Pigment

I feel so energized after today's meeting with Christy Baker of Pigment.  She's a color consultant, who for a very modest fee will help you pick out the right paint colors for rooms in your home.  And, as I learned today, the woman is a color genius.  She knows everything from how a room with a north facing window will make dark colors look darker to how the orange tints in your hardwood floors will make a teal look more blue.

To truly appreciate her genius, you should know the back story of my paint meltdown.  Last week I tried to pick out my own colors for the bedrooms.  My method was trial through obsession.  I literally stayed up every night until 1 a.m. last week fiddling around on the Sherwin Williams website.  I do not recommend this.  What little sleep you get will be riddled with nightmares of computerized paint chips attacking you.  After many sleepless nights, I forced my husband to drive with me to the Sherwin Williams store on a Saturday and bought samples of the following colors.

For Master bedroom, Sherwin Williams Seaworthy.

For Lucy's room, Sherwin Williams Dahlia.

For spare bedroom, Sherwin Williams Blue Sky.

For hallways and office, Sherwin Williams Techno Gray.

After getting the samples home, I immediately regretted my "get it done" buy, because none of them looked right.  It was purely through the grace of God that I happened to mention it to Christy at church on Sunday (btw, Christy and I go to church together), and she reminded me of her new color consulting business.  I believe I sent her an e-mail that night that showed my panic and need for her immediate help.  (I really need to calm down, it's just paint).

So today Christy swung by with her suitcases of paint chips and set me straight - in an extremely professional and kind way.  With her comprehensive knowledge of hues and ability to listen to what I wanted, she was able to take my ideas and make them into a more cohesive color pallet and one that I'm really excited to share.

For master bedroom, Benjamin Moore Stratton Blue.

For Lucy's room, a combination of 3 colors to tone down the purple.  (Lucy wanted purple, and for those of you who knows Lucy, she gets what she wants).  The grey will go on 3 of the walls, the darker purple on the ceiling, and the lighter purple on the main wall.  Benjamin Moore's African Violet, Benjamin Moore's Hazy Lilac and Benjamin Moore's Classic Gray.



We're going to paint all of the trim white.  The Classic Gray will also go on the walls in the hall and in the office, to keep them neutral, and we're still trying to come up with color ideas for the "spare" bedroom.  I gave Christy this as my inspiration for the room, and we've created a pinterest board to brainstorm more ideas.  I can't wait to get going!

Money Pit?

We just got our first roof estimate back.  I almost hit the floor.  $13,000!

The house inspector had indicated that the house would need a new roof, and we used this to negotiate the house to a lower price, but not much lower.  The sellers seemed to think $3,000 would cover the roof.  Ha!  How dumb we were.

We have another estimator coming tomorrow.  Let's hope for something a little bit more affordable.
Otherwise, I'm beginning to think we bought a money pit.

Our massive "To Do" list

The weekend after we bought the house my husband and I sat down and made a massive list of things that need to be done to the house before we can move in on October 1.  That's right people, Oct 1 is D-day.  We've got 107 days to get this house to a place where I would feel proud to invite people over.

The fact that we created a list without bickering is a small miracle unto itself.  Caleb, my husband, comes from a very frugal Mennonite background and thinks we can go without most things.  I, on the other hand, come from materialistic suburbia people who value a high degree of aesthetic beauty.  And, (I am about to say the most sexist thing I have ever uttered) I think perhaps that's the job of a woman in a marriage - to make things not only functional but beautiful.

All of this to say ... drum roll please.  Here is our massive "To Do" list!  Complete with pictures to make it more interesting.

OUTSIDE

-        Put up fence with house numbers

-        Pot plants (done!)

-        Power wash cement pad

-        Walkway from front door to driveway

-        Re-gravel (reroute?) driveway

-        Put up Lucy’s play structure

-        Paint front door

-        Paint hand rail

-        Paint shutters

-        Paint trim

-        New hardware for front door

BASEMENT

-        Seal cement blocks

-        Put up shelving

-        Fix double doors from outside to basement

-        Replace door between basement and garden room

-        Put a ceiling in the basement

-        Buy generator for when we lose power (very likely in the country, and without power you have no well, without a well you have no water)

-        Address sediment issues in well?

FAMILY ROOM

-        Paint trim

-        Paint walls?

-        Buy couch

-        Buy shelving

-        Hang pictures

-        Fix fire place

-        Replace bifold door in storage closet

-        Install a handrail on the stairs going to the basement

-      Pretend hideous, cheap carpet isn't there

LAUNDRY ROOM

-        Buy washing machine

-        Buy dryer

-        Remove wallpaper

-        Remove linoleum

-        Put in new linoleum

-        Paint walls

-        Paint trim

-        Install cabinets

 OFFICE

-        Take out intercom (ain't it a beaut?)

-        Paint wood paneling

-        Paint trim & cabinets

-        New window treatments

-        Wallpaper/contact paper behind bookshelves

-        Space plan

-      Pretend hideous, cheap carpet isn't there 

MASTER BEDROOM

-        Space plan

-        Take out intercom

-        Paint walls

-        Paint trim

-        New window treatments

-        Replace door to room (Holes in it.  Who lives here before us?  Angry elves?)

-        Fix fire place (it's missing some bricks and mortar)

-        Fix electrical outlets

GUEST ROOM & LUCY'S ROOM (they are two different rooms, but for the sake of brevity - ha! - I'm including them as one because they have the same tasks)

-        Take out intercom

-        Paint walls

-        Paint trim

-        New window treatments

-        Wall decals?

-        Replace bi-fold closet doors

-        Replace doors to rooms

SCREENED IN PORCH

-        Paint trim white

-        Remove carpet

-        Install new floor

-        Rebuild stairs, railing and screen door

-        Stall guard rails

-        Fix screens with holes

-        Extend and/or rerouting some downspouts to prevent water leaking into the basement

-        Clean gutters

GARDEN ROOM

-     -  Remove wall paper

-     -  Paint trim

-  Paint walls
-  Put in sink
-  Put in shelving
-  Space plan

LUCY'S BATHROOM

-        Replace counter tops

-        Knock out odd built-in cabinet

-     Hang new shelving

-        Paint trim

-     New hardware

And, just for fun, I'm going to include a few "before" pictures of the rooms we're not attempting to do ourselves - the kitchen (which will one day flow into the dining room and formal living room) and the master bathroom.   We've hired Tamara Lacy with Interior Concepts to help us tackle those monumental tasks.

Living in the country = living with a sink full of dead lady bugs

Master Bath

Formal Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Room