Becolorful

Eye Candy from Blogland

I have spent WAY too much time on my computer this week but I am fascinated by all the gorgeous inspiration that I am finding. My tastes are rather eclectic so there is probably something in this line up of images for anybody dropping by. The problem is I see these great things and there just isn't enough time or money for me to accomplish all of this but at least a girl can dream. 

So here it goes, my image roll of the things you posted that I covet. -

This digital photography book I saw featured on Between Naps on the Porch. I'm thinking this could be what I need to learn to post some better pictures here at Beclorful.

 

Than I found this. We are gearing up do redo a couple of baths in our old house so I am inspired by baths like this one. Love the drama, the charcoal walls and the black and white tiles that I saw on Houzz.

 

or how about this black bead board I found at My Sweet Savannah? Now why didn't I think of this for the third floor? Very cool.

I loved this upholstered headboard I discovered at Popcorn Served Daily. Lizzie, could you move back home so we could do this to YOUR room? 
 

 

I am contemplating these fun chalkboard tiles at Pottery Barn. We have an area that leads into the kitchen that we call the bottle neck. These could work there.

This fun laundry bucket at Inspiring Interiors made me smile. I would paint one in aqua or black and white for my laundry room.

Look what Crowned Casa did with her pantry door. Truly inspired.  

 

But if I could change out these window treatments 

 

For some lovely highly hung linen numbers  I saw on Jeanette's A Passion for Home I would be a totally happy woman... well at least until the next project. I agreed not to post an image of them but they can be seen on her site. They are what I covet.

 
Thank you to all of you who help to keep me inspired and motivated and my creative neurons firing on all cylinders. My husband, on the other hand, thinks this could get expensive. :)  

 

Aqua Notes - Now There is Something I Need

Now really? Who couldn't use these? Brilliant and you can find them here. 

Pillow of the Week #6 = Pink Floral Happiness

What better cure for the winter blues than a vibrant colorful accent like this happy floral number? With so many different colors it would work with a lot of different color schemes. A powerful punch of springtime promise and passionate pink prettiness.  You can find it here.

 

Mama's New Banner Flair from Liz Ink and Paper

So check me out! I've been studying banners for awhile now. I wanted something a bit cleaner and with a whole lot more pizazz than what I had before. I needed something that would be distinctly me and make Be Colorful instantly identifiable. What wonderful banner goddess should come to my rescue but my very own baby girl!

 I showed her some banners that I thought were similar to what I was envisioning for Be Colorful and she took it from there . She obviously knows me well and read my mind perfectly when she came up with this stylish beauty. 

 

She offered me a number of fabulous options.

 

  

But this one just seemed to jump off the page for me.

 

I love how she inserted the other phrases into the banner so, like she said, there is emphasis on the words be colorful but it is evident that the theme here is artistic and colorful endeavors. I also love that she gave a nod to the black and white that I am so fond of and the badge color is the color of my office. 

 

Do you see some consistency here? This is obviously my color palette.
 

She nailed this for me. Thanks so very much Liz. I love my banner and I love you. And now for my shameless plug for my fabulously talented daughter...

How about your blog? Are you looking for something new? unique? custom? Well let me hook you up. Check out Liz Ink and Paper. Her website is gorgeous and ridiculously cool. Banners are just the beginning of what she can create for you. You will be dazzled by all of the exciting fresh and uber inspired stuff you will find there.
  I am linking this post to Blue Cricket Designs, a great resource for fresh ideas.

Red Adirondacks = Summer Love

This is what I dream of but...

 

this is how my back yard looks this morning. 

 

Even if you think it looks pretty or peaceful or anything positive DO NOT go there with me. 

Look at my forlorn looking patio furniture. It is taunting me by peeking through the snow like that.

 

We have had a record breaking ten weeks of snow cover here. Unheard of!   I know, I can hear you all saying that at least the sun is shining. Whatever. I want to wear cute shoes again instead of boots ( even though I did find some fun ones) and I don't want to think that I can only wear about half of my pants because I can't wear heals in this crap and I really don't want to have to sit down before I open my gas bill. Enough already. 

This past weekend, sick of our four walls, we trudged through this dirty sloppy muck to the local home show. It was filled with the usual heating and cooling systems, gutter helmets, and whole house vacuums. BORRRRRRRRRRRRRING. But when I rounded the corner and saw these beauties, I was Uplifted, Inspired, Hopeful.

 

Just looking at this picture of them makes me happy. We ordered two of them in bright red  plus a fun side table in yellow for our small balcony where the guys like to sit and have a cigar or Mike and I like to share a bottle of wine. I didn't know that they came in green too. I am also smitten by that one. They are made by Poly Furniture and are part of their Tropical Collection. I like that they are guaranteed not to fade. 

I will have to find some Pillows for them :0   Hopefully they don't deliver them too soon because they will look a little silly sitting out there in the snow but there are better days ahead. Yes I am hopeful that I will someday look out and my backyard will look like this again.

 

 
 Now that's what I'm talking about. A color evangelist like me can only deal with so much white.
 
 
 

The Many Looks of This Old House - The Living Room

I live in an older home. A ninety four year old home to be exact. 

My last post was a link up to Transforming the Home. At first glance it seems a bit shameless to do a post on my own house but I think it could be interesting to share with other old home lovers the ups and downs of living and updating these old money pits. You either love them or are grateful you don't have one. They are a constant work in progress but for the last couple of years I have been happily focused on other things in my life and this has taken a back seat. Things here are quickly  beginning to look neglected though and I am realizing that It is time to redirect some of my efforts back into this old rambler that we call home.

(This is the door I am considering painting yellow. Thoughts ?)

Let me begin at the beginning.

This photo is of Ellen and her brother. Their father built this house in 1915-1916 and Ellen was born here. The picture was taken when she was about three  She figures that this was not long after the end of World War I and that explains the patriotic attire. She laughingly commented that her brother looks like the kind of boy you would like to bully.

 

I talked with Ellen in 2003 when she was 88 years old. She was delightful. I want to grow up to be a cool 88 like her. She was twelve when her family left here and moved to California. She hadn't seen the house since she was quite young and she was thrilled to see the pictures I sent her of the house today and of our family. She told me she so enjoyed her trip back in time. She shared her memories of her life here and of servants ... hmmmmm wonder what happened to them? There certainly weren't any of those here when we moved in. Ellen shared with me her memories of pony rides out back and of huge flower gardens, of breakfasts of bread dipped in milk and sugar with her nanny in the kitchen and of parties her parents would throw on the sunporch. She remembers one in particular where they roasted an entire pig and served it with the apple in its mouth. She said her life while she lived here was good and she thought we were carrying on that tradition.  I'd like to think so even if it is more about egg beaters and salads in a bag, cigars and martinis around the firepit and movies in and eating out.

I thought it might be fun to share with you in a series of posts, the lives of some of the various people who have lived here and the different decorating styles and changes that this old house has experienced over the years and where I hope to take it next. So here goes nothing.... In this post I will feature the living room. Do you think they called it that back in 1916? 

 

 In 1928 there was actually a wake in this room for the lady of the house, a young mom that had died in child birth. From here there was a procession down to the church. It all seems weird now but I guess it was common back then.

The earliest picture I have of this room is from the late 1950's. 

 

Those stockings are so retro cool. The whole thing kind of looks like something out of A Christmas Story. It's only missing one of these babies.

 
 

By the 1960's the bricks  in the fireplace had a coat of white paint and a new fire screen.

This is how the mantel was decorated for the holidays in the sixties. Lots of brass going on here. As for the lady of the house, isn't she pretty?  I actually knew her before we even bought the house but it wasn't until after we had moved in that I realized that at one time she called this place home too. Small world. 

I love that dress and all of that hair. Gorgeous. Wouldn't it be fun to dress up like that? Seriously, I was born too late.

Oh Lu you distract me. By the 1970's the fireplace was no longer white. In a practice that was common during this era, it looks like it was "antiqued" a technique of paint and stain. Check out those mirrored tiles. Yikes. 

I think that this must have been the decade of mirrored surfaces and lots of plants. 

Here is a look at the other end of the living room. Definitely an asian thing going on here at that time.

During the eighties the house changed hands yet again. This family had their work cut out for them. For starters there was a lot of termite damage under the front porch that had encroached into the front of the house. A huge support beam had to be installed that meant pulling up some of the living room floor. Thank Heavens for Orkin and our lifetime warranty that I renew every year. This had to be an expensive fix. The good thing is after they refinished the floors you can't tell that there was ever a problem.

In the 80's the fireplace got another facelift. The stain went much darker and the mirrors were replaced with marble. Apparently there was some plumbing work done too. Trust me, there is definitely not a toilet in this room. :0

 
This is how it all looked in the the early nineties.
 

and in 1997

I actually wish they had left that red sofa I would rather have that than the gold love seat that is there now. 

Here  is how it looked the day we moved in.

 

The first thing we did was lose the blue draperies since I had done the whole country blue thing a few years earlier and I was sooooooooooo over it.

I wanted to bring happy colors into the house so we went with yellow. This picture makes it look REALLY yellow. In reality it isn't quite this vivid. We had a party here before we even moved in and I had wallpaper books and paint sample options sitting around for our guests to vote on. We didn't have any furniture here yet so we just borrowed some lawn furniture (Thank you McGurk's) and scattered it around. It was a totally fun night. 

When we first moved in I needed to buy rugs to cover all of these wood floors and I filled the corners with dining chairs since I only had the small love seat and one wing chair. About a year in it looked more like this. The wing chairs came from the Salvation Army and I had them recovered it the red damask which I still love but I'm just ready for a change so these are the chairs that I want to add off- white slipcovers to. Notice I still didn't have any window treatments. Does this bare look bother you?

 

Shortly after that picture was taken I did add the draperies and I loved them for about five years. Now, not so much. Everything is so formal. Really? who was I trying to impress???

This is how it looks today. I guess I could say it is complete but I am definitely ready for a change. I'd like something more inviting, more casual, more me.

The clock is an attempt to bring a little whimsey and lighten the mood up in here. That plus the fact that it didn't sell at my Traveling Door Show. Sigh. Oh well, now I kind of like it here.

 

 
 Yes, this room is crying out for help. This old house doesn't want to look like an old lady. No 2000 late look for her. No not at all she is ready for something fresh. A bit of a lift and a tuck. She is a party house and she is ready to get her freak on and fly her party flair. All suggestions welcome.
 
 I am linking today with Blue Cricket Design  and Remodelaholic two new to me fun and inspirational sites where I go to be inspired. 

 

Rooms of Color A Mini Tour of My Home

A new blogging friend told me to be sure and stop by Transforming the Home and Domestically Speaking for some amazing paint and decor ideas. Well, you know me, I love a good house party. I just need to add some of my own pictures too. So in true Becolorful fashion I am calling my post Rooms of Color.

 

This is my family room but we call it the green room since it really doesn't look like a traditional family room with its banks of windows on three sides and because even though it is on the first floor the lot drops off and you feel like you are on the second story here. For those of you that are revisiting I did get those fun number pillows from Pottery Barn that I featured last month. Yay.

 

This is probably my favorite room in the house and where we spend most of our time. I like to change out the accent pieces with the seasons and I think it is at its best in the spring. So if you visit frequently you will probably be seeing plenty of variations on what's here now.

 

 

 
 ... and here is the breezeway. I wanted a screened in porch when we did an addition ten years ago but it really became just a pass through to Mr. Rosie's home office. Here the color comes from a bit of yellow floral wallpaper (yes, wallpaper) and yellow, green, red and my black and white accents.

 

We live in a house that is closing in on 100 years but the breezeway and media room were added about ten years ago. 

The front rooms in this old rambler are quite formal. My goal is to dial that down in the months ahead.

Here is our dining room, traditional red.

 

I sold that chest but I miss it and plan to paint another one. I like to see something funky even in these formal areas. 

This room wasn't always a dining room but that will be another whole post ... someday. When we first saw this house there was a pool table complete with a pool table light fixture here. Not what I wanted my guests to see as they looked down the front hallway. So for a number of years this room really didn't have any purpose. We just filled it with some stuffed furniture and added some bookshelves. It wasn't until we remodeled the kitchen that this became our dining room.

 I like mismatched cocktail glasses so I usually only buy one at a time. This way if the party gets a bit crazy everyone knows which glass is theirs.

Typically there is a black table cloth in here or none at all. This is leftover Valentines.  

We also went with reds and golds in the media room.

 

Isn't it interesting when you look at your photos on the computer you see things you otherwise seem to miss. For instance, I am going right down stairs and removing that leopard print runner on the buffet ... not necessary, too busy. Plus I think I will paint the buffet. We bought it and a small matching china cabinet that is in the living room for $150.00 when we were first married and I have been reluctant to paint them because they are in really good shape. Whatever. They're ugly. The lamp on the buffet is also too small. Crazy Daisy here I come with some new castoffs for you. I am, though, feeling those Target pillows. Wonder if I can find two more?

 The half bath is brown. It looks kind of green here but trust me, it's brown. I think that is the plunger handle you see in the bottom left corner. This is a real life home tour after all and that is just  a constant part of the decor in an old house.

Because an old home can sometimes look stuffy and we were a young family when we moved in I knew I wanted to work with happy colors. A yellow living room fit that bill. Years later I am seriously wanting to remove the valences that I paid way too much for and paint this room more of a gold. I would also like to start all over with the furniture but since that probably won't be happening anytime soon I am thinking of off white slipcovers. I really don't sew so I will have to find someone that does that sort of thing.

 

 

Something kind of like this minus the ruffled coffee table thing. Add in a bit more black and some leopard print and I think we're almost there.

 

The kitchen was teeny tiny when we bought the house and we lived with it like that for eight years. When we were almost finished with our kitchen remodel and my first visitor stopped by she looked at my pale gray/tan walls and asked,"Did you pick this color?' I knew what she was getting at. I LOVE color so why the colorless kitchen? Well after living with a dated kitchen for that long I knew I wanted something more timeless. What could be more timeless than white? I get my color fix from the accessories.

 

Upstairs I feel like I can let my freak colors fly and so I do.

Here is my office which used to be an old sleeping porch.

 

This is my absolute favorite color. I don't know what you call it. Watermelon? I love it. I also have a crush on my vintage velvet chair in pea green even though my family thinks it's hideous. I think it kind of has that Friends feel. I had wanted a room with a black and white floor for years and I finally got one here.

Two of the bedrooms on this floor are green.

 

Hmmmm. That Marilyn picture looks a bit high. Seriously, after I finish this post I'll be tweaking things around here for a week.

The boys bedrooms are in the middle of a redo aka future post.

Our room is a major yawn so no picture yet. Another future post.

Like I said this is an old house so the laundry is in the basement ... but at least it is a walk out. I figured that because this was an entirely different floor then this would be the spot where I would experiment with blues. This was a real shift for me. I started with my studio.

 

 and then carried it into the adjoining laundry room. 

 

 

I also have a thing for black and white so I decided to pull out all the stops and deck out the powder room off the kitchen entirely in my black and white fetish.

 

Because houses of this era usually didn't have a bathroom on the main floor this is one of those find a spot for it under the stairs bathrooms and I am pretty sure this is the smallest bathroom EVER. I decided to roll with that and topped it off with this framed quote.

 

This post was a really great exercise for me. The pictures really make me see things with new eyes. Changes are definitely in the works. 

Thanks for stopping by. I love visitors. I hope you found something unique to inspire you and I hope you will drop in again. Now I can't wait to go tour everyone else's homes.

Hugs,

Pam
 
 

 
 
 

 
  

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Yellow Front Doors Are My Latest Inspiration

I have been doing a lot of posts about my front door candy lately. When I look back at the pictures I can see that my door is crying out for a fresh coat of paint. When we bought our home twelve years ago it had a pale gray door. It was nice but a bit of a yawn so I painted it red thinking my door should be a taste of what was to come as soon as you crossed the threshold. The interior of my house has a lot of red so I chose a dark red and for the last eight years or so I've been good with it. Now I still think the entrance should  set the tone but I realize a lot of colors coordinate well with red and yellow is one of them.

This week I am inspired by yellow doors.

 

 

 

 

 

I try and imagine what my door candy would look like on a yellow door throughout the seasons. I think most of it would be doable  but I would probably have to tweak my Valentine flair to make that work. Holiday greens would be elegant, fall would be a perfect fit and summer colors would be a breeze.

Ours is an older two story white home with gray shutters and a dark gray roof so I think yellow could be a unique take on a classic look.

Then again, this is a really pretty red. Maybe I just need to do something brighter. After all, someone with the blog named Becolorful shouldn't have a drab front entrance. 

It will be a while before it is warm enough to paint in this part of the world. So I guess I have a little time to think about it.

I am linking up today to The Inspired Room. Please take the time to visit there and check out the party. Melissa is a great resource for fresh and obviously inspiring ideas.

Photo credits

1. Apartment Therapy

2. Architectural Classics

3. J Steinberg Design
 
4. Simplified Bee

5. Tezzar57 (Flickr)

6. Simplified Bee 
 
 
 
 

Pillow of the Week #5

This fun little find is 16" square and could be just the little lift you need to get you through these final weeks of winter. I love that it is a hooked pillow and only $40.00. You can find it here.

 

Oh My Gosh I've Been Featured!

I started my blog almost two years ago. Well, let me clarify that. I did write my first blog entry two years ago next month but then I went like six months before I wrote the next one. So I kind of feel like celebrating my blogging b-days in the summer. It was just recently that I figured out these McLinky Parties so I went to a few and guess what? I was featured! Seriously? Check me out here and here. You could have knocked me down with a feather. 

   

My blog hits were averaging a measly 60-75 per day and today I am over 300 already and I owe it all to these ladies. When I saw pictures of my things on their blogs I was almost in disbelief but now that it has registered with me I feel kind of "busy and important" as they say at my daughter's office. Just kidding, but after more than a year it is kind of nice to feel a bit validated. So forgive me for tooting my own horn but sometimes a girl just has to let loose. Thank you to both of these sites. I hope you will visit them to see all of the fabulousness they both have to offer. Now I have to get some more stuff painted because I have always taken after pictures of my creations but except for my studio and that dresser i don't have any before shots. From here on  you can bet I will make THAT extra effort.
 
 

Winter Door Candy

I live in one of those fly over states where autumn is a distant memory and spring is still weeks away. After Valentines I am always left wondering what to put on the front door. In some parts of the country I'm sure you are already thinking Easter but really, flowers seem a bit ridiculous when the view out my door looks like this.

 

Not to mention I still have a Christmas wreath hanging on the chimney on the front of the house. Please understand that this has been one of those crazy icy snowmageddon winters and we haven't been able to get the ladder out safely to take it down. Even so I do feel pretty WT.

So this is my winter arrangement. It is a bit of a yawn and I hope it doesn't look too left over Christmas. 

 

I painted the cone for one of my Traveling Door shows and then decided I couldn't part with it. What I like about it is it is so easy to change out because just about anything will go with black and white. 

Last year for the Academy Awards I added a little movie flair. 

 

In the summer it sported a whimsical floral affair.

 

In the fall I filled it with orange and gold leaves and during Christmas it was brimming with funky greenery but in the dead of winter I am a bit stumped to come up with something fresh and original. What do you put on your door this time of year? Please, inspire me.

xoxo

P

 
 

 

Fasade Decorative Wall Panels or Bedazzling Mom's Kitchen

This is an older post but when I wrote it I hadn't figured out the linky parties yet and because I was so busy with my art show this week I haven't done much around the house. I didn't want to miss out on all of the fun though at Remodelaholic so I am linking up this post with them today. Be sure and stop by and see all of the fun creativity there by clicking here.

 I did it again. I forgot to take a before picture.  Another Before and After FAIL. When will I learn?

Any hoo, my mom moved into her condo about ten months ago and like a lot of properties from the late eighties or early nineties, it was covered in wallpaper. She had a lot of it professionally removed but there were issues in the kitchen and she finally opted to have the wallpaper painted. For the most part this worked out fabulously except for behind the kitchen sink. In this area the paper was not smooth and even after a bit of spackling  paste and another coat of paint it was obvious that a corner had been cut. So put that image of a lumpy bumpy green wall in your head for the before shot.

 

She thought she might install a tile back splash but even though the layout of the kitchen meant she really only needed to address the short wall behind the sink, tile and installation was a rather expensive remedy. Then  one day while browsing through Home Depot we spied these wall panels. They are a thin pressed thermoplastic lightweight panel that not only installs easily but is a very affordable alternative to tile. The brochure says to special order but our local Home Depot had everything we needed in stock. Mom chose a crosshatch silver  but these panels come in about a half a dozen color options.

We bought five panels to handle the back splash area on the one wall but then the holidays came and went and still those lonely panels sat collecting dust and waiting to be installed. Finally last week my sweet hub offered to help me put them up. which really means I hang out and talk to my mom, sip a glass of wine, and occasionally hand him a tape measure or scissors when prompted while he does all of the work. We thought it would take about an hour but it took more like two and a half. We had a couple of outlets to account for and even though it is a relatively inexpensive transformation at $ 20 for a 18 x 24 inch panel we didn't want to make any mistakes. You know that  old adage of "measure twice cut once" , we were living by it. We just used plain old scissors to cut the panels and a caulk gun and multi purpose adhesive to apply them to the wall. The end result though was a creative, inexpensive transformation and worth the minimal effort.

Take a look. Don't you think it worked out well?

  

 

Fasade  even offers  coordinating kits to cover the outlets and light switches. I was reluctant at first and thought about just having Mom purchase stainless outlet covers but in the end we chose the kit method and they were really a breeze to install. Voila! A beautifully finished look that has style written all over it and you can buy it here.

See Mom. Doesn't she look happy? 

Yes, definitely worth it. 

 Happy Mother's Day Mom

Wall Clock Make Over

I like to take ordinary everyday items and make them into one of a kind conversation pieces. I did a clock like this a while back and I forgot to take the before picture but it looked something like this.

BEF'ORE

 

And I turned it into this -

AFTER

 
This was just an inexpensive wall clock that I found at Hobby Lobby. I added some copper paint and  a favorite quote that I thought was appropriate with rub on letters ( because a year ago I wasn't confident enough about my lettering) Today I would do the writing  myself but if rub on letters make you feel more comfortable then go for it. Next I added some painted chipboard circles and buttons and presto a one of a kind modern wall clock with personality. 

Don't forget to join me as I party with some fun creative people over at Somewhat Simple for Strut Your Stuff Thursday.

Studio Reveal

                                          

 This is how my studio looks today.

but this was how it looked at the end of June.

Here is the mirror I painted today.

My aqua black and white touches.

My desk recycle.

The Crazy Colorful Credenza

Before -

 
and now.

You can also see the chair today. Not sure I am feeling this. I might need to change it up again but here it was before -

 
I am a conflicted woman. I love all styles including traditional. I did the crewel work on the seat of this chair about fifteen years ago and I'm over it for now. I'll fold it up until I find another way to use it.

 

The Ikea Expedit

Wall quote

Wall organization.

 

Pillow of the Week # 4 1/2 .... or Look What I Found and It Just Wouldn't Wait

I really wish I had found this earlier but when I saw it I knew I had to share it. Does it look a bit familiar to my last post? That's because it is yet another take on Robert Indiana's 1964 graphic Love and is like the stationery I used in my Valentine door decor. 

 

Pillow of the Week #4 Valentine Decor

Valentine decor doesn't have to be limited to just reds and pinks. These whimsical heart shaped pillows could make your heart skip a beat all year long. One, two or all three and you can find them here.

If you are dressing you home for love this week then you might also want to check out this clever idea for your front door that I saw on Garden Web.

 

They just took two melamine plates from Target and some ribbon and a hanger. What I like about a decoration like this is that it doesn't take up a lot of storage room when Valentines is over. Next year you could reuse it the same way or place the plates on window ledges or book shelves for a splash of holiday fun.

I didn't hang my altered art door candy on the front door. It found a home on an interior door but I did tweak the winter arrangement on my entrance door with a bit of Valentine flair. 

 

I just added some scrapbook paper to these metal hearts that I cut out from a project we did in my mom's kitchen that I will write about soon. I attached straightened wire hangers to the hearts and tied on various lengths of ribbon to the base of each heart. The LOVE heart is actually from a box of stationery that caught my eye because of the black and white graphics but you could replicate this with chipboard letters or stencils or some other decoration all together.

PS. My door is screaming for a new coat of paint and I am ready to change it out... another future post. I will probably be heading back to Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas but I would heart your suggestions for a door color to dazzle this big old white house.

One more thing - I am linking up with The Inspired Room a blog I have followed for several months now. She has a fun blog party of Inspirations of the week. I have never participated before but I thought that the door candy I saw on Garden Web prompted me to take action with my own front door. I guess that qualifies as an inspiration. Check out other inspirations of the week at The Inspired Room by clicking here.

 

 

Decorating Dilemma: Bedroom Walls

Today I am linking up with Amanda at Serenity Now for her Decorating Dilemmas Party. This is a fun spot to get some positive feedback and give and receive some helpful suggestions when it comes to decorating quandaries .... and you know we all have them.

In an earlier post I featured a bedroom I am in the process of updating. The hallway still has the blue and white stripe wallpaper and for now I think I will be leaving it up. So I want this bedroom to flow off of that. I thought about bright green but Adam wants me to leave the trompe l'oeil window up and green paints really didn't do it justice.

 

I think he likes the window best at night because I painted the windows in a glow in the dark paint so at night the windows in the buildings look like the city at night. It really does look kind of cool. I tried to take a night time picture but you have a camera much nicer than mine.

So this is what the room looked like until about a month ago. I call it country meets city.

Then last week I began stripping the wallpaper.

I had originally thought about white walls and white bedding with just pops of blue but this old house has such beautiful woodwork and trim - even up here on the third floor that I want to showcase it. When the walls and trim are the same color the woodwork just disappears. So it is back to the paint store for more samples. I could go with a charcoal  or mid tone gray for something different and a bit more sophisticated because I have opted for the white bedding.

I would then shock the room with accents of cobalt blue. I considered a lighter grey like what I put in my kitchen. 

* Note, I tried to scan a color chip here but it scanned kind of pink. Scanner FAIL

Oh well, try and imagine something along this color combination.

 

The grey would still give me a bit of contrast with the woodwork but the carpet is more of a beige with warmer undertones. Do you think that would work?  I considered camel but I really don't like camels with the painted window either. 

I do love color. I always have and always will. Thus the name Becolorful. So when I saw this room it also inspired me.

It would probably be crazy though to paint the walls so close to the color I took down. Wouldn't it? Still, it wasn't that I didn't like the color, I did. It was the fact that the paper and bedding  were worn and tired. Looking at this dark blue bedroom I am also enamored with the black furniture here. Probably something I will carry over into my makeover too regardless of the wall color I end up with. 

Another option would be a lighter version of the blues I had up there before. Something with a bit of grey in it too. Like this.

 

It would contrast nicely and give me a different color than I have ever worked with before. I like that. Does it look too feminine? I really have a dilemma here.  Light or dark? Blue or gray? I am so confused. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much. I can't wait to hear from you. xoxo P

 

Hunter Boots, That's What's New

I love being around fashion forward people and this past weekend was one of those occasions. Thanks Amie for exposing me to the world of Hunter boots. Because I live in one of those fly over states where the shopping options are limited, I rely on Google, magazines and the input of cool  and sometimes much younger friends. She mentioned Hunter boots and I was all over it. I came right home and pulled up in front of my computer and look what I found. 

If like me, you are unfamiliar with Hunter boots, they are a fun dialed up and dressed up version of Wellies. What I heart about these boots are all of the color options and that you can change them up with all different kinds of fun inserts or socks. like this one.

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Have you ever seen so many possibilities? 

 

 You put them together and Ta da!  There you have it glorious go anywheres. I am in love. They are also available in a shorter boot but I am more of a fan of the taller version. I think it gives a leaner, longer look.

When it is sloppy, slushy, wet and just plain ugly and you don't even want to go anywhere, this little fashion find could be just the nudge you need to head out the door. 

Not surprising when I googled Hunter boots their store finder showed NOTHING in Iowa. If you've ever been to Iowa you would know that we would really wear something like this. But alas, we are overlooked again. So sad. They can be found, though,  here, here, and  here. Internet shopping to the rescue again because I just might need a pair of these in my closet. 

 

 

Saying Goodbye To A Creation

I recently sold this chest of drawers. That seems simple enough. That was the whole idea when I started this project. Crazy as it sounds, though, I was actually a tiny bit  sad to see it leave. It was kind of like my foster child. Maybe this is all stemming  from the fact that I saw Blind Side last night (which I loved btw). Or maybe I am just a bit hormonal. :)

 

 

Anyway, when I first saw this piece she was a forlorn looking thing tucked away in my paint garage.

 

So I dressed her up flamboyantly

 

and tweaked her hardware a bit.

 

She was a noteworthy piece at The Traveling Door sale but she did not sell. Still an orphan, she came back home with me.

I placed her in my dining room and I grew to love her there. She looked right at home.

 Napkins and tablecloths filled her multi-patterned drawers. She was my storage piece with style. Just when I was getting used to having her around though, she sold. Now I am left with a bare looking spot at one end of my dining room. 

So added to my list of things to do next week is to find another chest of drawers and the process will begin all over again. This time I will try not to get so attached, but I will probably still paint something in my colors just incase the right adoptive family doesn't come along.

I am linking this post to The More The Merrier party today because I so want to hang with everybody at her Strut Your Stuff party. Come on over and join in the fun

 

 

 

Pillow of the Week #3 or Polka Dots Make Me Happy

Seriously, doesn't this just make you happy? I have a love affair going with black and white but I also have a thing for polka dots. 

 

This little number would look great paired with pea or lime green or a bright pink or  golden yellow. It would also be terrific with Pantone's new color for 2010 - turquoise.

 

I can also easily imagine this pillow on black and white bedding. The fun thing about polka dots is they mix so well with stripes, toiles, solids, or even florals. I have a black and white damask comforter on one of the guest room beds and I think this polka dot pattern would give it a fun edgy and modern twist. It is 12 X 20 inches and the price is $50.00. You can buy it here.