Inspiration in Stages

Tackling the family room has been a process. I can't begin to tell you how many Benjamin Moore samples I bought. I had the hardest time figuring out a color for the family room. I went from dark brown to gray to golden to creams and greens. It took over six weeks to have our sofa and chair delivered and that's how long it took me to find the right color. I FINALLY picked a color (BM, Costal Fog). Our sofa and chair were delivered Saturday morning so my husband picked up the paint and started painting Saturday evening. He started cutting in the trim and corners. As he's painting, I'm noticing that I'm not loving the paint color and want to say something but he just bought two gallons of paint. But, he notices that this color looks nothing like the sample color I painted a few days before. Turns out, it's not the same color! What a waste of three hours. To make matters worse, the stores are closed on Sundays and we had to wait till Monday. Our family room is a mess but we now have the right color.

I'm terrible with keeping up with this blog. I have so many things going on right now. Here's the mirror that I finally received from Ballard Designs. I must say, I was very impressed with the mirror. The quality is amazing and the mirror is heavy!

I posted a look for less on Decorpad's site (PB's Daniella chest for $599 and Overstock's version for $249). I purchased the one from Overstock. The piece is pretty well made (I'm sure not as good as PB) but it was in my budget.

I've been MIA and lazy about posting stuff on my blog. Keeping busy on the homefront. Let's see . . . after three months of living in our new home, we went out to purchase a sofa. So happy we did! Unfortunately, it won't be delivered till sometime in early November. We purchased it from Ethan Allen. It's called the Avanti sofa.

Okay, now I'm singing to the Sound of Music (haha)

As I ride the bus this morning (from NJ to NY), I watch the men and women getting on the bus, dressed in their business attire, checking their blackberries for messages and scheduling their day with meetings and phone calls. I myself, am checking my blackberry, but checking on the decorpad.com website.

I began to think why I enjoy communicating and sharing pictures and ideas with total strangers. I realized these people aren't interested in the square footage of my house; the neighborhood that I live in; the taxes I pay; etc. They are sincere individuals, sharing ideas and asking for advice. The same as me. I look forward to sharing my latest project with them. Suzie and Freckles chic, rebecca, mrslimestone, lynette perez, etc. are my decorpad buddies. Suzie is a the BEST for creating this.

Some people I interact with on a day to day basis only want to compare what they have to what I have. Not to say that all people are like that, but the ones that are, I cringe when I have to talk to them. Then, I get aggravated because I feel like I was defending what I have. I'm exhausted . . .

Be thankful for what you have each day and enjoy the better things in life.

My years of living in NY and working in NYC, I developed a love fashion.

I remember the first time I passed by a Jimmy Choo store. It's a small boutique on 51st Street. I asked myself, do I have the courage to walk in and browse the store? Will they be rude to me because I'm not of a social class? Well, I chickened out and walked away. I kept playing the scene in my head from the movie, "Pretty Woman", (where Julia Roberts' character was shopping on Rodeo Drive and walked into a fancy store, and they were so mean to her).

Shortly thereafter, I had an event coming up and decided, what the heck, I'm going in! I have money to buy a pair of shoes (that I was saving) so my money is just as good as any one else's. I remember walking in and was greeted by the staff. They were nice! I mean, sincerely nice people. Ordinary, working people, like you and me (that just so happened to have the terrific job of selling J. Choo shoes). My first J. Choo's were called "Glow". I think that was seven or eight years ago and the relationship still continues to blossom. Sometimes, I think it's a curse because my addiction to their shoes is filling up my closet.

I soon developed a relationship with one of the sales woman. I was beginning to learn the ins and outs of it all. I received phone calls for trunk show events and upcoming sales. They have sales?! Now, I only go when it's 50% off (LOL). I tell my friends; they tell their friends and so on and so on.

Here's a little peek of my favorite shoes. The silver ones are Christian Louboutin (my wedding shoes).

So I've been a big fan of Candice Olson for years now. I love almost all of her designs. She has an amazing gift in designing rooms. I wish I had that gift. There was one episode (Julia and Mark's room, episode 409) that captured my heart. While the rooms (dining room/living room) were amazing, what blew me away was the wall color. She kept describing it as steel blue and metallic blue. After that episode I kept thinking about that wall color and had to find out what it was. I went on to the divine design blog and started asking viewers if they knew what color it was. Communication is a beautiful thing. Benjamine Moore, Yorktowne Green with Modern Masters platinum glaze. I sampled some boards and was ready to paint.

Here's Candice's design. . .

Building a home from scratch is a new and exciting experience but can be overwhelming at times. In today's world, you have so many options available, it's hard to make a decision. You hope that the one you chose is the right one (for you). Will I love it when it's all done? Will I get tired of it in 10 years?