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It’s that time of the year when I am desperately awaiting the arrival of spring, getting restless and hiding indoors, away from the biting cold. I finished Part I of Spring Cleaning earlier this week, the dumpster has been filled and rolled off, just before another snow storm hit Western Mass on Tuesday morning. Now I’m torn between continuing with our backyard, or focusing my attention and energy (both limited these days) elsewhere. While I decide, I thought I’d tell you a bit about where we are with our living room renovation, and share with you some of my favorite finds this week. (You can read all about the construction phase of our cottage living room makeover HERE. ) I’ve primed all walls and have been looking at color options cohesive with a blue, green and soft yellow scheme we already have going. The white settled in quite nicely, but why keep it simple when you can make things more complex (i.e difficult)? I was re-reading Roger Banks-Pye’ s book, Interior Inspirations, the other day and he is quoted saying that there are few occasions where walls should be left bare white and those few occasions should be discouraged. I tend to agree with Mr. Banks-Pye, which means I’m going to agonize over paint colors for weeks to come.
I started my color search by looking at soft, blue-grays à la Rita Konig and that wonderful room she did in Mill Valley for Blythe Harris & family. I found a beautiful blue I liked, called Early Stuff from BACKDROP. Have you tried this new line of paints yet? They are low odor, low VOC, and a climate neutral company – all good reasons to give their products a try.
I am also drawn to a couple of light greens from Farrow and Ball and I think they’ll compliment well the family room colors and our existing furniture. I’ll try to get sample pots next week and will share more as I’m narrowing down my choices -stay tuned. I’m also waiting on window treatments for the two new windows in our living room – this is a picture I took a couple of weeks ago, with a makeshift curtain hanging from the frame (please don’t judge 🙂 )
Anyway, I have a cozy afternoon planned in my favorite armchair, with some hot chocolate and a new (to me) Sue Grafton mystery. I’ve been hooked on her alphabet series ever since I read “A” is for Alibi over the holidays, and I’m excited to reach a new letter. Thanks for stopping by, here are this week’s finds:
A Chinese Good Luck Ceramic Vase in an Antique Finish, Ming Style
The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
A sculptural table lamp that fits many different decorating styles:
A stunning oak pedestal from Crate & Barrel:
Hi Eva,
Years ago, by accident, I found a paint used in a home at Deerfield village near you. I LOVED it. It was a custom mix, but they gave me the closest recipe which was also custom, and made by Benjamin Moore. Recently we moved again and in researching paint, I discovered that BM now has a entire line of those paints. The magic of those paints is that they change color with the light (including electric) throughout the day and evening. At least get sample pots. BM can make them in any of their Aura Colour Series, which oddly enough most paint salesman at BM don’t know about. In Baltimore the first guy told me in does not exist, but my paint contractor went in and an older guy did know. The way they do it is by using no black at all. Just many pigments as they did before the big paint stores. Living with light changing all day is magical! Google interior decorators paint and read their strings. Sorry for the length.
Author
Thank you so much, I’m heading to BM later this week and I’ll make sure to ask!!!
xo, Eva
Great finds, Eva! I love that obelisk. I’m also glad to know about that paint line. I can’t wait to see what color you choose.
Author
Hi Julie! Thank you, I’m so glad you like the obelisk! I had seen similar ones on Etsy but you can’t beat the Amazon price…
xo, Eva
Thank you for sharing this post with all of the before, during and almost after photos. It really shows us how patience in planning a project, even with a few missteps, makes it all worth while. The additional windows and scaled down fireplace mantel make such a wonderful difference-and it looks like it was all original to the house. Love it! I also love the paint color, such a soft serene shade. Adding that one in my idea folder. I love the lamp in This weeks find, too! So unique.
Have a great week.
Author
Thank you so much, Lynn! I am happy to hear you enjoyed this week’s finds!
xo, Eva
Hi Eva,
I really love your style and it reminds me that patience is a big part of design. The living room looks great already and I know once you finish it will be amazing. Thanks for the find list.
Karen B.
Author
Thank you so much, Karen! I appreciate it! Being patient is vital in the design process, yet incredibly hard to do. I have broken down and taken shortcuts behind the scenes all the time, and regretted most of them. Lessons learned 🙂
xo, Eva
Eva,I have mentioned before that I admire your patience in choosing just what you love for your beautiful home.Enjoy the Sue Grafton books.She was not only a good writer but a lovely human being.I was fortunate to hear her speak a number of times and know of her involvement in her community. Happy to know about this paint.xo
Author
Thank you so much, Annette! I love her writing style, too! She’s an amazing storyteller and it saddens me that she never got to finish the last of her Kinsey Millhone novels.
xo, Eva