Painting the Porch

I honestly didn't know if I should call this post "Painting the Porch Floor Green" (which is basically what this is about), "Messel Green", or "My Obsession with Amanda Lindroth's Bahamian Home."

We have a large screened in porch on the back of our house. 

We are porch people. 

We live outside about 9 months of the year and any unusually warm days in the Winter months. 

It has been added on to over the years and is a bit quirky for this reason. 

People always want to hear the story of our porch "evolution" when they see it the first time :)

When the pandemic struck and lockdown started I began a series of #pandemicprojects to keep myself busy. They all needed to be done anyway and they were a great distraction.

One of these projects was painting the screened in porch floor 

and the wall that is inside the porch but is the exterior of our house. 

This has been a process because A) it is a large porch as I said B) it is fully furnished with some rather large heavy pieces to move around and C) it has to be painted in a way that the dog rowdy puppy Cooper doesn't track through wet paint so that means blocking off sections to paint one at a time.

Fresh green floor paint on the left and the dingy old paint on the right.

And, yes since it's 2020, let's throw in a broken bone and a walking boot :(

What does this have to do with Messel Green (whatever that is you ask) and Amanda Lindroth?

If you are as obsessed with her book "Island Hopping" as I am then you are probably beginning to figure this out.

Years ago our deck floor was hunter green but when we screened it in I knew I needed a medium green for the floor because we had some dark green porch furniture and I needed there to be a difference in the greens. I knew my ceilings would be light blue because I am originally from Charleston SC and that's what we do.

I decided to look through some pictures from a trip to the Bahamas for porch inspiration and I kept seeing this unique, not too dark green color that seemed like it could work as a "neutral" on our porch floor. We had a partial 5 gallon bucket of dark green so we mixed in some OOPS paint (remember that??) to lighten it up and matched that green as closely as we could.

(Pictures from the good ol' days when we could travel)

(I'm also now wondering why I didn't buy that center painting of the palm trees on the yellow background?)

Fast forward a bit and the porch needed a fresh coat of paint. This green we mixed had worked out great but it was still a bit yellow-er than this Caribbean green I was after. I had seen pictures of Amanda Lindroth's home in some of the shelter mags by then and she used that same Caribbean green I liked so much! I started searching through my Sherwin Williams fan deck for the perfect color. I narrowed it down to SW Lounge Green. (By the way, another fav designer Eddie Ross recently used Lounge Green in his home restoration!!)

About that time my long awaited copy of "Island Hopping" arrived and there was the story of that particular Caribbean green. It is one of Amanda Lindroth's go to colors and it is named after a famous designer/builder  in the Caribbean named (you guessed it) Oliver Messel. He designed homes in Barbados and Mustique in the 60's and 70's and used this green a great deal. 

So my color had a name - Messel Green - and if that color is a favorite of Amanda Lindroth whose style is everything I love then it must be the perfect color for my porch floor!! #validation

So here we are, 5 months in to a stay at home situation, and I'm finally about to finish painting my porch floor!! 

I'm pretty sure this is more than you want to know about my (or any) porch floor paint color but, then again, we have time on our hands still and this long winded explanation of why my porch floor color is this green might just be what you needed to fill 5 minutes of your day!!

Here is a little look at our porch with it's pretty green (freshly painted!!) floor.

I'm going to start with some pictures I took in the evening.

(I know there's a whole thing about not taking pictures for blogs and IG with lamps on but that's when I love the porch most so I'm going for it.)

I'm standing in one corner (which is against the house) facing the opposite corner. 

In this next picture I'm standing in the opposite corner from the one above 

looking back toward the table and chairs.

I'm standing in this nook (below) that has our hanging/swinging bed 

and a big, comfy wicker chaise.

If you look at the first picture you can see the golden seahorse outline and the wicker lamp if you need a point of reference for this to make sense. See, it's a lot of floor to paint. That's why it has taken me this whole lockdown to get it done! Not to mention the 629 other projects I kept coming up with :)

What's under the big green tarp, you ask?

It is a pool table. I"ll uncover it and show you sometime. 

It's tarped to protect it from the weather and me. 

Mostly me because I like to do big, messy projects on it.

(In this picture I am standing at the kitchen door which is where we come out onto the screened porch from the house.)

If you've been following me for even a second then you know all of this furniture, lamps and accessories have been thrifted. Everything is comfy and nothing is too fancy for propping up your feet, sitting a drink down on the table next to you, eating on the furniture or sharing a nap spot with Cooper.

Speaking of Cooper...

We have 10 chairs at the table but we can squeeze in a few more if when we need to.

Ready for a laugh?

 My BIL made this checkerboard for us several years ago. 

Look at the bottle caps he used :)

I think this year is "Corona Extra!"

So now we've come full circle. 

I was standing in front of this bar cart when I took the picture across the porch to the opposite corner. 

Thank you for joining me for an evening tour of my favorite place "in" our house at my favorite time of day. And if you made it through all of this long-winded look at our screened porch, double thank you!

ORC Fall 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Thursday #5 Check-In time!!

One Room Challenge time really flies. Like warp speed!!

I am still painting, painting, painting but the big news is.....

that the black tile island top has been replaced by very gorgeous white carerra marble tile.
This was my longshot project on my "wish list" for this challenge waaaay back on Week 1.

I don't think I've ever shown such chaotic pictures on my blog before!! 

I must be tired or lazy or something!

Keeping it real - I am not able to maintain calm and control of any part of my house when a project is underway. It all goes to pieces!

In the middle of that chaotic kitchen mess I decided to paint a big ol' orange pumpkin 

for Trunk or Treat at church. 

I believe that expression is a reflection of mine!! 

We are definitely going to need a Week 7 around here to have a finished product for the reveal!! 

Be sure to follow all of the One Room Challenge progress here.
I've definitely enjoyed finding some favorite projects/inspiration and watching the progress!

ORC Fall 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Check In Time!! Thursday Number 4!

A lot of painting has happened. Like, a lot. 

It doesn't make for a fascinating post but it has made a huge difference. 

I found out that my "white kitchen" was actually a dingy, dirty, yellow-y off white kitchen. 

Like, embarrassingly dingy.

But lots of white paint to the rescue.

(Look at how dingy the previous white had become #mortified)

 I am using Sherwin Williams Super Paint in basic, bright white.

 So far paint is basically all I have purchased for this ORC:

One gallon of a soft blue for the eating area ceiling that I diluted with some white I had on hand to get the shade I was after, 2 gallons of white and a gallon of Naval, Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2020!

(Mollie scraped all 48 window panes for me. Bless her!!)

We also got the microwave relocated to the book cases. We had to add a wider shelf but it works perfectly. I've wanted to do this for years to free up more counter space.There are definitely ways to place your microwave in a kitchen that is a bit more stylish but I'm working with what I have and what I can realistically expect to get done.
 Add in paint and some thrifted items and there you have it!

 (I am realllly sharing the unstyled, disaster area space that is my kitchen right now!)

One of the things on my to-do list was to change the black tile on the island. I considered it to be a longshot. I priced white marble slabs installed, not installed (just not something we can physically do ourselves right now), formica faux marble countertops and more. I just wasn't willing to spend what any of the above was going to require right now. BUT then I found 12 x 12 gorgeoussss white marble tiles the other day for under $5.00 a square foot!! So while a big seamless slab would be amazing this is going to be the next best thing, look so much better and cost under $75.00!! 

I cannot wait for the tile to be glued down and the island cabinetry painted Sherwin Williams Naval. 
Here's the back door "in progress" with just one coat of Naval. Already gorgeous!

And since every picture in this post is pretty scary...

...here's my cute terra cotta pumpkin collection all ready for the big night!

I found them all in thrift stores this year. They've been a big hit on IG!

Follow along with all of the other great projects on the One Room Challenge blog.

ORC Fall 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Thursday Number 3 Check In!

Painting commenced and I started with the ceiling of our eating nook. It's vaulted so I though it could lend itself to a little drama plus I'm from the Low Country and I paint porch ceilings blue. I painted our master bathroom ceiling blue. I guess it wasn't long before the kitchen nook followed.

It's difficult to tell (because of lighting and the porch on the back of the kitchen) what the exact blue looks like. It does show up well against a white background :)

Please see the tip of Cooper's nosey nose for reference!

#ohcooper

I'm painting the walls, cabinets, beadboard, trim - 
everything with a fresh coat of glossy white paint. 

See those huge picture windows?
Painting them is "pane-ful" #punintended

So this weeks update is this: 

The kitchen is a wreck, painting is going on everywhere 

and Cooper just wants to go outside and play!

Sounds about right for the Week 3 ORC update!

I'm just happy with any progress - the expectations for this ORC are different from any others so I'm just enjoying what does happen! #perspective

Please check out all of the great rooms, projects and progress here!

ORC Fall 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Week 2 Check-In.

Paint was mixed and purchased. 

Then, paint was remixed.

If you call me and ask me what color you should paint something, anything, I can decisively tell you in a very short period of time. My friend Dawn called me once and asked for my top 3 grays. I gave her a shortlist within 15 minutes and one worked perfectly - bathroom, light, etc. completely unseen. 

For myself? Not so much.

I'm 100% on the Sherwin Williams Naval for the French door. 

The one in question has been the eating nook ceiling color.
(I just took a bit of the 1st gallon mixed for the ceiling and diluted it with a ton of white paint and now it's a go!)

We had some ceiling repair hanging over our heads (So punny!) but we got that completed 

and 75% of the sanding dust cleaned up :)  It just goes everywhere. 
That is not spilled white paint that is DUST! And after sweeping once already. 

I've been out of town in Virginia for more than half of this work week

 so I haven't really done much more than that!! And what I have done isn't picture worthy. 

Just dry spackle and such!!

I did, however, decorate my porch barcart for Fall. Because this is my process.
Chaos in one area seems to make me need to decorate elsewhere :)
And I found huge, gorgeous purple mums in VA for $6.00 so it seemed necessary!

Here's to having more to share next week. 

Check in with all the other ORC'ers here.

ORC FALL 2019 - The Kitchen (yep, again)

Are you thinking "Get it together, Marcie?? We've seen this kitchen thing before!
You did your Guest Bedroom ORC twice!!! Are you crazy?" 
So, yes, I did try to pull this off in the Spring. 
I knew I was crazy going in but I tried anyway. #orcfail
And on the doing the same ORC room repeatedly thing I seem to have going on maybe we should just look at it like this - I like to keep on trying until I succeed!

Well, I'm even crazier to try it this round.
(If you don't follow me on IG then you may not know that our Summer was a bit unusual. I will say up front it could have been far worse and a lot of people deal with serious stuff regularly but our daily lives and routines have been impacted so taking this on is a bit crazy! We went to the FL Keys on vacation in July. My husband had a stroke on day 2 of our vacay. What followed was 3 ambulance rides, 8 days in ICU, step down Neuro ward, inpatient rehab all in Miami. Mollie and I stayed in the condo the first week and it was an 1 1/2 hour drive one way into Miami. Then she flew home and I stayed another month in a hotel near rehab. I worked remotely with help from a very understanding boss and staff. We came home to more rehab and I was driving hours each day to appointments, etc. Meanwhile back at the ranch our 80 lb puppy broke a bone in his foot and had to have it casted and he required a lot of my time as well. He also ate a good bit of the couch in the family room so that's another situation to be dealt with another day!! We had another family situation going on in VA and I'm still trying to work from my phone, my ipad -whatever I have from wherever I am in a waiting room. So I'm waaaay behind on, well, everything but I'm so ready to do a fun project and be a bit creative! 
Soooo, I'm just crazily going for it!)

BUT, I will be ecstatic with whatever small progress I make.

So maybe I should call this - The Kitchen - Baby Steps.

 I am shortening my to-do list and lowering my expectations 

on what I can accomplish this Fall.
This is a light refresh with a lot of paint and some fabric 
I bought the last time I attempted this and not a major redo or renovation
because (medical bills, vet bills....) budget.
But, again, I say that I am very excited to be doing this ORC!

It will feel great to have the kitchen spiffed up a bit before the holidays. 
I may even get to add in a little Fall seasonal decor. I painted these Chinoiserie pumpkins with the idea in mind that they can stay in the kitchen until Thanksgiving.

Last time I thought I was going to paint my cabinets something other than white. I love a white kitchen but thought I was ready to make a change.
Apparently not. That was one of the hold ups last time. 
I confidently slapped a swatch of paint on my cabinet door, and boom - indecision. So it has been just like that all these months. I know, embarrassing. 

But now we know - we are white kitchen people. At least in this house where 
our big screen porch affects the light in our kitchen.

And this is my all time favorite kitchen "pin" - Serena Crawford's former kitchen!
If you are wondering what my all white dream kitchen looks like in my head :)

So here's the "Dream List" and I'll cross off as many as possible
 and get to the rest when I can!

1. Paint cabinets and walls white again. It's been a few years and it just needs fresh paint.

2. Use the coral leopard print fabric to make curtains I bought last attempt...

  And use Ballard bamboo curtain hardware I bought on deep sale but give it a coat of white paint.

3. Take down dated wood valance over sink. Adjust glass shelf over sink.

4. Replace fluorescent over sink light with a recessed light.

5.Paint dining nook ceiling pale blue.

6. Change island top. Paint island.
(This one is a stretch)

7.Put bamboo shades at windows.

8. Paint back door? Amazingly Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2020 was already in the running before they announced! I'm feeling rather on top of that :)



9.Paint ceiling fans navy blue.

10. Runner in front of sink?

11. Clean floors and use a wood restorer. I cannot take on refinishing floors right now. And remember 80 lb puppy is in a hard cast. 

12. Re-fit cookbook book shelves and move microwave from counter to new shelf. 

12. Cover lampshade on light over kitchen table. 

What's staying?

1.The vintage faux bamboo kitchen table and chairs. 
2. Coral faux bamboo server
 (which is basically the only thing I accomplished last time.)

3. The vintage industrial storage cabinet we use for spice storage.

4. The collection of blue and white on top of the pantry cabinets in the eating nook.

So here I go - with an adjusted perspective - just hoping to accomplish enough on the list above to make the kitchen feel fresshhh, bright white and maybe a touch updated!

If you would like to see my previous ORC's then please look here!
(Scroll to the bottom of the post for links.)

If you want to know more about the One Room Challenge or to see what everyone else is accomplishing along the way then be sure to follow along here.

ORC Lucky No 7 - Week 5

I almost titled this post 

"Sheer Panic!”

What the heck - let’s go with it!!!

This has been slow going and there hasn’t been a lot to show up until this point but it was so awful to begin with that I feel like every little thing is great progress!
 Or that’s what I keep telling myself!

 I have painted everything white that needed to be fresh, glossy white including the swinging bed and now I’ve moved on to the gorgeous green floor.

We have had a green porch floor for years but a friend recently gifted me with Amanda Lindroth's book Island Hopping and I'm obsessed. Like, can't put it down. And it confirmed that this fabulous green was just the color we needed for our porch floor!

I have a thrifted, vintage bamboo mirror for the fireplace wall. 

And I’m covering a lampshade.

And that's about it.
Here's hoping I get a lot completed in one week!!

See more ORC participants here.

 

ORC Lucky No 7 - Week 4

As I stated last week, I've been in Charleston SC (lots of pretty porch inspiration!!)

 and the Virginia mountains 

for the last 8 days so nothing much has happened physically.

I used all my travel time to think, visualize, source and plan 

so I can hit the ground running this week.

Time is flying by!!

One thing that did actually happen was my handy husband worked on the "box" for the gas fireplace insert while I was away.

There is still a lot to be done but I'm excited to see progress. 

We salvaged that fireplace mantel from an old house in Marietta GA over 27 years ago that was scheduled for demolition.
Every time my husband mentioned getting rid of it because I hadn't done anything with it yet, I resisted. Then several years ago we added this section onto our screened porch and we "installed" the mantel as a focal point. Then we started looking for a gas insert and one finally showed up at Restore ages ago and now it's close to being a reality.

We certainly took our time on this one!

Things still look pretty rough but there is actually progress. 

I have the floor paint ready to go now that I'm back in town!

Gorgeous green!

I just need good weather so I can roll it on and show y'all some actual progress. 
Please check out everyone else's progress here and if I haven't bored you too much please come back next week and see if I might actually get something done!!