Piano bench | Tree art | Landscape | Fox art | Sconce | Pendant
In Tuesday's post I mentioned that I got the itch to paint something. We had been planning on turning the music room into a jewel box — a bold, color in the middle of our Alabaster-walled home. I was leaning toward blue/green/gray, but after fanning out all of my paint swatches, I surprised myself by going with Benjamin Moore's "Fading Twilight," a moody, warm, dramatic color that is everything I wanted. Since this photo was taken, I've also replaced the outlet covers and unrolled a rug. But the whole process, from idea to pulling off the painter's tape, took only a few hours (and that includes *going* to the store and getting the paint). I guess my point is... it's a long weekend. Paint something! It's more thrilling than riding a roller coaster.
Other fun things this week!
• Daniel Kanter's Bluestone Cottage kitchen reveal has my jaw dropped all the way to his reclaimed yellow pine flooring. I was practically blinking through tears when I read that the room started with no plumbing, heating, electric... what?! Miracle-worker.
• Madewell is having an extra 30% off sale with code GIANT. The prices are too good to pass up. (These jeans are a staple if you need a place to start.)
• @beginninginthemiddle's marble tile has me all heart-eyed thinking about our own bathroom renovation — starting this month!
• Did you know? Baby owls sleep face down because their heads are too heavy to hold up. (this is true and hilarious and astonishing!????)
• Brb — I gotta go hang a little broom on a little hook. (Eee!)
• Five Minutes that will make you love Mozart
• The true cost of Dollar Stores...
• We put up a pool on the sport court yesterday. This Idaho summer is already hot, and last year's blow-up pool totally killed the grass. So as much as I'll miss the occasional game of tennis with Greta (well, the way *we* play tennis), this felt like a good investment into a cool summer. —Though the swimming pool of the year award definitely goes to Bri Moysa. That chic adult-swim stock tank pool + DIY deck for $600?! Pool party at her place.
• June was a whirlwind! Finished the closet, cleared out the garage, and made so much progress on the exterior! Check it all out in June's Day-to-Day video, below.
We're going to unplug a bit this weekend and will be back Tuesday, and we hope you do, too. Maybe make a fruit flag and close your eyes behind a new pair of sunnies. Happy Fourth :)
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I think this music room is so pretty, and I bet it feels cozy. I'm about to go dark green in our dining room. Did you use the same color on your ceiling, or did you take it down a bit? I'm not sure what to do in our dining room; we'll leave the trim and crown white because there's no natural stopping point if we painted it all green like the walls.
We used the same color as the walls!
Rug link please!
I love the dramatic color change! I'm looking to make a half-bath into a "jewel box" like you did here. Any color suggestions for a tiny room with low ceiling? Dark/moody, bold/bright? Paint the ceiling too, right?? Thank you!
Is there a trick to getting pictures to stay in place and not slide off the piano? I love that look! But I can see my toddler bumping into the piano and disaster ensuing.
I spent way to much time on Daniel Kanter's website and it's all your fault!
I love that paint color! It goes perfectly in that room.
Very tranquil. I’d love to tickle the ivories in this room! I’d be playing classical romantic music for sure.
Help me out, I love the pictures balanced on the top of the piano but how do you get them to stay? Like, if my toddler bumped into the piano, I’d be afraid they’d topple over. Is there a trick I can’t see?
Random Q, but how to do you have all those frames leaning above the piano without them sliding and falling down?? Love the look! Never works out for me though lol.
Not feeling this color. I always love your style but this not so much. Would have loved to see a dark teal in this room.
I’ve been hesitant to say but, I like the color and the jewel-tone box affect; however, I feel that it's not a good color match with the piano. From pictures, the piano looks orange and the walls look more raspberry than rust. It could be the lighting. It could be so much different in person. I have muddled over it each time I see it but, it hasn’t changed my feeling about it. On another note, your house is beautiful. I love the master and closet. Love the backyard. Love it all. What a difference from the beginning.
That article about Dollar Stores true cost is one I have suspected for a long time but never really understood well. This helped. I have been sending it out to my family to read.
Hi Julia! Love the music room!
That dollar store article - wow. I finished it and just sat there for a while - that was a sad and depressing, but important read. Thank you for sharing!
Brilliant choice!!! You didn’t waste anytime at all.
Can you share where this rug is from. It looks great in here
Hi Julia! I can't wait to see a view from the other rooms. I'm curious about how you ended up handling the transition within the arch and what that looks like from the other sides of the doorways. Have a great weekend!
I used tape! The baseboards are angled with corners so I took the tape up from one of those.
CLJ, you nailed it! It looks absolutely AMAZING! You guys are so inspiring, and your blog and IG are the best to follow these days. I just noticed you have a new entry rug (in Julia's stories from today). Would you mind sharing the source? It looks beautiful!
Thank you, and happy 4th!
It’s actually the same one we had in our last house. It goes anywhere! Is this one.
Love the colour, wish it was in at matte paint finish. It looks like ever so soft suede in matte and will hide all the bumpy finishes, although with kids it's definitely more maintenance
Hard no on the colour for me. Also, I think that when a room is painted all in one dark colour, there should be more moulding or detail. I also don't like the sheen, or that the ceiling is painted.
However, if YOU love it, than that's great--we all have different tastes, and I'm sure that if you came to my house there are aspects of it you would not like.
I commend Julia’s bold choices and know that she loves to take the path less travelled. That’s what’s awesome about interior design - making it your own. And why I love following CLJ.
But, I have to agree with you on this one. It’s a firm no from me too. That once beautiful space (from my point of view) looks dark and depressing. Honestly makes me want to cry when I look at the before and after. Potentially could of liked it if it was just the wall but not the trim AND the ceiling.
Oh well - have you seen the finished walk in closet!!! That is all kinds of amazing.
The music room looks great! I think it's important to acknowledge that you had 3+ people helping you paint it, so just painting a whole room in a couple hours is not really 100% feasible for us normal people. My 35 week pregnant self has been painting a tiny powder bathroom for 2 weeks now and still not done, no one helping me!
Besides which, there has been no prep whatsoever here (in addition to sloshing straight over the trim and ceiling, which hugely reduces the time to paint). Takes me ages to paint due to all the prep!
That Dollar General article...sigh...I have always felt deeply uncomfortable entering them...I don’t think I’ll go in one ever again after reading that.
Referring to your music room, I absolutely love that you went with a color that’s not often used, rather than white or gray. I think terra-cotta/rust colors are overlooked for sure! I do have to ask about your floors! While they are certainly beautiful, do you ever regret the light, white tone of them? We’re looking to do an old, warm toned wood floor (much like your piano color,) however, all’s I see nowadays are these “white” toned floors. Thoughts?
I think that our floors bring the modern to a lot of our traditional spaces. So I am still really happy with them!
So cosy! And really inspiring. Thanks!