Painting and Needing Advice

When the floor went in, I had to empty the bookshelves, tabletops, buffet, etc so we could move the furniture out of the way.

Before the carpet was removed: Now there's no red cube ottoman,
dog kennel is out; just the basic furniture left.

I have to admit I'm liking the pared down look...so much so that I haven't really put anything back (ok, I might be busy painting the baseboards)!

But one thing I noticed was how tired the color looked on the lower part of the walls in the entry and dining room

Color is called "Coconut Husk" It's a brown green. And I'm so over it!

and the whole kitchen.

This is a sage green. It's lighter than what's in the dining room

(Oh, the floors in here are still tile).

It's like, so yesterday! I want to change it but the question is to what? Grey doesn't work, otherwise I'd have the perfect color to use. I don't want yellowy colors (Can you say "Golden Oak"?). And no, I'm not going to paint the cabinets (I wish I'd stained them darker back when we redid this kitchen) although it would make my choices easier.

So I'm coming today to ask for your help...what color/colors do you think I should try? Give me some ideas - please help!

I am definitely going to be purging all the stuff I removed. I want to keep this looking nice and clean looking - not to mention, we don't need all that stuff!

Thank you in advance for your suggestions! I'll definitely check each one out in the space to see how it looks.

Hope you have a great 4th of July. My sweetie and I are off to go on an anniversary trip. 35 years and he's still the one! 😘

from our 30th anniversary

Last year right after our 34th in Cape Cod

Having fun together at Halloween last year

Here's to many, many more years together!

hugs,
Cecilia

Sharing My Art

One thing I've been able to do this week while I'm giving my back time to heal is paint! No, not walls (although I have a few that need it!), but artwork.

In the studio

I'm not good at sharing my art. I don't know why...I guess it feels like I'm bragging or something. But seriously, I love to create beautiful, whimsical, or thought-provoking art.

Occasionally, I do a "paint and sip" type paint party too. (Those are great fun. I want to give people a fun experience with art. So many are intimidated and I want them to know they can create!).

I love doing pet portraits from colorful ones to realistic.

"Aubergine, the Queen"

"Buddy" in color

"Ginger"

"Maple"

I'm often inspired by my travels.

"Memories of New England"

"Bicycle in an English Garden"

I do paint people but prefer them doing something, not sitting for a photo portrait although I do paint traditional portraits. Children are fun to paint!

"Budding Artist"

"Megan - 2 1/2 years old"

"Snow Angel"

Fantasy - my favorite. I get to use my imagination. :o)

"Midnight's Journey"

Thought-provoking - this one is titled "The Battle For Her Dreams". Do you feel like you've had to fight to hold onto your dreams? How many have you lost or held onto?

Objects with character (old, rusty, you get the idea).

Old wagon wheel 

Food and Flowers.

Yummy Dessert - palette knife technique

Poppies

Greeting cards and signs too.

Christmas card design

coffee sign on wood panel

RV sign from old fence pickets

I sell mostly word of mouth but I'm looking for another avenue this year.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my artwork. If you'd like to see more, you can click on My Artwork on the side bar or go to www.ceciliabramhall.com.

Happy creating!

Cecilia

I'm sharing at these parties!
Vintage Charm Party 27
Homemade and Handcrafted no. 21
Feathered Nest Friday 21

Master Bedroom Makeover Planning

When I was painting all the rooms at the farm, the one room I didn't touch was the Master Bedroom. It was the one room that looked like it had a fairly fresh coat of paint and wasn't awful. So I left it alone.

Master Bedroom currently

But now that I've lived with it for 3 years, I'm ready to refresh the look of the room. Here's my plan:

1. To start with, I want to repaint the door headboard off-white and add tin ceiling tiles to it, along with a ledge on top similar to this one:

source

2. Someday I want to add bookcases around the window and put my bench in between.

source

bookcases like these perhaps? source

My pew bench under the window? (see the redo here)

3. I am in love with this rug from Ballard Design. It would be nice to have something to walk on besides the tile. It is cold in the winter!

Source

I like this silver color. I think it will go with the bedspread I have and the other colors in the room.

4. I am planning on painting the walls in Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter. I have a long weekend coming up so I'm hoping this step will be done by the end of it.

I love this color! It is a nice warm grey. I think it will be very soothing.

5. Last but not least, I want a sliding barn door to replace the closet door. It will take up much less space than the door now, not to mention it is perfect for a farmhouse.

If I'm really lucky, I'll be able to talk Bruce into doing this next weekend too.

Hopefully I will get the the headboard repainted and embellished, the walls painted, and fingers crossed, the barn door to replace the closet door, all done next weekend. I hope the weather will cooperate!

If I can get those items crossed off my list, then I will check to see what size of rug I need and either try to find one similar or order the Ballard Design one. The bookshelves will have to wait but at least I have the idea there.

I'll be sure to share my progress with you. Have a wonderful weekend.
:o)
Cecilia

Linking up here:
The Dedicated House Make It Pretty Monday

Master Closet Makeover

Today, my post is not about the farm....

It is about our city house, where we have lived for the past 20 years....

Crazy! I can't believe that much time has gone by. It's the longest we have ever been in one house. We have made several improvements over the years, getting rid of wallpaper and upgrading flooring, repainting (several times!), upgrades in the kitchen, etc.

I have attempted to organize my closet before but it never quite felt right.

The cheaper storage shelving just weren't cutting it anymore and the top of the closet was a mess.

The wardrobe used to be in the bedroom before I talked Bruce into moving it into the closet. It belonged to Bruce's grandfather. I stored the sheets and extra blankets in it.

So I pulled everything out...and I mean everything (ok, not the wardrobe but then we'd have to pull the door frame off for that ). Ugh, we have a lot of stuff. I think it's time to get rid of some of it!

I decided to paint the walls the same color as the bathroom walls, Benjamin Moore's Alexandria Beige. It is really more of a taupe. I love it!

Bruce said, "Isn't that going to make the closet dark?"
Me - "Maybe. But it will feel cozy."
Bruce - "O..K.."

My sister and husband came over- "Isn't that color going to make it dark in there?"
Me - "Probably, but I have a plan."

Let me tell you, it doesn't feel dark at all. Just like I thought, it feels cozy! I'm not sure I really captured the color well...it was hard to get a good picture of it.

The woodwork got a fresh coat of paint too - Benjamin Moore's Swiss Coffee - it's really a nice ivory - not glaring white.

I had Bruce add a shelf at the top and build me a unit for shoes with an open area above - I'll show you what I'm going to do there soon - I'm really excited about that part!

Building the shoe shelves unit

 And I had him add a lower rod for pants.

shelf added up at top and shoe shelves with open area above them

We moved the wardrobe over to Bruce's side of the closet after adjusting the bottom shelf and rod. He  is now using it to store his shoes, workout clothes, and other clothing he doesn't hang. I like it better there than the back of the closet.

I found this fabulous light fixture at Home Depot and it was only $69! I love the chandelier look! I can't tell you how happy I am to get rid of the cage light.

The clothes are back after sorting through them and the shoes lined neatly up on the shelves.

 I just have to go through all the stuff I want to store and then neatly put that back. Of course, it also means I will be shifting/cleaning out stuff from the linen closet so I have a place for the sheets. Funny how you fix one area and then you need to fix another - the whole project snowballs.

Now when I walk into my closet, I smile. Nothing like a clean, organized closet! :o)

Next time, the final reveal.

:o)
Cecilia

Joining these great parties:
The Dedicated House Before-and-after-wednesday-week-4
French Country Cottage Feathered-nest-friday
A Stroll Thru Life. 202nd-inspire-me-tuesday