Paint Color Decisions

Sherwin Williams Alabaster 7008

After playing around with my Samplize paint samples, these are the colors I have decided on for the exterior of my home. Sherwin Williams Alabaster on the stucco, Sherwin Williams Extra White on the trim, and Benjamin Moore Glass Slipper for the ceilings in the entrance and lanai.

Paint Colors for CCC

Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles

Today I will be getting delivery of the paint samples I ordered from Samplize for my exterior painting project. I have narrowed my choices down to two off whites for the stucco, two bright whites for the trim, and two soft blues for my haint blue ceilings in the entrance and the lanai. One word of wisdom - flat paint should always be used on stucco. Any sheen makes the stucco look fake and the texture of the stucco causes ugly shading of the paint. 

Happy Halloween

CCC

In honor of Halloween, a peek at my orange and black guest bath. The wallpaper is long discontinued Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque left over from my dining room in Alexandria. The sink counter is black marble. The art and accessories are all from my Alexandria home. My painter used high gloss Benjamin Moore Tandoori on the wainscoting, crown molding, and door and he faux finished the column to look like silk. I love the room and that I was able to incorporate much loved wallpaper and things from my old home.

This and That

My Garage/Staging Area

Yesterday I arrived at the house around 9 AM and the painters were already hard at work with classical music and opera wafting throughout the house. Not your typical painters for sure.

We decided on Benjamin Moore Aura Matte in Classic Gray for the walls. The Samplize samples were great and I highly recommend this product. Beautifully painted (with the actual paint) and packaged with quick arrival, they are easy to use - peel and stick and you can move them around from room to room.

Samplize paint samples

It's the one in the middle.

And we selected the orange for the guest bath. Benjamin Moore Tandoori - we are using it on the wainscoting, baseboards, crown molding and door. It will be a little jewel box.

Here is my Chinoiserie wallpaper with Benjamin Moore Tandoori.

Each day I take two trips to the new house with breakables and such. So much easier than packing and unpacking. I'm using my garage as a staging area while the painters are in the house.

I ordered the pink Dyson cordless stick vacuum. Why? It's pink. End of story. LOL

I usually read a hundred reviews and research for hours and not this time. It had me at pink Dyson. It has been shipped already. BTW it's the V7 Motorhead.

PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I texted with the owner weaver of the lobster rope doormat business. Turns out they are from Baltimore and Annapolis and now have homes in Canada and Florida. They are hand delivering my two mats this weekend to my house.

I think these reclaimed lobster rope doormats are stunning. Durable and so unique, they are woven from rope that once tethered lobster traps in the sea. To protect whales which often became snared in the rope, a heavier sink rope is now used. Tens of thousands of tons of sink rope slated for landfills is now being used by a few companies to create these historical and authentic mats. Lobster rope doormats are also woven out of new lobster rope which comes in a huge variety of colors, but I love the muted shades of the reclaimed. Someone commented to me yesterday that she has one and they are the only doormats that hold up beautifully year after year with our intense sun.

While researching these doormats to purchase one for my new home, I happened upon 30 Fathom Doormats and learned that, as I mentioned, they have a place in Canada and a place in Florida not far from me and the owner even weaves doormats from locally sourced Florida recycled rope. I was thrilled that I could source this locally.

I am getting two for my new home and will post pictures next week. One of the doormats I have chosen, the charcoal colored rope was from lobster fishing at Big Pine Key, and the pale blue was deep water off Ft. Lauderdale for golden crab. The owner was telling me they spend hours retrieving, detangling, and cleaning the rope. This is the Old Florida I love so much. This is charming.


Please check out the website. The owner is happy to work with you on custom colors and sizes.

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

30 Fathom Doormats

Chinoiserie Repurposed and Finding the Perfect Orange

Some of you may remember my story from 2010, when a follower of Chinoiserie Chic gave me a head's up that an Etsy seller was selling 15 rolls of Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque wallpaper for $150.00. A very expensive and discontinued wallpaper BTW. I snatched it up - what a steal!!!!!!!!! and had it hung in my dining room.

I am thrilled to have enough left to do my guest bathroom in the new home.

I  am redoing the lighting and the vanity but that is for another post. Today, the dilemma is I want to keep the wainscoting and have my painter lacquer it in high gloss orange that will go with my wallpaper to be hung above. I need to choose a paint color as they will be starting on July 9th.

Why about Benjamin Moore Racing Orange?

BM Racing Orange 2169 - 10

Or Benjamin Moore 14 Carrots?

BM 14 Carrots CSP - 1110 

Benjamin Moore Orange Blossom?

BM Orange Blossom 2168 - 30

Benjamin Moore Orange Parrot?

BM Orange Parrot 2169 - 20

Benjamin Moore Pumpkin Cream

BM Pumpkin Cream 2168 - 20

This cabinet is lacquered in Pumpkin Cream to give you the idea of the look I am going for.

BD Home and Design

Benjamin Moore Topaz

BM Topaz 070

Here is Topaz in a room. Beautiful!

Ellen Hamilton

The Benjamin Moore App came up with Tandoori.

BM Tandoori CSP - 1105

So, your mission is to help me find an orange BM paint that will work with my wallpaper. I want it to be fun and not too brown and russety and could use your thoughts. It needs to go with the tile and wallpaper and tie everything together. I will order a few Samplize as soon as we find some options. You can weigh in with these I have found or suggest others. BTW, orange is absolutely stunning with blue and white Chinese porcelain.

This could be great with very little $. I plan to have my great stone folks use a granite or quartz remnant for the vanity and top it with a vessel sink and switch out the lighting fixture to something more chic. And I am thrilled to use a paper I loved in my Alexandria home.. I am also having the laundry room wallpapered. I will post on the laundry room too. Stay tuned.......

And the big favorite yesterday was the Royal Palm. Thanks for participating.

P.S. Two additions thanks to two follower's comments - I neglected to say that the vanity will be lacquered in the orange as well. And here's another great orange -

Benjamin Moore Dragon's Blood

BM Dragon's Blood CW - 320

Samplize and Paint Color Choices

Benjamin Moore Classic Gray OC-23

I received my Samplize paint samples on Monday and they are absolutely great. If you recall, for $5.95 each, you get 12 inch by 12 inch samples painted with 2 coats of real paint that are peel and stick and can be moved from room to room. So they are cost effective, no fuss, no mess. They arrived very quickly, beautifully packaged and labeled, and are perfectly painted. I recommend this product without hesitation.

I was already leaning toward BM Classic Gray. It is elegant, timeless, and makes any space bright and airy. It will look great with my stone floors and is a perfect backdrop for art.

Benjamin Moore Classic Gray

I also ordered Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist and Collingwood Gray.

Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist OC-27

I would say Balboa Mist is one shade darker than Classic Gray, and Collingwood Gray is one shade darker again. All are gorgeous colors. I would call them true grays with a bit of warmth. My painter has suggested painting the tray ceiling in the great room the wall color as opposed to white, and I love the idea. It will really set off the 12 foot ceiling and moldings. I was thinking of choosing Collingwood Gray for the tray ceiling for a little contrast/interest as opposed to using the Classic Gray wall color. Thoughts?

Collingwood Gray OC-28

As soon as I close on the new house, I will bring these over and try them out. But right now, leaning very heavily towards the Classic Gray.

And Samplize is a great product - I wish I had thought of that!

I am headed to HomeGoods this morning. Perhaps another great find. I am on a roll.

Chinoiserie Outdoors

Jonathan Adler

Another space from Liz Lange's fabulous Palm Beach home I posted about Friday (Breezeway), Saturday (Foyer), and Sunday (Master Bedroom). This outdoor area has rattan pendants from Serena & Lily, a table from Restoration Hardware, and vintage Salterini Greek Key chairs repainted in Benjamin Moore Dusk Pink. A beautiful combination of coral pink with aqua cushions.

Benjamin Moore Dusk Pink 2013 - 40

I have always loved these chairs and passed up a set with table years ago. Oh well.... Here it is with the table - if you ever come upon it, grab it!

Here is a vintage Salterini chair and ottoman repainted in white with navy blue cushions.

1st dibs

The Chinoiserie Entryway

J & G Design - One Kings Lane

A pair of chairs upholstered in Chinoiserie fabric is a great choice in this entryway painted in Benjamin Moore November Rain.

The Navy Chinoiserie Foyer

Bachman Brown Clem - House Beautiful

High gloss trim in Benjamin Moore Twilight is an unexpected choice that works beautifully with the Phillip Jeffries wallpaper and collection of blue and white Chinese porcelain.

My Garage Makeover - Week Two

I made excellent progress this past week on my garage:

1. Cleaned out junk
2. Cleaned the garage
3. Had my electrician install four of these lighting fixtures on the ceiling - they look great.
4. Having my walls painted Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray today.

Benjamin Moore Coventry Gray

On my do to list for this week is storage and exploring the idea of using a couple Chinoiserie pieces - next week I'll show you what I've decided on.

One Room Challenge - Week Two

Benjamin Moore Gray Owl

Welcome back. This is Week Number Two of the One Room Challenge. If you missed last week, you can find it here. To review, I have decided to turn our former family room into a Chinoiserie Man Cave for my husband.

My goal for this week was to 1. decide on my color palette and most importantly 2. choose the paint color and 3. get the room painted.

More often than not, my plan for a room starts with a pattern - either fabric or wallpaper. I knew that in this room, being a man's space, I would not use much pattern, but a little never hurt anyone, right?

In my stash of fabrics I had a yard or so of this gorgeous Chinoiserie toile by Bob Collins & Sons called Fete Chinois in the gray, ebony, and ivory colorway - this is a masculine Chinoiserie fabric if there ever was one. Let me rephrase that - this is as masculine as I go.

I decided it would set the tone for my room, with a palette of gray, white, and black and that this fabric would end up as a pair of fabulous pillows to go on the leather couch. The room already has a great distressed leather couch that is staying. BTW, to me distressed leather is absolutely perfect for a man cave. Distressed leather is so forgiving - the sofa is ten years old and looks like new or better than new.

I absolutely love the color gray as a neutral wall paint color with Chinoiserie. Everything looks good with gray. I used Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray in my One Room Challenge powder room combined with this wonderful Ralph Lauren Chinoiserie toile.

Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray

Ralph Lauren Chinoiserie Toile St. Honore

So for the Man Cave my search began for a new gray. I kept coming back to Benjamin Moore Gray Owl. It is classic and elegant, without going too beige, too blue, or too green. The prefect gray. My painter painted it this week and it looks wonderful. I am totally smitten.

Here are some rooms painted in Gray Owl -

Meredith Heron

Emily Henderson

Emily Henderson

Now the fun can begin.

This week my goals are to 1. get rid of the big old box CRT TV and 2. replace it with a sleek entertainment unit and 3. a flat screen TV. This will make Mr. Chinoiserie Chic very happy.

I love Ikea's Besta Burs TV unit - it is beautiful and cheap and it comes in three colors that would be great - high gloss white, black, and gray. Not sure yet which I will choose. I am off to Ikea today.

Once the TV and cabinet are in place, I plan to make the TV less of a focal point on that wall by creating a gallery wall around it like these, all via Apartment Therapy -

A Cup of Jo

Lonny

Kate Hayes Design

Turquoise

Did you notice that in the first two gallery walls the TV is in front of some of the art? I know artists would consider this sacrilege, but I'm kind of digging it. Part of me thinks it's very cool and part of me thinks it would look like I already had a gallery wall and added a television later in front of it. Still debating.

I have a small gallery wall in my kitchen and another small version in my living room, but this will be my first large scale one with a dozen or more pieces. I love a good gallery wall and am excited to start looking for art for it.

Please go see what progress everyone else made this week.

Abby M. Interiors 

Because it’s Awesome 

Bijou & Boheme 

Calling It Home 

Chez V 

Chinoiserie Chic - that's me

Copy Cat Chic 

The Decorista 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room

The Glam Pad 

Little Black Door 

Mimosa Lane 

My Notting Hill 

The Pink Pagoda 

Simple Details 

My Sweet Savannah 
Verandah House