At The Beach Kris

     I’ve mentioned the home I’ve been working on briefly in the past – a renovation to make a home handicap accessible.  Last week I had to choose all the paint colors, kitchen granite and bathroom granite from remnants.  Talk about stressful – what if I made a choice he didn’t like?  What if it looked terrible on the walls?  The only direction he gave me was “coastal colors”.  I did get a little help from a “real” decorator, but in the end its my tush on the line!  On Friday, the painters started.  I was out of town and got a freak-out phone call that the ceilings were painted tan and the rooms were the wrong color and everything looked dark.

     I should know better than to freak out – when paint is going over white primer, it will look dark at first.  And colors look shocking in a room with no furniture.  And change itself is always shocking – we were used to looking at the white primed drywall.  I went over on Saturday and was so relieved.  It looked absolutely fantastic.  I’m in love, love, love with the colors.

     First up is our main color throughout the house – Manchester Tan (all colors are Benjamin Moore).  This is a lovely neutral and is quite light.  It blends nicely with the wood cabinetry. 

    Next is the Master Suite – painted my all time favorite, Palladian Blue:

          And then a punch of fun in the office and laundry area that adjoin the kitchen.  You can see these rooms from all the main living areas, so I left it Manchester Tan, but then added a 50% blend of Palladian Blue to the ceilings.  In the South, we love our blue ceilings and in these rooms, it looks fantastic!  You can easily mix your paint colors at different percentages to get the exact color you are looking for.  By mixing it at 50%, the ceiling wasn’t too dark, yet it still blends and makes sense with the color story of the rest of the house. (Be careful mixing your tans…)

     The kids room is painted a lovely pale, cool blue called “In Your Eyes” – it will look fantastic with the yellow/gray/blue chevron bedding I picked out.   A boy and a girl will be sharing this room so it is not too feminine, not too masculine.  The guest bathroom is this color and the adjoining guest suite is painted Machester Tan, with In Your Eyes in the bathroom.

     Lastly, the trim and doors are White Dove.  In a “happy acccident”, the ceilings were also painted this color and they look fantastic.  Not that bright ceiling white you usually see.  I had actually selected “Dover White”, my all-time favorite white trim color by Sherwin Williams, but that got lost in translation.  Oh well, this color is equally neutral and a good white – not too yellow, blue or gray.

   The painter gave me an excellent painting tip .  He said if you use a cheap paint, you will always see the difference in the line you cut in at the ceiling and around the trim.  If you use a high quality paint, you will not see that line.  So true.  I always, always use a paint with a built-in primer.  It makes painting so much easier, no lines show and the quality is evident.

   For the kitchen I chose Colonial Gold granite – it was the lightest of the choices in the price range.  Actually this was one level higher in price, but they had received 4 extra slabs and said they’d discount it – lucky us!   I wish quartz had been in the price range, but I think this will look great with the wood cabinetry.  For the bathrooms I lucked out with creamy white quartz remnants.  This project is on a tight budget and thanks to donations and discounts from local businesses, we are able to have some high end finishes.

      Everyone keeps asking me when “my” House Hunters episode is going to air – I still don’t know!  Last I heard it was being reviewed by executives and then it will get placed on the schedule – stay tuned.  However, there is another Destin episode airing tomorrow night – January 22 at 9pm – be sure to watch it or set your DVR and check it out.  The buyer is actually the owner of a local Aveda salon who moved from a house just down the street from me, and they filmed last July – I know it will be a really good episode!

~Kris

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