Are You Ready For Some Mushroom?

As I mentioned previously,

G.O. has been busily replacing all of our original woodwork upstairs.

Before:

During:

More during:

Yet more during:

And, in conclusion, even more during:

My goal for all this beautiful woodwork?

I want to paint it gray with warm white walls.

This time I’m choosing a gray

which skews a bit more beige than plain Jane gray.

Something just like this,

which (my personal favorite), Country Living magazine,

is calling Mushroom:

A Pinterest search for Mushroom yielded this yummy photo:

I have a Pittsburgh Paint fan deck upstairs this morning,

hoping to find the most perfect Mushroom.

The good news is that I found 3 contenders!

The lightest — Swirling Smoke:

Or perhaps something in the medium range, Ghost Writer:

Or the darkest Mushroom, Stonehenge Greige:

(Greige is another word for Mushroom, by the way.)

Here’s my inspiration photo again:

My 2 top contenders are the medium, Ghost Writer,

or, if I am brave enough, the dark, Stonehenge Greige.

Stay tuned!

Has Gray Finally Had Its Day?

G.O. has been busy with the woodwork upstairs,

so it’s now or never for me to select a paint color for said woodwork.

I’m thinking a medium to dark color with white walls.

G.O. wasn’t on board at first, as he often isn’t.

The last time I had darker woodwork with white walls was in 1985,

when I chose a pretty gray

from the Benjamin Moore Historical Colors Collection.

How 80’s of me!

Fun fact:  Benjamin Moore still has their Historic Colors Collection!

Back to my dark woodwork with white walls aspirations.

This:

Yum!  Notice the wainscoting,

which is painted with the same color as the woodwork.

Upstairs, we happen to have a pretty embossed wainscot of our own:

Sad!

I can’t wait to see that original feature shine,

once it’s painted something darker, with white walls.

My first thought was gray, which had me asking:

Isn’t there enough gray downstairs?

Is gray going to fall out of fashion soon?

Aren’t brown +/or beige making big comebacks?

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!

Anyway, within moments, I began my search

for a neutral that’s more beige than gray,

or, as the popular kids call it: “GREIGE”.

Speaking of which, check out these beautiful greige rooms,

in a charming Charleston, SC home:

 

It’s not just me —  you love it, too, right?

Meanwhile, I’m now back on the prowl for a greige paint that I love!

Stay tuned!

 

Our Long + Winding Road

Work on our upstairs bathroom is still crawling forward.

Our vanity light search took so long

that I’m calling it the long + winding road.

Thought I had it handled,

but the light fixture I wanted cost $104-something.

G.O. nixed it + said it was too expensive.

Buzz kill!

People!  The struggle is real!

Once again, it was now up to me to find something stylish + nearly free.

Let’s begin.

I love these swing arm light fixtures:

Yes, they are stylish, but wow, they’re expensive!

Everything I found + liked was in the $200 ballpark + up.

Until this happened:

Amazon has dozens that are less than $100!

See for yourself:

$49 on Amazon:

2 for $99.99 on Amazon

Way to go, am I right?

But wait.

I didn’t want to quarrel with G.O. about it, + what if it did look crazy!?

Long story longer.

I caved, as one does, + here’s what we bought at Menards for only $24.97!

I chose chrome because we have a chrome IKEA Runskar faucet

I love those cross handles!

But wait.

In reality, the light fixture’s chrome was so shiny,

you could see it from outer space!

No can do.

BUT WHAT NOW!?!?

I punted + decided that the light needed to be black.

 We’ve got a lot of black going on in our bathroom . . .

. . . + black light light fixtures + faucets are a “thing’.

https://www.rejuvenation.com/

The paint on modern fixtures is a matte — or flat — black . . .

. . . but neither our bathroom not our chrome fixture is modern.

Then I got an idea.

What about a shiny black, as in vintage porcelain shiny black, like here:

Now I’m feeling more confident!

Fast forward a bit, + here’s our glossy black light fixture,

after G.O. spray painted it glossy black:

Looks like I’ve jumped ahead to the shade portion of our light fixture saga.

As you can see, with this project,

you get to choose your fixture + your glass shade.

I narrowed the search down to two — one frosted + the other one clear.

I chose clear, because that’s what’s happening now.

Plus, the Edison-style bulbs are just fun, aren’t they?

There are other things to reveal about our bathroom,

but I shall share them at a later date.

Now you know why our light fixture search was such a long + winding road.

BEFORE, DURING + AFTER BATHROOM PHOTOS

Disclaimer:

I don’t know why, but I typically don’t take lots of before photos,

+ believe me, there have been really horrific ones, like this,

in our main bathroom downstairs:

The befores make the after photos so much more dramatic!

Wow — viva la difference, am I right?

Earlier this week, I forced myself to grab the camera

+ head upstairs for some epic before AND during photo ops.

Let’s start with the bathroom’s tub + shower surround,

which are already finished + are actually afters.

I chose white subway tiles because they are classic + timeless.

My design for the window surround turned out well, I thought, modestly:

I’ve already shared the Sherwin-Williams paint we chose:

Unusual Gray (at the bottom) for the walls,

with Contented (third from top) at 50%, for the ceiling.

Very neutral!  Very pretty!

But as often happens in a room’s during stage, it’s kind of a blah!

What does it need?

I’m not sure, but here’s a start.

These IKEA cabinets in white contrast nicely

with the darker-than-I-thought-they’d-be Unusual Gray walls:

I’ve already shared my love for the tall cabinet’s black legs.

They, combined with the black in our floor tiles,

mean I need to repeat more black, for continuity purposes.

How about a black metal mirror for above the vanity?

I’ve chosen this one, because it’s modern yet rustic at the same time.

Another disclaimer: this was $90-something from Target,

but they’re out of it online,

+ you’ll have to search for it in their stores.

We are going to Target right now, so stay tuned!

QUICK UPDATE:

Trips to 2 different Target stores ensued,

+ we ended up buying this one, which was $35-ish!

Have you shopped for mirrors lately?  That’s a great price!

Now it’s time for G.O. to hang the bathroom door.

Here’s what that looks like, about midway though:

He sez that all this wood stuff is called door casing,

+ it’s taking longer than I’d hoped.

I have to remember that he is a perfectionist, so I shan’t ask him to work faster.

HA!  Most of the time, I don’t!

Here you can see where the finished woodwork will be positioned:

Here’s a wider view, looking to the hallway + bath.

What’s up with that embossed-looking wainscoting — you’re wondering?

Here’s a close up:

It was surely very beautiful when the house was built,

but right now, parts of it are in rough  shape.

Speaking of being in rough shape, notice our beautiful-but-sad staircase

+ how the wainscoting extends down those stairs!

Back to our upstairs.   Right now, my goal is to find an even grayer gray/green.

I want something more neutral for the upstairs woodwork,

but I don’t want just gray; we’ve got that downstairs.

As always, I shall head to Pinterest first + see what others have chosen.

Stay tuned!

 

That Time We Almost Had A Green House

It’s official.

I am somewhat obsessed with green now.

You may recall my Pinspiration greens from Sherwin-Williams.

I recently blogged about painting our upstairs bath sage green.

We chose Unusual Gray (at the bottom) for the walls,

with a ceiling of 50% Contented (second from top).

Our bathroom, very much in its “during” stage:

My green obsession has me plotting to use a lot of sage green upstairs,

so stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, I now have just a wee bit of color remorse

re: the exterior siding of our Dutch colonial.

How’s that possible?  I’m asking myself,

when I truly love the white + gray + black scheme that’s out there now?

I was perusing some older blog posts the other day,

when I came across some siding choices from 5 years ago.

As one does, I’d placed some color samples on the house

for what I call “the admire”,

which is what I do when I am trying to decide ANY-thing.

Notice that there are 2 gray siding samples at left + 1 green sample at right.

Even 5 years before my green obsession developed,

I was seriously considering green siding!

Too late now, of course, but for fun, here’s a close up of the green:

I forget the name of the siding company,  but we bought it from Menards.

Shall we look at some green houses + wonder “what if”?

Found on Pinterest — source unknown

Check out the stunning details on this next beautiful home!

The Adirondack chair + container of blue hydrangeas are so “me”!

Domino magazine — I must subscribe!

And, saving the best for last, this cottage charmer.

Looks like they used the same colors as we did in our bathroom!

Extra points for painting the front door + the window sashes

with the same (beautiful) darker color!

Disclaimer: I would totally fall on those steps!

Found on Pinterest — source unknown

I still love our white house with the gray gables, though.

I think it’s timeless, + the white first story + contrasting color second story

is definitely a “thing” when it comes to Dutch colonials.

ACHIEVING THE SUCCESSFUL OPEN CONCEPT

Earlier this week, I posted my musings about this week’s Fixer Upper episode

on my biz Facebook page.

I’m happy to report that it garnered a lot of interest, which I love!

Fans of the show recognize this project

as what I named the retro / West Elm re-do for Joanna’s sister + family.

Nailed it!

That couch can be found at West Elm.

Same.  Exact.  Couch.

HAMILTON

I could fling aside  those back cushions + spoon with my Dachshund.

And, that color of leather is such a favorite that I named it.

Baseball glove brown.

Please.  Why do you think my business is called Red Bird Vintage Home?

Anyway, yes, I do love West Elm,

although some of my FB besties said they thought it was too modern.

Oops.

Never fear, though — even I had a slight issue (imagine that),

+ proclaimed that this particular open concept, while stunning,

skews a tad too “gymnasium” for me.

Don’t get me wrong — I embrace an open concept as much as the next person,

but this had me pondering how one achieves one more to my liking.

Off to Pinterest I dashed, as one does,

+ I saw some awesome photos of beautiful, open plans.

LARGE ARCH

This is nearly as open as the errant gym plan,

but the small wing walls + beautiful arch visually create some separation.

Next method — CASE OPENINGS

Here

Once again, this is very open, but the woodwork says,

“I am a separate room!“

Here’s my  fave version:

Here

Isn’t it amazing what a little molding can do?

  Next version:  ISLAND COLUMNS

Is it just me, or does every homeowner on HGTV desire the open concept?

Seems like 99% of them end up spending $1,000’s on a huge beam

to keep the second story from crashing down.

I gotta ask why? — when a couple of columns on one’s island do the trick,

+ looking FABULOUS while doing so!

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Surprise!  Here’s a pair of columns in a kitchen designed by Joanna Gaines!

The decorative brackets add a lot of  charm, don’t they?

And in conclusion, what on earth did we do before Pinterest?

 

 

Why I Love The HGTV Dream Home 2018

Yesterday I actually referred to the HGTV 2018 Dream Home as “meh”.

See for yourself:

NO, I hadn’t viewed the show yet when I said it was “meh”,

so I failed to realize that this photo was the before!

Quick!  Check out the fabulous afters:

Did you cringe when the designer chose black paint for the exterior?

I’m used to it being kind of a “thing” now, so I didn’t.

Notice the gray trim.

I think that it really helps to keep the black from being overly somber.

How stellar are all those outdoor seating + dining areas!

And please.  I am so in love with the metal roof!

Show of hands, though.

Who in the world has a garage tidy enough for a pair of glass doors?

Besides nobody!

Meanwhile, I tried but failed to find a photo

of the cute + perky blonde host,

but wasn’t she a clone of Modern Family’s Julie Bowen?

Lady crush!

But back to the house, courtesy of a few FUN befores + afters.

Man, that before kitchen is dark,

even if the cabinets + counter tops are white.

And what is UP with those stair step upper cabs?

TA DA!  Check out the kitchen after!

It’s anything but dark!

I like the black lower cabs to the right;

the dark open shelves really make the displayed items pop.

The black’s been repeated

in that ultra modern range hood + the island counter tops.

Remember:  repeating elements results in a cohesive design.

Now, then.  For today’s homework assignment.

Bring home some pretty branches

+ shove them into a glass container.

But first — back to the dreary + dark before living room / fireplace wall:

This after living room couldn’t be more bright!

This kind of thing makes me want to re-paint all our rooms white!

(Don’t tell G.O.)

What do you think of their moving the fireplace to the window wall?

I’d never have thought of it, but it makes sense

+ allows the furniture placement to focus on both it + that beautiful view!

I’m a fan of a pair of couches facing each other in a room,

+ I really love sofa tables.

There’s 2!  Perfect!

Just across the room is a very pretty dining area:

A+ for the personal + meaningful artwork

+ kudos for bravely adding those complementary pink dining chairs!

Yikes, though.  THIS:

Now, it’s this!

Beautiful!

Is anybody on board with the black bathroom hardware?

It’s definitely a “thing”, have you noticed?

I’m really in love with the gray vanity + the pretty gray + white striped towel!

Those mirrors!  Yum!

Check out the one that I’ve chosen for our upstairs bath

at the Dutch colonial:

Speaking of which,

I do believe it’s time to blog about that upstairs bathroom.

Here I go, camera in hand, up the staircase,

so stay tuned!

HGTV’s Dream Home 2018

Did you watch the premiere of the 2018 HGTV Dream House last night?

It’s in Gig Harbor, Washington, + here ’tis:

Hmmm.  My initial thoughts are along the lines of “meh”,

but since I didn’t watch, I shall save my judgement until after I do.

What I did watch yesterday was a day-long Downton Abbey marathon,

a.k.a. pledge drive, on PBS.

 

I had to watch, because I now have a crush

on the actor portraying Lady Mary’s 2nd husband,

Matthew Goode.

 

EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO MERCHANDISING Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock (5658608ag) Matthew Goode ‘This Morning’ TV show, London, Britain – 21 Apr 2016 We last saw him saying ‘I Do’ to Lady Mary in Downton but now Matthew Goode has swapped the Granthams for grapes and has turned presenter for a new wine show for ITV4. He tells us about taking us around the wine world with his former co-star Matthew Rhys, his upcoming project with Brad Pitt and what he makes of those rumours about him becoming the next James Bond.

 

He’s Princess Margaret’s first husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones,

in The Crown series on Netflix.

 

But I digress — back to the Dream Home!

I recorded it, so I’ve penciled in a viewing for  later today.

First, let’s have a look-see at some of the past Dream Homes.

Do you have any favorites?

 

1997 Jackson Hole, WY:

 

1998 Beaufort, SC:

 

1999  Rosemary Beach, FL

 

L: 2000 Nehalem, OR      R: 2001 Camden, ME:

 

 

L:  2002 Sherwood, MD       R:  2003 Mexico Beach, FL:

 

 

 2004 St. Mary’s, GA

 

L:  2005 Tyler, TX       R:  2006 Lake Lure, NC

 

Dream Home 2005, Tyler TX

 

L:  2007 Winter Park, CO       R: 2008 Islamorada, FL

 

 

L:  2009 Sonoma, CA       R:  2010 Sandia Park, NM

 

 

L:  2011 Stowe, VT       R: 2012  Park City, UT

 

 

L:  2013  Charleston, SC       R:  2014  Lake Tahoe, CA

 

 

L:  2015  Martha’s Vineyard       R:  2016  Merritt Island, FL

 

 

. . . . and, in conclusion, last year’s home

St. Simons Island, GA

I wonder what you’ve all thought of this year’s Dream Home.

Is it just me, or didn’t we used to get more excited about this than we do now?