Sunday, December 26, 2021

New Year's Projects 2022

Palm Beach Home Inspiration

 
I am not really a maker of New Year's Resolutions, but I always have home projects for the new year. I absolutely love the whole process of researching and implementing new plans for the house. For 2022, I have two big projects. 

1. Paint the exterior of the house. 

The house is now a creamy white with white trim. But it leans more yellow than I want. I am looking for the perfect off white for the stucco that is a warm white but without yellow undertones. With my eastern exposure and the bright Florida sun, I need something that will not wash out in the light. I plan to order a bunch of samples on Samplize and try them out. I did this when choosing interior colors and it worked out great. I love the color of the Palm Beach house above - a very sophisticated white. I adore my interior paint color - Benjamin Moore Classic Gray. Depending on the light, it can look white, or off white, or beige, or gray. But I hate to choose the same exact color! I love Sherwin Williams Alabaster but I'm afraid it will read too bright in the Florida sun. Any off white suggestions are welcome.


Benjamin Moore Classic Gray OC-23

Part of this project will be to paint the lanai ceiling haint blue. I am leaning toward Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue, a favorite paint color of mine.


Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue HC-144

Want to learn more about haint blue? "Spend a weekend house-hunting in Charleston or strolling the streets of Savannah, and you'll likely notice that many of the houses – no matter the colors of their shutters, the colors of their front doors, or even the colors of the houses themselves – have one thing in common: a sky-blue porch ceiling. While the practice is widespread across much of the South and has even made its way beyond the region (after all, who doesn't want an inviting shade of blue on the front porch?!), the tradition of painting porch ceilings light blue began with the Gullah Geechee communities of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.

The Gullah Geechee people, who were descendants of central and west African slaves, painted their doors, windows frames, shutters, and their porch ceilings blue as a means of protection. They believed that the color would act as a sort of repellant for "haints," or spirits of the dead, who may try to enter their homes. According to one version of the tradition, the Gullah Geechee people believed that the haints would confuse the color with the sky and would pass right through the porch ceiling, without pausing to disturb the home or its residents. Another version of the tradition explains that the haints were afraid of water and would therefore flee at the sight of the watery hue on the houses.But if you're not one for believing in haints, you may still want to paint your porch a nice light blue for a more practical reason: Some say that the color prevents wasps from building nests." via Southern Living

I would love any other suggestions on haint blue colors so I can order Samplize samples of these too.

Another great thing about this project is that it will be my painter couple who painted the interiors of the Sarasota house and Venice house and they will of course be outside.

Another day this week I will share project number two.

Do you have any home projects planned for 2022?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.




25 comments:

  1. I'm a huge fan of Palladian Blue. I'm also a huge fan of BM White Dove. It's got just a touch of gray without any yellow. But if the Dove reads too bright white in Florida sun, then perhaps SW Alabaster. It's very similar to the Dove but a smidge darker. I can't wait to see your project number two!

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    1. I'm afraid both are going to be too light, but alabaster is on my list. Thanks!

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  2. My personal favorite off-white that works well continually is: SW 7042 SHOJI WHITE - and come to think of it - the name goes perfectly w/ Chinoiserie - lol. Blessings for a wonderful 2022.

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    1. Thanks - that is actually already on my list. It's a great exterior color and works well in Florida.

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  3. Beth -
    Love the history of haint blue - thank you!
    Eve

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  4. Read an Elle Decor article of designers favorite whites and chose Valspar Honeymilk. Love it so much we have used it in two homes!

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    1. I'll check it out - thanks. That's a great article BTW.

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  5. I live in CA and had never heard of the South's custom or reason for doing this until recently. My porch ceilings and undersides of my roof overhangs have always been painted light blue, and I always thought this was done to prevent flying creatures from nesting under the eves. (It does, by the way.) Anyway, who wouldn't want to look up and see a pretty soft blue on the ceiling?

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  6. We are facing a similar project except it involves building a beach house which will be white. I have spent countless hours researching whites and like you I want a creamy white with no obvious undertones. I've narrowed it down to Ben Moore Dove White and Chantilly Lace...but that might change once I paint large panels (36"X 48")on stiff boards and walk them around the location. Samplize is very helpful but given the commitment and cost of painting the facade, I felt that I needed more reassurance by making larger boards of the narrowed down choices.

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    1. I like White Dove and Chantilly Lace as trim and molding colors but for my personal taste they are too bright and too white for the primary color unless one is going for that farmhouse look. You might find that once you do the larger panels. Remember that colors go much lighter on the exterior and even more so at the beach. I am considering Chantilly Lace as my trim color. Let me know what you decide.

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  7. I really want to get the downstairs hardwood floors refinished. The funny thing is it's not even an expensive job. But it's so overwhelming to have to empty out and move everything. Might only do half the downstairs but that might not look right. Can't make a decision on this LOL!!

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    1. This is the worst project in the world in my opinion. I waxed my hardwood floors in Virginia and was able to avoid refinishing them for the twenty years I lived in the home.

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  8. Our house's trim and our front porch are painted Benjamin Moore's Sailcloth. It may have undertones you do not want, but it is a lovely color. And you are right--out in the daylight it looks a LOT lighter than it does on a paint chip.

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    1. I'll check it out. With the Florida sun, colors really wash out. Thanks.

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  9. My bedroom is painted Palladian Blue and, although I love it, it definitely leans more toward green blue than sky blue.

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    1. Blue-greens are actually the traditional haint blue.

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  10. One of my favorite grays is Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter, however it never reads white (not indoors at least). Sometimes it reads gray with cooler undertones and sometimes it leans beigeish. Edgewood is a lighter shade, which might be a good candidate too. As far as the light blue for the lanai, may I suggest Tradewind by SW. Happy New Year, Beth!!! :)

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    1. My kitchen cabinets are painted Revere Pewter--and the walls in our family room. It definitely changes according to light. The first day it was painted, it even looked a bit purple to me. At our farmhouse, the kitchen cabinets are painted BM Grant's Beige, the trim is BM Bennington Gray and the walls (which are planks) are BM China White. All work well together.

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    2. I'll check all these out - thanks.

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  11. Here's a page I ran across with a lot of neutral off whites. It also mentions the color Quiet Moments--which is a lovely blue. We have it in a room we call our granddaughter's room.

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