ORC, SPRING 2016 – HERE WE ARE AT WEEK #2

Well , here we are at week two of the ORC. Old houses always require more prep than you think. My husband and I agreed to not spend a month on the ceiling like we did in our bedroom. Still, there were some cracks on the ceiling and a few holes in the walls that had to be addressed. My husband got that done and the floor prepped for painting.

PAINT

Charlotte has chosen lilac walls and light cherry blossom pink for the ceilings with white trim. This is where we are headed:

First Light #2102-70 by Benjamin Moore

First Light BM.jpg and, Spring Iris #1402 also by Benjamin Moore Iris BM.jpg

We started with METRO PAINT, which is a local paint supplier in Portland. There paints are all recycled and very affordable. My father in law (who is a contractor) uses their paint all the time and recommended I give it a try. I love their MOUNTAIN SNOW – which I used for my HOME OFFICE.

So, we bought a gallon of CARNATION (for like $12!) and we have been methodically adding MOUNTAIN SNOW to try to get close to light pink we might like.

FYI, Metro Paint has a limited palette of colors, but in reality if you have the time and gumption, you can mix and match and come up with some pretty nice colors. They haev lots of examples and formulas in their store. It can make painting a house almost affordable.

Charlotte with CARNATION, untouched. Too pink as is as you can see.

After painting the entire ceiling with a lightened pink, it is still too pink. So, we’ll add more white. I think we are close though.

SLIGHT TANGENT

The lilac bush is blooming outside of our house – I used the flowers to decorate the twins’ birthday cake this week. A little much for Arthur. Oops. Charlotte and I tinted the icing lilac. I guess we are in a custom color mixing mood. The lighter part of the lilac petals are such a perfect color.

I came across this cherry tree in bloom the other day and had to share this. There really is nothing like Portland in the Spring.

There were 3-4 inches of pink petals on the ground!

LIGHTING

So, I am also thinking about lighting. She needs a pendant light and a bedside lamp. Or ultimately a sconce by her bed. I am a big fan as they leave your bedside table free and provide nice light. Here are a few possibilities:

With a gold sconce from Visual Comfort:

Here’s a sconce from IKEA:

A new pendant light from IKEA:

It does cool things at night:

Is this vintage glass pendant light stunning or what?

I even like this Chinese paper lantern for $12:

CURTAINS

And here are some basic white curtains with grommets for a modern look. Grommet curtains are super easy to use. And these curtains will be used daily.

I am leaning toward sheers behind the curtains rather than shades. The windows are sort of odd and need to be replaced ultimately so the sheers should offer some coverage for now.

Charlotte has some ideas of her own about the curtains. She wants to splatter them in a ROTHKO-ish way. I have my concerns, but nevertheless, we bought the paint at COLLAGE in Portland:
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