Paint...one things that is relatively inexpensive that can change everything.

A portrait Sam painted

If I've learned anything from my artist husband it's all about this thing called saturation. Sam has been working in show biz for the past 20 years, creating sets and props, digitally, for movies, video games and apps. He is also a fine artist. He can paint anything...so when he speaks, I listen.

We are talking about color here...so if it's too saturated that means the color has moved from a natural point to a unnatural state. For example "hot pink" isn't a color you find in nature...or at least not that often and is why it makes you feel a little uneasy when you are in a room painted that color. Sam made us this handy dandy chart. The four colors of green on the left hand side should be used sparingly...maybe paint a small desk or chair this color but not a room. The reason? They are too saturated! In nature we are looking at everything under a light blue/grey/white haze because of the sky....that's why people tend to enjoy less color.

 


 














 It's no secret that I love white. My kitchen is all white, most of my walls are white, etc. so when I told my sister I liked the deep purple room in my mom's house she was surprised. " I didn't think you'd like it since it's so dark."

 It's not that I don't like color, or that I don't like darker shades, I just don't like things that look fake along with most people, they just don't know why they don't like it. Come to find out...the name of the paint is grape, so it's no surprise that the color would resonate with me.

I guess I'm lucky I love white now that we've moved to Ohio I am trying to embrace the natural beauty of the snow and the gleaming white landscape just helps me become one with nature. Ha, ha!! Who am I kidding?? I'm freezing my butt off here...but I have to make the most of it! I can't help singing "California Dreaming" on a day like today but it has warmed up. It's a blistery 12 degrees...up about 18 degrees from yesterday!

So...if you are holed up in the house today...break out the paint!! Oh...I forgot something really important. Buy a good brush!! It is well worth the 15 dollars you will spend and it will take half the time and the results will be so much nicer! 

 I'm going to do a little more writing and give you some super duper tips on how to strip paint from fixtures, door knobs etc. without killing yourself. Believe me I've tried it all and this method is the easiest, cleanest and most effective!! Until then...

The Festivities are over...the tree has been taken down-so now it's back to business-renovation business that is. If you are thinking of buying a fixer upper-stop and read this post first. We've renovated several properties and we learn something new every time so don't go through the rough stuff, let us do that for you!! First thing...Design it before you buy it!! I think this is one of the biggest mistakes a person can make when buying a fixer-upper. You go over your new home with a microscope, looking for cracks in the foundation, faulty wiring and bad plumbing but you never look at it’s “living power”. No, that isn’t some new age philosophy but just a term I’ve coined for this post. “Living Power” means it fits your lifestyle. I love separate rooms for specific occasions but I also like flow. I remember when I walked into our current house for the first time and  I immediately fell in love! I think my realtor was shocked that I liked  it so much but I just knew it was to be mine.

little room off kitchen/back of house

"after" photo taken from the living room into the kitchen

When I walked in the front door I could see all the way to the back of the house. I knew there was potential because I like lots of light and I could bust out a few walls and add lots of natural sunshine. The pic to the left was the "before" of the living room that was separate from the kitchen.  The one on the right was a little room off of the kitchen that was virtually unusable. Here's a BIG tip...just because a wall is load bearing doesn't mean it can't be removed. I don't know why people freak out about removing walls. We've taken out several load bearing walls and if you properly support them, all is well. When we gutted our little 600 square foot duplex in Los Angeles we removed a wall and replaced it with a 200 lb beam in the ceiling. We were told that was overkill...but better over than under!  Now...if you are a super fan of Nicole from rehab addict, like I am, you may be wondering about removing walls yet still preserving the integrity of the house. Here's my take on it. We always keep anything of significance when it comes to mantles, wood work, floors, etc. We try and repair anything and everything we can...but we also have to live in it. I don't regret for a second tearing out the two walls that opened up the kitchen to the living room and the kitchen to the great outdoors! Remember your house needs "living power"! Also...don't rule out an old house because you are afraid of it's inefficiency. You can blow in insulation as well as insulate your attic. Do this prior to finishing your walls because they drill holes about the size of the bottom of a pop can about every 16 inches on all the walls that face the outdoors. You can do this from either the inside or outside and the cost can vary dramatically so shop around. We finished our 3500 square foot place for less than 4-thousand dollars and this included the insulation that expands and looks like giant marshmallows for the kitchen (since it was gutted) and bat insulation for another room that wasn't dry walled. That's it for now! I'm snowed in...so you'll probably hear more from me this week!