{photography by Rita Rojas-Sullivan}

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2011 · Permalink · 2 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Decor

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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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{photo from Better Homes and Gardens website}

The article outlined how to make a lightweight headboard with fabric. While I didn’t necessarily want to make a headboard out of fabric, it inspired me to want to make my own headboard rather than buy one. So, I continued to troll the internet for more ideas.

I found an article about wallpaper on ApartmentTherapy.com. They specifically mentioned paintable wallpaper from Graham & Brown website. If you haven’t been on the Graham & Brown site, you should take a gander. It’ll make you rethink wallpaper because it’s definitely not your grandma’s wallpaper. I fell in love this pattern.

{Squares Paintable from Graham & Brown}

I ordered the wallpaper from Graham & Brown. For those that don’t want to spend too much for paintable wallpaper, I have come across textured, paintable wallpaper at Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Wal-mart for good price. Once I ordered the wallpaper, I headed to my local hardware store to buy the rest of my materials. I originally had planned to buy a 48″ x 72″ MDF board. After consulting with one of the helpful employees, I purchased particle board at a whooping $8.98 for a 48″ x 72″ sheet. In addition to the wood, I purchased Kilz paint primer, wallpaper glue, paint for the wallpaper and a paint roller.

Here’s how I made the headboard:

1. Sanded and primed the particle board with paint primer. This was important because the particle board was a little rough because it’s made with pressed wood shavings and sawdust. Primer is key because it gives the wallpaper a good surface to adhere to.

2. After the primer dried, I applied the wallpaper. Rather than go through all the steps of applying the wallpaper, here’s a link to About.com article on How to Hang Wallpaper. Don’t be afraid to use a little pressure when applying the textured wallpaper. No matter how hard you press, you won’t permanently damage the wallpaper.

{images courtesy of author’s personal collection unless otherwise noted}

3. I let the wallpaper dry overnight before I proceeded to painting. For this, I recommend applying interior wall paint with a roller made for textured walls. Do not use spray paint. I tried spray paint and it was an awful mess. I ended up painting my headboard two different colors because the first color I selected was too light. Thankfully, the wallpaper is very forgiving and I was able to paint over it with a darker color.

4. Install the headboard. I simply placed it against the wall behind my bed. No hanging hardware needed. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, you may want to secure the headboard with hooks and wires.

After 2 days and $60 of materials, I had a new headboard. Here’s a photo of my completed project. Sleeping Myles the pup not included.

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

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Now it is time to decorate and bring more container plants into the patio area. We have a table and chairs, but want an area for lounging and relaxing, and need to do it on the cheap. The weather is warming up quickly, so it is time to get the ball rolling! I have been on the hunt for ideas and wanted to share some outdoor living inspiration with you.

{images via Pottery Barn}

I love the look of the all-weather wicker Palmetto collection in black from Pottery Barn shown above (photos 1-3) and the Portsmouth collection (photo 4), but unfortunately I don’t love the price. Since we won’t be in this house forever (thank you, Air Force), I don’t want to commit to something this pricy when I don’t know if it will fit with future homes. Either way, Pottery Barn’s outdoor styling is incredibly inspirational and somewhat doable. The black wicker mixed with rusted, brown metal pieces would be something I might be able to recreate. The abundance of multicolored pillows could easily be reproduced – I can afford the pillows! :)

{images via Style at Home, photographer Michael Graydon}

This space is fantastic and is a great example of bringing the indoor decor outside. The candles mounted on the trellis and the fountain add another dimension.

{image via House & Home, photographer Donna Griffith}

{images via House & Home, photographer Brandon Barre}

The spaces shown above show the divided spaces I am looking for – one area for dining and another for lounging and relaxing. Now let’s see if I can bring some of this inspiration to life on a smaller budget. Do you have any plans to re-haul your outdoor living spaces before summer officially hits? Or is your patio summer ready? If so, do you have any recommendations for fabulous, but not outrageously priced patio furniture?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs, 2011 · Permalink · Comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: Decor, Outdoor Life

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