Friday, February 26, 2010

Love: What the Bionic Man Puts up With

Remember, long ago, when I showed you this?

And I discussed how much I hated the color on my walls, which I described so lyrically as "gacky sage"?  And then I blogged about how I was going to systematically cover all of the gacky sage with a nice, light neutral, "antique white."  And I showed you pictures of the amazing transformation.  Gacky sage to antique white, voila!
Mmmm.....lovely, yes?  So I painted several walls, began prep on two more.....and was sidetracked by other comings and goings in my life: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, surgeries.....you know, the basics.  I have thousands of square feet left to paint.  I'm not kidding.  All I've painted so far is the back hallway, two walls in the dining room, and part of one other wall.  I have the entire kitchen, great room, entry, stairway, and upstairs hallway to go.  Is it okay to wait until spring, when I can have the windows open while I'm painting?

Anywho, as I procrastinated the painting, I dreamed of how lovely it would be to accent my nice, new, neutral color pallette with accents of turquoise and red.  Remember?  Aqua Poppy, anyone?


House of Turquoise
Yep, it's all coming back, now.  

Then, this week, I made a discovery.  A frightening discovery.  

Silver Sage.

It was in this gorgeous, gorgeous house I took a virtual tour of this week.  

I have to explain, we drove across the country last summer.  We spent several days in Colorado.  I developed a huge crush on a town called Castle Rock.  (Yes, I crush on towns.  And houses.  All the time.  I've been nursing a crush on Jackson Hole, Wyoming for years.  And that yellow bungalow on the corner next to the church I went to as a child....my mom told me yesterday it is for sale!)  Castle Rock, Colorado.  Castle Rock isn't exactly Vail, when it comes to towns in Colorado.  It's just a little farm community that has had a housing explosion, and is now a suburb of Denver.  But I loved it anyway.  I daydream about writing "Castle Rock, Colorado" whenever I am filling out forms and come to the City and State line.  

Periodically, I check the real estate listings in Castle Rock.  Not that we're moving there anytime in this millenium.  They don't seem to need any aerospace engineers in Castle Rock.  But I check anyway.  Because if my husband's current company (which has marvelous health insurance) should ever announce their plans to move their operations to Denver, Colorado.....then I'll be ready.  Hahaha.

The house that has caused me to stumble upon silver sage wasn't even in Castle Rock.  So I guess there was no good reason to disclose to you my crush other than I seem to be feeling confessional, today.  It was in Denver.  And it wasn't for sale.  It was just a model home.  From one of those trendy Planned Urban Development communities where all the houses look vintage-chic and like they should be on the historical register......only they are brand new and energy efficient.  Houses like this:


and this


and this


and--my favorite!--this:


Obviously, I have a thing for porches.  Wraparound porches.  And dormer windows.  And attics.  And Silver Sage.  And white clapboard.  

Now, I really, really want you to go on the virtual tour that turned me on to Silver Sage.  But I couldn't get it to import to the blog.  Follow these steps:  go here, then scroll down on the right side of the page where it says "View Virtual Tour" and click on that.  Take the virtual tour and pay special attention to the foyer, living room, kitchen, and great room.

That's how I discovered Silver Sage.  I was so completely taken with that lovely blue (I'm sure it's really blue, not gacky sage) that I called the builder's office and asked for the paint color.  They didn't know the paint color, but they knew it was from Restoration Hardware.  

I didn't know Restoration Hardware sold paint.  They do!  It only comes in a few shades, but one of the most popular is Silver Sage.  (I'm pretty sure the paint in my Virtual House is light silver sage.)

Turns out, Silver Sage is old news in the blogosphere.  Everyone is doing it.


Apartment Therapy
Flickr

Whitney English

Ohdeedoh

Anyway, back to my house.....I want Light Silver Sage.  I want to paint it over my current Gacky Sage.  Only I don't want to repaint that nice neutral I started with.  That nice neutral still works for me.  But Light Silver Sage must go into my great room.  It must!  

There is only one problem.  The Bionic Man has listened to me complain about Gacky Sage for years.  He is going to flip when I tell him I'm planning to paint the wall around our fireplace Light Silver Sage.  And he's not going to be any happier when I tell him that for the project to be complete perfection, I need chair rail molding installed throughout our great room, so that I can have Antique White on top and Light Silver Sage on the bottom.  (See the living room of my Virtual House for my inspiration.)  I think I'll have to change the name.  "Easter Blue" or something.  Anyone want to help me with this one?

Also, will people quit blogging about painting their cabinets white?  I had white cabinets in my last house, and the only thing that is stopping me from painting the cupboards in my current house white is my love for the Bionic Man.  There will be no painting of the cabinets in this house, he tells me.  (But they need to be white so that my walls can be Light Silver Sage!!!!)  Everyone who is showing their successful cabinet re-do's is getting me into trouble.  

Also, I'm going to require slip covers or some reupholstery for my Connecticut Couch and Chairs.  Their current state is not going to cut it with Silver Sage.

So, let's recap:
1.  I still haven't finished the painting project I began in October.  We're rapidly approaching six months.
2.  I have a crush on Castle Rock, Colorado.
3.  Until the day I move there, I must find joy and contentment in my current space.  Joy, no problem.  Contentment?  Not until I get some light silver sage Easter Blue on my walls.
4.  The Bionic Man won't let me even think about painting the kitchen cabinets white.  (Do you think I could win a kitchen makeover?)
5.  After I sew the girls' Easter dresses, I need to learn how to reupholster things.  Or make slipcovers.  In sliver sage velvet.  Mmmmm, that's right.

By the way....in case you were wondering....I never did get the stomach flu!  Superkid was able to return to school yesterday, but is home again today....with diarrhea.  Darn those germs!  I don't even want to discuss how many days of school Superkid has missed during her first year of school, so far.  It is a number not to be believed.  (Especially considering the fact that she hasn't been hospitalized.)  Is this what it will be like for the rest of her school years?



 



   

3 comments:

  1. Hi there! Found my way here via Clover Lane...I loved your Holland story. We lived in Germany for 3 years and loved it...you have a sweet family!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You sound like me! LOL!!! I get inspired by so many other houses yet it seems like I never have the time or the moolah to get going on it. I have the kids rooms on my list of painting to tackle. I am hoping to make it happen this spring too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I just found the paint color for when we redo, or rather, finish, the dining room! Thanks! I crush on houses all the time. When I go out to visit Courteneny Crandall in CO, we always spend time touring open houses in the developments. I love reading your blog! We miss you guys-

    ReplyDelete