Blue Skies...Nothing But Blue Skies!

Isn't that a song? For some reason it came to mind and I'm not a big music person. The only time songs come to mind for me is when I'm writing/posting. Go figure! Not that I don't enjoy music, I just enjoy the quiet so much I forget to ever turn it on! Must have something to do with having three boys:)

My Blue Sky!

It's just the faintest hint of a soft blue - almost grey.

Anyhoo, I got the dining room ceiling painted this weekend. Wha-Hoo! And guess what? It's blue skys - nothing but blue skies, and I LOVE it! So airy and light. Now I'm contemplating doing the same in the kitchen with the leftover paint. It needs it anyway since I took down that fluorescent space ship that was parked up there.

It just adds so much to the room and really makes me like the white walls even more. As my Big Boy said while we (I) sat there admiring it last night "It makes you notice the chandelier now. I never noticed there was that 'white thing' (medallion) around it at the ceiling." Bingo! That was one of my goals and if a pre-tween boy can notice it, I've met accomplished it:) I also did a simple adjustment to something already in the room that made a HUGE difference. Can you spot it?

Can you spot the change (and no it's not the table centerpiece.
I just forgot to take that off and put the hydrangeas back!)

Just to build the suspense, I thought I'd show a glimpse of the fabrics I'm planning on using.

I fell in love with this when I saw it and had to have it even though I had no idea what I'd do with it at the time.

This was not out of remnants! I bought eight yards of it to recover a chair, then changed my mind. I have been dying to use it somewhere because it's so pretty. It's my inspiration for the ceiling color as well as the plate I showed before.

The minute I saw this, I knew where it was going. Can you guess?

I've had plans for the basket weave pattern for about two years and just haven't been motivated to use it until I painted the room. The others are from my stash. I'm hoping I have enough of the paisley to do what I'm wanting to. If not, I may have to go hunting for more and since it came from the remnants bin, that may be tough. If you have a clue where to get it, PLEASE share!

My "To Do" list is unbelievably long today! I've got several small items I have to put finishing touches on and get down that blank space I call my booth, slip-covers to cut out and sew, and laundry out the yin-yang...just to name a couple! So, I'm off to work while the two oldest are still sleeping. I'll get a scan on this paint color to post hopefully today or tomorrow.

Have a great Monday while I'm sweating it to the "oldies"!

I was SO Wrong and An Easy Project

I was so wrong in what color to use on the dining room ceiling. And when I'm wrong, I will admit it. I was using what I thought was the color I'd used from a sample pot on a glass plate hanging in the breakfast room. See the top pale blue one? Yes, that is the color I THOUGHT I was using when I matched the "Almost Aqua" from Glidden. In fact, I am totally confused now as to what that color was, I was that sure it was one in the same! Anyhoo...I started trimming out the ceiling in the dining room and noticed it was WAY too green. More like Sea Foam. Not what I was after. So, I got the labels and started comparing. Then I ended up at Home Depot playing "match the paint shade" with the ladies behind the counter. They ROCKED! After hunting for a color similar (I had plate in hand) we finally found one similar and decided to go add a portion of the black and yellow to see if we could turn Sea Foam into Tiffany Blue. BINGO! First try, she nailed it. I was so excited because I was afraid I was going to just eat that paint and start over.

So, the three kiddos and I trucked it back home and up the ladder (not them!) with this beautiful robin's egg/Tiffany Blue to trim out. Guess what? Too dark for what I was aiming for. So, back down the ladder, out with the extra gallon of white ceiling paint and a five gallon bucket. One gallon of white and 10 scoops of robin's egg later, I had the perfect tint. Now, I'm about half-way done trimming out.

Thought I out to warn you should someone be thinking that was the color I was using and decide to try it for themselves. It is pretty, but not what I was wanting. I pulled out all my swatch books and found Behr has one pretty dog-gone close called "Cumulus 500E-1". I will get a scan on the formula and post it when I get done with the room along with all the materials used.

Behr "Cumulus".

Hopefully, by Monday I can show you the newest version of the room with painted ceilings! Yippee! I thought I'd share another inspiration picture for this room and ceiling. This house was featured in Southern Living Magazine in June 2011. It's a classic low country style house and I'm in love with the color palette throughout. According to the info pages, the owner used Benjamin Moore's "Woodlawn Blue" cut by a third for the master bedroom (and all blue ceilings in the interior...I'm guessing - didn't say) and Sage Tint for the porch, but they all look pretty close to me. Very like my sample shown above!



All three images via Southern Living Magazine June 2011.

On another note, I was just thinking as I showed the picture of the plates, that is an easy little project to customize your decor. I found those pebble texture plates on clearance at Target for about $1 each and simply painted the backsides in colors to match my decor. Only prepping needed was a good washing! When you turn them over, they look like glass tile. Gorgeous!

Now, go have a great weekend and don't paint your ceilings until I've done the experimenting
for you (wink, wink)!