Three Things Thursday: Home edition

Move that body: 2-mile walk with Denali and ~1 hour with painting

Instead of talking about my walk today, on which I really wished that Mark would buy me that Taser I’ve been asking for after a cat decided to lie in a fancy-schmancy front yard and turn Denali from docile pet to crazy hunter, I’m going to talk about the house. Deal.

1. The half-bathroom is stripped of wallpaper. It is primed. It is painted.

You can’t really tell from the picture but it’s painted a light green – Mackinac Island from Dutch Boy. I had really wanted to do a coral (I’m sure Mark would have loved that) but my friend reminded me that the floors are a burgundy tile and coral+burgundy = ugly. With a capital WTH were you thinking. Said friend also told me after I bought the paint that a buttery yellow would have been nice. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

I actually painted the bathroom this morning because I won’t be around this weekend and can’t do it tonight because I have a stinkin’ breast feeding class. Don’t call it nesting.

2. I forgot to take a photo this a.m. because I was too busy, well, painting but the baby’s room is really getting there. The crib, dresser and bookshelf are all put together and I think I have the furniture arranged how I like it. Next up is THE art project.

I’m going to get to it in, oh, about two weeks because we have packed weekends coming up between weddings, baby showers and infant classes. Blech. I want my June.

3. And, related, is one of the you asked questions.

Rebecca asked …

I know you guys just bought your house and have been redecorating. I love the colors you picked for baby boy's room. How did you go about picking the "right" paint colors to match the idea in your head? We're new homeowners too and I'd love any advice.

To be honest, I probably spent too much time thinking about the colors and I changed my mind more times than I can count. I was not fun for a few weeks, let me tell you. But, I did learn some things:

• Look for inspiration/accents before you pick a paint color. I was doing this a lot with the half bathroom. Find towels, curtains, a comforter that you LOVE and pick a color that coordinate.
• I did a lot of searching on Google Images. I’d type in just “boy’s nursery orange” or “half bathroom paint.”
• When it came to baby boy’s room, I brought home paint swatches and looked at them in different lights to see how I liked them. It was a good thing, too, because I was so gung ho on a combo in Lowe’s and hated it when I got home.
• Also for the nursery, I picked the orange first and then looked for the blue. I knew the orange would be the hardest to get “right” and there are a million and one blues that would work.
• Last, but not least, don’t be afraid of color. Color is fun. It’s easy and cheap to change a color and pick up neutral accents.

Anyone have tips for Rebecca?