Probably the most frequent question I get is “what color is your (insert inanimate object here)?”  I always try to respond back in the comments section where the question originates but, ultimately, I realize that’s not a quick and easy way to get information on paint colors used in my home.  So, I’m sharing my paint colors with you in a full post today.

The majority of our home is painted in Valspar (Lowe’s) Bonsai.  It’s a light, airy gray that changes throughout the day.  In the afternoon it takes on a greener hue and at night a taupe-y hue.  It’s the color of our main living space:  family room, kitchen, dining area and sunroom.  It’s the color of our 2-story foyer and bedrooms also.

3 of the 4 walls in our multi-tasking living room are painted Dry Riverbed also available from Lowe’s.  It’s a darker, muddier gray than the Bonsai.

Our powder room is painted one shade darker than Bonsai…Lowe’s Magic Spell. 

The 2 lighter stripes on the TV wall in our family room are Lowe’s Wet Dock.  The other ‘stripes’ are actually just the same wall color as the rest of the family room, Bonsai.

The mini-mudroom and laundry room are Glidden’s (Home Depot) Gentle Tide.  It’s a gray-blue-aqua that looks great in small rooms…the color of a perfect sky.

As I mentioned, the foyer wall is Bonsai (I tell you, it’s everywhere here!) and the cherry blossom art is Valspar (Lowe’s) Elkhorn Cactus.

All wall paint finishes are done in eggshell.  It’s a nice matte (gloss can enhance imperfections) but easily wipeable.  The exception to this in our home are our kitchen cabinets and island that we painted.  They are Sherwin William’s Greek Villa painted in a semi-gloss for added wipeability (not a word, I know).  It’s a nice, clean white but not too stark.

So, there you have it.  A little run-down of the major paint colors used in our home.  I try to stick to grays and taupes.  When I’m feeling a little risky, I’ll pick an actual *color* but in a muted and grayed-down tone…like Gentle Tide.  It’s not that bold colors are wrong, it’s just what I like to live with.

I love you readers.  Blogging wouldn’t be as much fun without you!  (Thanks for all the comments and support related to my corrupted computer, by the way.)  In fact, my favorite thing about sharing my home and ideas is the feedback I get in return.  You make me see my home in ways I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

(courtesy of Bit & Pieces)

For instance, when I shared my powder room several weeks ago on a Feature Friday post a regular reader (and commenter!), Carole, responded with this:

                  “good for you for sneaking some pink into your house full o’ boys!  I like the print, it looks sharp in that frame. It’s hard to tell from the angle, but is there something above the orchid print?  I like your paint circles, and it’d be nice not to cover up so much of that sweet (and thrifty) design element”

I was flattered by her compliments, but what I liked most was her *kindly put* suggestion for hanging the orchid print a little higher to show off more of the hand-painted border.  Handy Hubby had hinted for months that the orchid art was too low to enjoy while he was peeing.  Being naive (and maybe a tad stubborn), I let his comments go in one ear and out the other.  Seriously, what female really considers what their male counterparts are looking at while they pee?  Aren’t they supposed to be looking where to aim anyway?!  But after receiving Carole’s comment, I gave the idea a second thought.  First, I ‘freehung’ the frame…which just consists of holding it up to eyeball.  Whadya know?  I liked it.  So, I secured another screw about 6″ higher than the original (via a drywall anchor) and this is what I ended up with…mind you, this was taken with my newer camera and the previous picture was with my old point-and-shoot…

(I didn’t even bother to patch the hole where the first screw was; it’s covered by the frame anyway.)  I’m lovin’ the new placement!  Carole, I really appreciate your careful and kind criticism…as does Handy Hubby while he’s peeing.  And to all you other readers out there…don’t be afraid to comment, ask a question or even make a suggestion.  A silent audience is a scary audience.

I’ll make this quick.  I have to.  Our stinkin’ 8-year-old computer has gone viral again and will only stay online for about 5 minutes before wiggin’ out.  Needless to say, I haven’t been able to upload any of the photos I took (3 days ago!…I was even trying to plan ahead!) of the guest/craft/playroom for Feature Friday.  Sorry to disappoint.  Hopefully, I’ll be back up and running soon. 

Does anyone have suggestions for a good anti-spyware and/or anti-spam program?  This is the second time in the last 3 months that we’ve been infected.  I’m starting to think I can’t wait until Black Friday for a killer deal on a new laptop.

Remember when I painted a sliver of wall in my kitchen with chalkboard paint?  (If you don’t, see it here.)  So far, it’s come in handy when making a grocery list.  Throughout the week, we jot down any items we’re in need of and then add them to the master shopping list at the end of the week.  Erase. Repeat.  A few times I’ve also written out quotes on the wall that are speaking to me at the moment.  They can be funny, inspirational, thought-provoking or downright strange.  Last week it dawned on me to share these quotes with you readers.  Maybe you can relate to them.  Maybe they’ll inspire you.  Maybe they’ll make you smile.

Here’s what my chalkboard wall says today:

Between home improvement projects (my passion), administering flu shots (I’m a part-time pharmacist by trade), potty-training a 2-year-old (NOT my passion) and making sure a certain new Kindergartener is at the bus stop on time, I sometimes feel like I’m being pulled in all different directions.  In one day, my duties run the gamut…from wiping poopy butts…to consulting with nurses on patient medications…to painting a piece of furniture white…to doing lunges at the gym.  I wear many hats.  But this quote reminds me that each day requires a little something different from me.  Like Mondays require me to be more of a pharmacist than a home decorator.  Like Thursdays (my first day off during the week) allow me to catch up with my kids and enjoy their company that I’ve missed over the 3 previous work days.  Like very rare getaway weekends with Handy Hubby remind me to not let our relationship fall by the wayside in the midst of everything else.  Every day is new.  Every day is different.  And there are days I’d rather be at home DIYing instead of at the pharmacy working.  And there are times, too, where I’d rather be at work talking to *mostly* rational adults instead of witnessing a 30-minute toddler temper tantrum.  But this quote reminds me that there’s only so much I can do in one day, and the best I can do is to find a good balance.  And the scales may tip one way one day and another way the next.  It’s a balancing act between doing and being.

What about you?  How does this quote pertain to you?  Does it conjure up any different thoughts or feelings?

Many of you have contacted me wanting to know where Handy Hubby and I found the image used for our cherry blossom tree wall art.

First, we Googled “cherry blossom branch” under the ‘images’ category and saved several of our favorites.  Then Handy Hubby and I sat down one night to filter the images down to one that we could both agree on.  Handy Hubby wanted something modern and graphic while I was drawn to the sculptural branches and blossoms.  We finally decided on this guy…

It’s titled “Cherry Blossom” and we found it on (of all places) a website that specializes in air purifiers.  Yes, you heard me right…air purifiers.  RabbitAir is a company based out of Los Angeles that is committed to improving indoor air quality via HEPA air purifiers without compromising the decor of your home.  Their air purifiers are slim and sleek with the option of being wall-mounted. 

To further improve their appearance, some models are available with a decorative front panel.  That’s where the “Cherry Blossom” image we found comes in.  It’s one of the optional front panels that’s offered in the MinusA2 Artists Series.  According to RabbitAir’s website, they encountered a customer who wanted an air purifier for his RV but didn’t want to give up valuable wall art space.  Hence, the Artists Series was created.  Pretty clever, huh?  You know I’m a sucker for home decor that is multifunctional.

To tweak the Cherry Blossom image to our foyer’s dimensions, we rotated and reversed the image using a transparency and projector.  Just goes to show that you really can find inspiration anywhere.  The nice folks at RabbitAir agreed to let me share their Cherry Blossom image with y’all, so a great big THANK YOU to them.  And kudos to all companies helping to make our homes healthy and stylish!

FYI – I have not been compensated to mention RabbitAir on my blog.  At this time, I do not own a RabbitAir air purifier and cannot attest to their quality or efficacy…but maybe I will in the future.

It’s Feature Friday!  On Fridays, I’ll be featuring one room in my house in its current condition even if there are some things I’d like to change about it.  If I do happen to improve something later, I can always revisit it when the time comes.  Plus, I’d kinda feel dishonest if I only focused on “finished” rooms in my house.  And if what they (the professionals) say is true, a room is never really finished anyways…you’re always tweaking it.  Concentrating on just one room weekly should give me some time to tidy it up a bit, too.  At least, I can throw all the toys into another room!

If you’re an avid reader of H*T, you’ve probably noticed the absence of my kitchen from the downstairs part of my house tour.  Well, that’s because it’s been in disarray for the last few weeks but I’m happy to share it with you today!  For fun, let’s see what my builder grade spec kitchen looked like before we tackled any DIY upgrades.

And here it is now after painting the cabinets, upgrading countertops, installing a new sink/faucet/backsplash and extending the island.

Pretty different, huh?  In total, the renovations cost us roughly $3,400.  We saved money by waiting to buy all purchases until we were able to pay full in cash.  Which is why it’s taken almost a year to get thus far.  In most cases, on large purchases you can get quite a deal offering to pay cash.  We saved 10% on our granite countertops…complete with installation of the sink and faucet.  It feels really good knowing that we haven’t put ourselves into financial jeopardy during the process of making our kitchen ours.

We replaced our builder sink and faucet with a Kraus undermount sink (9″ deep!) and chrome faucet-and-sprayer in one.  Both were purchased from Overstock.  We added IKEA hardware to the cabinets and drawers.

After a lot of thought, we decided to only do a 6″ backsplash along the window wall because 1) it may have looked strange just going up a few inches on either side of the window 2) it was cheaper than going all the way to the upper cabinets 3) we found inexpensive pewter tile to make a unique mod border that complements the cabinet hardware.  All tiling supplies came from Home Depot.

I stole a very ingenious idea from some friends of ours who thought of hanging their kitchen towels from rings attached to their upper cabinets.  (Thanks Jeff & Erin!)

Still need something for the window but nothing has jumped out to grab my attention yet so I’m holding off.

Handy Hubby DIY’d our glass front cabinet and I painted the interior gray with contrasting lime shelves for a pop of color.

The oven and refrigerator wall got tiled to the cabinets.  I love the subtle geometric pattern and concrete-like texture of the backsplash.  It’s a great contrast to the shiny black counters.

And then there’s the island.  Oh, how I love that little island.  It’s rustic and modern and warm and crisp all wrapped into one.  To see how we DIY’d it, check here.

As strong as the urge was to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff to display on the open shelves, I filled them with bowls, baskets and cookbooks that we already had on hand.  Another unnecessary shopping spree thwarted.  Go me.

I even clipped a pair of blooms from my hydrangea bush and plopped them atop my scalloped cake plate to make a quick, FREE centerpiece for the island.  I’m a little giddy over the fact that I’ve managed to keep that sucker alive long enough to enjoy clippings.

Our kitchen is open to the dining area.  (We have no dining room).

The capiz chandelier helps to ‘dress up’ the kitchen and its utilitarianism.

And here’s how our kitchen fits into the bigger picture…

This is my “workin’ with whatcha got” kitchen.  I still have some tweaks (window treatment, new flooring, creative way to hide my dishwasher, pendants above the island, etc) in mind but those will come all in good time when we can afford them and are willing to put in the time and effort to DIY them.  For now, Handy Hubby and I are enjoying everything we’ve created and accomplished in this room…and it tastes good.

This is how our kitchen island has looked for the last 3 years. 

Even though we upgraded our builder laminate countertops along the perimeter, the island sat untouched. 

Over the course of the summer (in between vacations, Kindergarten preparations, swim lessons, soccer practices…and not to mention 2 ‘real’ jobs), we sporadically worked at bringing the island up to par with the rest of the kitchen.  I wanted something a little more substantial with open shelving and a butcher block countertop.  Like this…minus the TV…

Thanks to Handy Hubby and his generous woodworking friend, I scored a handmade extension for the island.  It only took them a few hours, $30 and a large pizza to finish the job.  Then the 9″ island extension sat in our basement awaiting caulk, primer and paint before being installed.  Handy Hubby caulked the seams a few weeks ago…

 …and I finally got around to priming and painting the darn thing last week.  I picked up a slab of  IKEA’s Numerar oak butcher block.  And by ‘picked up’ I mean I dragged my 2 lil’ guys to the Swedish superstore, artfully rearranged all the car seats in the Trailblazer, guilted some big-boned stranger lady into helping me lift the heavy wood slab and somehow managed to slide it across the tops of all the seats’ headrests.  (IKEA may be the reason why I drive an SUV.)  Which means last weekend Handy Hubby installed the extension AND countertop onto our builder grade kitchen island.  Man, I love that man.  Here’s what he did:

Removed the island drawers…

Removed the builder grade laminate countertop…

Scraped off some random dried paint drips from the bottom of the extension (I’m not a professional painter)…

Placed the open shelving extension…

Clamped it to the existing island…

Pre-drilled holes and screwed the extension into the existing island frame and into the floor…

Once the island was secure and checked for level height all the way around, Handy Hubby laid the butcher block on top of the island.

Luckily, the width was just right but the overhang was a bit much lengthwise.  It was about 10″ too long as-is, so out came the circular saw.

Once the countertop was cut to size, Handy Hubby sanded it then screwed it onto the island and added trim along the back side of the extension where the island meets to hide a seam…

I primed and painted the trim, screw holes and a corner piece that I missed the first time I painted the extension before it was put in place.  (When the task of finding and applying painter’s tape to the floor loomed ominously, I went with the old standby…one of my kids’ coloring books.)

And after all that, we finally have ourselves a larger, less builder-ish kitchen island!  Yippee!!

To obtain a near *waterproof* surface, I’ve been applying mineral oil in quantities larger than Betty White has ever dreamed of.  (That’s a little pharmacist humor.)

(My left hand kinda looks like E.T.’s??!)  The 10″ section of butcher block that we cut off got cut in half and sanded to make 2 custom cutting boards.  We like that we were able to use every last piece of the butcher block.  Some may find it ironic that we painted our oak cabinets white and then added an oak countertop to our island.  In fact, the oak stain of our builder cabinets was so awful that the doors didn’t match the frame and many of the doors didn’t even match each other…and they were all very orange.  Plus, 2 walls of oak cabinets was just too much for us.  The more natural wood tone of the butcher block is the small dose of warmth that we were looking for in an otherwise all white kitchen.  We’re absolutely in love with it and the price tag.  Our island upgrade came in under $250!

Check back to see the final product in its surroundings tomorrow!

Labor Day is almost upon us.  How can I tell?  The historic homes and businesses in my neighborhood are dressed in their patriotic best.  I’m especially fond of the fan bunting versus the standard stars and stripes flag.  You can put them just about anywhere.

Porches…

Fences…

Windows…

Railings…

And don’t forget the gazebo… (yeah, like we all have one of those sitting around)

I think fan buntings are a simple and tasteful dose of Americana.  I’d like to try them on my porch.