As work progresses on the family room furniture (the hutch) and the floor is now complete (the tile) I have begun to paint the walls. I chose Waverly's "Cottage Linen White". I know, I know - white can be boring but it's what this room really needs as I want to keep it light and airy. The ceiling is low but I still chose to paint it "Atmosphere Blue" by Restoration Hardware. It worked beautifully and one doesn't even notice it until one sits down and looks up! It like that the blue ceiling adds a little color and interest. I have a couple of swallows (birds) color copied off which I will decoupage to the ceiling in a few spots. I temporarily taped one to the ceiling in my art studio and one of my cats sat and stared at it for hours. I felt sorry for him after awhile and took it down so he'd come out of the spell it had cast over him and he could go eat and sleep like he should have been doing on a rainy weekend afternoon! I have decided to stencil a simple pale blue pattern on the walls in the family room, to break up the expanse of white. ( I am using "Atmosphere Blue", of course.)
It's a simple, small stencil from JoAnn Fabric's craft section. I have added it to one wall so far and love how it looks.
It is very Swedish country.
If I feel the need to soften it, I will brush over it with a coat of RL's "Sunfade". Not even sure if it's sold any more as I have had that can for years! (it's still good to use). It adds a milky white layer that "fades" color and pattern to make it look like it's sat in direct sunlight for 10 years running.
Yes, there is a difference and I found that out recently! I am working on the family room/dining room. It's a later addition to my cottage - used to be the garage back in it's original form but was converted to a large "everything" room with a wood stove, way before I came along. It had nasty brown carpeting which only got dirtier as the years went on. We carpet cleaned a few times but with 3 people in and out the French doors to the back yard, rainy Seattle weather, many cats, and a few messy eaters, a carpet can take a real beating so one day I ripped it out and vowed I'd live with the cement floor until I could afford new flooring. I did get new flooring - a 16" sand-colored porcelain tile. It was on sale at Home Depot for just 7 cents a sq foot. I had a 20x20 room. I could afford this! But it sat for 3 years before the person who promised to lay it for me did so. Two weeks ago I took 2 vacations days and helped lay the floor. I am still walking into that room dazed and amazed that it got done!!
I chose white grout after being told brown grout would be better. Brown grout would make it look like an 80's Mexican restaurant floor. White was best. I sealed it by hand, on my hands and knees, one Saturday night. Resealed the high traffic areas the next day. I was told NOT to buy another piece of furniture off Craigslist (a friend suggested that I had enough stuff in the house!) but then I found this amazing, well made sofa from the 1930's for $75, which will provide seating near the wood stove. Advice was given to me to decorate the room with colors different from my blue & white I use through the rest of the cottage (my favorite color combination). I tried for weeks to find a green or yellow that would work but nothing seemed right to me. One person after another gave me advice and I'd faithfully follow it until I'd wasted more money and time figuring out that it wasn't right.
What was right was following the advice of a few friends who knew me best and didn't let their own personal preferences get in the way. OF COURSE the room needs to be blue and white - it will then fit in with every other room in the cottage!
It must all flow from room to room.
So, the walls will be white - my signature shade of "Cottage Linen White" by Waverly. It turns out to be the best choice to keep a large room with few windows light and airy. The ceiling will be light blue, and the windows covered with the blue & white toile curtains I used to have in the living room. I also have 12 yards of that toile in upholstery weight in storage. I can use it to recover the sofa. I just saved hundreds of dollars using what I already have.
I will hand paint the furniture white, as is my style. The 2 piece hutch and tables are either new, from the 70's or 40's and are not antiques so I have no problem painting them. In the end, the best choice I made was to NOT listen to anyone else when it came to making my home my own. The best advice from a few friends who knew best, was to follow my own instincts, and so I am.
Stay tuned for progress on each of these projects. Here are a couple of "before" photos so you can see where I am starting from. Everything is pretty raw right now. I have alot of work cut out for me.
I love this classic e e cummings poem. Here is a free download I designed for you to print off and hang in your studio or give to a loved one!
