Open Season

Published on by Our Humble Abode

Ben’s happy about hunting season.  I’m excited for painting season.  Okay, it’s really not a season, more of an itch I need to scratch.  A desire to make this house feel more like us, and less like the previous owner.  And what bigger, cheap, and quick change than paint?  So I’ve hoarded samples and painted swatches on the walls.  For the guest bedroom, I’m set on yellow, though it is proving to be difficult.

On the far left is Anjou Pear by Ben Moore (which I got for the boys’ room, but tested in here, too), middle is Willow’s Gold from Dutch Boy and the right is a 50% tint of Willow’s Gold.  During the day, I loved the middle color.  Sadly, the CFL bulbs turned the pretty greeny-gold to key lime at night.  More swatches, this time in the tan-ish gold department.  I think I’ve pinned down a color from the chips shown.

Finding a pale, muted green-blue-gray for the north facing family room is really hard, too.  Now I’m considering painting the living room a blue-green and use Wood Smoke in the family room.  The blue colors seem to look better in brighter, sunnier spaces.

I have made some paint selecting progress.  Anjou Pear by Ben Moore for the boys’ bedroom.  During the day, it reads as a warm green, but at night it takes on a more muddy green.  Against the tan it looks a little crazy, but the striped curtains tone it down.

And I’m gearing up to paint all the doors Squirrel by Behr, color matched to Glidden.  Actually, I’ve already started.

The dark color should hide dirt and grime, and the muddy gray modernizes the shiny brass door handles.  We’re happy with the quality of the six panel doors, but some of the grain makes the doors look a little like plastic.

Sun rises and sets are stunning this time of year, too.  Here is a shot from last week, with a perfect crescent moon.

Hope all our fellow U.S. residents have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

27 thoughts on “Open Season”

    1. Hi Tommi!

      I realize not everyone will agree with our decision to paint the wood doors. Certainly there are wood doors I wouldn’t think about painting, but these just don’t fit the criteria. We still might change out the hardware down the road, so that’s not the reason we’re painting the doors, just a happy coincidence. 🙂

      Thanks!
      Amanda

      Reply

      1. I guess they look different in person then? In the pic they look all nice and stained. I’m trying to strip 4 original interior doors that are 100 years old in my house and I wanna have a stern talking with all the previous owners on why they’d do that haha cos its driving me bonkers.

        Reply

        1. Hi Tommi,

          The door shown isn’t the worst of the bunch, so I understand where you’re coming from. If the grain weren’t so heavy, I would consider stripping and staining the doors. But honestly, the grain is what is bothersome. In the basement of our last house we had pretty cherry stained wood doors, and I would never do anything to those. And original wood 100 year old doors don’t sound worthy of paint either. 🙂

          Thanks!
          Amanda

          Reply

  3. Are you really not even going to address this whole thing? Just pop back in here as if nothing happened? Still stating that you withdrew and changed your name because of “Security” concerns? Wow. That’s quite tacky. I mean I really enjoyed your blog and I would continue to read it if you would simply fess up to what happened, apologize (We’ve all done things we are ashamed of) and then move on. If you don’t do that you’ve lost another reader.

    Reply

    1. Hi Trish!

      I understand if/why you dislike me. I have said negative things about YHL’s decorating decisions while promoting my blog. Was it right? No. Do I feel bad about it? Yes, and I’ve apologized to YHL personally. But making the blog private and changing the name was and is for security concerns. I don’t expect you to believe me given the circumstances. Continuing to post doesn’t mean I’m acting as if nothing has happened; comments are on the blog, Facebook, and elsewhere on the internet, available for everyone to know what I’ve done. If you don’t care to continue to read, that is your decision and I understand. I hope that helps clarify.

      Thanks!
      Amanda

      Reply

  4. I love the color you’re painting the doors. I once rented a place that had real wood doors, but they look really fake. Strange how that works sometimes. I would have painted them in a heart beat if we’d been the owners.

    Reply

  6. Hey Amanda,
    You know I love your blog, and I am proud of you for keeping your head up and coming back. However, have you considered writing an official apology on your blog about what happened? I know there are readers out there that don’t know what’s going on, why your blog went private for awhile, or why your blog name changed. I just think that it would be appreciated by your readers if you were to be open and honest about what happened. It does seem a bit awkward that you come back as if nothing happened. The elephant in the room.
    Anyway, I understand if you don’t publish my comment, but I do hope you take your readers into consideration.

    All the best with choosing paint colours! I know how hard that can be 🙂
    ~ a faithful reader, always, Esther ~

    Reply

    1. Hey Esther!

      Thank you so much for your support. I understand your reasoning and I appreciate your input. I realize the timing of privatizing the blog indicates it is because my comments regarding YHL, but we truly did make the blog private for security concerns. Addressing the YHL comments to defend the legitimate security concerns and point out the changes would be counter productive. I’m certainly not trying to pretend nothing happened, just trying to prevent/minimize any problems from here on out.

      Again, I really appreciate your opinions, suggestions, and support.

      Thanks!
      Amanda

      Reply

  7. I hate the weird colors that cfl bulbs cast too. I’ve always been a big fan of the GE Reveal light bulbs because of their perfect (in my factual opinion). I was so excited last year when they finally made CFL bulb for the line. I usually pick them up at Target, I haven’t seen them at Lowes or Home Depot, and they’re perfect! Good luck picking your colors!

    Nikki Kelly @ the ambitious procrastinator

    P.S. I have no clue what’s going on a few comments up ^

    Reply

    1. Hey Nikki Kelly!

      Thanks for the tip! Right now we’ve got a stock pile of CFL bulbs (in part because they take forever to burn out and coupons) but maybe I’ll pick up one or two to try in the darker rooms. 🙂

      Thanks!
      Amanda

      Reply

  8. I guess I’m behind! I did a little googling and found the GOMI thread. Eh, who cares – some people have a lot of time on their hands. I also wouldn’t paint those doors, but mostly because once you paint you have to maintain. I do love the color, though!

    Reply

  9. I, too, love your choice of paint for the doors … such a warm and cozy shade. Do you use eggshell or semigloss? Love your blog!

    Reply

    1. Hi Carolyn,

      Thanks, I’m pretty excited about the color. 🙂 I used eggshell for the doors because I thought semigloss would be too glossy. It might be a mistake for durability, but we’ll see.

      Thanks!
      Amanda

      Reply

  10. Have you seen Benjamin Moore’s lemon sorbet? I, too, am painting my guest room yellow. I love this color. Check it out:).

    Reply

  12. Have been following your blog off and on. I just had my house painted in yellow and grey-blue-green color. The yellow that I found stayed as true yellow at all times of the day and under CFL was Behr’s YellowStone. the other color which I got was Sherwin Williams SeaSalt – this is at various times and under various light, light grey, sea green and light blue. good luck with paint colors!

    Reply

    1. Hi Christi!

      It hurt a little to paint the nicer few. Most were fakey pine with crazy grain, but a few were different and beautiful. Because they weren’t all the same, I painted the doors. If they were original to an old house, I’d never consider it. Not all wood is created equal. 🙂

      Thanks!
      Amanda

      Reply

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