Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Black walls

I love them - always have.
Some people have a misconception about black walls - thinking it closes a space - makes it look smaller when the exact opposite is true.  Black brings depth into a room - especially when it's only done as an accent wall - surrounded by white.
2 houses ago I painted our entire dining room black - the room had 2 double sets of french doors and crown molding with high baseboards - so there was a lot of white trim to contrast it.
When we sold the building ( it was a duplex ) the realtor advised that although HE liked the black dining room, it might prove to be a hard sell.

That home sold in 8 hours - with multiple offers ( in off - season ) for double what we had purchased it for and every single potential buyer loved the dining room.
Moral of the story?

Any color can look gorgeous if done properly in a space -
I remember people reacting with horror when I told them my plans.....................
But it was only paint - and the marvelous thing about paint is that it's never permanent
( your talking to someone who once painted her living room 3 times in a week until I got the right color - but oh what a gorgeous color I ended up with LOL )

Here's some samples of Black that enhance a space.  ( in my humble opinion )

THE UNCOMMON LAW
NOSTALGIA AND NOW
HOUSE BEAUTIFUL
DECOR PAD
Even black wall paper is gorgeous if done in the right setting - look how sophisticated this room looks

EUROPEAN-WEB.ORG
EUROPEAN-WEB.ORG
I painted a small accent wall in the entry way in black in this house ( you can see more pics HERE )
Oh God - I'm looking at the before - I'd forgotten how horrible it all was....................


and now I've done one wall in the second guest room
( please don't look at the floor - it only has one coat of primer on it - and don't look at the window either - it's still a work in progress )
I'm only granting permission to look at the wall itself -


A white dresser will be put against that wall - so you'll see even less when it's finished -
But the white floor and black wall already make this tiny little room look bigger


Plus it ties in with the black accents on the other side perfectly


I want to retain the cottage-y style of this house without a doubt - that is after all, what it is - but I also want to add ( on some level anyway ) a little sophistication to the mix and touches of black seem to do the trick.

Has anyone else ever painted a wall black?

Much love,
Me

Looking for inspirations?
Join me at these fabulous parties !

Savvy Southern Style                                   French Country Cottage
Too Much Time on My Hands                     My Turn for Us
My Romantic Home                                    I Should be Mopping the Floor
Distressed Donna Down Home                   Uncommon Designs
Between Naps on the Porch                        Sand & Sisal
Kathe With an E

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Soda's Update


My little munchkin is on the mend -
But now that it's over I can tell you that we were a couple of zombies over all of this -
So much so that we postponed our cruise for next Fall ( the only place they had for us and we had to upgrade to get it )
There was no way we could go days after she had her operation - she was lethargic and I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her while we were away.
It wasn't a hard decision at all - in fact I was so filled with anxiety about leaving her - that once we decided we would postpone - a feeling of complete peace came over me.
She's an older dog - and she has a heart murmur - so being put under to remove a malignant tumor
( it was breast cancer ) was a huge risk and she had a lot of medication to take after ( and still has another week of it )
BUT SHE'S OK !!!!!!!!!!!
She's come through it with flying colors - what a tough little girl - really.

The only thing she asks is that I cover her up while she recuperates.........................she sits wherever she wants to lay -  and looks up at me questioningly - until I place a blanket on her and then she curls up under it and naps.

There'll always be cruises -
There's only one Soda - and she owns us -
Completely.

I have to thank everyone who left such kind comments about her - they were more appreciated than you can know.

Life is good
Life is so. so good

Much love,
Me