Handy Hubby is home! And not a moment too soon. I’ve been running around like a mad woman taking the boys to and from school/gymnastics, working {more than usual, ugh}, Christmas shopping, running from doctor appointment to doctor appointment {Everett developed an ear infection shortly after HH left on his business trip and I’ve had OB checkups} and gathering paint swatches from every paint supply store in town. I know I’m probably not any busier than any other mom out there. And I’m not complaining…only very grateful that HH is back to help lighten the load a little. Boy, did I miss him. Just having him here to take over a few nights of bath time and bedtime is like vacation to me.
So, yeah, did you catch that part about me gathering paint swatches? HH ordered a paint sprayer to prime and paint the Underdog’s interior. It arrived while he was away. He’s getting antsy to use it. Which means we’ve got to nail down trim and wall colors ASAP. Basically, I’ve been scouring the internet for color ideas then picking up swatches from all the different brands available around here: Valspar, Behr, Glidden, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, etc. Then I narrowed down a half dozen ‘maybes’, had some samples made at Home Depot in the Behr brand and painted out some foam board to test in the Underdog.
Here’s an unedited sampling of the sampling…
Mudroom/dining room – Thinking of DIYing white wainscoting with a darker color painted above. If you look closely, there’s a small tile sample on the floor. It’s a lighter travertine with lots of variation in it.
Family room/mantel – Definitely wanting to keep the walls light and airy in here. {Once again, that white stuff on the mantel is my attempt at naturally removing soot from the brick with baking powder + dish soap.} All this time I’ve been sold on painting the brick surround…but I’m having second thoughts.
Family room/ceiling – HH was kind enough to hold up a wall color possibility next to a white ceiling possibility. For a minute, we contemplated painting the ceiling something other than white – like a light neutral tone instead – but decided we really liked the idea of a white ceiling.
Kitchen – Trying to picture any of those with black lower cabinets, white upper cabinets and stainless steel appliances/hood. I think we’ve ousted the middle color. It’s a little too dark.
Great room – The final two??
Boys’ room – There’s a sample of the wood flooring lying in front of the white-ish foam board. I immediately decided I didn’t like the one on the far right. Looks like baby poop. I’m leaning towards the one second from the left but I like the blue-gray to the left also. Hmmm?
Master bedroom – This is the only ‘for sure’ that HH and I have right now. Our bedroom is on the north side of the house and doesn’t receive a lot of natural light so we wanted something light but warm. I think this is it. I think.
Master bathroom – This is the same blue-gray color from the boys’ room image. It looks nice in the master bath but we’d like the master bedroom and bathroom to be painted the same color for continuity. So now we’re stuck wondering ‘do we paint the bedroom blue-gray since the bath looks good in the color or do we stick with the light, warm neutral that we really like in the bedroom and paint the bath that color as well?’ Decision, decisions.
And we’re not even discussing the nursery yet. It’s such a small space – not even 10′ x10′ – that I shouldn’t have a problem painting it out with a roller {versus the sprayer} once we get moved in and I get into nesting the nursery. The hallway to the bedrooms and the guest/kids’ bath just off the great room will probably get painted whatever color we decide on for the great room walls…to keep things cohesive and flowing nicely in those small areas.
When it comes to selecting paint colors, there’s no magic wand for us. We always use samples on foam board and move them around from room to room, viewing them at different times of the day before we make any decisions.
The hardest thing for me right now is looking at all of my inspiration images and trying to bring them to life in the Underdog while staying true to our family’s lifestyle. I.e., most of the images in my inspiration folder are of rooms with white walls and as much as I love them, I’m not sure how well they’d carry over into everyday living. The kids would surely mark them up and I’m a little afraid I’d start to feel as if I was living in an insane asylum. Still, I get all googly-eyed over white rooms. Who knows where we’ll end up with our paint selections?
I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I do.
images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
budget decor, DIY, renovation