Down the Rabbit Hole of Repainting. Again.

Our house looks like an earthquake hit -- you couldn't find any survivors in here if you tore up the house with a crane. Perhaps I am waxing a little heartless and cruel (what with all the natural disasters going around of late) but I think you catch my drift. It's rully messy in here. Why, you ask? Because after a record shattering eight glorious hours of sleep, I decided in a fit spastic energy that we should convert our guest bedroom/Ike's nursery to Ike's nursery/playroom.

Doesn't it look like a kid lives here? No? You obviously get more sleep than me.

The whole conversion thing is really a pretty easy leap to make (unless you are very very tired), but it did involve lots of moving. And throwing away. And then... I decided to ditch the old cloying Smoke color and repaint the entire room. And now the sleep buzz has worn off but the mess is still here.

I am a walking natural disaster.

Anyway, finding the perfect gray is like finding your soulmate: get as close you can and then compromise on the rest. Sorry, HB, I'm just saying that a good relationship takes effort. I still like you.

Most of my house is painted Benjamin Moore's Abalone Gray:

So I thought to myself, slam dunk! This is going to be MF awesome. But, no. Gray is a bitch. She is a hooker by night and a puritan by day -- a chameleon in gekko's clothing. Who knows what that's supposed to mean, but I think you catch my drift. Maybe.

While lovely in no less than five other rooms of my home, Abalone looks like lavender crap in Ike's room. So today I'm going to visit Sanders again and pray that the god of paint (that would be Sanders) can help me solve this riddle wrapped in an enigmatic conundrum of a cookie. Or however that hackneyed phrase goes that I can't even properly recall. Guess it's not that hackneyed after all...

To sum it up: my house is a mess. I am busy. Please, occupy yourselves with the AMAZING transformative properties of paint, as evinced by Christiane Lemieux, the creative director behind Dwell Studio:

One room, three Benjamin Moore colors: Wrought Iron, Gentleman's Gray, Winter Orchard. I am completely totally obsessed with all three colors. The plan was always to do three of Ike's walls in Abalone, but since it sucks I'm hoping Winter Orchard will take the gold medal here. One focal wall will be in Wrought Iron (I think. Or I could change my mind entirely...). I would KILL to paint the entire room in Gentleman's Gray (or perhaps that Major Tom wallpaper I keep kissing when I think HB isn't watching?), which is oh so close to the ever popular Farrow and Ball Hague Blue:

Miles Redd kills it.

But it's really too dark and just doesn't make sense for this house. Next house. Promise.

Ok, now it's time to get busy and work my everloving ass off. See you when the rubble clears.

If you catch my drift.

Ask Sanders: Rossana's Pear Green Nursery

It's time for another installment in our Ask Sanders series, wherein some lucky reader has their decorating dilemma solved by our resident paint guru, Sanders Gibbs. It's a dream come true, because in case you don't already know, Sanders is a badass. But don't take our word for it -- if you live in Austin, go visit Benjamin Moore Hill Country Paints, where Sanders puts his talents to the test as store manager. Not in Austin? Catch up by reading this interview with Sanders here.

Without further ado, here's reader Rossana's question:

"My husband and I are in the process of painting the nursery. We have differing ideas about what this should look like, but we have at least found a nice compromise with the Ben Moore pear green. The gender is a surprise! The room is about a 10 x 12 room with lots and lots of windows and the one wall that is solid will be the one that we put the crib on, and this is the wall that we will paint Pear Green. Question is: what other color would be nice with PG?"

First of all, great choice! Pear Green is a bright and versatile shade that pairs (ahem) well with many colors. Sanders gave us a broad selection of gender neutral choices to pick from, and many can be mixed and matched to different effect.

Amp up the drama by mixing pear green with bold brights.

Or tone it down with neutrals. It works well either way.

For a baby's room, you could play it sophisticated by painting the crib wall pear green, the other walls off white (Sanders gave us Mountain Peak White), and then adding in other colors through accessories and bedding. Or you could funk it up by painting the other three walls a jazzier color, and then using accessories in more neutral shades. Let's take a look at some rooms with pear green and see how Sanders' choices work in them.

This playroom in the home of Avocado and Papaya's Jackie Kersh features a cute, classic palette of green, red and blue.

Here's Sanders' palette, which would work well in a gender neutral nursery: Pear Green with Chili Pepper Red and Peacock Blue.

Another playroom, via Cupcake Wishes and Unicorn Dreams.

And Sanders' corresponding choices are Pear Green with Stardust and Violet Stone.

I know it's not a kid's room, but the color palette in this kitchen would be fab in a nursery.

Pear Green with Banana Yellow and Florida Keys Blue.

And then there's this hotness -- who cares if the Pear Green is on a couch and not a wall? Use your imagination goggles to see that this color combo is off the chain... Loves it.

Pear Green, Mountain Peak White and Silver Dollar. DRAMA. Add a dash of black here and there and you've got a winner for all ages.

And here are a couple more pretty palettes, just because I made them up all nice in photoshop:

The bold and the beautiful: Tequila Lime, Juneau Spring, Banana Yellow, Tangy Orange, and Pear Green.

Oh so quiet and sophisticated: Mountain Peak White (loving this white!), Silver Dollar, Taos Taupe and Light Khaki. Brilliant.

That's it for this edition of Ask Sanders. Rossana, I hope there's some helpful information here, and hey -- maybe we inspired some of y'all out there to repaint. Or perhaps even have a baby... After all, what better excuse could there be to redecorate?

I'm leaving you with this picture of Ike and Sanders. Ike LOVES loves him some Uncle Sanders, mostly because Ike is obsessed with Sanders' nametag, but also because Ike has good taste in people.

If any of you out there would like some professional advice regarding your painting dilemmas, send in a request and we'll forward it to Sanders.

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Sanders!

Ask Sanders: Jason's Brick Ranch

In remodeling my home I've come to realize that you make good friends with the people who help you then, once your project is over, you don't get to see your redecorating buddies too much anymore.  This is why we invented the ask Sander's column:  even though most of my house is painted, I still have an excuse to stop on by Benjamin Moore (Hill Country Paint to you South Austinites) any time I want (insert maniacal laugh here).  So, when Jason wrote us with an email lovingly titled "dumb dude needs help" I was more than happy to pay a visit to the King of Paint.

Jason recently purchased this ranch and is experiencing something my husband would never dare to dream of:  his wife has handed him decorating carte blanche.  From what I've heard about his plans for the inside, hello Cole & Son wallpaper, he's doing a bang-up job.  The outside, as you can see, needed serious consultation.  Jason asked Sanders to present him with 2 options:  1. Trim, accent, and door paint leaving the brick as-is, and 2. A palette for painting the whole kitten-kaboodle, brick and all.  We'll start with the former.

Sander's first suggestion is to use Benjamin Moore Brandy Cream on for the trim, Dellwood Sand for the accent (the piece of wood that runs below the roof) and a pop of Tarrytown Green for the front door.  I like that this selection updates the home while simultaneously blending with the preexisting brick.  One of the major problems with the house right now is that the trim is just way too dark brown.  Lightening it up and letting the front door provide the contrast will clean up the look lickety-split.  

Next.

Another option for Jason that doesn't involve the laborious task of painting the brick: a nice light trim in Cloud White, an accent in Sag Harbor Gray and a Cromwell Gray Door.  I like that sanders kept the door fairly neutral with this combo, letting the cloud white do the talking.  The white would really pop against the brick, but in a really fantastic way, unlike what the brown is doing now.

If Jason decides to paint the brick, which I 10000% support, here is an option for him:  Body paint in Louisburg Green, trim & accent in Hazy Skies and a door in Duxbury Gray.  Who can go wrong with Gray and Green with a nice, light accent?  I think this palette will modernize the home without conflicting with the ranch style.

I have to admit that I'm a pretty big fan of this option:  Body in Tucson Winds, trim and accent in Ashen Tan and Door in good ole Gray.  I love a light house, I think it would really pop in that gigantic yard.  Like the last option, it's a nice update without trying too hard.

Finally, we have my favorite option.  Ok, I'm a sucker for gray, with the Granite painted brick you could probably make the trim neon green and hot pink and I'd still love it, but I like what Sanders has chosen even more:  Steam trim and accent with Mysterious for the door.  I think this palette is the most sophisticated and I am BEGGING Jason to please please paint his house this color and send us some pictures.

I tried to find homes online painted similarly but wasn't able to find the right combination, so instead I did a crappy photoshop mock-up of Jason's house.  Hopefully my elementary rendering won't scare him out of the project:

Jason, bear in mind that there will be much more depth in reality, it won't look like a gray play-doh fortress if given the treatment in real life.  Squint your eyes and look at it (god, I've never had to say that about a design project) see, isn't it grand?

Best of luck, dumb dude!  Be sure to send us pictures when you're done.

For anyone in Austin who is looking for a walking-talking color encyclopedia be sure to visit Sanders at Hill Country Paint: 5501 South Congress / 78745