Complimentary Colors, What a Concept!

I had been agonizing over what color to paint the pantry for months and although the source was somewhat strange, inspiration hit just as I was using up my last drop of tolerance for the dirty white primer.



I glanced over from the living room the other day and noticed this:


and it struck me how much I liked the orange of the randomly tossed dishtowel and handbag against the turquois-ey jade of the Rendezvous Bay color of the kitchen walls (which, incidentally, is still photographing nothing like it looks in person). Ten minutes later I was on my way to buy some paint.

Either I'm getting better at making decisions or getting reckless....


It sure transformed the room, from blah and a little unpleasant (dirty white primer...go figure) to bright, welcoming and exciting and a part of the house I don't mind hanging out in. Just what we needed for this busy, multi-purpose room.





The insides of both entrance doors still need to be painted (probably just white), and the current rug was a cheap stopgap that is a little too narrow but working for the moment until I can find the perfect replacement.

So officially, only our bedroom and the tiny outside walls of the powder room remain on the painting roster for downstairs, but I'm still so at a loss about this stuff and the rest of the upstairs that lately I've been joking that by the time I get it everything painted it will probably be the avocado green, harvest gold and shag of the double oughts. And with orange rooms #1 and #2, I suspect that moment may arrive even sooner, but for now I'm absolutely loving it.

More Painting

An accomplishment.
The other acre of wall wears color!
Welcome Benjamin Moore Naples Blue. It's growing on me, particularly since I've completed the upstairs media room part.



At first I thought it was too dark, and I still do think it's a bit dark for the living room at night, but I love it so much in the media room that that makes up for my uncertainty about the downstairs quite a bit.
My current plan is to concoct some kind of lighting or light sculpture for the big part of the wall that is without windows. Since this spot kind of needs art anyway and is the biggest offender in the "too dark" category, I think lighting, possibly along with some great (big) art, will be the perfect solution.
I'll add that to my arm-long to do list right away.




So the part that I'm not loving is where the new blue abuts the red of the bike room wall. I love the red, and I sort of love the blue down there, but together they are sort of making me want to barf, so I'm now considering repainting the red wall something more Naples Blue-friendly. But I really love how the red downstairs ties into the red upstairs in the foyer.
Anyway, the thought of painting over this red makes me want to cry because it took oodles of work to get the up and finished, and I really truly love it. But if it all doesn't work, it'll bug me forever, and I'd sooner change it than the huge wall which I am definitely not repainting anytime soon.

Now if only I could decide on the perfect coffee table and more seating for the media room I could add it to the almost completely finished list.