Well, no. Over the years friends have told me that paint intimidates them, or that there are too many paint colors to choose from at the store. I’ve heard stories of buying a gallon of paint in a panic, then coming home and realizing that it’s all wrong. I’ve heard stories of endless trips to the store with the intention of buying paint, but paralysis preventing a purchase every time.

I tell these friends my paint color process, and I’ve written it out here, with examples from our new house. If you’re also stricken by paint phobia, maybe you’ll glean some insight into my tried and true method. Happy painting!

1. Relax and gather inspiration. If you have paint phobia and are therefore reading this, I’m going to assume that you need to take time to make a good color decision. So that means no impulse paint buying at the store, then feeling like you have to coat your entire house in said horrid color in order not to waste $40. We’re taking it slow. We’re noticing rooms in magazines and catalogs, on tv shows and movies, and in friends’ homes that inspire us. We’re looking into our closets and noticing the colors that are there, or out in our gardens. We’re thinking about color in a relaxed manner. We are breathing.

2. Bring home paint cards. No, I didn’t stop at ‘paint.’ At this level in the process, we are simply going to the paint/hardware store with our inspiration ideas in mind and collecting every color card that looks like it might fit the bill. There’s no limit to the amount of cards you can stash in your purse, so go for it. Anything and everything that peaks your interest in that big color card display needs to go home with you.

View from my paint card drawer, this morning. I told you I know how to fill a purse with these things.

3. Tape paint cards to the wall. Here’s where you’ll begin to make an informed choice about a color you’re bringing into your home, and you’re going to do it slowly, over the course of a couple of days, minimum. Remember how I told you this is a slow process? You’re going to do nothing but live with those cards and notice them, at all times of day and in all different light, for days. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been certain of the right color in the store, then gone home and watched it turn into something terrible on the wall.

Every room and every home is different, and most of those differences are due to light. The colors that looks amazing in your aunt’s kitchen could look like mud in your kitchen, and that’s okay. You’ll find the right color if you go through the process. In our current house, we have rooms where the same paint color looks entirely different on three walls. Light was absolutely our biggest challenge with selecting our colors, and we never would’ve gotten it right if we didn’t live with rooms full of paint cards for weeks on end.

Here’s another reason why living with paint cards is important: you might completely change your mind about what kind of color should be on the wall, but this inspiration won’t strike until your mind is responding to what’s taped up there. This happened in almost every room of our new house, by the way.

Early hallway and dining room visioning

4. Buy paint samples of your favorites and put them on the wall. Nope, we’re not buying quarts or gallons yet – hold your horses. Before you commit to a color, it’s crucial to buy as small an amount as you can of your favorites and see the real deal color on your wall. Home Depot and Lowe’s sell paint samples for less than $3. It’s some of the best money you’ll ever spend. Again: light is a tricky mistress. So many times, I’ve loved the color on a card, but as soon as paint touches plaster, it’s a reject. Por ejemplo: we tried to paint almost every wall in our house a version of light yellow, which I loved on the paint cards, but every time we put it up on the wall it looked abysmal. Our house simply didn’t want to be light yellow, no matter how hard I tried. But I’m so glad I figured that our with samples rather than gallons.

Another reason paint samples are so important is that if you’ve fallen in love with the second shade down on a paint card but it’s not quite right when you paint the sample, you might surprise yourself by buying a sample one tone deeper, that based on the card alone seemed too dark. I’ll repeat a point from #3 here, too: sometimes you’ll surprise yourself and decide on an entirely different color than what you intended. And I’ll repeat again: this also happened in almost every room in our house.

Kitchen wall, covered in paint cards and splotches… first I had yellows up, then grays, then greens, then reds, then blues. And finally, I stumbled upon the perfect blue-green (BM Azores) that looked fantastic with all my bright kitchen accents. It took a month to get there.

Dining room accent wall. Was it going to be Chestertown Buff, like the wall behind it? A beige or lighter yellow? Olive Branch, like the rest of the dining room? Eucalyptus Leaf, like the mantel wall? Nope. It turned out that the wall wanted to be red: Behr’s Dozen Roses, to be specific. After weeks of staring at splotches, we finally got there.

5. Buy your paint! So you’re pleased with a splotch on the wall and you’re ready to commit. Maybe it took you a day to get there, maybe it took you a month. But whatever the timeline, following this sort of process ensures you won’t make mistakes. And as long as you’re willing to live with cards and paint splotches everywhere for a while, the payoff is huge. I’d suggest buying more paint than you think you’ll need, and consider going low- or no-VOC, too. You can color-match your favorite colors to a non-toxic paint almost everywhere that sells paint, and save yourself the painting headache!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2011 · Permalink · 1 comment · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Around the House, Decor

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Egg Pasta with Chestnuts, Pancetta, and Sage
Adapted from Gourmet Today

Ingredients

• 3 ounces pancetta (Italian unsmoked bacon), chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 lb bottled peeled cooked whole chestnuts, coarsely crumbled (about 1.5 cups)
• 1/2 lb dried egg tagliatelle or egg fettucine
• Salt
• 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsely

Directions:

1. Cook pancetta in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic and 1 tablespoon sage and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
4. Stir in chestnuts and remove from heat.
5. Cook pasta in an 8-quart pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt) until al dente. Reserve 1.5 cups cooking water and drain pasta.
6. Add pasta to pancetta mixture in a skillet, then add 1 cup reserved cooking water, cheese, and butter and cook, tossing constantly, over high heat until pasta is well-coated (add more reserved water if necessary), about 1 minute.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley and remaining tablespoon sage. Serve immediately.

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2011 · Permalink · Comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Cooking and Food, Recipes

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{image courtesy of author’s personal collection}

Since blood oranges are everywhere right now, here’s a simple way to prepare them that’s sure to please.

{image courtesy of author’s personal collection}

Blood Orange Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Adapted from The Arugula Files

For the Salad:

Ingredients:

• 5 oz salad greens
• 2 sliced blood oranges
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• one slice of red onion

Directions:

1. Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Top with the separated sliced onion.

For the Dressing:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• Juice of half a sweet orange or one small clementine (I almost always have a pile of clementines on hand when they’re in season, so that’s what I use)
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced shallot
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Whisk ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Pour over salad.

This should be the perfect amount of dressing for a small 5 oz box of salad greens. Feeding a crowd? The dressing doubles perfectly for a larger salad.

Looking for more blood orange inspiration? Take a look at Pan-Seared Cod with Fennel and and Blood Orange Sauce, Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake, and Blood Orange Margaritas.

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2011 · Permalink · 2 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Cooking and Food, Recipes

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Cole Haan Air Chatham Rain Boots

I loooove my rain boots. I’ve already sloshed around yucky cold rain with them, just waiting for the day when they’ll plow through snow and ice with ease. I adore the look of them, too – the tweed on top is perfectly me. Despite the fact that another pair of Cole Haans in this apartment inches us dangerously closer to being “That Cole Haan Couple,” I love these things to pieces.

Frye Archie Hikers

I bought a pair of brown leather boots from JCrew when I went off to college in Boston years and years ago, and I wore those shoes out. I had them re-soled twice in ten years, that’s how much I loved them. I finally (with tears!) gave up on them in Dallas and have been searching for replacements ever since. Enter Frye with these fantastic boots that somehow seem perfectly “me” and timeless all at once.

Not-yet-purchased Furry Fabulous Boots

My next purchase in the warm and practical footwear category is going to be something furry and fabulous, for days as cold as today when there’s also inches of snow and ice on the ground. Any of these would fit the bill fabulously, don’t you think? And while we’re at it (and as a nod to furry black or gray boots that might be out there)….

Eddie Bauer Slope Side Down Parka

…I think this parka would be fantastic on those bitter days when my pretty wool coats and scarves won’t cut it.

Oh, how times change… at one point my delicate open-toed stilettos were my prized shoe possessions, but these days I’m prioritizing all things sturdy, waterproof, and decidedly un-shiny! Cold weather veterans out there (Chicago girls, I’m looking at you): any tips on looking cute and staying warm at the same time?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2010 · Permalink · 4 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Fashion, Good Things

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I’m loving more than fall leaves these days. Can we talk about how gorgeous fall flowers are? My arrangements have never looked prettier. (Hat tip to a fellow EADL-er: Amy’s upcoming post on flower arranging is a must-read!)

And believe it or not, I’m still clipping dahlias from my patio garden!

We finally painted our bedroom just in time for fall. Meet “powdered brick,” my new favorite color ever:

Now that there’s a nip in the air, I need a matching throw for the end of the bed. I think this saffron throw would be perfect:

{Image credit: Pottery Barn}

If I’m ever able to justify an iPad, this case is a must-do. Everything about it screams fall-friendly, earth-loving style to me.

{Image credit: Etsy seller, tovicorrie}

Speaking of being on the go, this spicy scarf embodies everything I love about the season.

{Image credit: Haverhill}

My everyday red dinnerware will be perfect for the holidays. But until then, I’m fantasizing about setting the table with this decadent-looking dinnerware to bring a little glamour into the fall season.

{Image credit: West Elm}

Speaking of glamour, if I’m going to eat off gold dinnerware, I might as well wear fabulous gold shoes too, right? I thought so.

{Image credit: Kate Spade}

It’s shocking that I’ve written this ode to fall without mentioning one of the highlights of the fall season… FOOD! So I’ll leave you with this, fall at its best. Sweet or Savory: Stuff, Bake and Devour a Pumpkin.

{Image credit: NPR}

What’s your fall inspiration, either of the everyday or the shopping spree variety?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2010 · Permalink · 3 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Good Things

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I can backtrack each year and remember my associated Important Fall Decision. This year? Real estate, real estate, real estate. As you might remember from my Day In The Life post, we’ve been Open House junkies for a while now. Let’s put it this way: life would be a heck of a lot easier if real estate in Washington, DC wasn’t so pricey. Because we are unabashed city folks, we’ve accepted the higher prices that come with the urban neighborhoods we love. And we’ve gotten past the self-placed stigma of being in our early 30s and still not being homeowners (mostly). After all, the housing market in the past few years is nothing if not a cautionary tale of why buying isn’t always a great idea (or so we keep reminding ourselves).

But still, the urge to get on with it already, to finally have a Real Home, to be in a spot where we can live for years on end… that’s what keeps us logging onto new listings every week, just in case.  The fact that we’ll be moving at year’s end anyway is definitely a factor – who wants to move each year when they could do it once and for all(ish) instead? So this year,  my/our/now your Important Fall Decision comes down to this: to buy a place this year that’s smaller than we’d like, and probably not in the exact area we’d like, or to rent a new place for a year, then buy a place that’s better-suited for the long haul in 2012.

Decisions, decisions… tell me, are any of you facing the big Rent v. Buy quandary this year, too? Are any of you gearing up to make some Important Fall Decisions of your own?

And yep, I remember the most important thing: home is what you make of it, and where the heart is. Still, though – I really want it to be here!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2010 · Permalink · 5 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Life

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