In which she finally makes a decision.

It is time for me to brag upon my husband. He is so talented but so modest, he won't do it himself. But I will!

Way back in February of last year, when we moved into this house, I knew I wanted to make some changes. Repainting and getting rid of wallpaper. Just making this house more "us," as it were. However, I didn't really know what I wanted instead. I need to live in a space, get to know it before I can determine how I want it to feel. We've made some changes here and there, like the new hardwood floor T installed in the dining room, but the wall colors have remained intact.

Until now.

I finally managed to grasp onto where I want to go: I want each room to feel like a "season." It's no secret that, while I love where I live (all July through October summer weariness aside), I miss having four seasons and I work hard to create them where I live. I have seasonal decor and different candle scents that I rotate through, depending on where we are in the calendar. I obviously can't do that with the more semi-permanent decor of each room though. (Not if I want to stay married! And I do!) So, instead, I have started to look at each room and try to determine what season I want its primary personality to feel like.

For instance, in a room that won't be receiving a new coat of paint is the living room, which is a wonderful shade of barn red that I fell in love with the first time we stepped inside. We have chocolate brown furniture in there and a warm stain on the cherry wood entertainment center. (It sounds heavy and dark, but this room is only half of a bigger space -- the other half being the dining room, which has its own personality -- and this giant room receives an abundance of natural light, so it can handle the deeper colors well without becoming a cave.)

I digress.

When I think of the space where we curl up to relax at the end of the day, I want it to feel cozy. Like autumn. Rich, warm colors. Soft places to relax.

So, on that note, I started thinking about the master bedroom. We recently upgraded from a queen-size bed to a king. We had to purchase new bedding and T was busy constructing a new headboard for it. The walls were a pale bland yellow, which is just not my favorite color. I wanted our bedroom to feel fresh and clean. Uncluttered but with a "cool warmth," not sterile. (It also had to work with the sage green carpet throughout the house. Also not my favorite color, but, honestly, the carpet is still in good condition, so we won't be replacing that any time soon and I needed it to work now, in addition to when we go with more of a neutral in the future.)

After a lot thought and several paint chips being scattered about the room in various places and at various times of day, I decided. Our master bedroom now feels like spring! And it is so lovely.

Super Blah Walls Before


Beautiful After





That headboard and cedar-lined blanket chest are entirely T's design and construction. And they are *gorgeous*. Run your hand over that finished wood and it is like satin. The walls are two-toned in a slightly more green-tinted robin's egg sort of color. The darker color is only on the wall behind the bed (Aqua Smoke by Behr) and the rest of the walls are a shade lighter (Water Mark by Behr). The difference is subtle (and nearly impossible to get an accurate photo of the true colors). In some lighting, you almost can't tell that it's two different colors, because it tricks your eye into thinking the wall behind the bed is just "in a shadow," which is perfect, because I don't want the colors to feel distracting or overwhelming. All the trim has been painted a clean, fresh white.

The room still needs a little more attention. T will eventually be building a cheval mirror for an empty corner between the master bathroom and the slider out onto our private patio, a new dresser for me, and matching nightstands. He'll refinish his chest of drawers (which he built many moons ago, of solid cherry, so it matches already) to match the stain we've chosen for the new furniture and give it new hardware to match as well. I need to find two or three throw pillows for the bed (this makes T roll his eyes, but he humors me anyway), now that I know which colors I am working with. And we want to get something up on our walls now, once we figure out what, exactly. But it's all starting to come together now and I love that it feels like its ours now.

A crisp, soft space in which to get refreshed. Like a breath of spring morning air.