Olla-Podrida: great room decorating

Monday, June 25, 2018

And the Winner is...

Thanks to all who weighed in when I posted the question about color choices for my great room (That you can see here.). The one that I ultimately chose (and I knew from the first swipe of the brush that this was THE color) was Armory. It was the darkest of the three, and I chose it because of its richness, depth, and the power that this color possessed. This photo gives you an idea as to what it looks like, but, in no way, can this photo do the color justice. It is gorgeous! Amazingly enough, the room (approximately 20‘ x 30‘) looks bigger with the dark walls than it ever did with the white. I was also surprised at how attractive it looked against the dark wood. I never would have expected that. I have a big job ahead of me accessorizing all of these big walls, but that’s half the fun, isn’t it?

At this point, I have nothing on the walls, except in one spot, where I was sure that I would want to retain a picture/birdcage combination, so I had the painter leave those nails in place. Yeah, you guessed it, now I don’t like it at all. So, I will need to fill, patch, and paint.

This little section is my “Jim spot.” Without realizing it, everything that I placed on this table was his when I met him. I like the combination of things, and it gives me such a good feeling. I need to try to figure out what to hang over this side table. At this point I am trying to decide between my birdcage or Jim’s picture of Ann of Cleves. Thoughts?

Now I need some more help. A couple of years ago, I bought this wine cart. I fell in love with it when I saw it at a local consignment store, and the price was so low that I simply could not resist. Once I got it home, I realized that I had no good place to put it. At one point, I used it for a coffee station in the guest bedroom, but, starting from scratch in the great room, I decided to pull it out where I could use it on a more regular basis. What are your tips, thoughts, or ideas, on how to style a wine cart? Weigh in, people! I NEED you!

Lost two years ago to the day. I miss you, baby!

This post is linked to:

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Inspire Me Tuesday

Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
Wine’d Down Wednesday

Thursday Favorite Things

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Sunday, June 10, 2018

Pick a Color...Any Color

I have a very large great room in the lower level of my house. For quite some time, I have wanted to paint that room, but it just seemed so daunting, particularly considering that I’m troubled with carpal tunnel. It took me a week to paint the master bathroom because I can only do a little at a time. So, when a man who has painted for my family for the last 30 years got in touch with me and asked if I had any work for him, I jumped at that opportunity. But, there is good and bad in everything; I was deliriously happy with the idea of having that room, at long last, painted (I am not a fan of "Contractor's White"), but plunged into the depths of despair at the thought of having to select the paint.

Source: Pinterest

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that one of my mottoes is, “Go Big or Go Home.” The upstairs part of my house is done in neutrals and it’s serene, I like that, but the great room downstairs, designed to spark conversation, conviviality, and fun, needs to be dramatic. I found this picture on Pinterest, and considering I have a similar chair (as you can see below), and some of those exact same baskets, I knew I wanted to paint my wall a dark shade of gray.

But, and you can trust me on this one, there are way more than Fifty Shades of Gray! My painter left with me a couple of fan decks to aid in making my selection, and I was shocked at how many different shades there actually were. There is blue gray, and brown gray, and green gray, and gray gray, there are even purple-y grays. It was a nightmare! He told me to get a couple of paint samples, put them on the wall, and make my choice from there. I cannot tell you how stressful it was for me to select paint. I finally settled on three colors: Armory, Downpour, and Volcanic Ash. I thought to myself how the same guy who names lipstick and nail polish, must also name paint. The paint color that I really wanted was called Zombie. How exotic does that sound? Unfortunately, it was so dark as to look as though big, black hefty bags had been affixed to the wall. No, that would not do.

Why am I telling you all this, you ask yourself, yawning. I’ll tell you why, because I want you to help me select this paint. I put big patches of it in various parts of the room so that I could look at it at different times throughout the day. As I mentioned, I’m looking for bold, in a room that is roughly 20’ x 30’.

Source: Pinterest

I moved most of the furniture to the center of the room (and I needed a big nap after that), but moved one piece and the accessories (Very sentimental because the piece of furniture itself belonged to Jim, and the bust and brass lamp belonged to my mother) back into place so that I could see what they would look like up against the wall. Before you begin to wonder whether or not I have truly lost my mind, let me add that, in late fall, white crown molding is going to be installed all around the top of the room, as is a white fireplace flanked on either side by window seats. (See above inspiration photo.) I am also planning a gallery wall of white painted frames holding black-and-white photos from my travels.

So, here are two pictures of the paint, which color do you like? Color number one Downpour? Color number two Armory? Or color number three Volcanic Ash? I think I’ve made my selection, but I’d appreciate it if you would weigh in.