| Whole House Design #3 |
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Well, we’re into month 3 at our new house and I’ve shown you the planning stage back at the old place and then the changes we made before moving and where I’m at in the living and dining room. So let me catch you up to where things stand this month.
I chose a fabric for the living and dining room draperies. I only have this swatch at the moment, because the Jo-Ann’s that I shop at didn’t have enough of it so an order will take a week or so. When the fabric arrives I’ll do a project sheet on the style I’m making. It’s something I’ve done in the past and really liked the results!
The dark blue chair is still sitting in the living room…I scraped a wall near the kitchen while trying to move that darn chair because it’s really too heavy for one person and because it rocks and swivels, the crazy thing was out of control…so I don’t want to move it again! However, I like that the two chairs are the same design, I just don’t like that they are so different in hue. I’m not sure at this time if I will have them recovered or not. They are of a design that will be expensive to recover because of the button tufting on the back. Since this is a room that we don’t really use at this time, changing those chairs will be way down the road!
In the meantime, changes are occurring in other parts of the house. If you’ve checked out the article about Adding Writing to the Wall, you’ve gotten a sneak peek at my family room’s progress. Once the boys (Matt and my husband, Bruce) removed the built in wall cabinet in the family room alcove, my contractor friend, Kari added some lighting up inside and painted the alcove in a spicy pumpkin shade for me. The real color name is Sherwin Williams, Eastlake Gold. I chose a color for the rest of the family room walls that had the same peachy undertone as the tile floor and the blind on the sliding glass door. This color is Sherwin Williams Interactive Cream. But here’s a short story within the story that will make you all feel better about selecting color.
(And in an uncanny twist, the Buckram Binding looks redder in the photograph. I’m not sure why and this is about the 15th photo I’ve taken trying to get it to look right!) Just take my word for it! So, once I started painting Interactive Cream over the top, all was well again. For those of you wondering what I did with the 5 gallons of Buckram Binding…Matt painted my office and my son’s room! So, all was not lost.
Back to the family room. No new furniture, just rearranged furniture. Here’s how it breaks down. The TV cabinet used to be in the living room along with the black framed red tropical chairs and the white sectional which is now in our current living room. You only see one of the red chairs because that is all that will fit in this room. The other red chair is now a guest chair in my office. Remember, when you move you have to be flexible!! And, you can also be flexible and move things around in your home whether you’ve moved or not! It’s very refreshing.
I know that my sectional has seen better days perhaps physically, but emotionally, we all love it so much we are hesitant to get rid of it an buy a new one. I hope you have pieces like that in your home that just cuddle you when you sit down. Again, this is on that “one of these days” list for replacement. My tables are from the old family room and are pieces I switched with Matt for. He had a couple sofas and a coffee table of mine and I got these tables and a sofa as well. Another great way to freshen up your home…switch furniture with a good friend!
Now, for what’s new. One afternoon, standing in the kitchen and looking toward the TV and the still off white hall that goes back to my office and Cameron’s room, I considered using the pumpkin color from the alcove. Hmm, it makes sense to look in this direction and see either the Interactive Cream or the Eastlake Gold. Well, since I’m always looking for drama, the pumpkin color won. I’ve written an article about the painting process called “The Basics of Painting” if you want to check it out in our Around the House section.
A week or so later, I started considering that I had almost a full gallon left from the hallway and I was wondering what else I could paint! Well, there is a tall angled wall that wraps around the outside of my kitchen and faces the entrance to the garage, the laundry room and powder room. It’s a back hallway if you will. It is also a wall that heads toward that weird transitional area I’ve talked about before. Remember that my living room is in blue, you can see it just to the right. But, with all of this pumpkin and beige going on in this half of the house I am eventually going to have to decide how to merge the two together. For now, I’m not going to worry about it.
So there you have it. I still need some accessories on the family room tables and I have a plan to bring my current “desk” which is a harvest table (drops down on both sides) into the room to use as a sofa table between the back of the sectional and the wall.
I may then move a lamp to that table and add some accessories so the piece of artwork doesn’t look so lonely there. Stay tuned, I promise this area is going to look better in the not too distant future! The best news for me is that after wanting new office furniture for a couple years now, I ordered a few new pieces when we bought this house and I am finally going to have a real grown up office. Not that I minded using all the hand me downs and leftovers from around the house. Besides, regardless of what the furniture looked like, I was always able to get my projects done!!
That might be hard to believe though if you’d seen my office a week after moving in! (For those who care, this is the reason I didn’t get the Tree for All Seasons felt heart project written.)
And here’s my office as I write. In two days, the new furniture will arrive and I’ll start pulling this room together. I hope that by next month I can give you an update on this room and perhaps some progress in other areas of the house as well. Decorating is a process, if you enjoy it and are lucky, the process never ends. There’s always room for updates, slight alterations and refreshers. I’m having fun sharing my experiences with you including the good decisions and the ones that need revising. If you have questions or comments about the process I’m going through, just drop a quick note on Ask Matt and Shari and I’ll try to address it. Until next time! Shari
Comments (10)
  written by Shari, March 05, 2009
Hi Nancy!
I have to ask, "What are builders thinking when they create problems like your windows?" Have you considered just adding blinds or shades and toppers instead of trying to put side panels on any of the windows? The window that is 5" from the corner will really be a problem for side panels. The cascade shades that I made for my office (they are in the sewing section) turned out very nice and are dressy enough for a dining room I think. For a Colonial home, how about roman shades that are a bit more formal? Or a cornice board over a soft shade or wooden blinds? You could even do a swag and jabots over the dressiest windows. As long as you stay away from side panels on those difficult windows, I think they will look great. Remember, you didn't notice them until you moved in....no one else will be as critical as you! Shari
 written by Bernadette, January 18, 2011
Shari
I love the wall colors you've selected for your home. We looked at a model home once, that had a similar (orangey) shade and it was so attractive...it's a color I normally wouldn't consider, but just love the look in your home. We are having a tough time in our new home also. Our master bedroom has a window with the same problem Nancy has...I do have curtains hung and it doesn't look too bad, but I agree...what were those builders thinking. Also have another problem...we have a corner in our living room where we have just placed a new Lazyboy recliner corner sofa and now for the walls. Do we try to decorate them separately or try to match them. The walls are each about 8 feet in width, and one wall is a cathedral. Again, I just love your decorating ideas in your new home...it is beautiful. THANKS...Bernadette
written by Shari, January 20, 2011
Hi Bernadette,
I'm not sure if you are asking should you match the new sofa to the walls or match the two adjacent walls. Let me know and I'll try to help.
written by Bernadette, January 20, 2011
Hi Shari
I guess I don't really know what to do...the corner sofa fits really well in the area. We have side tables on the ends...and 2 very large blank walls above. I'm not sure what to do with the walls. THANKS...don't feel obligated to comment...but do I appreciate any bit of advice. Let me know if I'm not being clear. Bernadette
written by Shari, January 20, 2011
Hi Bernadette,
If your corner sofa is rather plain or neutral, you might consider adding a texture to the walls behind it to add interest. You can accomplish this with a painting technique or textured wallcovering. If your corner sofa is a print, perhaps a color pulled from the fabric would make a nice background to the furniture. Don't forget that you will probably add artwork or family photos, some sort of decor to the walls as well. And, you can always get pattern in your accessory pillows. Does any of this help?
written by Bernadette, January 20, 2011
Hi Shari
Thanks so much for your help. That sounds like a plan. The sofa is plan and light colored so a different color for the walls would be perfect. I will also try to coordinate pillows using the color of the walls, or better yet, buy the pillows and pull a color out of them. Thanks so much for your help. I'll let you know how it turns out. Bernadette
written by Shari, January 20, 2011
Yes Ma'am,
Find your pillows first and pull a color from them. While you are at it, look around your home and make sure you are in keeping with everything else you have going on!
 written by Shelby, September 21, 2011
Hello Shari,
I love the pumpkin color in the hallway. Can you tell me what the name of the color is? Would it look good in a kitchen with reddish golden oak cabinetry? Thanks. Shelby
written by Shari, September 21, 2011
Hi Shelby,
The color is a Sherwin williams color called "Eastlake Gold" SW 0009. OBviously I think it's a wonderful color because it has some panache yet it seems somewhat neutral...goes with a lot of things. My suggestion to you would be to pick up a sample size and try it on a wall or even a board that you can hold up. It nearly matches my kitchen cabinets, but woodtones can be tricky!!
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Your house looks beautiful. I, too, moved fairly recently and am having a really hard time decorating this house. For one, the house is much larger than I've had before. Also, the house style is Colonial with tall windows which, on the outside of the house, are symmetrical. I didn't notice until I moved in that the windows are not symmetrical on the inside. For instance, on the front wall of my dining room one window is 28" from the adjacent wall and the other window is only 5" from the adjacent wall/doorway into the hall. The same situation occurs in the Master Bedroom above. The rest of the windows in the house are also off, but not as drastically. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Shari!