The Twelve Days of Decorating

Christian Ursino and I wrote this little ditty last year, and I think it's the perfect time to ressurect it for the holiday season:

The Twelve Days of Decorating

Instead of rehashing the same old holiday decorating tips again and again (okay, okay... here’s your tip: just use candles – lots of them!), we thought it would be more fun to lighten up and celebrate the season with a group sing-along. So pour yourself a hot cocoa or a hot toddy and get ready to sing The Twelve Days of Decorating.


~ On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a bright shiny crystal chandelier.



~ On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.


~ On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.

~ On the forth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.

~ On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a shiny crystal chandelier.




~ On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 6 yards of cashmere, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.




~ On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 7 handmade tassels, 6 yards of cashmere, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.




~ On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 8 Louis armchairs, 7 handmade tassels, 6 yards of cashmere, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.


~ On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 9 shutters shutting, 8 Louis armchairs, 7 handmade tassels, 6 yards of cashmere, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.




~ On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 10 cans of paint, 9 shutters shutting, 8 Louis armchairs, 7 handmade tassels, 6 yards of cashmere, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.




~ On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 11 painters painting, 10 cans of paint, 9 shutters shutting, 8 Louis armchairs, 7 handmade tassels, 6 yards of cashmere, 5 watercolors, 4 antique bowls, 3 pillar candles, 2 accent pillows and a bright shiny crystal chandelier.



~ On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a break from all this #%$#%$@ decorating!




Happy holidays to one and all!

At Last!!!!!!

So. Holidays are quickly approaching and it's beyond time to repaint the living room, potentially the dining room and for sure the kitchen. We've had swatches on the living room walls since summer. Beige swatches. Absolutely wrong.

The kitchen has been a saga of sorts. You'd think with all my work with color that choosing my own would be a snap. Right? Well, the chocolate walls are not making me a happy paint princess. A color might work just fine and still be wrong, that's the situation we have going on in the kitchen. I love to eat chocolate, but it's not so great for the north-facing kitchen.

Regarding the living room - much as it pains me to say this, it's true: Mom was right again!

She suggested a color to try for the living room, C2's Bamboo. While it's too dark, I had a C2 Sampler pint made of the formula at both 75% and 50% strength. I even had a 50% formulation made with no black pigment, just to see if the spectrophotometer could match to color accurately without using any black pigments.

It's great! I think my trick of eliminating the black pigment kept the lightened color from mushing out to a blechy greige tone. Sometimes lightened colors can loose their character and vibrancy when cut down too far. Then they become shades of grey on the wall. Or they look like "why bother" versions of the richer color - too safe and weakened from the original.

It looks great in both the living room AND the kitchen. Surprising about the kitchen, who knew the same color would look so great in both spaces? It's just a great color that supports all the millwork and furnishings - I love it. I might try lightening the living room formulation a tad more, maybe C2 Bamboo at about 40%... just a titch lighter... but even so, I really like the color a lot. It's quite neutral without resorting to safe beige. Lots of yellow/olive undertones, it's great. I can't wait to get it painted!

Who knows, maybe this color will even last in our house more than 6 months...