COTE DE TEXAS BLOG

Showing posts with label paint. Show all posts

Progress: Backyard Fountain

The construction of our patio fountain has been the biggest project going on at our house lately....at least as far as home improvement is concerned. (Perhaps the bigger project has been shopping for my oldest daughter's foray into the world of higher learning....i.e. dorm room decor....but that is a story for another time.)

Back to the fountain.....the brown coat is on the wall! It looks so much better already with the concrete block covered up. Even the grey color looks better than the blinding white paint that was on the block wall. The guys are coming back this week to put on the final coat of stucco and then it is up to me to pick a paint color.....which leads me to another question....

The paint color will also be going on the house. I am thinking a sage green. The trim on the house is white, and the doors will be a glossy dark gun metal grey....almost black. I am also toying with the idea of black and white striped awnings.

But I am now torn. I was talking to a friend and she said she likes the house the color it is now (a kind of light beige, almost an off-white). I thought I was pretty well decided, but her comment got me thinking. Perhaps I should look revisit the paint color. Here is the house today:

Thoughts???

Levende Kunst

It's funny where some Google searches can lead. I was looking for more information about the owner of the chic coat closet and ended up on a Dutch website called Knack with some very chic interieurs! The Google translation leaves something to be desired but from what I can make out, it's owned by San Ming who enjoys mixing up his furnishings and art. Apparently, he also designs custom furniture including his work table. He is also fond of the artwork of Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell and Walter Leblanc, as well as "Oriental Art." I love not only his art collection but the dark walls that seem to be everywhere lately including Jenna Lyons home that was just featured in the November 2008 issue of Domino. I especially love how the white upholstery in the library pops against the dark background. Enjoy!

Habitually Chic Redecorates: Making Progress

After - September 2008

Before - March 2008

It's been a whirlwind week of painting and redecorating at Casa Chic and serious progress has been achieved. I'm so happy with the wall color, Benjamin Moore Cedar Key (OC-16) and White Dove (OC-17) trim. It better reflects my style now and coincidentally my closet. I repainted the television cabinet in Midnight Dream (2129-10) which pops off the tan walls now. I like how the black television disappears in it so I am debating whether to put the doors back on. I may look for new knobs though.

I also moved my computer to the other side of the room in order to have space for a new bookcase (Ikea Billy $59.99. Gotta love it!). I own a million books and needed more organized storage space. I also now have room for magazines and storage boxes for my tear sheets and work projects. Of course, after I styled the whole thing two new books from Rizzoli arrived today! More about those later. I still have more to do including hanging all my artwork and priming and painting all the trim in the bedroom. But now I think I might take a nap! Decorating is exhausting!

Paint by Numbers

It's a terrible photo but Benjamin Moore Cedar Key (OC- 16) is wonderful! I'm so happy I decided to repaint my apartment! Of course, I'd be happier if it was completely finished but I still have half of the living room to complete. I also painted the front door in Benjamin Moore Midnight (2121-20). I thought black would be too harsh so I wanted a very dark blue to compliment the other colors in the room and apartment. A good rule of thumb is to choose a color on the paint chip that you have and work either lighter or darker. The other colors on the Midnight chip in the fan deck match the other colors in my apartment which is why I chose it. If I had choose one of the dark blue colors from the chip with more lavender or green tones, I don't think it would have worked so well. Now, I'm off to get a manicure. I don't mind getting my hands dirty but I do mind ruining my nails!

Do You DIY?

I've spent the weekend so far hitting Home Depot, Gracious Home and Janovic Plaza for the supplies to makeover my apartment and now I can't wait to get started! I love getting my hands dirty and doing things myself, probably because I'm a perfectionist and an Aries. I also grew up in a house with parents who stripped and hung wallpaper, painted and renovated all by themselves so I know what I'm doing. The Bachelor was amazed that I could repair the hole under the tv myself when all it took was a little spackle, sanding and painting. But then he grew up in Manhattan with maids so that might be why.

Oh, and I choose Benjamin Moore Cedar Key (OC-16) the top left color for my living room walls. It was actually one of the colors I almost chose for the Bachelor Pad. I liked some of the others but they were either too grey or too dark or looked like liquid make-up. The space is small so it needed to be a little lighter. First though, I have to strip the yucky trim. Not really sure I am excited to do that myself but it will be worth it in the end! So how many of you DIY (do it yourself)?

Bachelor Pad Chapter 3: Painting Predicament

I hate choosing paint colors. I think it's the hardest part of design. I've had a lot of people email for paint color recommendations and I always tell them that paint looks different in every space and in different light and at different times of the day. It's really a crap shoot and on my bachelor pad gamble I did ok but I wasn't perfect.

The painters started yesterday and I could already tell that Horizon (OC-53) from Benjamin Moore was going to be too light in the bedroom. Then today I stopped by and realized that perhaps Collingwood (OC-28) might also be a little too light but Middlebury Brown (HC-68) in the entry looked amazing. The bathroom in White Ice (OC-58) looked fine, as did the kitchen in White Dove (OC-17).

It was decided that we had to go darker in the bedroom so I spent most of my Saturday at the Janovic Plaza/Benjamin Moore Paint store where I am on a first name basis with my helpful salesperson Shawn. I picked out three colors that I had made up in quart sizes to try on the wall and Smoke (2122-40) was declared the winner. It works very well with the other colors so there will be a nice flow through out the space. Luckily, the painter said he would repaint the bedroom for a reasonable rate so it didn't turn out too bad in the end.

The moral of my story is that everyone makes mistakes with paint. It's not the end of the world but mistakes do cost money so it's sometimes best to try the sample pots or have quart sizes made up first. This probably also means that people will stop asking me for paint advice which might not actually be a bad thing!

Tangled up in Blue

Blue ..... It conjures up images of the Aegean Sea, the doors of Greek houses, the sky washed clean with Spring rain, fresh French Toile bedding, fields of blooming lupine......

Or... that Blue Hawaiian cocktail and blue stripe beach towel you are dying to start using.

Whatever the color does for you, whether it is fresh, classic, pretty, or moody and mysterious, try putting a little blue in your life:

Front foyer of the one-room creamery and barn turned home of jewelry designer Mish Tworkowski of Mish New York and partner Joesph Singer, architect. Swedish table and Swedish Stool from Evergreen Antiques.

Elle Decor, May 2008, Photo by William Waldron

This Guest Room by Peter Marino incorporates varies shades of blue creating a wonderful effect. The blue flame mirror is that element of the unexpected that always makes a space more interesting.

Architectural Digest, May 2008. Photo by Durstan Saylor

When I first saw this Dining Room, and the whole house really, I immediately thought of Axel Vervoordt and his iconic style of rustic yet tailored interiors. Designed by Barbara Westbrook and Kim Winkler, this Dining Room is a blue grey that is so commonly used in Belgian interiors. It is so interesting how this blue, which can easily be a very cool color, has been used in such a warm and cozy way. Pratt and Lambert Paint: Tabacco #33-19

House Beautiful, May 2008, Photo byFrances Janisch

These two rooms, designed by T. Keller Donovan, carry his blue scheme through the whole house. In the Living Room above, Donovan designed the plaid rug and used Peter Fasano fabrics for curtains (Dotty) and pillow fabric (Camp Leaves). In the Master Bedroom he uses fabric by Zoffany for the pillows and curtains (Maze).

House Beautiful, May 2008. Photos by John Gould Bessler

Jay Jeffers is nothing if not adventurous. His design for a client's pool house gives off a Mediterranean vibe with it's long sofa piled with blue patterned pillows and the tent painted walls. The pillow in the table is a dog bed...clever. (Although I do wonder how hard it is to pull out of there?) I love all of the different combinations of blue here: sky, turquoise, French. There is even blue woven into the floor covering. Sofa Fabric: Madison in Driftwood, Lulu DK. Dog bed fabric: Old World Weavers.

House Beautiful, May 2008. Photo by James Carriere

I have been doing a little hunting and gathering here to help get you on your way to being

true blue:

New. Fabric from Lee Jofa.

Flower sculptures by paper artist Jefferey Rudell on display as part of a silent auction at the New York Botanical Garden's Antique Garden Furniture Show, April 24th.

Photo above via Elle Decor, May 2008