Summer Reading List

<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have two big trips coming up and I always like to have a couple of new books on hand before heading to the airport (which is exactly how you get an unruly book collection that looks like this). I will always end up buying my favorites, but I've started e-reading lately and I'm so happy with how convenient it is!</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2014-07-28at124316PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda017/ScreenShot2014-07-28at124316PM.png" style="text-align: start;" /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you heard of </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oyster</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">? It's like Netflix for eBooks! For $9.95 a month you have access to </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">unlimited</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> books from their library of over 500,000 titles! Which means you can give up or put aside a book that's not quite right for you or for your mood and easily move on to another book. You can read on your iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook HD and computer.</span></span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They are offering a </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">free 30-day trial subscription here</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and I started mine last week. I LOVE it. I'm totally hooked!</span></div></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2014-07-28at124500PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda017/ScreenShot2014-07-28at124500PM.png" style="text-align: start;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, it's so silly how much I care about this sort of thing, but I really love that they give you a ton of different page and font options. I like the Penguin-style page above for day reading and the black background for easy-on-the-eyes night reading.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo ScreenShot2014-07-28at124445PM.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda017/ScreenShot2014-07-28at124445PM.png" style="text-align: start;" /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my upcoming trips is to New York for work. I'll be staying in Brooklyn for most of the trip, which means some long subway rides. The great thing about Oyster is they let me keep TEN FULL BOOKS in my reader library at once - so no wifi, no problem! Can you tell I'm geeking out? </span></span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We're all a bunch of book nerds over here, so I asked Kate and Heather to give me their summer reading lists to share too. Most of these are books we haven't read yet and we'd love your feedback if you have! </span></div></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Here's my list:</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo Jenny.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda017/Jenny.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Beautiful Ruins</i> - This one looks like a fun, light read. One complaint I've heard is there are too many characters and setting shifts, but I think that might make it an easy book to pop in and out of, in between sessions with my historical floor plans and Eggers (see below).</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Alchemist</i> - Supposedly a very quick, sweet and simple read that leaves you thinking and inspired. I can get behind a book like that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius</i> - I read, and loved, Dave Eggers' <i>What is the What,</i> but held off on this one because I've heard mixed reviews from friends - they either loved it or hated it. I think I'm ready to tackle it now though. Have you read this book?</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Paris Mansions and Apartments, 1893</i> - I had heard this book was a good one and I flipped through it once in a book store and it looked <i>amazing. </i>Seems like a must for any one who gets a kick out of architecture, history and Paris. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Midwife of Venice</i> - I was sick last winter and watched an episode of <i>Call the Midwife</i> on Netflix, desperate for distraction. I ended up watching two season's worth of episodes! Ha! I have no idea what this book is about, but it has good reviews and it's a period piece about a midwife, so I think my chances are good.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Once A Runner</i> - I've heard this one described as the Bible of serious running. I am not a hardcore runner now, but I once was, and I truly loved it. Sometimes I read Marathon training books just for fun, so I think this one could be a winner for me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Heather's List:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo Heather.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda017/Heather.jpg" /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Cost of Lunch, Etc. - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I have a weakness for short stories, and I find myself being pulled to stories about women who are trying to wrestle with their inner demons. These stories look like they're going to deliver.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Sisters Brothers - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Confession, while I have been seeing this book in several bookstores and the reviews seem very positive, the thing that makes me most curious to read it is that the author's last name is DeWitt. We're almost certainly not related, but I'm excited to see if it lives up to the family name ;) </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Telegraph Avenue - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Michael Chabon is, without a doubt, in the top tier of my favorite authors. I've read a few of his other books, so I've excited to read this one. I'm pretty confident that I'll like it. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It Chooses You - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Miranda July is one of the most brilliant artists of today! I love her movies, and I've read one or two of her short stories before, so I'm very excited to get more of her.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="http://9nl.es/g7pz" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></a></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Girl with the Golden Eyes - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I've heard many great things about Balzac. I'm really looking forward to reading this book! </span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kate's List:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt=" photo Kate.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda017/Kate.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Little Bee - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A few years ago it seemed like every book club was reading this, yet somehow I missed it. I started to read reviews and they are surprisingly vague because of a supposed pivotal plot twist and the reviewers "don't want to give too much away". I'm interested!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Light Between Oceans - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I cannot wait to read this book (it's next on my list!) I read a quick excerpt before putting it on my read list and it was so beautifully written that I'm finding myself rushing through my current book so I can start this one! </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Collected Stories of Heinrich Boll - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">"These diverse, psychologically rich, and morally profound stories explore the consequences of war on individuals and on an entire culture." This book jumped out at me and immediately went to my reading list, I'm a sucker for powerful short stories. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Geography of Thought - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I read this book back in a college psych class and it's interesting revelations have stayed with me for years so when I saw it on the list I knew I wanted to read it again. It's essentially a look into the differences between eastern and western culture- perception of time, healing, social interactions, medicine, and relationships.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The House of Mirth - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">My sister has been telling me to read this book for years, turn of the century in New York and high society life, I'm wondering what took me so long. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>My Antonia - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This is the first book I recommend to people. It will forever remain a favorite of mine. Willa Cather writes so beautifully about the simplicity of friendship, and so strikingly about the potential of life. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I read this book a few years ago and it's still one I think about often. Set around the heartbreak of 9/11, the narrator, a 9 year old, self-proclaimed pacifist, is a quirky, tambourine playing wise guy. This book is powerful, poignant, and emotional. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Man Who Would Be King - </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A collection on my reading list, short stories written by the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. So I mean, it's gotta be good. </span></span></div><div></div>

Summer Reading List

I have two big trips coming up and I always like to have a couple of new books on hand before heading to the airport (which is exactly how y...

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Wallpaper on the Playroom Ceiling

<center></center><div style="text-align: justify;">The ceiling in the playroom is really low - just under eight feet. It actually feels nice and cozy, especially for the kids, but I wanted to try and trick the eye a little. I hung the yellow curtains almost up to the ceiling and that helped, but it felt like we needed something a little more exciting up on or by the ceiling.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 26.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/26.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've always loved Julia Rothman's Daydream wallpaper from Hygge & West. In a middle-of-the-night design session I remembered the pattern and reached out the company to see if they had enough rolls in stock to send me a rush shipment. We were only a few days out from the Domino shoot at this point and I needed that paper ASAP!! Hygge & West was <i>wonderful </i>to work with and they rushed those couple of rolls out right away.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 30.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/30.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 11.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/11.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><div style="text-align: justify;">I went with the green color way, which has a creamy background, soft blue clouds and the prettiest color of jade green on the sweet little birdies. When the girls walked in after the paper hangers were finished, there were all sorts of oohs and ahhs and even some squeals. :) A very good sign. Gracie called it magical, which was pretty much the perfect compliment. I think it feels pretty magical too.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We finished out the edges with just some casing trim (no room for even a short crown) that we painted with left over paint from the bathroom ceiling (Farrow and Ball's Pale Powder). We matched the baseboards too and left the walls white (Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace).</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 31.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/31.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The light fixture was a happy find at Lowes! It was a steal at $30!</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 28.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/28.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 29.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/29.jpg" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The wallpaper was a relatively affordable way to quickly transform this space. I spent almost no money on anything else in the playroom, so I felt good about investing in the couple of rolls and the labor for the paper hangers. I did save a lot of money by prepping the walls myself. We skim coated every surface, including the ceiling, with hot mud and then primed it all. It was a ton of work, but it helped me feel better about hiring out the paper.  And really, we were so out of time, there was no way I could have hung this by myself. Plus it turns out there are all sorts of fancy contraptions the paper hanger used to install the long sheets at this angle. Tricky stuff! Sometimes it's best to leave installation to professionals - precious wallpaper is one of those times I think.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 27.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/27.jpg" /></div><br />I couldn't be happier with this room. We use it all day long and it feels like such a happy, welcoming space where the girls can play and read and work on homework.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 12.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/12.jpg" /></div>

Wallpaper on the Playroom Ceiling

The ceiling in the playroom is really low - just under eight feet. It actually feels nice and cozy, especially for the kids, but I wanted to...

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Side Tables and Seating from Chairish

<div style="text-align: justify;">You guys were so nice about the side tables I designed. Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement to start selling them myself! Maybe that is down the road a bit. :)</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><center></center></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_7884.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/ALBUM%2021/IMG_7884.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned before that the side tables were inspired by these vintage Italian beauties from Chairish. I love these SO much and am jealous of the lucky person that snags them!</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish8.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish8.png" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This table has a similar vibe and is even more affordable. I love the stone top!</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish7-1.png" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish7-1.png" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Chairish is an amazing resource for really special pieces at affordable and very fair prices, especially when compared to sites that sell similar vintage goods! My favorite things to shop for on the site are chairs and side tables. They always have a really cool selection of super-unique vintage pieces. Here are some of my currently-available picks (and actually Chairish invited me to choose more than 30 favorites in a collection they featured here)! I'm sort of dying over those leather barstools...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish2.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Silk velvet bergeres  //  Greek key cocktail table</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish6.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish6.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Green camelback sofa  //  Quadrille console table</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish5.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish5.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Adler chair  //  Moroccan style ottoman</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish7.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kravet settee  //  Scroll bench</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish4.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Floral desk chair  //  Cerused wood side table</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish3.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish3.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Leather bar stools  //  Baker end tables</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo Chairish1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/Chairish1.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chesterfield  //  Lane side tables</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">P.S. Don't forget that Chairish has a really fabulous app for iPhone users. It's a great and super easy way to list furniture to sell on Chairish, or just an easy way to shop on the go. I actually like to peruse the new listings in bed before I go to sleep. I'm guaranteed sweet dreams that way. :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Chairish is a long-time sponsor of Little Green Notebook. Thank you for supporting our collaborators! :)</i></div>

Side Tables and Seating from Chairish

You guys were so nice about the side tables I designed. Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement to start selling them myself! Maybe...

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New House Color!!

<center></center><center></center><center></center><center></center><div style="text-align: justify;">We just passed the one year mark here in Arizona. What a year it's been! There, for sure, have been some hard moments, and we miss parts of living in the city like crazy, but overall, we're so happy and grateful for this past year. Mostly, it has been <i>wonderful</i> to live so close to family and of course I've loved getting to turn this house upside down! I can't believe how much has changed since last July. The exterior was the most recent big change and I'm so happy with how it turned out!</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 41.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/41.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Benjamin Moore, a company I love and support whole-heartedly, saw that we were planning to paint our house and reached out about donating the paint. What an AMAZING help that was! The house needed a ton of prep work before the paint, and we made some big changes to the exterior structures with a contractor, so the labor alone ended up taking most of our exterior budget. Getting to work with Benjamin Moore on the paint was a dream come true! :) But I'll get to that in a minute. Here's the story of how the exterior of our house has changed this year, and a few plans for finishing up.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 1DSC_0348.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/1DSC_0348.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Remember when the house looked like this? Gingerbread everywhere. Cream body and brown trim. Black, scary sun shades on all the windows (which are helpful for keeping out the sun, but man, are they UGLY!).<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 1DSC_0350.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/1DSC_0350.jpg" /><br /><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_4572.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/IMG_4572.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The first big project was changing out the front door. It's hard to show in pictures just how much of a transformation this was! The old door was only 80" tall, which felt so squatty with the tall vaulted entrance. Here's the post on changing out the door.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 1DSC_0351.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/1DSC_0351.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We chose a 9.5' tall double door. It fit the vertical space much better, but the door was blocked in the front by the weird front facade area.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo wDSC_0416.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/wDSC_0416.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><img alt=" photo aDSC_0425.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/aDSC_0425.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My original thoughts were to just remove the front panel and open everything up all the way to the roof basically.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo wDSC_0420copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%2010/wDSC_0420copy.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">But after we opened it up, the proportions felt so weird again! Too much was exposed, although, I was loving how much light was streaming in to the entry after getting rid of that partition piece!</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_4879.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_4879.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Our contractor was nervous about losing the cross beam altogether as well, even though it wasn't technically the load-bearing beam. So we came up with an idea to bump up the beam and add angled beams in too, which we would mimic all around the exterior of the house, where all the gingerbread used to be.</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_4890.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_4890.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">All the turned columns were replaced with chunky square beams and instantly everything felt more modern and more balanced.</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_5064.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_5064.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><img alt=" photo vIMG_5049.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/vIMG_5049.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Once the exterior structural changes were almost done I went to my local Benjamin Moore store (Color Wheel on Stapley and Main) and looked at swatches for a good long while. I talked to them about different paint lines too and got their advice on that and finishes.</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_7481.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_7481.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Benjamin Moore has so many wonderful colors it was tricky to pick a favorite for the house. I was drawn to the greeny grays the most and picked up a couple of chips and even a few sample pots to put up.</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_7486.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_7486.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_4727.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_4727.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I put this photo up on Instagram for a reader vote. It seemed pretty split, which I expected. They're all great colors! (Top to bottom: Fieldstone, Desert Twilight, Rockport Gray)</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo IMG_4764.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_4764.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I really tried hard to make it not be the name the put me over the edge, but Desert Twilight (2137-40) was my favorite from the get-go. It was a little more green than I originally thought I'd want, but more and more I was in love with the shade and the idea of a greeny gray house. (Or at least I didn't want a color with very blue undertones and I felt like my other top choices swung more blue). I put up a big sample on the front and the back of the house, so we could see what Desert Twilight did at different times of day.</div></div><br /><img alt=" photo zIMG_5257.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/zIMG_5257.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><br /><img alt=" photo bIMG_5053.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/bIMG_5053.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I was a little apprehensive to make the final call, but I knew I'd love the color, especially once all that icky brown color was gone.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We chose to use the Aura exterior line in a Satin finish for both the body and the trim. My Benjamin Moore store said there's nothing like it on the market that resists color fading and paint deterioration as well, which were both problems we could see the house has had in the past. My wonderful team of painters (Eagle Painting) loved the product and commented multiple times about the quality of the paint. They were super impressed with the coverage.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_7990.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_7990.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It was an exciting day when the painters sprayed the first coat of Aura on the back of the house! So pretty! So dramatic!</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo zIMG_7507.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/zIMG_7507.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_7503.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_7503.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_5586.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_5586.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Aura paint is actually self-priming, so we didn't need to use a primer on the back at all, but the front of the house gets a lot of full sun and there had been some damage from the elements. And since I wanted to paint out the weird shake shingles on the front of the house, the painters decided it would be a good idea to spray a coat of primer on the front. I knew the shake would never be a consistent, solid color the way that the siding looks, but I think the layer of primer helped even out the shake shingles. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_5740.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_5740.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I think painting the shake out helped unify the choppy look of the house so much! I almost painted out the brick for the same reason, but I think I'm glad we kept the brick as-is for now. It was tricky to find a stopping point with the brick and I didn't want to paint the floors or the fencing.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 47.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/47.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We might figure out something to do with the brick down the road, but for now I think the new house color is in harmony with the tones of the brick. Such an improvement!</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 42.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/42.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As soon as the white trim went on, I finally felt like I could catch my breath and let go of my worries about this project! It looked SO much more fresh with the dark trim gone!</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 44.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/44.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We chose White Dove (OC-17) for the trim and Onyx (2133-10) for the doors. All Aura, all satin.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 48.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/48.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We decided to keep the front door red in the end. I love how it looks against the Desert Twilight color! I was worried it would look Christmas-y, but it really doesn't. I actually think the red tones down the green a bit too.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_5818.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda013/IMG_5818.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I'm sure you noticed, but we still have a way to go with the exterior of the house before we can call it good. We're saving our pennies right now so we can replace the roof next spring. It's expensive and not fun to spend that kind of money, but we've known about it and it is what it is. In the shorter term, we're going to have a mason come out and fix some of our broken bricks and then add matching brick to the bases of the two new columns flanking the front door. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 43.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/43.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking down the road maybe a year or two, I'd like to change up the landscaping. Not sure with what, but something less twisty and curvy and fussy would be my preference. But truly, I am SO happy with all the changes we've accomplished in only a year's time! Every single one of our neighbors has stopped by to say how much they love it too and the validation feels great! :)</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo IMG_4572.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/Album%205/IMG_4572.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 45.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/45.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And OF COURSE, thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful people at Benjamin Moore, both local and corporate, for helping us to transform our home! We could not be more happy with the product or the outcome. :)</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" photo 41.jpg" border="0" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd246/jkomenda/jkomenda014/41.jpg" style="text-align: start;" /></div>

New House Color!!

We just passed the one year mark here in Arizona. What a year it's been! There, for sure, have been some hard moments, and we miss parts...

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