Orange You Glad It's Time? (Color Theory)

Orange is a fun but strong and energetic color. Interestingly enough, people feel strongly about using it (or not) in home decor.  Orange increases energy and boosts creativity so maybe we should be more open to it!

An inherently happy and uplifting color, orange is a hue that should be used more often in home decor. A shade that can be both contemporary and rustic, orange has a reputation for being a difficult color to decorate with, but that doesn't have to be the case. via TheSpruce.com

This chinoiserie lamp has a fun, bright orange background and it adds a pop of color to our garden room. 

I have another fabulous chinoiserie lamp in orange that is in our upstairs bathroom. I found this one in a thrift shop and love the touch of color it brings to the room. I've never found another orange and white one while out vintage shopping.

And long before the zebra rug made an appearance in our library there was a bright orange rug in there! You can see a little bit of it in the (poor quality) shot below.

But truth be told, at our house, the "orange" items tend to skew coral which is one of my favorite colors of all time. It's warm and easy to use with every other color. Not pink and not orange, coral is a blend of both and that makes it a win in my book.

I painted this faux bamboo cabinet a gorgeous, glossy coral. Our main bathroom is closet-less so I found this china cabinet to use as creative storage. It's amazing how much this bold color changed the cabinet! This was the listing picture in the thrifting app.

I have a second faux bamboo piece painted in the same cheery coral. This one is in our kitchen and you can see I even use coral-y orange plaid bows in here at Christmas time. The curtains in the kitchen are a coral and orange leopard print. 

I used a coral-y orange fabric to create this faux pleated lampshade for our kitchen. The directions are here and it was even featured on Apartment Therapy (which was a thrill for me!) 

The orange color is nice during the day but it absolutely glows at night when the lamp is on. 

Not ready to fully commit to orange or even coral? I have a coral throw and a couple of shades of orange-y coral pillows that I add to the family room couch to cozy things up in the winter. They pick up the color in the shells in the cabinet behind them which is a bonus.

My monkey often holds a pile of oranges - real fruit is a great way to add color (and you can snack on it, too!) and I often buy orange and bright coral roses because they add such a fresh spot of color. They are a great addition during the winter. 

I have this great piece of Jane Shelton faux bois fabric in a coral and orange stripe. I'm not sure where I am going to use it but I love the colors and anything faux bois so I had to grab a few yards for future use.

I have used orange pillows on my porch from time to time. Orange looks great with all the blue on my porch because they are complementary colors on the color wheel. 

Last Summer we used coral and orange accents to accessorize our trough pool that we fondly call "the Bucket."

I found this great orange paisley on a soft blue background when I was fabric shopping last week. Pillows in this fun print would be fabulous on a Summer porch! It was such a beautiful combination of bright orange and soft blue, cool and warm colors and that large swirling paisley to top it all off. I love a good paisley!

Orange can be a great addition to your spaces - even if it's just a few flowers, some fruit or a pillow. The warmth and vibrancy adds a little something extra to a room and is much easier to incorporate than it initially seems. Orange is associated with success and confidence. And bravery. Be brave and try a touch (or more) of orange in your decor!

One Room Challenge Week 8 - The Hall of Mirrors Reveal

 I'm back! I was determined to finish up this ORC despite all of the unexpected delays that came my way - being hit on Memorial Day, a totaled car, wearing a walking cast, dealing with insurance, 3 sick Cooper visits to the vet in one week plus all the normal stuff we do like eat, go to work, grocery shop, water the garden... you know! I hate to admit it but all that "stuff" messed with my mojo and momentum!! I thought I was going to wrap up the details on Friday and Saturday of Reveal Week and post a completed project but that is not the case!! More bumps in the road and I refuse to stress or rush through the curtain project - If I messed up my gorgeous pagoda fabric by hurrying I might cry!! 

A few progress shots:

 This wasn't going to be a big big splashy ta-da anyway,  like so many of the ORC reveals (and I have my favorites) but the thing that is important to remember in all of this is that it isn't a competition and everyone who has participated has been motivated to improve a space in their home. That's a big W in my book. We never really thought much about how dingy and uninspiring this space was - we just walked through on our way to whatever room. Now we have each said, "Wow! This is so much nicer!" It's definitely prettier - and healthier too. We removed the old, old carpeting that retained so much more dust than I realized. 

I like how bright and fresh it is. I think it makes a great transitional space for all of the rooms that feed off of it and I love the fabric we used to hide the laundry closet. You can read about the awful janky bifold doors that used to be there here. The details of the flooring project are here and  here. 

So even unfinished we are glad that it is as improved as it is. I will finish, post here and on IG and hopefully you will give it a look!

Thank you to Linda and Better Homes and Gardens for hosting the best motivator for me in all of IG Land!! 

Check back soon :)

One Room Challenge Week 5 - The Hall of Mirrors

 

As stated above, it could have been much worse and we are healing but... now I'm dealing with the business end of being in an accident. I want to say that my agent/insurance company has been very helpful but the insurance agency that needs to take care of our needs on behalf of their driver has been awful so far. 

So, no fun ORC stuff going on this week. See you next week with a Week 6 update!!

I will be checking in to see what everyone else has accomplished here.

One Room Challenge Week 4 - The Hall of Mirrors

I hung another mirror.

(still reflecting a messy work zone!)

 I finished painting everything white (except the doors- more on that below!) I feel like I need applause! It doesn't seem like that much to paint but, whew!, it took a while to do it all, top to bottom!

I wanted to change thing up a little when it came to my light fixtures. (The builder "boob" lights were still up there. I know.) I decided I wanted to go a little modern, bold, punchy and not expensive at all. This is an upstairs hallway. I want it to look nice but I was not willing to spend a lot for lighting. Then, I decided on black to make a statement in the sea of white. 

I searched Amazon, Lowe's and HD for affordable options. I ordered one style from Amazon and it had to go back. A poster child example of "you get what you pay for!"  But I hung in there and ordered another one that popped up when I started searching again. I had some space restrictions on size because of where the second light was located in relation to the drop down attic door.

This is the one I decided on and it looks good in the space. It is not the most quality light out there but it works for my vision and what I wanted to spend. And I'm definitely glad I went with a black fixture. It has some oomph in that all white space.

There isn't any natural light in the hallway so all of my pictures will be lights on. Sorry :(

I also ordered a Loloi Rug to place at the top of the stairs to hopefully catch some of the dirt and dust tracked upstairs to the white floors. I like Loloi because they are affiliated with GoodWeave and are socially responsible in their company policies. I may find I need to go with a runner down the hall later on but for now I'm going with this. I like the muted colorway with my curtain fabric.

(It was on sale for about $30! Great price for size and their quality)

Next up is deciding on curtain rods and mounting hardware. I have some rings, a couple of rod choices  and some assorted wall mounts that I purchased for pennies at a REstore a few years ago. It was a box full of designer window treatment paraphernalia and I have used it in multiple ORC's by now! I'm going to see if I can pull together what I need from what I have on hand! Then I will sew my curtain for the laundry "closet" opening. 

What's left to do:

1. Finish painting. Replace switch plate covers, etc. Any touch ups. 

2. Doors- I painted all of the upstairs doors black several years ago and now they are going back to white. This  is the story of my life: I tend to go from one extreme to the next when painting. Black to white and back to black. Then white again. It's never covering one soft color with another!! I should learn. Also, it doesn't help matters that there are 6 doors in this hallway!! OY!

3. Purchase correct light bulbs. One bulb in the box of 8 blew immediately. I bought a 2 bulb replacement pack and ended up with a "bluer" bulb. Rats.

4. Decide on curtain rod combo and hang. 

5. Sew curtain for laundry "closet" opening. 

6. Hang remaining mirrors.

7. Cut carpet at door openings and install carpet strips (until additional rooms are floored.)

8. Here's the biggie - figure out how to photograph an awkwardly shaped space that is full of mirrors.

Be sure to check out everyone else's progress here.

I have some "favorites" I'm following and I'm excited to see the updates each week.  What about you? Are you doing the ORC or just cheering everyone else on this round?? This is ORC #11 for me so I may just be cheering from the sidelines next time. I guess you can tell by the fact this is ORC 11 for me that I find Linda's challenge to be agreat motivator!

MidLife....

I can remember being intrigued with the term 'middle age' when I was very young. 

If someone said they were middle aged

 then I thought they were literally at the half-way mark of their life!!

 If you were 35, and said you were middle aged, then 70 was going to be it!! 

Luckily it does not work that way!!

That being said, I'm now in the older half more than the younger

 and I recently listened to a fun, new to me podcast - Midlife Matters!

I happened to start with an interview with one of my favorite bloggers, Emily A Clark, whom I've followed for years! I'm sure many of you can say the the same thing. 

She spoke about design - not about being middle aged, BTW! 

And she's definitely younger that I am!

 But so many podcasts and bloggers who are big time right now have little children and are young and it's getting harder for me to relate to their ideas and areas of influence. 

We are just in different places in our lives.

There were so many great ideas that the podcasters (is that a word?) 

and Emily chatted about. 

And it made me feel good about some design choices I have made along the way because I have reached the point in life where I am doing me and I'm not going to be changing things up or following trends. If something I have is trendy it just means it finally came back around as a trend! Cause it's been here all along!

That's really what Emily shared. 

But here are my "take aways" anyway!

Emily talked about using furniture in rooms or ways 

that may not be the original intent. 

I'm so on board. 

I have a china cabinet in my master bathroom for one thing. I put it in there during my Fall 2016 One Room Challenge. I bought the traditional china cabinet for that room. 

It was never intended for a dining room. 

There isn't a closet in this master bathroom so this china cabinet stores a multitude of necessary items and looks gorgeous at the same time!

I've also recently inherited some family furniture and I'm going to need to get creative to be able to use find ways to use it in our home.

Emily stated that she thinks we will be seeing more monochromatic rooms in 2020 as far as painting goes. Rooms where the windows, trim, doors, walls - everything - are painted the same color!! 

I did this in my Library when I refreshed it in the Spring of 2016! I still love it. The walls were actually already black. I had painted my dining room black over 10 years prior to that but left the trim white. Then I took out the dining table and added black bookcases. Then I painted everything glossy black from top to bottom except the ceiling.

 (And honestly I'm toying with a color for the ceiling one of these days!!)

 PS. The wood faux bamboo china cabinet was purchased for the Library and waaaay after this room had been a dining room :)

There was also a quick mention about "white kitchens" and if they are "out" and I've got more on that coming on another day!!

All the ladies on the podcast chatted about their homes and open concept vs. traditional room layouts - you know, walls, doors, lower ceilings. 

Emily mentioned that the traditional dimensions of the rooms in her house attracted her. That she can stand on a ladder and reach the ceiling, trim work, etc. to paint things herself. Or hang pictures or whatever. 

I've always wanted  to live in a loft or non-traditional building as a house. But now that I'm "mid" and not as young and bend-y I like the ability to reach things from a stepladder and I'm more concerned with heating spaces and such. I've had a very traditional "5, 4 and a door"  home for many years and I had to make it work. 

We are thankful for it, we love it,  and we couldn't move to follow housing trends.

I'm looking forward to listening to more of the Midlife Matters podcasts 

and their very relatable subject matter. 

 Are you a Podcast person? 

I Started A New (to Us) Christmas Tradition...

Lat year I came across the tradition called Jolabokaflod, from Iceland. 

It is the tradition of giving books and chocolate on Christmas Eve.

As soon as I read about it I knew it was for us!!

Christmas in the Library - you can see why getting and giving books is for us!

It is a fabulous tradition to start anytime but since Mollie is an adult

 and we don't have small children around

 some of our past traditions that focus on Santa and reindeer have fallen away. 
There's some spare time now after Christmas Eve service!

Books and chocolate!? Yes!

 New tradition for us!

Here are some of my favorite titles from previous gift giving.  Mr. Monkey holds a few chocolate treats!

Even if you have some family members who aren't "big readers" like we are there are plenty of books you can still give. I would count comics. Or photo books you create online of trips you have taken, all the grandkids through the year, or the year in review. And coffee table books exist in almost every genre and most people love to learn the history behind what they collect or their hobby. (Tennis player who doesn't read much? - find a picture heavy book about Wimbledon. Start a collection of a series for younger children - you might just create a reader! And you know what to give them for the next holiday- the next book in the series.)

You can get very personal and creative with your book shopping. 

All of our books for Christmas Eve giving are wrapped and ready.

The tradition began in Iceland during WWII.
 Paper was readily available when almost everything else was scarce. 
Icelanders gave each other books as gifts and to this day they are a country of readers!

Jolabokaflod roughly translates to "flood of books" which I love.

Blue and white chinioserie teapots for serving hot chocolate.

So start looking for that perfect book for everyone to open on Christmas Eve, find a fabulous hot chocolate recipe (or keep it simple and buy a gallon of chocolate milk from the grocery  and put it in the crock pot!)

Then every one can cozy up with a mug of cocoa or a gourmet chocolate bar (if you prefer) and their fabulous new book.

PS. Don't leave yourself out - I order myself a fabulous design book so that I can cozy up with a book and cocoa too!

Chinoiserie Shelfie

I found this little shelf at GW about 2 months ago. 

I wasn't sure where it was going in my home ...

but I knew it was going home with me!

Some haters gonna hate but I painted this little shelf.

It had some damage to the finish 
and I thought it would work better for me if it was painted. 

I've been waiting to decide the "where" so I could decide what color!

Progress shot. It's painted and I'm deciding how high to hang it. 

Also, how to hang it because it was a bit heavy 
and I knew some large shells were going on it as well.

Cooper is very enthusiastic about interior design :)

The previous display shelf in this area actually sat on the table top 

so I'm excited that this one will hang. 

It means I can put a lamp on this table and we need a lamp at this end of the couch.

(It means more display space too!)

The shells and coral are from our travels. 

The blue and white lamps and planter are thrifted. The bamboo chair was thrifted as well.

The table was my grandmother's from Charleston. I love that table. It's still "brown" :)

The seascapes were inherited from my great-uncle and I love them.

The plant is a white bird of paradise I bought on a trip to Florida a few weeks ago.

 I hope my thumb is green enough that it blooms someday.

I've moved it outside to a sunnier spot to help it bloom 

and replaced it with a pretty little fern leaf begonia.

*not sponsored but I used this spray paint to paint my shelf. 

It was a great color - Smokey Beige. 

The coverage was great too - I was covering black!