paint colors galore

so we've started the painting process - well at least we're trying!  there are too many colors to choose from. i'm sure this is nice when you have something specific in mind, but we just can't seem to find the right color for the living room.

now if you've ever done much painting you may have noticed that paint color names can be very interesting - most of them just make me hungry!  the others make you feel outdoors-y or it seems like someone is trying to put you in a zen-like mood.

one nice thing about home depot and lowes is that they now offer sample paints.  so instead of buying a gallon and hating it once its on the wall, you can buy just a sample, try it out, and if you don't like it, you can try again.

so far we've tried.....................

 coconut shell, basketry, and macchiato

coconut shell cam out a little too dark, although i really like the color.  macchiato looks like dirty wet clay, so that was a definite no.  as for basketry, we like it in the day light, but in lamp light we're not too sure.

then came........................

teatime, spiced cashews, and fortune cookie

teatime is nice, but its a little redder than we were hoping.  josh likes the middle one (spiced cashews_ but i think its too green, and while the fortune cookie is nice, its yellower than we both wanted.

we've talked about going with basketry, but we're on the fence - at this point i'm tired of all the options and just want to pick one!

we're also deciding on kitchen colors.  i started out wanting a teal/turquoise color - our last apartment was a darker teal and i loved it!  so  we found a swatch that was a little lighter than our last place, and josh was on board.  now i tend to like the wacky crazy colors, whether they go or not, and josh likes neutrals - its been interesting!

so we tried out.................

harmonious

but when we got it on the wall, we both thought it was too blue.  josh was thinking it would be greyer and i thought it would be on the greener side.  i had two other paints in this range of colors so i painted them on the wall as well.

the top paint is harmonious, the bottom left is opal silk (the paint i used to refinish an antique dresser last year), and the bottom right is voyage (the color of the kitchen in our last apartment).

well, we didn't like any of them.  with the cabinets and trim being off-white/cream, we thought maybe a green would be better.

so we tried.................

retro avocado

we got it on the wall and we both loved it!  so  i went to go buy it and then i saw the swatch one step greener, and i thought well, maybe i should have a second option.  so i bought a sample.

its called lucky bamboo

so far we really like it, and i think that is what we're going with!  well, that's one room down!

we also picked one sample for one of the spare bathrooms, and we both love it

 saffron

i bought an adorable shower curtain that looks great with this color, so we're now two rooms down!  only like six to go - ha ha!

i'll put up more pictures once we finish painting the kitchen and bathroom.

until then!

pictures of the house.....

i was hoping to have these up yesterday, but here are pictures of our new house.  i took them before we brought any of our furniture or boxes in (which is good, because right now it looks like a bomb went off in there!)

we will be painting a little at a time, so please disregard the colors in the house:

 first view when you walk in the front door

 looking into the dining room

 this is the living room looking out into the front yard

 our beautiful kitchen!

 dining room

 2 set of stairs - the one on the left goes up to 3 of the bedrooms and 2 of the bathrooms

the stairson the right go down to the den, spare bedroom and bathroom, and the basement

 view of the hall upstairs

 first spare bathroom

 the bathroom is long but has a decent amount of space

 tub shower

 love that the bathroom has a window - and right above the toilet too!

 first spare bedroom - we will NOT be leaving it pink!

 large closet

love that the bedrooms all have ceiling fans 

 linen closet in the hall

 walking into the second spare bedroom - this will be josh's office

 this room has an even bigger closet - josh will be using this one

 and it has 2 windows!

 walking into the master bedroom

 we're not sure where all the wires are from, but they'll be moved soon!

 walk-in closet (sort-of).  its small so once you're in there with clothes its kind of tight! 

i'll be using this closet

 more windows!  and that door goes into our master bathroom 

 walking into the master bathroom

 this is the smallest bathroom in the house, but at least its right in my room!

 stand up shower

 one of the best things about this house are all the fixtures - what a great faucet!

 walking down  the hall back into the dining/living room

 walking down the stairs into the lower level

 door on the left is the last spare bedroom, the first door on the right goes into the basement, the second door on the right is the 2nd spare bathroom, and straight ahead is the den

 walking into the last spare bedroom

 we LOVE the cute shelf above where the bed will go

 and there is more closet space which is great

 this is the second spare bedroom

 it also has a standing shower

 and such a cute vanity

 there is a woodstove in the den

 we will put a sectional in that corner once we find one!

 and our tv will go on this built in unit

 i think this is so cute!

 view going back upstairs

 this sliding door goes out into our backyard and i will put my desk on the right

 not sure what will go on this wall, but we have SO much space to work with!

 walking into the basement - that door also goes outside

 we will make this shelf area a pantry once we get different shelving

 walking down into the basement (water heater on the right)

 we have so much space down here as well - we will put the washer/dryer in the area where the carpet is

josh will make one of the back corners into a "bike workshop" area (he's SUPER excited!)

the rest will be storage

 another view of where the washer dryer will go

 the right back corner of the basement

  the left back corner of the basement

 this is the fron corner of the basement - my dad can't wait to rip out that old electrical panel and put in a new one!

 sump pump - hopefully we don't have to use this too often!

 view up out of the basement

 view from the sliding door in the den out into the backyard

 our backyard (with shed where we will be keeping out riding lawn mower - josh is excited that we got a riding mower instead of a push mower)

 more of the backyard, and yes, we know there isn't any grass in the patch of dirt! ha ha

 up to the right of the backyard

 side view of the back of the house

 more of the backyard

 back of the house - to the left is the attached carport

 back of the house

 

 back of the house

 view looking off the front porch of the house

 more off of the front of the house

 our front yard

 front yard and part of the driveway

 our covered front porch

 front right of the house

 front left of the house

walk-way up to the front of the house

so that's it for now!  i'll take more pictures as we change the look of the inside and as we work on a few projects here and there.

heather