Weekend Update

Hey dudes, how was your weekend? Ben and I busted our collective ass painting and cleaning and moving and it still looks an 82 year old grandma with 23 cats and alzheimers lives here. It's kind of disheartening, but you have to break some eggs to make an omelette, right? We did at least completely paint ONE room (Ike's future room) and it's... dark. Like, really dark. Outer space dark matter dark. I think it's going to be ok once we put his furniture and some light window treatments in there, but right now I'm kind of crossing my fingers and hoping he doesn't grow up to be a depressed adolescent who only listens to The Cure and dyes his hair purple.

Oh wait -- that was me.

Anyway, I don't have a lot of time today because Karly's hubs Matt is coming over to rip out the godforsaken built in desk that's encroaching on my soon-to-be beautiful dinette. Anyone need a 24x40 slab of green and rust granite? Didn't think so.

And then I have to decide between this color:

And this color:

To paint the dinette. I'm not conflicted, or anything. These aren't 100% diametrically opposed AT ALL.

Meanwhile, I am dreaming of ripping out the entire kitchen. How did I ever think I could live -- even temporarily -- with honey oak cabinets? The wood grain alone is making me hallucinate. I think it's trying to kill me. (you can see what it looks like in the mls pictures HERE)

Here's what I would like to place in its stead:

Any of these will do just fine, thanks.

Ok, must organize/clean/moon over paint swatches.

Any votes for one or the other color I posted?

[Pinterest kitchens]

How Many Colors Can You Paint a House?

It's getting nervous up in here. I love to make decisions for other people, but when it comes to myself I will waffle endlessly if given the chance. So, on one hand it's probably a good thing that the baby is theoretically coming in four months. On the other hand, I'm starting to panic that we're going to end up with a patchwork quilt of insanity because I have to make too many choices too quickly. Mostly I'm freaking about all the colors I'm slathering all over the walls. Teal, coral, peach, navy, oh probably some green while I'm at it... how many colors can one house reasonably (gracefully) hold?

I'm kind of a colorphobe. My downstairs closet is full of gray and black and navy. But my secret upstairs closet (the going out closet) is full of orange and pink and gold and turquoise and acid green. It seems that I almost always chicken out at the 11th hour when deciding if I should slip into something more colorful -- I pretty much have to be hitting the bars at midnight to fluff my peacock feathers.

But I know that while there's definitely an allure to cool and aloof, everyone wants to party with the crazy girl in color.

Am I right?

Still, I don't want to go berserk in here. Crazy should not equal slutty. I just don't think I'd be comfortable most of the time dealing with that much stimulation... from color. Duh.

I will admit to loving just a restrained shot of color -- that perfect foil for an otherwise neutral and serene palette.

But I don't know... once I get going I kind of can't stop myself.

And then things get interesting.

I'd like to know what you think about "the rules" regarding color in decor. How many colors can you balance in one room? Three? Five? Infinity?

What about in a whole house?

I mean, we're definitely going beyond light beige, medium beige, and dark beige here.

But can every room be a different color?

Please discuss.

[Pinterest, Porter wallpapers/fabrics, AD, Jeffrey Bilhuber, Pinterest, World of Interiors, Luxe Interiors]

What Color Should I Paint My New Shelves?

So I really really need to whip the office into shape. Ben is planning to move his stuff 'n' things downstairs to make room for new baby plus old baby plus a guest room upstairs, but we're a ways away from making the former dining room into a functional office. Namely we desperately need to figure out how to fit doors to our double wide entry that opens into yet another door, but considering that conundrum is giving me a headache so instead I bought some pretty shelves. Behold.

Nice, yes? They're solid mahogany so the whippersnappers can't flip them over whilst riding tricycles through the house. Also, I like that they offer some closed storage down low. But that color is barfaroni and I must decide what color to paint them. To give you an idea of what's going on with the rest of that wall, I'm planning to add sconces to either side of the painting, toss in some pillows, and get rid of that monstrous coffee table.

I know. I know. I've been threatening to get rid of it for two months, but this time I really mean it. IT HAS TO GO THIS WEEKEND OR I MIGHT DIE.

Not that I am feeling melodramatic about the situation or anything. Anyway, if you recall my original plan was to install built in shelves around the sofa and paint them wall color, like so:

But then my buddy Christian suggested I get a pair of vintage brass etageres to avoid constructing a box around my already boxy sofa.

Yes, these would do nicely. The problem is that the office is very tiny and dimensions are tight -- I just couldn't find anything that would fit. Oh, and the other problem is budget -- the pair of shelves I purchased cost less than a third of one vintage etagere. Not having to double mortgage your home to buy one shelf = priceless.

So back to the matter at hand: what color should I paint the shelves that I already bought? I confess to having a certain yearning for a corally salmon color, like this:

But then I reminded myself that this is to be a man's office, and it's already bad enough that I have a giant painting of a girly lady hanging front and center. (Not that this guilt will stop me from buying some pillows in that delicious color...)

Also, these guys are a little hulking. I think it's best to choose something darkish that recedes into the wall... And although antique gold is still appealing, perhaps I ought just go with the wall color (Dark Harbor) in a gloss finish, as per the original plan? Karly thinks so.

Other choices might go a little something like this:

On the left is Black Iron (same color as our banister trim), and on the right is City Shadow (cool gray with maybe a hint of purple).

Ok guys. My job here is done. I'm tired of looking at paint colors, so it's your turn.

What should I do?

[Inspiration images via Maison 21's pinterest]