Our house looks like an earthquake hit — you couldn’t find any survivors in here if you tore up the house with a crane. Perhaps I am waxing a little heartless and cruel (what with all the natural disasters going around of late) but I think you catch my drift. It’s rully messy in here.
Why, you ask? Because after a record shattering eight glorious hours of sleep, I decided in a fit spastic energy that we should convert our guest bedroom/Ike’s nursery to Ike’s nursery/playroom.
Doesn’t it look like a kid lives here? No? You obviously get more sleep than me.
The whole conversion thing is really a pretty easy leap to make (unless you are very very tired), but it did involve lots of moving. And throwing away. And then… I decided to ditch the old cloying Smoke color and repaint the entire room. And now the sleep buzz has worn off but the mess is still here.
I am a walking natural disaster.
Anyway, finding the perfect gray is like finding your soulmate: get as close you can and then compromise on the rest. Sorry, HB, I’m just saying that a good relationship takes effort. I still like you.
Most of my house is painted Benjamin Moore’s Abalone Gray:
So I thought to myself, slam dunk! This is going to be MF awesome. But, no. Gray is a bitch. She is a hooker by night and a puritan by day — a chameleon in gekko’s clothing. Who knows what that’s supposed to mean, but I think you catch my drift. Maybe.
While lovely in no less than five other rooms of my home, Abalone looks like lavender crap in Ike’s room. So today I’m going to visit Sanders again and pray that the god of paint (that would be Sanders) can help me solve this riddle wrapped in an enigmatic conundrum of a cookie. Or however that hackneyed phrase goes that I can’t even properly recall. Guess it’s not that hackneyed after all…
To sum it up: my house is a mess. I am busy. Please, occupy yourselves with the AMAZING transformative properties of paint, as evinced by Christiane Lemieux, the creative director behind Dwell Studio:
One room, three Benjamin Moore colors: Wrought Iron, Gentleman’s Gray, Winter Orchard. I am completely totally obsessed with all three colors. The plan was always to do three of Ike’s walls in Abalone, but since it sucks I’m hoping Winter Orchard will take the gold medal here. One focal wall will be in Wrought Iron (I think. Or I could change my mind entirely…). I would KILL to paint the entire room in Gentleman’s Gray (or perhaps that Major Tom wallpaper I keep kissing when I think HB isn’t watching?), which is oh so close to the ever popular Farrow and Ball Hague Blue:
Miles Redd kills it.
But it’s really too dark and just doesn’t make sense for this house. Next house. Promise.
Ok, now it’s time to get busy and work my everloving ass off. See you when the rubble clears.
If you catch my drift.
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Your house looks stunning in these photos! And abalone looks sooo good — so I disagree with you! Suggestion… Take photos and, when Karly’s back to her computer, have her Photoshop Ike’s walls in various colors. I totally understand the itch to paint and make everything new and perfect. Love Hague Blue. Next house for me too.
You’re so lucky you have Sanders!!
Between the two of you, the color choice will no doubt be perfect.
P.S. Your house should be in a magazine.
really digging on Gentleman’s gray! I’ve decided I’m painting a wall blue. I’m thinking YK blue only less electric? Dreading picking colors bc I’m sure it will be a lot of fails before a success.
PS- I love your eagle lamps
i love Sanders! He has helped me pick out paint many times. I tried so many light gray colors for my house but ended up on November Rain. Can’t wait to see your choice!
What a wonderfully written post …
We’ve had similar gray issues in our house, too. Just wanted to say that your home looks amazing! And I love the blanket on the bed in your little’s room.
We painted my husband’s office/man room in the basement with the Gentleman’s Gray, and now I want to paint the whole house with it. It’s dark, but we painted the floors white down there (Drylok concrete paint) and so it balances it out well. There’s also a window in that room, so it’s not totally like a basement cave. I seriously think it’s one of the best colors ever.
Awww, thank you guys for all the nice comments!
No visit with Sanders yet because the weather SUCKS. I think the world may be ending.
And I adore Gentleman’s Gray — if it went with the rest of our house at all I would pick it in a heartbeat. As it is, there’s not a single other blue thing in our house. Damn.
Hi Erin, i just repainted my kitchen after already painting it easter egg colors. I used a color consultant who I love. I have charcoal gray tile floors, and painted the cabinets BM Timberwolf. The walls were BM Northern Cliffs shot at 50% (at the paint store). Northern Cliffs is like my new favorita color…it looks super sophisticated next to the Timberwolf.
one more thing…my color consultant told met that Benjamin Moore was going to get rid of the classic colors and just have the preview colors… classic colors are a different system. but after 9/11 they had to bring back the classic colors because people wanted more muted tones. the color chips at the store display only a fraction of the classic colors so you should get your hands on a classic color fan deck from benjamin moore otherwise you are missing out on a lot of colors…which may help or make more painful the perfect gray search…
I would like to respectfully request photos of Ike surrounded by the aforementioned chaos. Or maybe wearing his painting clothes. He does have painting clothes, doesn’t he?
the perfect grey; dark, cozy, warm and inviting: Farrow & Ball – Downpipe.
Check this: http://www.google.com/images?q=farrow+and+ball+down+pipe&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=2YwrTfC-FoW8sQP81-zDBg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQsAQwAw&biw=1920&bih=1010
Oh, down pipe is GORGEOUS. Love it! AB Chao’s bedroom is the stuff dreams are made of… or in.
Thanks so much for all your suggestions! I talked to Sanders and got some more samples today. Soon I will own samples of the entire BM line.
“Anyway, finding the perfect gray is like finding your soulmate: get as close you can and then compromise on the rest.”
Okay, I’m off to stitch that on a pillow — because you’re totally hilarious.
This is clearly what happens when a mother gets a few hours too much sleep!
Not that I’d know anything about too much sleep, mind you;)
Good luck with the paint jizzy — your house is, er, for lack of a better word, hawt.
Cheers, Alcira
nerochronicles.com
Gorgeous home…can’t wait to see the result of your painting!!
I am soooo on the hunt for the perfect gray for my bedroom. I bought a new comforter and curtains…but the walls are still pralines & cream which does not go. I’ve tried three grays so far..all much too blue or white to pass. You’ve inspired me to keep hunting. thanks