Color Reawakening

At this point, I've lost track of how many bidding wars we've lost in the pursuit of our next flip house.  It has to be well into the double digits by now.  Honestly it has me conflicted- obviously I'm frustrated because these hands need a house to flip(desperately- or I'll keep finding things to do in my own house as evidenced by the rest of this post), but it also makes me a bit happy knowing that the housing market is coming back and so many people are purchasing new homes.  But seriously, people, throw a flipper a bone! (just kidding.....kind of......not really) The benefit of not having a current flip, is I feel I've had the opportunity to refine my personal style.  I'll go into more detail in another post, but I've actually noticed a trend with the rooms that I've been drawn to lately.  I may shock my mom with this one (since I dragged her kicking and screaming from her beige addiction), but my favorite spaces lately are pretty neutral.  Or at least they have a neutral base that serves as a backdrop to more colorful and interesting decor.  Case in point :

image via Birch and Bird

If there were bright colored walls in the mix, this chair and rug would look a bit wackadoodle (technical term).  Without other colors to compete with, the design of this chair becomes the star.

My current favorite rooms in this house are the most recent rooms I've set my focus on.  My office and the kitchen... almost...as soon as the kitchen is 100% that will be my absolute favorite ever.  Both rooms have subtle wall colors which allows me to have a bit more fun with furnishings and not worry about them going over the top (a design dilemma I've always struggled with).  My office is not at 100% either, but here's how it stands today (totally unstaged, so please don't judge too much):

I'm kind of (read: VERY) tempted to repaint the blue living room (which I haven't photographed in over a year it seems- methinks it's time) and hubby's bright green office.  This color addict is having a reawakening about how to work with color most successfully!  Don't worry, though, the purple dining room will definitely be staying purple- I am still Karen, after all.

Have you had any recent design reawakenings?  or any falling-outs with colors you once loved?

If You Love Something

...set it free. That's exactly what I am doing with my newly redone china cabinet.

I love it.  I really do.  It came out awesome and I swoon over the new pulls.  But my dining room just isn't it's home.  It doesn't feel right in the room and sadly there's no other place in this house for it.  So I'm setting it free- it may even have a new home already.

But before I let it go, let's talk about this thrifted china cabinet's transformation.

Such a sexy piece, just BEGGING for me to bring it home from the thrift store and give it a new life.  You know me- when old furniture calls, I answer.

I had been itching to try a chalk paint (not chalkboard paint, chalk paint), but the hefty price tag was deterring me.  What's a DIY blogger to do?

Yup, I took to the internet, read different DIY chalk paint recipes, then, like a good rule follower... I winged it.

The basic premise is to dissolve plaster of paris in water and then mix it into the paint.  My first mixture was too watery, so I kelp playing with the balance until I was happy with the finished texture (learning from experience: the less water, the better).  It's really a precise science, just like my color-picking.  I started with one color, then added another until I liked it.  (Sorry, that means I can't tell you what color most things in my house are).

With any chalk paint (or so I read), the first coat will be very streaky,  but the big draw of this paint is that you do not need to sand or prime the surface to get the paint to adhere.  Coat #2 covers fully, hides all the brush strokes, and gives it a very pretty chalky-matte texture.  In this pic, you can see the 2 spots where I tried out coat #2 (and one's still wet).

In addition to the paint, hardware was MUCH needed here.  The broken 80's fake gold pulls that were on it when I got it just weren't cutting it.  I got these drop pulls from HomeDepot.com and I want to put them on every piece of furniture now.

I'm sad that it just doesn't feel right in my dining room- I was hoping after refinishing the puzzle pieces would fit, but alas it competes with the piano too much.  Sorry china cabinet- my grandmother's piano wins this round.

At least it will go to a new home where it will be loved and appreciated and display pretty china like it was destined to do.

Isn't she gorgeous?

At Home in Montreal

At the end of last week, Hubby and I fled the country for a few days and were able to check off 1/5 of my 30 Before 30 #2 goal: Visit 5 places I've never been.  Since Montreal is only about a 5 hour drive away, we thought it was the perfect location for a quick getaway. One of the highlights of the trip for me was the Griffintown Cafe.  The design-nerd in me had found home.

It definitely had a vintage European- meets hipster vibe to it (without trying to hard or being snooty) and I dug it.

Not only was the food awesome (Hubby got a gruyere grilled cheese sandwich, and I got a salad with grilled veggies and goat cheese), but they mixed antiques and modern elements in the decor expertly.

The environment was very casual with chalkboard menus, exposed brick, and vintage-inspired "whiskey" water bottles.

The exposed kitchen sported a punched tin clad vent-hood (which I regrettably wasn't able to get a decent picture of) and mason jars filled with spices.  One of my favorite things probably was the mix of cabinetry.  The kitchen side had light lower cabinets with dark stained doorless cabinets above while the adjacent bar was a mid-tone wood with open shelving.  If it hasn't been obvious with my recent kitchen renovation, mixing tones like that makes me weak in the knees.

My affinity for this cafe certainly wasn't hurt by the fact that it's in a neighborhood with several fascinating antique stores.

The Griffintown Cafe will definitely be a must-stop if we ever take another trip to Montreal!