I thought I would share a quick peek at the paint we chose.� The board and batten is in Cloud White (semi-gloss) by Benjamin Moore and the walls and ceiling are Elephant Tusk (flat).� We could not have painted the rooms if it wasn’t for Benjamin Moore giving us the paint.� (You can read more about how that happened here.)� It looks and feels wonderful!� I know the pictures look very similar to what we already had, but it’s a good 5 shades lighter and much more neutral.� The last color was the color of a band-aid or cardboard box.� I completely underestimated the butterscotch fireplace when I picked that color.� Lesson learned!
Also, how awesome a job did The Mister do making and installing the board and batten and new baseboards?� It looks amazing.� Most of the houses in our neighborhood have original board and batten, and you can’t tell the difference between those with original woodwork and ours.� Plus 2,000 points for The Mister.
The room is incomplete, but it will have to stay that way while we save the money to buy a few key pieces, like rugs in both the dining and living room.� Two dogs and a toddler who spent most of the past winter season with the stomach flu meant bye-bye cream shag rug in the living room. (But I do marvel at how easy it now is to sweep and mop the floors!)
We also need window treatments to go with our new IKEA curtains, which for some reason are $10 more expensive online.� As an aside, I hate the phrase “window treatments.”� It sounds more important than it is, at least in our home.� What I mean to say is, “I’m going to have a garage sale and then I’m going to take the money I make from selling baby supplies and go buy some matchstick blinds from The Home Depot.”� There, that’s better.
I’m sorry that picture is so dark. That is what a wall of glass along the north east wall will do to pictures in the morning. The light streaming in every morning is nice, so I’m not complaining.
The fireplace looks so much better with the new paint. My sister in-law came over and it was one of the first things she noticed. That wall seems to blend much better, and that’s without me adding any accessories or pictures on the wall.
Speaking of pictures, I have to work up the courage to knock nails into the walls and hang up a few.� The walls look so fresh and clean, I don’t know when I will have the nerve!� It goes without saying that deciding what to hang is an effort in futility.
I hope you like it.� We love it!� The pictures don’t do it justice, but I’ve talked about the moody lighting in my house before.� You’ll just have to trust me that it looks 100% better. :)
L.O.V.E. IT!
Wow! That is a complete 180 from what you were looking at before. Love it too. The Mr. is a master!
Looks amazing & fresh! Favorite part – the incorporation of items that remind me of your family (since I read your blog daily)…piles of books & dinosaurs. I also love the microscope on the coffee table. Nice work – love the board & batten.
It looks light yet homey. Love it!
Your house looks SO different! So much fresher and lighter. I’m liking your new dining chairs too (did you successfully CL the old set?).
how beautiful!! i love the dinosaurs on the mantle and the hardwood floors are a work of art!!! why cover it with rugs?!? happy monday! xo
Nic–the dining room table and chairs sold within a couple of hours. They went fast, and we used the money to pay for a painter (after the B&B the Mister didn’t feel like painting, even though I wanted to). The chairs are old IKEA chairs, maybe 2005? We keep them around as spares, and they came in handy this week, as you can see! We bought an IKEA table over the weekend. It’s not my favorite in terms of looks, but it met all our requirements: solid wood, round, and impervious to small boys. Eventually we’ll get the chairs that go with the table, but these work fine for now.
Thanks, everyone!
Sonchia and Megan–good eyes! I love the dinosaurs and books, too. If a home doesn’t reflect the people who live there, then it isn’t much of a home. :)
Your home is so light and airy! It’s beautiful!
It looks so good!! And I love that the paint color is elephant tusk! How appropriate for you and your love of elephants.
FANTASTIC! It’s fun getting to see your house–I can’t help but notice the “K” on the green piece of furniture (and it’s such a lovely shade of green!) with the books–where did you get it? If you don’t mind me asking–“K”‘s seem hard to come by.
i love how it is so airy and bright! I am now dreaming of a netural home as well… love the color choices, love everything. I agree I don’t know if I could put a nail in such a beautifully painted wall! Oh and I would say 10,000 points to the mister for his efforts! Amazing!
Love love love the color. Am strongly considering it for Sadie’s room…nice and neutral. Kiss those babies for me!
Karrie–the K is from Anthropologie.
It looks amazing! I love the board and batten, it adds so much character. Just curious- what type of paint did you use on the b&b (eggshell, semi-gloss- etc.)?
Semi gloss. Let me change the post to reflect that info. Thanks!
It looks fantastic! Obviously, I’ve never seen your home, but I can certainly tell from the pictures that it’s a lot brighter. Looks really, really great! Your fireplace blends in with the wood furniture you have and looks like it fits and is intentional, but not matchy-matchy (to use a YHL term).
I’m so glad that you went with the lighter paint, it looks AMAZING.
I’m so glad that you went with the lighter paint, it looks AMAZING.
gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!! the lighter color with the fresh green … it looks amazing!! we’re doing board & batten next year, and i can’t wait to add it everywhere possible! (is there such thing as “too much board & batten”?)
I love it all! I am envious of the light you get in your home. I have one room in my house that is always sunny.
I can’t wait to do board and batten in our home. We will be painting our daughters’ room grey this week. I’ve got a wicker Pottery Barn day bed and an IKEA loft I am hoping to sell on Craigslist to make money for accesories for their “new” room.
Oh, how high are your ceilings?
A very low 8 feet! Doesn’t the B&B make them look taller? That alone was worth all the hard work my husband put into them.
The paint is great and the B&B is WONDERFUL. Don’t underestimate Command strips for hanging pictures, I am very commitment-phobic when it comes to putting up pictures and they have changed my life;-)
Oh, it’s bea-u-tiful! So welcoming and inviting … it made me smile just to see the pictures. I also loved that, while classy, it still has character (the dinosaurs, for instance).
the wall of windows is so nice – I love all that natural light. and the paint looks fabulous – great picks!!
I love it (and I was one of the ones who voted against the B&B, so I officially admit here that I was totally wrong)! The fireplace looks infinitely better and much less imposing. It really does make the ceilings look higher, which I don’t understand at all, but so be it. I like that the top rail lines up with the top of your china hutch — is that how you determined the height you wanted?
I second the 3m Command velcro strips for hanging pictures. Amazing. Before 3m, all my pictures had a minimum of 3 – 4 holes behind them before I got the picture hung properly.
Val–that’s just a coincidence with the china cabinet. I read somewhere that woodwork is usually 1/3 or 2/3 high, which in my house is roughly 3.5 or 5 feet. I thought anything less than 5 feet would cut the walls in half and make everything look even shorter. Plus, I really wanted something tall (to me). I had a hunch it would make the ceilings look higher, and it did. Whew!
It’s perfect. And my favorite part is the “surprise element” of the green desk with the stacks of books. So reflective of the owner and her passion for reading!
B R A V O !!!
Jules,
I love how light and bright your rooms look with the new paint! You might want to look for Indoor/Outdoor rugs when you are ready. A lot of them can be taken outside and hosed off now.
Nichole
PS Good luck on the blinds shopping. I opened a can of worms on my blog when I did a recent post about the disappearance of my Hunter Douglas blinds.
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/hunter-douglas-genius-or-insane/
Beautiful! I would kill to have all that natural light in my house, I have one window in my living room and none in my kitchen!
The board and batten is awesome! Great job to your hubby. I have been wanting to do something like this in the never ending dining room redo. Any tips would be great! How about a how to post?
Londen
Everything is perfect – the wall color, the board and batten, and that cute little green desk!
I love the updates!
This looks fabulous! I love me some board and batten!!
Hi,
I am thinking about painting my kitchen/living area elephant tusk. I need a neutral color because I have such a big area and maple kitchen cabinets. I am nervous as I thought the elephant tusk was more grey with a green undertone. It looks so beautiful in your home. What are your feelings about this color? Are you happy with the color in such a large open area? Do people seem to notice the color when they visit? I’ve read about the color, and people seem to say that it is a warm cozy color. Do you find the color warm; esp. when the sunlight fills the room? What do you think? Thanks for help with these questions, Paula
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