I (heart) my den

We are officially done fixing up the condo! Last week we repainted the kitchen. Here is an oh-so-flattering picture that my husband took of me standing on the kitchen counter, covering the school bus yellow with nice yellow (Benjamin Moore Hawthorn Yellow).

The den was the last room that we did because it presented such a challenge.  It was a gawdawful shade of orange originally, and now it’s a nice taupe/gray. I’m thrilled with the way it turned out.

We used Benjamin Moore paint in “Silver Fox.”  I’m really pleased with the way it looks with the black built-in and with the brick wall.  The rest of the condo is very Victorian, so I love the more modern den.  I especially love the botanical print curtains – they’re from Ikea. 

Law school starts in a couple of days.  I am so glad that this is all finished!

What Color for the Den?

Honest to God, this is the current color of the den. It isn’t so much my style.

So, what color should we paint it?

Things to keep in mind:
- The couch is khaki
- The carpet is beige
- The windows look out onto a deck that is covered by another deck, so it is rather dimly lit

- One wall is orange brick

- One wall is a warm wood and black built-in shelving unit

The main candidates are blue and green, because those are our colors (for the record, the living room is yellow with a brick colored couch, so there are warm colors in the house somewhere).  We’re not sure about the blue, because the adjacent dining room is already blue.  But then again, the bedroom is already green.  If we did blue, it would be more saturated than the blue in the dining room.  In the various photos you can see two blue paint samples side by side.  The darker one is the leading candidate for this room, the lighter one is what we have in the dining room.

What color would YOU paint this room?

My Shiny New Bedroom

When we bought the condo, the bedroom was red

Now, it is a peaceful light green…

The red went with the seller’s decor, but definitely not with ours. My parents’ Christmas present to us was to arrange for a room of our choosing to be painted, so we picked the bedroom. I’m thrilled with the way it turned out.

I can’t wait to actually move in!

Edited to add:  The color is Benjamin Moore Guilford Green.  It looks very olive on the swatch, so I recommend getting one of those little sample jars if you want to try it out.

My Shiny New Dining Room

I didn’t do much knitting this weekend.  That’s because my mom, my husband, and I painted the dining room in our new condo.

I LOVE the way it turned out. We used Benjamin Moore paint in Yarmouth Blue, which is a very nice color. The dining room had been light blue before, but the shade was off. It was cold, and icy, and just not a pleasant dining room color.

I’m not sure if you can really tell from the photo, but it feels much more inviting and pleasant now.

Next order of business: decide what color to paint the den (currently blinding orange, and visible in the third photo)

 Then when I got back to my old place, I found a package from my Secret Pal!  She sent me lovely Lorna’s Laces sock yarn in a very warm shade of brown called “Harvest.”

She also sent beauty soap, lavender hand lotion, and a wonderfully fragrant lavender sachet.

I love the scent, and it is tucked in with my stash now. Thank you SP!

We bought a condo!

My husband and I closed on a condo last week, and I finally took some good pictures of it.

It is in Hartford, Connecticut, and is in a building that was built in the 1870s. The fireplace is original to the house, and I think it is absolutely gorgeous. I am from the area originally, and it makes me sad that Hartford is… the way it is now. I’m excited to be a taxpaying resident of the city, so now I can get involved in community groups and hopefully make a difference. The 1870s were some of the most prosperous and hopeful years that Hartford has ever seen, and I think its really neat that we have a little slice of that history ourselves.

The woman who sold it to us had more… lively… taste than we do, so we’re going to repaint a couple of rooms (and probably freshen up the paint in some others)

One room is currently orange, and I think we’ll paint it the medium blue. You can’t really tell, but those are navy blue velvety curtains that the seller left behind.

The bedroom is currently red, but we like the light green instead.

I am so excited to own my own place and decorate it how I please. Yay!