

Something new to rest my feet upon.

We have a coffee table we purchased at Christmas Tree Shops about 4.5 years ago.  I love it.  It's still going stro....well, it's still in one piece.  After a few moves and a kid it has some battle scars.  It's glass top now rattles when you walk by it.  I would love to paint it....and paint the wrought iron detail under the glass top.  It's just not working anymore.  The coffee table is a long narrow(ish) rectangle.  We have a sofa and love seat that we arrange arm to arm at ninety degrees...I am having a moment and can't describe it better than that.  It's perfect in front of the sofa but awkward with the love seat because the short end is all you get and it is not necessarily centered which feels off.  It's also slightly too high.  I think it's time to upgrade to something that fits the space a little better.  We have room for a big square upholstered ottoman.

It looks like a burger....via Restoration Hardware

What are your thoughts on that style?  It's everywhere....but there are so many options with fabric.  I could practice patience and try and find something perfect already.  Knowing what it will probably cost makes me a little sick...b/c I know how much cheaper it would be with a little elbow grease.  Patience for getting just what you want is easier when you are an active participant in getting it made rather than just searching online or in stores.

via A Stroll Thru Life

I could make the entire thing from scratch.  It would be a PROJECT but having seen it done by my parents....I know it can be done.  I imagine it would be quite a learning experience, though.  I will do it one day...but I am not sure I should dive in quite yet.  Start with something easier...smaller.

Jenny's DIY 2.0

I could marry the two and head to Craigslist.  Find something old and reupholster it with fabric I want.  Thanks to Jenny from Little Green Notebook I wouldn't have to restrict my search to large square ottomans.  I could include large square coffee tables.  She turned a square coffee table into a nice ottoman....twice.  Check it out here and here.

Decisions. Decisions.

Check out this guy from Anthropologie:  Love it or hate it?  He's special.  Nice legs, though.

Anthropologie

I like the leg to top/fabric proportion of this one:

via modernhomez.com

It can also be perfect tufted:

via annesage.com

This one is sweet and awkward looking.  It kind of looks like a big sponge but it's also oddly luxurious looking.  A luxurious sponge:

via modernhomez.com

What kind of coffee table/ottoman do you have?

New TV

This weekend Sean bought a new TV for us.  We are (finally) moving into the age of flat screens.  We have never been on the cutting edge of television technology.  We didn't have cable until we had Brady.  And we only have a decent sized TV because some friends who moved faster than us to a flat screen donated to us their clunker TV.  I think before that we had a 13 inch Sean saved up to buy when he was a kid.

I am thankful Sean was into researching....I know it's important but I have no interest.  Less than no interest.  He tried a few times to include me on the details but was consistently met with a blank stare...he graciously moved on each time.  My biggest concerns are how big and where it will go.

How big?

Good question.  Here is a helpful guide I found on Crutchfield.  It shows the size you should get based on how far away you will be viewing the TV.

Sean decided on a 46" Samsung.  He taped it out on the wall....wow it is bigger on the wall than it looks in the store.

Where to put it? Where to put it?

I learned form Sean that eye level is preferable for the best view.  Our sofas are low...that puts the TV lower than I imagined.

-Unless it is really creative I don't want a "TV stand" under it to contain all the ugly boxes it takes to watch TV and movies.  I consider a TV stand to be a low piece of furniture that is made specifically for a TV to sit on/right above it.

goodbonesgreatpieces

-Sean isn't opposed to raising it up a bit so I can put a dresser under it....storage, style, color and a homey feeling.

-I have a sofa table that I could use.  I have this table (pretty much) but I just covered it with a table skirt. It won't be great for holding the boxes because it is pretty shallow.

apartment therapy

-Above a fireplace seems to be the popular placement right now.  I don't have a fireplace but I often wonder about the how smoke and heat affect the TV.

This is what I want to achieve with the placement:
  -blends into the surroundings
  -isn't the focus of the room (I think this is going to be difficult to avoid)
  -it is interesting and unexpected

Three above images from the Decorologist.

Rug Wars

via ciao interiors blog

Living room painted? Check.  Now most accessories don't match and so I have started brainstorming what to do first.  I talked to Sean about what kind of rug he would want....all the rugs we have are low pile...Kilims and other flat woven rugs.  I love them.  Sean surprised me and said he wants a plush rug with padding underneath that will cover most of the floor.  He wants it to be comfortable to play with Brady and future McKenna on the floor.  I immediately told him "No."  The first image that came to mind was some dated ugly green rug that makes you sneeze.  I don't know why...or when/where I had that experience but....yuck.

via apartment therapy

I am trying to really listen to Sean because he always says, "Why does it matter what I think?  You are just going to do what you want anyway."  I feel horrible that he feels that way.  So I felt horrible that I reacted so harshly to his suggestion and tried to think of a way that we can both get what we want somehow.  While thinking about it I got a mental flash of a picture I had come across at some point where the rugs were layered.

Robert Stillin via Elle Decor

Rug Layering: Yay or nay?

I have done a quick google search and there are a lot of pictures rug layering...and opinions I can read.  But what do you think?  Have you done it in your home?

via Emily A Clark

The more images I look at the more excited I get.  I think it looks really decadent.  I wonder what the rules will be on the thickness of the rugs you should layer....Most of the images I have seen are seagrass or some natural fiber on the bottom and then a low pile rug on top.  To meet Sean half way I might have to go with something thicker on the bottom....or top...we will see what you have to offer/my research turns up.

via Plaza Rugs

I love how playful it is to have them going in all different directions.

via Elle Decor

Check back tomorrow for my first giveaway.....tickets to Seaworld Olrando!

Living in b.....

GREEN!

Here's what happened.  I pushed us to blue because I had a blue green in mind.  I found the exact color I had in mind.  Blue Mosque.  Loved it.  Love it.  Will continue to love it....but not on a wall.  Thankfully, we lived with the blue samples on the wall for a entire week.  An older, not so far gone, me wouldn't have been able to wait and would have made a huge mistake.  The more we had the blues up the more I disliked them.  I even tried making multiple lighter shades of the blue mosque which are nice...maybe nicer...but still not right for our living room.

A few things happened this week to redirect us to green.

1.  Thanks to my friend Karen, I checked out Colour Me Happy and Maria, the author, really made me think about why you choose a color and how to think about color in new, more scientific ways...which makes me much more comfortable than relying on my judgement alone.  Her blog is so informative and easy to read.

2.  I got my Elle Decor and saw the Moroccan house.  Inspiration.

3.  I kept thinking about how Sean went right to greens in the fan deck when I asked him to start thinking about colors for the living room.

So....my wonderful husband is prepping the wall as I type.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.  And I can't wait to share the results with you.

This weeks Made It Monday will be postponed until later today (hopefully) or tomorrow due to my being out of commission last week (pregnancy pains kept me in bed) and our travelling over the holiday weekend.

Living in blue.

I finally got Sean to participate in home decorating more than hanging, cleaning paint rollers, hammering, pushing, pulling, etc.  When we moved in we switched the living room and dining room of the previous owners because there is a small office/room off of what is now the living room.  We use that small room as a playroom for B.  I put the paint color of the living room low on the priority list because it matched the drapes from our old place that my Mom quickly cut up to make window treatments...matched perfectly.  I took it as a sign that it should be ok for a while.  That while has ended. I can no longer live in this color.  

The problem is not just the color itself but how what I have chosen to put in the room affects the paint color.  I got the sofa table and a glass doored bookcase since we moved in.  I didn't realize the wood color would be the tipping point of making this room just plain BROWN.  Brown everywhere.  Brown sofa's, brown side table, brown wood, brown trim, brown mirror.  All the brown in the paint color has come out to play it no longer lets the red play.  

An "accidental" booty shot of Sean...to detract from the chandelier we have yet to replace.

Choosing paint color overwhelms me.  It should be fun, right?  After one day of living in the first room I ever chose the color for we had to make a trip to the paint to store to get a new color because it was unbearable.  It's kind of like never wanting to get your hair cut again after you go through the trauma of a bad haircut.   

After only a little hand holding Sean got into looking through my fan decks.  He only had to take one break after feeling overwhelmed!  Picking a color is so much better with a friend.  We decided on blue.  (I think he secretly wants a grass green.)  Then we picked 5 Sherwin Williams colors to get samples of and hang in our living room.  (Those are the blue papers you see hanging in the living room pictures.)

Here are the five we chose:

Danube

Sean's favorite color.  ^

Jamaica Bay

Not bad but a little on the gray side for me.^

Capri

 My second favorite color. ^  It's a toned down Blue Mosque but a tad too much on the very trendy turquoise color train.

Blue Mosque

I am obsessed with this color. ^  Absolutely obsessed. I'm just not sure how it will be to live in it.  As I am writing this post at 10:30 at night it is extremely blue.  Slap-you-in-the-face blue.  But I loved it until about 10 pm.  

Flyway

 A Sean pick.  ^  Not bad but tooooo close to our bedroom colors.

We plan to live with these blue papers on the wall this week to see them in different lighting.  Hopefully the next time you see a picture of my living room it will be blue.

As I reread this before posting I wonder what is a normal number of samples for people to need before deciding on a color.....?