Notable Things: A Lesson On Curtains, Coffee Table Books, & Our Bedroom Paint Color Sneak Peek

Last week we reached the painting phase of our renovation which brought mixed emotions! Excitement because this is a sign that we’re nearing the end of the project. But anxiety because picking a paint color has notoriously been the most difficult/stress inducing stage for me. But we did it…we made it through…not without a hiccup though. 🙂

SOURCES: Mirror | Vase (DIY) | Faux Florals 1 | Faux Florals 2 | Rug

I wanted a putty neutral that was a good contrast from white but still felt bright. I know I know….aside from white….putty beiges and grieges are the second most difficult colors to pick. And to add another layer of difficulty, our bedroom poses a unique lighting situation with low ceilings, lots of natural light, and a green cast from the grass outside. So picking a paint color took 3 days and 15 samples.

Colors with cool undertones turned baby blue with all the natural light. Colors with strong yellow undertones turned wheat yellow with the ceiling shadows being lower. Colors with the slightest green undertone turned lime green because there is already a lot of green reflecting in from the grass outside. And any color with a gray tone turned purple on the ceiling because why not!? So you see now why it took me 3 days, 5 trips to the store, and 15 samples to find the one and only color that we both liked.

Unfortunately, the color we selected was a bit of a fluke. No paint store was able to replicate the sample I originally ordered and no one knew why! Every attempt kept coming out much darker and yellower than the original and after a lot of paint mixing trial and error, we decided to scratch that color. Instead, we mixed our own color through the process of color matching and ultimately landed on a color we love even more than the original!

It’s the perfect putty neutral with very little yellow or blue undertones. It’s a subtle contrast from white making it feel like it has warmth, yet it still reads as a bright neutral so I can add any color palette to build upon it. It’s very similar to “Off White” by Farrow & Ball but our custom mix reads slightly less yellow. If you want to replicate it, I’ll share the code for the paint color below. (We ordered from Home Depot.)

I didn’t even mention our spraying debacle. HA! No project is easy around here. We opted to spray the room with all the grooves and cracks and Chris gave it a go first. But holy crap did the paint drip…more like waterfall…easily! So we (I) spent an entire day scraping and wet sanding drips off the walls to get it back to its original smooth finish. I sprayed the second time around and thankfully did so without any drips, but the paint mist definitely settled thick onto the walls making them rough to the touch. Not a hard fix thankfully! A quick sand over with our sanding sponges got rid of the texture without scuffing the color…we got lucky with that!

Now comes the most exciting part – styling the room! I told myself back in April that I’m allowing myself to style the room slowly. Rather than forcing pieces that aren’t quite right or pulling decor from other rooms just to snap a photo, I want to take my time, source antiques, and gather pieces that truly reflect the style I want. So in other words, a reveal isn’t coming just yet. But I promise I won’t take longer than I need to.

A few other things worth noting –

• I’m learning so much about curtains right now and taking notes from Amber Interiors. Amber uses a french rod in nearly all her projects (i.e. it wraps around the corner) with rings in a matching color. Her curtains are usually 2-3 shades darker than the walls or in a contrasting color with a subtly patterned fabric. (She rarely uses crisp white curtains which surprised me.) And from what I’m seeing in her book, she loves a fan fold pleat. I’ve been ordering all the supplies to make my own curtains for the bedroom….all I’m missing is the fabric. A trip to the fabric store is in order!

• Has anyone tried the FurZapper?? I’ve tried every pet hair remover/reducer out there and so many products are all hype. But this was featured on Shark Tank and people either swear by it or hate it. Anyone else have experience with this product before I buy it?

• So pumped about our new rug for the bedroom. For those that follow me on Instagram, you saw that I was debating between this rug and this rug. Ultimately I realized the bedroom will need a smidge of color and the second rug has a perfect muted color palette with the right amount of “distressing.” P.S. Both rugs are such a good price for an 8×10 right now!

• The housing market is insane right now!! A home near us sold “As Is” (meaning there is much much work to be done) for 90,000 more than what he bought it for 2 years ago and $20,000 over asking price. It’s nuts and I’m hoping and praying there isn’t a crash right when we’re ready to sell. The Grit and Polish found an article about the housing market and their predictions/explanations have me thinking!

• We paid for a month of HBO so we could watch the Friends Reunion and we stayed for a show called “The Shop.” So many famous and influential people of color gather in a barber shop to talk about anything and everything. I feel like I’m eavesdropping in on real conversations and it’s wildly addicting.

• I don’t cook much, but when I do it’s an easy recipe. This 4 ingredient sheet pan meal has been a fan favorite in our house for one month running!

• I ordered a bunch of coffee table books for our home and I’m so excited to flip through them all. I’ve been devouring Made For Living and just flipped through The Beauty of Home. So much to learn from them!