Paint Colors

In sharp contrast to our previous abode, this house is getting much cooler toned colors thus completely ditching any remnants of tan! Instead of going crazy with the deep rich colors - at one point, in the old house, we had an entire blue bathroom, yes, ceiling included - we learned that we really do enjoy colors, only in moderation. So by having a great neutral, a consistent color throughout the trim and finishes, and an ultimate goal of having good flow throughout the entire house, throwing in some fun hidden surprises lurking behind closed doors become that much more fun.

We love Benjamin Moore Grey Owl (along with the rest of Pinterest) and have decided that it, along with Benjamin Moore's Simply White for the trim, will be our main base colors for the entire house:

I even went so far as to plan which rooms were getting which colors - makes it nice to look back and see what we thought we were going to do versus what we end up actually doing.

The main living areas and our master bedroom will be Grey Owl with the kitchen getting Grey Owl too, just lightened 50%. Our master bath will be painted Smoke with Van Courtland Blue as an accent and, as you saw, the master closet getting a good dose of Hale Navy. We continued the Hale Navy trend in the half bathroom as well and painted the laundry room Jade Garden (which I love). The study will be Guilford Green and its closet will be painted Grey Owl, 50% lightened.

The same scheme continues upstairs too with the main living areas, nursery, and guest bedroom getting Grey Owl-ified. The Jack and Jill bath will be painted Smoke, which, I think, will pair nicely with the Winding Vines accent wall in the nursery and Storm painted boy's room. The guest bath, along with all the closets, will be painted Grey Owl, 50% lightened.

So yes, I am calling this "Paint Plan A". We'll see what happens next.

Little Before/Afters

In the thick of remodeling, it is hard to remember why we bought the house to begin with... I mean, were we crazy to think that an undertaking of this sort was even remotely manageable?? But when we really step back, take a breath, and remember that we truly love this kind of stuff, we realize we are perfect for this house. Our new house.

{fixtures}

That being said, it is still crazy to think that I am 39 weeks (and 4 days) pregnant, waddling around the house with the cordless drill taking off brass door knobs and cream outlet face plates while Huynh undertakes all of the painting, only at night and on the weekends, so we can get some sort of semblance of home before our little one makes his grand entrance. Huynh's a rockstar, putting up with my crazy antics ("paint the master closet NOW before I start throwing clothes away!!") and smiling through it all before collapsing into bed at night and knocking out before the new day starts.

{fixture}

Needless to say, the house did not start out our style but we saw the potential and, in addition to the big updates, are making little ones to help make it feel more like us. 

{knobs, satin nickel}

Our house was built in 1988 and, in most cases, has not been touched since. The cream and brass finishes will all be updated to white and nickel niceties which we tackled first in the master closet then followed to the half bathroom and the main parts of the house. Huynh showed you the new fixtures in the master closet yesterday which replaced those unsightly bare bulbs; below that is the half bathroom with a sneak peak of it's new face lift. Last are our brand new knobs *swoon*! Funnily enough, I ordered all of the door knobs before we closed on the house - when we officially moved in, we realized that I bought the exact same knobs that were already in the house only updated. 

Twenty-five years from now, the owners of this house are going to be wishing we kept those brass monsters when they go full circle and come back in style (ha!).