re:fuge

we spent an exhausting weekend repainting the den & office and the master bedroom, as well as finishing the stair installation. yay!

we filled the gaps in the mdf with a resin compound, let it harden overnight and then sanded it smooth...



and then we painted everything and installed the treads with construction adhesive and a few finish nails. we still have to caulk and touch up a few spots with paint.



as far as paint goes, i haven't been digging the 'fenland' we put in the master bedroom - it would be more well-suited to a den or office rather than a bedroom. so with this inspiration pic in mind -

[sorry i don't have source info]
...we repainted the master bedroom 'site white' with 'refuge' on the bed wall (all paint colors are sherwin williams). i love it! it will look even better after we get the trim & baseboards installed.





i also wasn't happy with the 'tony taupe' in the den - the whole room was looking rather drab because that taupe was absorbing all the light, so we repainted it a lighter color - 'alpaca' by sherwin williams. it reminds me of the color of my favorite starbucks drink - the chai latte. yum!


we also painted the office 'refuge' as well - so now you get these cool glimpes of the blue from the den and then a modern color combo with the 'wheatgrass' in the powder room...


(the office still needs a 2nd coat of paint)





and here are some more pics of the living room now that it's been properly cleaned -





up next will be the stair and loft railing. no plan for that yet...

re:morse

i picked sherwin williams 'wheat grass' for the powder room downstairs and adjacent office, and fairly immediately regretted the color choice once it went up on the wall. the paint chip looked so neutral compared to all the colors around it in the paint fan, but with the sunlight and the overhead light at night it ends up looking a little too electric-chartreuse for my tastes.

these pictures actually look nice - but that's the dim indirect morning light (or maybe it's growing on me?)




i'll try to update with bad-lighting pics. the color is actually similar to the 'lemongrass' we put in our laundry room and upstairs [guest] bathroom, but the lemongrass has less gold so the light affects it differently.

now i'm trying to decide if we suck it up and paint the adjacent office the same color, or pick yet another color. we also painted the family room this weekend - sherwin williams 'tony taupe.' pics to come later.

re:stain

this week anthony and i worked on staining the front door that our friend david has built for us. it's now ready to install the lockset and glass and we're hoping to have it hung in the next week or so!




and our painters are almost complete! we're very happy with how the house has turned out and now we don't have to worry every time it rains. the house has so much more character and personality now - we love it!

re:birth

ta-da! the final look!




it's not complete - not all of the windows are painted yet, and they still need to do a 2nd coat on everything. i love it! (we've told them to hold off on the railing and porch floor, which both need to be replaced.) can't wait to get the new front door to complete the picture!

re:dress

surprise! look what i got to come home to today!


this is just a tinted primer coat and the house looks better already! it's finally starting to look like a house in good condition!





so, by the way - we're going with the renwick olive and the bronze windows. stay tuned to see how it comes out!

re:color

sorry i've been mia with the updates. the past couple of weekends we've been working on interior painting. here's the color palette for upstairs -


the colors are all by sherwin williams - fenland on top right for our master bedroom, netsuke on top left for the front guest bedroom, requisite gray is the hall & loft color, lemongrass at middle left is the guest bathroom and laundry room color, snowbound is the trim color, and on the bottom is backdrop, the middle guest bedroom color. and here are some pics of the messy rooms -



SW fenland:




SW backdrop:




SW netsuke:






we've also worked on installing the deck boards on the deck -


we still have to do the stairs, the perimeter skirt boards and the screening boards around the bottom, but at least we don't have to jump out the back door now!

we have hired the painter for the exterior, but we've had several days of rain so he's had a hard time getting started. he should get the ball rolling on monday. i'll keep you in suspense about the final decision on the paint color...

re:ferendum

hooray for photoshop! let's hear your votes on these paint schemes...
now down to three options:

renwick olive - bronze windows:


renwick olive - red windows:



connected gray - bronze windows:
out

connected gray - red windows:


brown siding - bronze windows:
out

brown siding - red/orange windows:
out

here are some of the photos i've been using for inspiration - from bunnymendelbaum and the houseblogs flickr pool...









who knew this would be such a difficult decision??!!

re:visit

we had our first overnight guests this weekend for easter (anthony's parents), so we worked to make the house as comfortable as a house can be without any interior doors...

using some of our construction paraphernalia for decor -




some of our recent ikea purchases -




the new kitchen was in full effect for easter dinner (setting off the smoke detectors on preheating the oven for the first time - that was fun).




love this view through the dining room -


we got the pantry functional just in time for the first big meal too -


anthony's parents brought down this very cool vintage radio that was in their attic -


love it! as far as house projects go, anthony framed the deck last weekend, so next up are decking and stairs...


and we put up yet another paint sample - renwick olive - bottom center of the window.


and the close up - renwick olive above the avocado. i'll have to try another photo at a different time of day, maybe. what do all you avocado lovers think of renwick olive? its more earthy, i think. not as punchy. avocado on the entire house might be too much green.


i'm happy to hear any comments or recommendations you may have!