Ohm Mani Padme Hum

Hello fine friends, thank you so much for all of your comments (and mockups!!!) on my lighting score and dinette drama post. There was kind of a lot of feedback to process there... so I got overwhelmed and did absolutely nothing towards addressing the dinette/kitchen problems last weekend. Instead we painted ceilings and stair risers.

Sexy.

Not really, but it feels nice to get a neutral base going so I can hear myself think around here. I'm getting the tiniest bit closer to solving all of the (my) worlds's problems, so here are my responses to some to your questions and comments.

1) The dinette is the dinette and the front room is a playroom because the front room is kind of secluded and will never ever get used as a dining room. Also it is very very wee.

Hi, front room! Don't worry, paint for the shelves is still on the docket. It's looking like wall color in high gloss.

I am the decider. Boom.

2) I am feeling very wiffle waffley about our current dining table. I hate to put time and energy into painting it properly (it will have to withstand childocalypse), so I am trying to decide between leaving it suburban brown and saving up to buy this:

$1100 shipped. On one hand, I am a little gun shy about the quality... it has a cast aluminum base which is a plus, but that sucker really has to be heavy to stay upright when tiny monkeys hang off the edges. On the other hand, I think a simple pedestal table would solve a lot of problems. In all white, this guy would go with almost any chair, bench, settee, etc, imaginable.

3) You may have steamrollered me into painting the kitchen cabinets. MAYBE. I have about 800 things to do before I propel a watermelon sized human out of my vagina in a few months, so this is low on the list. But it's on the list.

Now I will just have to decide on a color. I will tell you now that I want cream, and you will probably tell me to go gray green. It's going to be an epic struggle.

4) Speaking of baby, if you think the dinette drama is a hot mess, you should see all the paint swatches in the fetus' room. Sanders has been very patient with my umpteen sample requests, but he probably secretly (or not so secretly) wants to kill me.

This was my inspiration, and while it's very cute I just can't find a green I like in that room. It gets a lot of light and everything goes neon pastel babytown in there.

Meet my new inspiration. It's perfect -- well, except for the sharpened obelisks of doom. But I think I'm going to go creamy neutral tone on tone, with a pop of cobalt. Lots of texture.

Ok, so that's only four things but it's four more than I had last week.

Now you can decide whether I should splurge on the table and what color to paint my cabinets.

But fair warning: despite the fact that it's now covered in paint swatches and the ceilings are painted with raggedy unfinished edges, that area is kind of on the back burner (until I start tearing my hair out over its horrificness). My ever expanding belly is urging me to prioritize...

Baby here in T-14 weeks. Also car #2 is dying.

Deep breaths.

[nursery via Apartment Therapy, amazing room via Wendy Schwartz Designs]

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]

You Are Going To Want This

A white back I posted a most delicious bathroom swathed a glorious rainbow of tiles. Smitten at the sight, many of you asked for the source and I was forced to declare my ignorance. Well as luck would have it, I came across the maker after asking The Queen of Tile herself for some help finding fancy new ceramics for the inlaw's kitchen.  And.... tada!

Thanks to Miss Nelya of the fabulous blog Head Over Heels for pointing me to a post she wrote on Made a Mano, a most amazing purveyor of all things glazed and good.

I am OBSESSED with those white herringbone floors. Texas homes are filled with barfy saltillo and -- even more loathsome -- screenprinted ceramic tiles. I bet the labor to lay those suckers was outrageous, but I say it was worth it. As long as someone else is footing the bill.

Later, gators. Sick cranky kid = no time to type.