Room By Room: Craft Room

We usually refer to this as the Yellow Room as it's become more than just a craft room. I do have a dedicated space for sewing and the kids can paint, draw, sculpt, etc, but it's also good for homework and playdates. There's also a pair of french doors that lead out to the backyard so the kids can run out and play or get really messy with their art!

Trellis and Tuteur

Trellis and Tuteur......doesn't it roll off the tongue like Chocolate and Zucchini? Fanny and Alexander? Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? OK, forget about the last one.

Most of us are familiar with trellises. They provide support for climbing plants as well as adding a vertical element to gardens. Tuteurs, also known as obelisks, are similar but are pyramidal as opposed to flat.

Exterior Shutters

We finally tackled the exterior shutters. After they sat in the garage for 6 months, we somehow found time in our busy schedules to prime and paint them, then did some online research on how to install them.
We purchased our shutters locally and the company will prime, paint and install as well, but we'd come this far doing so much of our own work, we thought what's the big deal with a couple of shutters?

Room by Room - Entry

I've gotten a bit of flack from some of our friends who've been wondering, "So what's up with the house? What's the final product look like????"

Well, I like to think every home is a work in progress, even after you're all moved in, things are unpacked, artwork is up, etc. - not to say that we've even finished doing those things!

With that as a caveat, I'll try to provide a quick tour through most of the house. First stop, the Entry.

Post Move-In: Exterior Painting

I'm back. I'll try to recap the work done after move-in.

About a week after moving in, we had the exterior painting done. I'd kept putting it off mostly because I still wasn't sure which color to do. Here's evidence of my indecisiveness:


In the end, I chose BM Kentucky Haze, which is the bottom left-most swatch, a grayish blue with some green hints that come out depending on the lighting.



We also had our handyman, Mr. Xu, install the cupola and weathervane:

More painted rooms

My favorite part! So much less stressful than the flooring.

This is my FAVORITE room and FAVORITE color in the whole house. I just love the Kittery Point Green in the laundry/mudroom. And I love all of the beadboard and trim we put in here.

Here's the Burnt Peanut Red Guest BA:

The Palladian Blue beadboard ceiling above the window seat:


And finally, some hardware on the cabinetry! 1 1/4" glass knobs from D. Lawless:

Paint, Paint, Paint

Rolling along with the paint:

Here's our color palette downstairs:

and upstairs:

Some painted rooms (all colors Benjamin Moore):.
Soft Pumpkin in the Girls' BR:

Palladian Blue in the boy's BR:

Concord Ivory downstairs in the Office/Arts & Crafts rm:

Palladian Blue again in the hallway:

Elephant Tusk in the Master BR:

And here's my project, painting the kitchen island using two coats of different colored milk paint. I first removed all the drawer fronts and cabinet doors. Then painted the first coat using Barn Red.

The final coat of Soldier Blue was applied over the Barn Red, then sanded down so that some of the red came thru. Then the piece was finished with a mixture of linseed oil and paint thinner to protect it from water and oil stains.