Sad news

Dear Hannah,

The Expedit from Ikea does not work in our new house. It is a tragedy. We're selling it tonight on Craigslist. It is too big for any of the living spaces and we can't get it to fit through the doors to go in any of the bedrooms. We're too nervous to take it apart.

Here it is in the new house.

But, we plan to replace it soon with this:

So, don't worry.

love,

Ellen

Ps. Here are some of my paint samples!

All the colors in the universe

Dear Hannah,

There is little I enjoy more than walking into a store empty handed and walking out with a stack of paint cards having spent nothing. I find it to be a small miracle that after accruing hundreds, I managed to narrow it down to eighteen. I have 18 color samples. Real ones that I purchased and borrowed. Some are in cute mini-paint cans from Home Depot. Others are well loved remnants of Katie's paint colors from her gorgeous house (post to come...). The winnowing started when you said to gather objects that inspire me from my current home and take them to the new house. Here's what I brought:

The modern nostalgia is quite obvious, but I saw three main themes develop.

Red




Orange, white and shiny








Cool, calm and collected blue, gray and shiny







Aren't you proud of my shiny?

At first, I thought I must have decorator ADD. The colors seemed to make no sense together. That is until Katie noticed they are complimentary colors! Just like this:



I'm still not sure on how to mix all my things together. And I'm not sure what to do with the red. But, this process has helped. 18 is much more manageable than infinity.

I took to heart your observation about blue. It is a love I cannot deny. But, I like your idea of treating some blues and greens like neutrals.

The result is that we have now painted 3 rooms. The kitchen is a wonderful, warm gray called Whetstone Gray. The master bedroom is a silvery blue called Winter's Day. The master bath is a cold stone gray that I'm not so sure about. Photos are coming after we move. We move in about 36 hours. We're not packed. Now that feels like an infinite task...

Wish us luck.

Missing you makes my heart hurt. Having this blog makes it a little better.

I love you.
xoxo,
Ellen

Pillow

Dear Hannah,



I like this one from West Elm!

What do you think?

xoxo,
Ellen

Pillow Talk

The reddish Greek Key pillows look like strong contenders!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/WillaSkyeHome

Paint Colors!

Dear Ellen,

Here are the colors I picked for you! Do you need help deciding which rooms they go in or do you want to play? Sorry there are two stores for you to go to! I took some pictures of the swatches but they are not uploading for some reason. I believe all of these colors will grow with you. They are obviously not white, but also not much of a color. They are a perfect background for muted colors, your new grown up and sophisticated look, but still play nicely with pops of color. They are mostly cool colors, with the exception of the Ivory Lace. This one reminded me of a toned down version of your beloved Chocolate Froth (which I had to compare it to). Kiss me Kate is barely blue, the Sherwin Williams Quicksilver and North star are more obviously blue, but I think Matthew will like them because they are to the gray. (Do you remember our half bath? That is the North Star Color. Quicksilver is the lighter shade). The Hydrangea Floret is slightly green, but seriously, I have been so obsessed with it! I think it will 'read' as a neutral and I think it is very versatile. You don't have to use it. Just be obsessed over it with me.

1. Kiss Me Kate (A 50-3) Olympic Paints at Lowe's

2. Hydrangea Floret (B60-3) Olympic Paints at Lowe's

3. Quicksilver OR North Star (6246) Sherwin William's

4. Ivory Lace (7013) Sherwin Williams

Also, here is a pillow that is similar to the one on the bed in your inspiration board!

http://www.fabricadabra.us/iksiikpico37.html

Decorating Steps (According to Domino)

Dear Ellen,

You know I am not quite over the fact that Domino Magazine is no more. They basically taught me how to decorate. I've always been artistic, but only in 2D before that. I'm so glad I have their book, Domino The Book of Decorating, a room by room guide to creating a home that makes you happy. Here are the 8 steps. Don't skimp on the first one.

1. find inspiration

-cast a wide net

-start a file (good job!)

- look for themes (some are emerging)

2. determine your style

right now we are calling you modern nostalgia. I might offer Funky Traditional Prepster. :)

3. Consider how you'll use the room.

-think about your lifestyle

-observe what doesn't work

4. Assess your stuff

-Photograph everything in your home! (OOoh, I haven't completely done this!)

-Sort

-Measure

5. Draw up a floor plan (I definitely haven't done this)

6. Set a budget

-figure out what you have to spend

-choose an approach (fast splurger, patient gatherer, or impulsive paint-happy spaz like me)

7. research, research, research

8. create a design scheme (this is not the same thing as your inpsiration board. It's more tailored to you).

9. make a decorating schedule (buy THIS fabric, get THIS paint, etc., etc., etc.)

Do you see why I think enlisting help may be a good thing? It just depends on how quickly you want your house to look pulled together. As for me, I'm still not there but I at least know what I like. Learning the hard way can be expensive, though!!

How are we doing? Inspired?? Overwhelmed?? :)

Shiny Little Bling...

Silver Breakfast Tray

Dear Ellen,

All of these rooms (almost) have some sort of blue walls. The rooms are all clean and fairly neutral, but you still do like your hits of red, coral, pink, what have you (thank goodness!). You are liking the mixture of the clean modern lines and the curvy. Also, remember what I said about shiny metal 'finishing' a room? That one bookcase is full of shiny vases! Not that you have that many shiny vases, but a touch of sparkle goes a long way. You seem to be liking big patterns, but not necessarily big pattern+bright color. (Why is this starting to sound like a decorating fortune cookie?). Your bright colors are reserved to smaller things like pillows (with the exception of those brightly painted wood stumps:) You need some big, expensive, shiny lamps. Or mirrors, or both.

Also, don't forget about scale. Look carefully at mirrors, chandeliers, lamps, even vases, etc. They are the right size for their environment. When the scale feels right, you don't have to be overly fussy or cram in more and more objects. I do this sometimes. I know it's not 'right,' but I don't want to admit it!

A word of encouragement on the paint colors. Sometimes 'close' to what you want is worse than what you really do want, because you feel so bad changing it! Remember when I painted living room kitchen from that tan with the yellowish undertones to gray? I celebrate that decision every day! It's like a big mental and emotional sigh of relief.