Hello friends! I am glad you are back for the weekly update. Many things happened this week, starting with me being inspired by other people’s work.
The first big thing that happened is that the outside of the house got painted! Thankfully not by me. The house was currently a baby poop color, well…not yellow, maybe toddler poo. Description meaning an ugly medium brown. In fairness, we live in the woods so it really should be a darker color.
The style of the house really wouldn’t look good lighter, so thankfully I didn’t have to wrestle with that conversation with myself. I was on the hunt for the right shade for the exterior. Then I remembered this house.
This is the house of one of my FAVORITE southern designers, James Farmer. I remember when I first saw it on the cover of his book, I was intrigued. The dark walnut brown, coupled with the bright white trim, was indeed a statement. And after we purchased this home, I realized that it could be just the shade that would work for me as well!
Now my home exterior DOES NOT look like James’s but there are elements of his design that I was definitely vibing with. I really love that 6-point star detail in his fencing, and have earmarked that for something that could be incorporated into my design as well.
But the main point is, instead of finding out what his exact color was (lots of designers share their color shades on social media these days), I realized I needed to get INSPIRED by his design, yet find the BEST color for my home.
Things to consider: which way my house faces, how the natural light falls on my home throughout the day, what other elements on my site are affecting how the color looks, and more.
I chose four shades of dark brown that looked good to me and watched them throughout the days, at different times, in bright sunlight and shade, to dusk and darkness. Colors that looked really true on the chip, still somehow cast a bit of green undertone. After many days, I found the winner, winner, chicken dinner!
The color I picked is the one in the top right hand corner. It is called Well-bred Brown, AND also Hickory Smoke because someone at Sherwin Williams headquarters probably thought that “well-bred” would be offensive to some, and they changed the name.
Frankly, I prefer the first name. Growing up, my mother always used to say “well-bred young ladies don’t do that (insert anything in here that I was doing that was ungracious)”. Then in true fashion, I became my mother (as one often does) and used to say that to my daughters. One day, my baby asked me “why do we have to be well-bred?” Hahahaha!
Nowadays, I look at being well-bred as having nothing to do with money. It is good manners, politeness, and a general welfare for other mankind. That is rare today in the world we live in. So I am all about living in a “well-bred” brown house or hickory smoke. But that second name just makes me hungry.
White windows and brown siding for the win. Next up, the trim guy comes back to put white window trim up, along with wrapping the soffit and fascia in white aluminum. Then the gutter guys will be at it. The house will no longer be embarrassing, as for a while, the outside looked like (literal) poop and an episode of hoarders.
Inspiration versus copying
Although I was able to get color inspiration from James Farmer, this next thing I got done this week looks more like the original. Of course, I still had to modify it for my space, but there wasn’t anything that I saw that I liked better. And frankly, with all the choices I have been making for everything, it was nice to look at a picture and just say “that’s what I want.”
I spied this mantel on Pinterest awhile back and was saving it on one of my boards. When I was staring at the fireplace in this house one day, I decided to head to Pinterest to see if I had anything good saved for a bit of inspiration.
Our fireplace brick goes to the ceiling which is 16 feet high at the top. So the entire thing is a big feature in the room. Because our home was a mix of styles (sort of contemporary, touches of mid-century modern, and lots of traditional features) I decided to give it it’s own personality and create a modern English Country cottage.
In any good cottage, the fireplace is a source of heat and comfort, and I wanted to infuse some charm here. So I built the mantel this week out of pine. In a few weeks I will get back to it and create a finish with the help of some sheer paint and some glaze or wax. I want to match a similar tone to the wood floor in the room.
Even though I am quite skilled with a miter saw, I made an error along the way in measuring that cost me an extra $10 board. No biggee in the grand scheme of the budget, but I did have to go back to Menards and buy another pine board midstream. I hate when that happens, soooo annoying! All is well now, I fixed the problem and she stands tall in the room. Can’t wait to decorate her at Christmas time!
I also sprayed the fireplace doors to look more like the heavy iron they are. It smelled like total crap in here for most of the day, so rather than wear a mask into the evening, I had a fun night out with a friend. Win, win for me.
Painting party of one
So before I went back to my tools, I dragged out the paint sprayer and painted the bookcases I built and the one that had the cupboard here but I added the top. They are finally done and I will let them cure for another week before I unpack all those boxes you see stacked up in these pictures!
Styling day is going to be fun! I also did paint the paneling that I showed you last week, which is my main white in the house. It’s a color called Westhighland White by Sherwin Williams. It’s drying as I type this. It was dark and rainy when I did it, so I may need to touch it up tomorrow in bright daylight.
I’m trying to stay focused and keep the eye on the prize on everything being done and beautiful again. I feel like I am soooo close and one day all of my boxes will be unpacked! What the heck will that feel like? It’s been a hot minute since we moved. I’m not used to messes everywhere, but that is how we have been living through this renovation. Tarp this, move that, etc.
I have a header and lights that go on the top of this cabinet. The stained glass will be going away soon (not my color jam) and I have a fun project that I am doing on the ceiling in the snug. Stay tuned!
Outside progress
The last of the concrete outside got finished, which was the stamped patio. Good thing they got it in before we had a few days of rain. They still need to come back and put the sealer on, but it will need to dry out a day for them to do that. But check out the pattern and color! What do you think?
I will be meeting with the landscape designer next week, and we will be getting the yard cleaned up as well. There will be lots of garden daydreaming all winter, but maybe a few things can happen this fall.
Making all the decisions
It was a good progress week around here and I am gearing up for a break over Labor Day and then I will be back at it. Creating a home is not only physically exhausting sometimes (with all the projects) but can be mentally as well. But nothing is more fulfilling than to have a home you can be proud of and share with your loved ones.
Take a minute this week to consider how your rooms are working, and what you love about them. Then do MORE of that! We should all be able to be comfortable in our spaces, no matter the size. Even with a strict budget, you can always add a bit of creativity that might delight your eyeballs and make your space more fun to be in.
But my favorite thing is organizing. Weird, I know. And making things clean and easy to find (which makes your life a bit more simple to navigate) doesn’t cost anything when you use a creative eye. What can you do to love your space more? Drop a comment below and let me know. I would love to hear your ideas.
Where is Kevin?
Kevin has been showing up after dark for his snacks, so we haven’t seen him. Hubby was gone the other night traveling, so I was in charge of putting out some treats for him. I had cleaned the kitchen and didn’t feel like getting out a cutting board, so I put this huge watermelon piece out for him to enjoy, along with a few other things.
This is what I woke up to the next day. Hahahahaha!
He was definitely here, but just ate the inside of the watermelon. Normally, if I cut it, he will take the whole piece and eat the rind and all (or at least I don’t see the rind, it could be in the woods). I guess this one was too big for him.
Shopping for the week
I ordered the last of the wallpaper for the house (laundry and utility rooms need to be pretty too) and paid waaaay too much for some paint this week, so shopping didn’t seem fun at all.
But I did buy these super cute jammies from Serena and Lily because they were on clearance, and I am looking forward to fall. They have a few colors, but these ones spoke to me. Hooray for Labor Day sales!
Okay friends, it was a big week and I am looking forward to unpacking some boxes soon and getting to the fun part. I hope you have an amazing week, and I will look forward to sharing more progress next time.
Thanks for stopping by, my friend!
