Freshly Painted Cabinet Comes Out of Hiding

Last year I created a tween bedroom for my oldest son.

But there was one little "nook" I didn't show you.

It's a vanity area. But, my dirty little secret is that it spent the better part of a year looking like this...

This, my friends, is called a DIY fail. I tried to do a lime washed effect with chalk paint, and as you can see, it didn't work out too well for me.

I convinced myself that I would try again. Someday. In the meantime, my tween became a teen and I started working on other projects. It seemed this poor little vanity would forever remain in it's pathetic state.

School was about to start for the year, and my son asked me to please, at least, reattach the cabinet door.

I decided to forget my grand plans of some special paint effect, and just paint the darn thing already!

So that's what I did. I painted the cabinet with BM "Chelsea Gray."

It only took about an hour, and I love the color. Why didn't I do this sooner??

I used Benjamin Moore's Advance paint. No sanding, no priming, and the finish is great.

So glad I'm not hiding any dirty little secrets anymore… at least as far as you know :)

The Painted House Reveal

This week marked a major milestone.

My baby started kindergarten.

After 14 years of having a little person home with me, all my boys are now in school. I kept waiting to turn into a giant puddle, but it didn't happen. I'm not sure if it's denial or peace with what's meant to be (or the fact that I'm old), but I feel ready to embrace this next stage of life. Who knows… maybe I have delayed mourning and will be sobbing at the bus stop tomorrow… we'll see...

Luckily, I had a crew of people around so I couldn't dwell too much on my buddy being gone. Of course, the crew wasn't really there to keep me company. They were painting the house…. finally!!


Here is a before shot (obviously from Fall)...

And here it is after...

I went more gray and slightly darker than the previous color with SW Intellectual Gray. The shutters went from green to SW Urbane Bronze.


We added more trim color to accentuate the windows and the home's character. You can see in this before photo how most of the house was the siding color with very little trim color...

And after, the windows and dormers stand out more with the trim paint...

Pay no mind to the weeds :)

Another change was painting the front door and sidelights the same color. I wanted to try out the look, and since the front door is being replaced soon, I figured we could experiment with the color.

I think I like it.

I'm glad to finally have this project crossed off the list, so I can stop obsessing over the paint color!

I am working on a new client project, and will be sharing some progress pics on Instagram this week, so keep up with me there. It's going to be quite the transformation. Can't wait!!

Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend!

House Color

Well, friends, after following my highly scientific method for choosing exterior paint colors, I have made my final decision. Now I just need the painters to hurry up before I change my mind :)

I've decided to go with Sherwin Williams "Intellectual Gray" for the body of the house, and "Urbane Bronze" for the shutters and doors. The trim color will be matched to our existing gutters.

Here is Intellectual Gray on the 2013 Southern Living Idea House in Nashville, TN…

Hey… if it's good enough for Southern Living…


I made the paint decision a few weeks ago, but it's always a little nerve-racking wondering if the color will look good when the entire house is painted in it. There was a house in our town that did a lovely renovation, and I drove past every day admiring how it was turning out. At the end of the project, they made an unfortunate color choice (think neon yellow!) Now I drive by and think "Why???"

The other day I was driving my son home from tennis practice, and did a double take when I saw this house..

Naturally, I hung out the window to snap some pics.

I really loved the paint color and the way the trim around the windows really popped. I just had to know the paint color, so I went up and rang the doorbell. The homeowner stepped outside, and I immediately recognized her as a very well-known local designer. No wonder her house color was so good!

She was very gracious, and said I was not the first person to stop and ask about the paint color, which was Sherwin Williams Fawn Brindle. I told her I had decided to paint my house Intellectual Gray, but perhaps I would reconsider. She said her last house was painted Intellectual Gray, and is very similar to Fawn Brindle. She assured me that if I liked her house, I would be very happy with Intellectual Gray.

It was just the confirmation I needed, and now I am so excited to see the final result. The painters come at the end of the week.

After the house is painted, I will be planning my biggest remodeling project yet. Here's a little clue as to what it is…

Any guesses?