{Home} Neutral ground

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Paint Color, Renovating, Trends

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I’ve always enjoyed color. I admit, when we moved into our smallish home 30 years ago {I was but a child :-)} a designer friend of mine gave me some very good advice. She recommended that I choose a color palate and use it as a guide with each room. A small house, she explained, will feel more spacious if there’s some uniformity within the overall décor. {Thank you, Gretchen} I would say it has worked well for us. I’ve always kept the baseboards, door casings, raise paneled doors, paned windows and French doors painted the same white throughout the house (Antique White to begin with, Porcelain now).

Maybe the sofa IS looking a little tired, it’s not that old but it does see a lot of wear.

Overall I had a cohesive color scheme that originated with hunter green as the bold color for carpet and even the walls of the family room. Later, as we added oak wood flooring throughout, the carpet was changed to a neutral and kept only in the bedrooms. Years passed and I needed a change. I switched the color combination to red, khaki and black, and boldly painted our family room and kitchen Benjamin Moore, Classic Burgundy. That was probably over 15 years ago. I bet you can see where this is heading.

I’ve recently been attracted to neutral rooms. I don’t want to go overboard with a neutral palate, and with budget constraints and upholstered furniture that isn’t overly worn or in need of re-upholstery work, will remain as it is right now. But somewhere down the line I think I’d like the family room and kitchen walls painted a taupe/gray. I would also love to introduce a bit more blue and white. As you can tell from the photographs, I’ve got a few items but I could see blue and white ginger jars on the mantle, maybe a neutral sofa at some far-off date, with some blue and white tapestry or other fabric pillows.

Tina’s shop at The Enchanted Home had these lovelies:

…and the most recent online issue of Lonny Magazine featured Christy Ford’s home, the author of …and George blog…isn’t this lovely…

There’s been no end to the inspiring neutral rooms and as I said, I believe I’ll always want color but I would like a change, and with it, maybe some calm in my surroundings. Early inspiration came from fellow blogger Joan, for the love of a house. I found the room’s of her restored farm house to be what my mind’s eye had envisioned…

John Saladino creates an understated beauty with his simple and neutral rooms.

This next room (I believe I found the image on Cote de Texas) features burlap curtains, but it’s the casual comfort and neutral color palate the room displays that draws my attention.

I fell in love with Michael Bastian’s apartment when adventures in tartanscot shared some of the space with his readers.

This room from a post at The Enchanted Home has neutral and blue and white touches {sigh}

I would love beams in our home, I have one that was created when we remodeled but check this dining room found at Ivy Clad…so pretty AND neutral.

Any Pam Pierce room is beautiful, this one is especially remarkable.

Mary Ann at Classic Casual Home lives in California, as do I, and I’ve noticed she shares some beautiful rooms, many of them have this neutral look I’m talking about, like…

And this final image I can’t recall where it’s from, but it sure is pretty.

{via Maison Decor}

I will always lean towards some amount of color within the room’s decor, but I might be ready for a more neutral palate.

All input and opinions are welcome. Share your thoughts with me, I love our chats!

xo, Karen

I’ve attached the link to the image above, {thanks to my blog friend, Kifus, at Inspiring Interiors)

I’m visiting Savvy Southern Style at her Wow us Wednesday, join the fun.

{Home} Library, chapter 2

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Renovating

≈ 8 Comments

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library, upholstery

You may recall that nearly a year ago I painted our library. You can read about it HERE. I knew I needed to recover the sofa in that room due to fading but had to find the right fabric and save the necessary dollars.

As you can see in the “before” pictures, the wall paper and sofa fabric had faded from the direct south facing sunlight. We believe we’ve remedied the issue by extending an overhang outside the bay window and by tinting. Crossed fingers that this will be a permanent fix. We’ve had to have the finish on the ladder back chair repaired due to sun damage. These renovations sure can get expensive!

BEFORE (ABOVE)

Last month, call it an anniversary present, we had the window seat cushion, sofa and pillows made and I thought I’d share the final images with you.

I choose a cotton velvet in a taupe color for the sofa. I had my upholsterer add the nail head detailing and replace the straight wooden feet with bun feet. What do you think? I was happy with the way it turned out.

I was able to buy a soft throw on Josh & Main to add a splash of black. Since the sofa is love seat size I wanted to avoid throw pillows but felt something more was needed.

I apologize for the lighting in the picture below, this table sits to the right of the love seat. {Note: I’m currently taking photography classes in an attempt to learn how to use my DSLR camera. Hopefully, there will be vast improvement in my photography once I know how to set all of the buttons and settings}

This vignette is on a tray on top of the wicker hamper I use as a coffee table. I used to have a butler’s tray table (actually still do, it’s in our attic) but I liked the gray wicker hamper and have found the added storage to be a bonus.

The window seat and cushion for the windsor chair is this quilted taupe fabric with a small black leaf pattern; the pillow looks to be embroidered but its machine embroidery.

Madison has given me her full approval of the changes. This is one of her favorite places to nap.

I was able to keep the toile on the ladder back chair…I really like toile and fortunately I was able to find coordinating fabrics that worked in the room.

Are you beginning to sense that I like dogs?!

The print over the sofa is a sentimental favorite because my grandma bought it for me and I think of her whenever I sit in this room.

So, that’s it. I hope you see some improvement and will leave me a comment. I always enjoy our chats!

Catch up with some really great ideas over at No Minimalist Here open house party.

{Home} Upholstery and change

17 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Renovating

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upholstery

I am finally reupholstering our loveseat that sits in the reading room/library. The fabric has faded beyond the “worn, but welcome” look, which is kind of sad because I really liked the fabric when it first went on.

Such a sad state this little love seat is in. It was originally a crisp, casual linen-like plaid.

Once it became clear that I was going to be able to do this project I started looking at blogs and magazines with a discerning eye towards styles.

via

I gave some thought to button tuck for the back, but decided that it seemed a little formal for the room.

I’m fortunate enough to have an outstanding upholstery team. Home Creations in Aliso Viejo, California does amazing work and are so customer friendly. They can redesign almost anything and with the help of my friend, Carla, we came up with a re-do that should be a welcome change for the room.

source unknown

I did decide on a tight back sofa, instead of the 2 cushion loose-back the sofa is now. I also decided that since the loveseat didn’t have a skirt I’d add wooden legs, similar to the ones shown above.

via

Joan and Dan at for the love of a house always wow me with their design sensibility, so I visited their site for some ideas. Their living room sofa has arms and legs similar to what I’m going to have changed on my loveseat, thank you Joan.

Country Living

source unknown

I believe I’m going to change the back to a very subtle camel back. I like the look of this one (above). The skirt and lack of arms on this little sofa made me think it was a bed when I first looked at it. I do think it would be charming in a bedroom even though its a bit too fussy for my house.

you can’t see our window seat cushion that well, but it has rotted from sun damage and will also receive new upholstery.

via

I also want to use nail heads on the sofa arms, similar to this (above).

As you can see by the first image in this post, the sofa was a traditional, rolled-arm; loose back and seat cushion loveseat. Clearly, the loveseat had seen better days. Our reading room receives an inordinate amount of sunshine; we believe we’ve helped cut some of the sun by extending the overhang just outside the bay window, which shades the room a little more {fingers crossed}.

Pottery Barn

I’m not sure about the arm on this sofa in the Landon Collection…I like the width but the slopping angle might not be right for my reading room.

source unknown

I mostly posted this image because I like the British art above…how fun is that?

source unknown

I really like the higher back of this sofa but I don’t think I can afford this much change to the loveseat.

This phase of the project will include reupholstering the sofa and the window seat. I hope to add a seat cushion to the Windsor chair and pillows for the window seat in the third and final phase of ‘rennovation library’.

I’ll be sure to post the pictures once the sofa and window seat cushions are returned. Do you have a favorite style sofa?

I’m visiting over at Tablescaper, visit this site for some great ideas!

{Home} Library love

05 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Personal Information, Renovating

≈ 4 Comments

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library

First on my “Dream List ~ 2012” for our home is tackling the library, sometimes referred to as the reading room.

Those dear sweet blog-friends that follow me regularly may remember my repainting the room and giving it a mini-makeover HERE. The upholstery work was on the list but the funds weren’t in the designated envelop! 🙂

{via tumblr}

So, thanks to my “birthday group” girlfriends I’ve been given the fabric of choice for the small loveseat as well as the window seat. Lyn (Hubby) has agreed the labor can be my January birthday gift, and since I’m not good with delayed gratification I hope to have the entire project finished by the end of January, wish me luck.

{Aerie}

I don’t have images of the fabrics I’ve selected yet, so I thought I would give you all some library love from the images I’ve collected of book lined spaces in homes. I must say, as I sat in my library yesterday visualizing the finished sofa and window seat, I could totally visualize ceiling to floor book cases in the room. That’s not going to happen but it would be really pretty!

{via}

Michael Smith

House Beautiful

Pieter Estersohn

Jane Moore

If I installed a secret door it would lead to the garage, don’t think that would be too great.

{via Slim Paley}

{via the adventures of tartanscot}

and the piece de resistance…

…an ‘authors’ wall…how cool is that? Wouldn’t that be a fun addition to a library?

And while we’re on the topic, did you get any good books this Christmas? Do you have an ‘to do’ renovations on your list for 2012?

{Home} Guest bathroom reveal

18 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Renovating

≈ 11 Comments

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guest bathroom

Many of you know about the much-needed face lift we gave our guest bathroom. I know this is the part where I show you before pictures. Now that I look at them I’m really embarrassed at how bad this bathroom looked for far too long.

before

By way of an excuse, albeit feeble, the bathroom had been remodeled when we bought the house. The former owner put a chocolate brown tub, toilet and sink in the tiny bathroom. When we moved in our son was 3 years old and I soon became pregnant with son #2. We used the bathroom as-is for many years and at some point I wallpapered with a rich, wonderful Ralph Lauren paisley, which tied in with the chocolate brown theme already going. Over time the brown tub, much like a dark car, became scratched and unsightly. I was working for a local newspaper, writing advertorial, and a story I was asked to write was about a coating company that re-coated tubs, sinks and the like. They offered to coat our chocolate brown tub and sink and we purchased a new toilet. The bathroom, at that juncture, really did look much better. Unfortunately it didn’t last…and after hosting a baby shower one weekend I noticed a bubble in the sink. That was the coating finally coming off.

So, as home dreamers do, many months ago I began trying to figure out what I wanted this bathroom to look like should we get the opportunity to remodel. I knew I wanted a white vanity, tub and toilet and I wanted a Carrara marble floor. I kept coming back to a few of the Pottery Barn bathroom vanities and ended up selecting PB’s Lucca Simple Single Mini Sink Console. It’s on the smaller size but then so is the bathroom so they work well together. The vanity is free standing and comes with a Carrara marble top and a white sink…check and check. We knew from our experience remodeling our master bath that we wanted a Toto toilet. They are engineered to be very efficient using only 1.6 gallons of water; that and my LCD recessed light in the ceiling is my nod to being environmentally kind (baby steps).

after

When it came to the bathtub I knew we wanted a taller tub than we had. The look seems more custom to me and I was hoping to get a slightly narrower tub than the existing foot print the old tub had. We visited our local Pacific Sales and with Tao’s expert help selected the Arariana…it’s taller than the old tub and 2″ narrower. Believe it or not, 2″ makes a bit of a difference in this postage sized bathroom.

I realize it isn’t finished in this photo but I thought it would be beneficial to document the process.

during construction

after

The sconces are Pottery Barn, as is the Oval Lattice Mirror/Medicine Cabinet. I love the subway tile in our master bath (even though it was made from a tumbled travertine) so we went with simple white 3″ x 6″ subway tile (Daltile) {thanks Gretchen for helping me with the tile order} with a Carrara accent (Home Depot) at the ceiling. With a grand baby I discovered that when they are taking baths it’s helpful to have a hose attachment to the shower so we went with the Hansgrohe Unica wall bar with traditional trim and head in polished chrome. In fact I used polished chrome throughout. I really wanted to keep this bathroom timeless and simple. The walls are Benjamin Moore, London Fog {thanks Linda for helping with this decision}.

By the way, there is a towel bar beneath this picture but when I took these we hadn’t installed it yet. It looks like the shorter version of the towel bar on the side of the vanity…Restoration Hardware.

We interviewed 3 separate contractors and decided to use Martin who did a wonderful job for us.

Sorry I wasn’t able to get a wide-angle picture of this room, it really looks so much better than these images from my point and shoot. Nice to have the room re-do checked off the list.

{Home} In-house vignettes

15 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Renovating

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vignettes

As I’ve said before, decorative accessories are a weakness of mine. I pare down in the spring and summer months and seem to want more on display in the fall and winter. In any event, I find the “icing” on a room to draw me in and I always enjoy re-doing a space where just the right vignette can give me a little lift with the change {it’s always the little things isn’t it?}.

Some of my favorite blog sites excel at excellent vignettes such as French Kissed, Vignette Design, and for the love of a house.

via French Kissed

via Vignette Designs

I have a couple of areas in my house that always stump me, vignette/accessories speaking. The end of the bar in our kitchen, the bay window in the kitchen and the shelf over the kitchen desk are 3 areas that I find need to be changed regularly. Sometimes I want a change due to the season, but I confess, restlessness with the way something looks is part of it too. The shelf over our sofa in our family room also came under some decor scrutiny this past weekend and it received a change as well. Hey, I was on a roll, what can I say?

The above was one of my past vignettes for the bar.

Over Labor Day weekend I decided to “start off fall cleaning”. I removed everything from the shelf over the sofa in the family room to give the existing Toby jugs a good cleaning and to dust the cob webs from the space. (I know, that’s a terrible admission, but its a fact, we get cob webs). Clearing the decks really can give you new perspective and open up the doors of creativity. Hubby and I both thought maybe it was time to store the Toby jugs and maybe re-purpose some of my nick-knacks, as hubby likes to call them.

This is the shelf above our family room sofa, up until the past weekend it had a collection of Royal Dalton Toby jugs and books. We were tired of that arrangement and re-purposed some of the “smalls” I had hanging around in storage areas of the house. When you have the ‘bug’ to change things it helps to have a stash of treasures you can draw from! {note to self: too bad the heater vent is white, need to think about painting that the wall color}

Here is the left side of the shelf above the sofa. The antique scale has visited several areas of my home, including the bar. I pray there’s no earthquakes to send it toppling down on our heads!

Here are the other spaces I re-arranged this past weekend.

Barley twist is a favorite of mine and this footed barley twist cake stand (or whatever it was originally intended for} seemed to elevate my wooden ivy planter to just the right level for a traditional English vignette.

Not sure this is making my heart sing, but I’ll keep working on this spot on the bar…certainly something will inspire me soon.

This is the lower bookshelf in the shelves above the kitchen desk. Being such an accessories nut I chose to restrict the cookbooks to the top shelf only…that way I can put some little nick-knacks on this shelf, like the antique pewter butter dish and my pewter topped dog-cookie canister…doggies are very appreciative.

Do you like to change things from time to time, maybe only for the season change, but it does make things interesting, don’t you think?

{Home} Paneled walls

24 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, DIY (do it yourself), Renovating

≈ 8 Comments

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wood paneled walls

There is something about wood paneled walls that I find so appealing. I like the formal raised-panel walls just as much as the simple bead board walls.

Some of you may know I recently applied bead board paneling to our master bathroom walls and I have been very happy with the outcome.

But whether it’s a country style home or formal, traditional décor, the wood walls always invite me in.

The above wood paneled walls in white contrast the black sliding barn doors beautifully. Black and white are such a classic. Love the white slip covered chaise in the left corner of the image.

The pale blue/gray paint is so lovely in this more formal bedroom. I’ve never painted wood paneled wall anything but shades of white but I love the calming effect of this whisper blue.

This bedroom is a flip of the bedroom above. The raise paneled walls give the room a historic feel, as if you’re in an older, well-preserved home.

This Country Living room has great windows! I actually like the antique white against the white paneling. Love the linens!

I like the contrasting paint color of the worm-wood paneling and the bamboo shade…Dan Marty Designs

Design Chic posted a piece on banquets. I really like this room for it’s wall of glass front cupboards to the white tongue in grove paneling.

A Bunny Williams room…so wonderfully symmetric and calming in its neutral palate.

Isn’t this family room inviting…sisal or some natural fiber rug, overstuffed sofa and 2 great club chairs. The paneling just adds to the warmth for me.

Now this is a bathroom…maybe in my next life! Love the tub and the raised panel walls {sigh}

This paneling helps make the room more inviting, 2-story ceilings can be cold.

I like the extra wide opening to the living room, such a luxurious detail.

Isn’t this pretty, raised panel screen doors, paneled ceiling and wonderful doors.

Hand painted wood floors break up all of the wood but I really like the planks on the wall running perpendicular to the floor.

By the way, I fully intended to post some images of formal room with carved paneling but it seems I haven’t saved any. I guess I’ve subconsciously embraced a simple, classic style of decor. 🙂

Do you have a paneled room in your home?

{Home} Paint colors…making a difficult choice

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Renovating

≈ 2 Comments

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guest bath re-do, paint color

As some of you may know, we’re finally renovating our guest bathroom. It’s a bit of a good news/bad news deal. Good news: I have many of the major components [vanity, wall sconces, canned lighting, fan, bathtub, toilet, crown, base and door casing selected; bad news: I’ve decided to select a paint color with a hint of gray to it to go with the Carrara (thanks to Vignette Design for setting me straight on the spelling) marble vanity top and floor.

{1}

The vanity we have ordered (below) is a Pottery Barn design. Due to limited space in the guest bathroom we choose this little 26″ wide piece. The counter-top is Carrara marble, and is part of the reason I’m looking at gray paint.

This is the recessed mirror/medicine cabinet we’ve ordered. The wood looks aged and has a little white/gray to it.

The wall sconces we’re using are these Pottery Barn beauties. Again, I think they lend themselves to the gray I have in my mind…yet to be found!

I visit a lot of blog sites and am almost always impressed with how lovely rooms can look with gray paint. However, I get to the store and am overwhelmed by all of the shades of gray to choose from, not to mention the samples they offer are the size of a postage stamps and it can be difficult to select from that sample.

While I love this bathroom by Jill Sharp Brinson, I believe it’s too dark for my small space.

This paint (below) is “Natures Essentials” by Benjamin Moore…its very close to what I imagine but I couldn’t find the color at my hardware store today so the search continues.

This gray and white (below) is lovely but may be a little dark, the room in the image is quite bright and cheery so it can handle the darker paint.

{2}

What’s that you say, just buy the little sample pots so many paint companies offer? Let me just say this about that…they rarely have the color in sample size that I’m interested in and when they do it can be pretty pricey. Does this ever happen to you?

I love the gray of this room (below) and the black and white accents are something that appeals to me.

{3}

This soft gray is perfect but I don’t have the name of the paint so the search continues.

{4}

Polished Pebble recently redid a bathroom in their Ojai home and I love the Cararra trim accent used with the white subway tile. I’m following her design idea and using 12″ Cararra tile on the floor.

{5}

This is a pretty pale shade of gray that accents the blue and white beautifully.

{7}

This taupe-gray (below) is what I really envision. Love this room!

{8}

Heirloom Philosophy painted her living room recently a Farrow & Ball color called Hardwick White. I like the contrast with the white trim, which is what I’ll be using on the crown, base and door casing. What do you think? It’s hard to see the actual color on a computer screen, don’t you agree?

{6}

On the right (below) is Hardwick White; on the left (below) is Lamp Room Gray, both by Farrow & Ball

So I’m doing my due diligence and revisiting some of the beautiful gray rooms I’ve seen on various sites and then I’m going straight to my friends for honest input and advice. Isn’t that always the best anyway.

I will be posting before and after photos once we’re underway. Meanwhile, while I try to compile all of the components I welcome any and all input from you, my faithful readers.

Meanwhile, if any of you have a wonderful gray paint color you’d like to share please email me.

Images: 1. Vignette Design; 2., 6., 7. & 8. Heirloom Philosophy; 3. & 4. Griege ; 5. Polished Pebble

{Home}Master bathroom facelift

20 Wednesday Jul 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Renovating

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

master bathroom, renovating

Nearly 10 years ago we remodeled our master bathroom. We removed the fiberglass shower, standard tract-house vanity, noisy fan and outdated toilet, lighting and wallpaper.

Tumbled marble tiles and ‘creama marfa’ marble replaced materials that had long-since shown their age. A new Kohler Memoirs sink, Toto toilet (which is truly the best toilet I’ve ever owned—maybe TMI for most of you, but if you should ever replace a toilet, trust me, this one is worth every penny) oil rubbed bronze fixtures and hardware were installed. I choose a Pierre Deux toile for my wallpaper and was very happy with the end result.

The bead board seems to have a slightly greenish cast to it but we will paint an additional coat of Porcelain and I believe it will look like the creamy white the paint normally is.

About 2 years ago (when the bathroom was celebrating its 8^th birthday, do we actually celebrate birthdays for the rooms of a house, no, but we should) we began to notice that the dry wall on either side of the invisible shower door began to blister and mold. We replaced seals on the side where we knew moisture from the shower could be the cause and puzzled about the other side.

After 2 years of unanswered questions and continued disintegration of the dry wall and wallpaper at the baseboard line and up the wall about 2” wide x 6” high, we finally had our trusty carpenter/contractor fix the problem and we have replaced my toile {sniff} with a 3” bead board. We now have a white and natural bathroom, a look hubby and I both agree is fresh and makes the room feel open and airy. {I still miss the toile but I think I’ll make some toile pillows for my outdoor chairs to help me with the withdrawal).

Hubby and I choose the hottest day of the year, so far, to paint. We laughed because we’ve done this every time we take on a painting project!

So there you have it. It was a great weekend project and hopefully, we have fixed the problem.

What weekend projects do you have on the list this summer?

The bathroom…part of the tour

22 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Misc, Renovating

≈ 2 Comments

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bathroom

I saved this room for last on my dream-home tour because our sweet little cottage has 2 bathrooms and one is in desperate need of a renovation. Our master bathroom was remodeled in 2001, I can hardly believe it’s been nearly 10 years! The guest bath has had cosmetic changes throughout the years but nothing major has been done. Our renovation, when it happens, will be a simple face lift but we’ll take everything out that is currently within the space so the room should feel a little roomier than its miniscule 5’ x 8’ size once finished.

I might as well start with the largest dream bathroom in my files. I realize this is a little over the top for most homeowners but wouldn’t it be wonderful?!

I want to renovate our guest bathroom using white tile, white sink, tub and toilet and chrome hardware. I visualize a bathtub with wood paneling on the side, white Toto toilet and a white vanity with Kohler’s Ladena Undermount Lavatory (sink) and Kohler’s Double Handle faucet. I’d like to put in Carrera tiles on the floor and white subway tile up the walls to the ceiling in the bath/shower area. I want to install a new, QUIET fan and recessed lights. I will most probably install the new Oval Framed medicine cabinet from Pottery Barn and wall sconces on either side of the mirrored cabinet.

Pottery Barn’s Classic Single Sink Console (or something like it)

Kohler’s Ladena Undermount Sink

Kohler’s Double Handle Faucet

The wood panel on the front side of the bathtub is what I hope to duplicate in our guest bathroom.

I may try to incorporate a built in-the-wall shelf like this…a real space saver.

Pottery Barn’s Lattice Oval Medicine Cabinet (don’t you love this medicine cabinet…it looks like an antique mirror while serving as a medicine cabinet as well).

Pottery Barn wall sconce. The subway tile behind the sconce is what I have in mind for the area above the tub.

You get the jest of what I’m wanting, right?

So come along to see some of the larger, more spectacular bathrooms I dream of, but know that our guest bathroom will be a simple cottage loo when remodeled.