Operation kitchen: completed!

Well this weekend was quite busy and quite domestic on the Nattingly front! We went ahead and painted the kitchen, and it's PERFECT. The green with the hint of yellow was definitely the way to go-  it literally is exactly what I wanted and shows as a true vivid green.

Before, it was an unattractive but resoundingly "eh, fine" light greenish (the same that was in the living/dining before we painted). Like so:

See: around the window.

Blah.

Dreamy fiancé. Lame walls.

Now it is simply gaaaaawgeous. People that hadn't seen the space were worried it would be too dark or feel closed in, but we have so much ecru cabinet space (plus the folding linen closet doors and pantry door) that we didn't have to worry about that. 

Warning: I took a million pictures.

Looking in from the corner of the dining area.

Straight on from the dining area.

One of the great things about this green that I didn't foresee was that the cabinets actually look slightly whiter now. Before, next to the awkward light green they just clashed, whereas now they are really nicely contrasted.

I went with off-white and black hand towels to play off the rug and mesh with the variety of colors.

You can see how the green is grassier in some lights and more emerald in others. In short: ideal.

This picture gives the truest representation of the color. So rich!

The antique Virgen painting isn't framed yet; I taped it up to show what it will look like. Now I just need to take it to the framer.

Gracias for the lotería parrot, Jessica!

And it really does hit the hispanic mark like I wanted it to, while still looking spot on with the rest of the condo.

I love how the green looks next to the dove grey of the dining/living room. Also, thanks for being a champ, step ladder!

So there you have it! My (and Joseph's) sore arms are totally worth it. It's amazing what a few hours and about a hundred dollars will do to change a room, don't you think?

Color is Behr Ultra's Deep Viridian

On green.

You all may remember how many grey samples I had to buy to find the right one for our living/dining/hallway area. If not, I will tell you- approximately 12. I would link back to the original post, but all of those pictures are gone, so the effect isn't as great simply reading about it. At any rate, for the kitchen I was determined to do some sort of darker color, and in the end I decided on green. But then- emerald? Jade? Peacock? Grass? Deep lime? Vivid with a hint of blue? Eff it-- flamingo pink?

My final samples were these. I started with the five at the top, then narrowed it to 2 that I painted as bigger swatches:

Obviously you can't see as well in a photo, but I think you can tell that the one on the left has a tinge more yellow and comes across as a grass green, whereas the one on the right has a tinge more blue, thus coming across as emerald.

Here they are on a different wall with slightly different lighting.

I have a couple of reasons for going with green, besides the fact that it's beautiful.

1) Our kitchen cabinets are off-white instead of white (argh, wherefore previous owner?), and since we are only going to be here for a few years I am not going to undertake painting those suckers. Dark green looks great against the slightly off-white.

2) Probably the main reason: the backsplash has these varying tiles interspersed throughout, like so:

I would never pick out these tiles for myself (they're pretty, just not my taste), but again- we aren't prepared to redo a backsplash in this condo. So I thought, if I can't beat the tiles, join them! Thus, green goes with a Mexican vibe I want to channel, that will be helped with some choice pieces of art I've been needing to hang but haven't had a place for (here's looking at you, Jessica!).

I was severely torn between the two big samples for a few days. On one hand, the emerald-y one is more "me", and it's just a prettier color. However, given the tiles the slightly yellower green works much better. It's still a lovely color, just not as glamorous. Plus Joseph likes it the best, and considering that he lets me make 99% of the decor decisions, I think it's best if we go with his preference here. Oh, and you may remember that when we first moved in there was a HUGE green/teal accent wall in the living area (of which no pictures remain), and the yellower green ensures we don't think of that wall every time we look at the kitchen...

Thoughts? Concerns? Good jokes? We're painting this weekend, so I'll have an update with pictures for you ASAP!

Life changes. Also: kitchens.

Oh hi guys!! Remember me? The little blogger that could? No? Well, that's ok, too.

Well if you do, you may also remember how I had that job that I was super unhappy at? Well I quit last week, and I couldn't be happier! It was about a month sooner than I was planning on, but there were straws, and broken camels' backs, and all sorts of other reasons that I needed to get out sooner rather than later. I'm so thankful for my incredibly supportive parents and fiancé for helping me out during this transition, and I cannot wait to officially be free to focus on my studies and volunteering. Next Thursday is my last day, but I had two PTO days to use, so I technically only have 3.5 days left :)

I've been really (stupidly) stressed the past couple of weeks with school and work reaching its peak of...let's just say "difficulty" to be p.c., which means I've been eating like crap and not exercising. Why hello there, 2.4 extra pounds. Not nice to see you.

This all means a couple of things:

1) I get to get back in shape since I'll have no excuse not to! I'm going to try this "Dancer's Shape" studio down the road from our condo, as well as a Bikram place nearby. I miss Bikram, but I think the barre fit place may be more up my alley right now.

and

2) I plan on painting the kitchen. I hate painting, but it's necessary, and I've been wanting to do it, and the kitchen REALLY needs an uplift. Right now it's not bad, it's just not great. It's the same weird light greenish that used to be in the living/dining/hallway as well. I don't have a good picture of it; you can just barely see it above the pantry door to the left here:

Once it's re-painted I also plan on an inexpensive but pretty new track light.

I'm having SUCH a difficult time deciding what direction to go with this, though. At first, as you may remember, I really wanted to go all white, but the cabinets are actually slightly off-white (ugh, previous owner. WHY?), and I don't have the patience or room to repaint all of them, so white is out. I am recently loving orange, but I wonder if it'll look too 70's against the off-white cabinets. Then again, look how lovely this room is:

Houzz

The key would be to make it a more muted orange; cantaloupe as opposed to mandarin.

Then, staying on the fruit train, I thought- aha! Pear! Or chartreuse, rather. Look how lovely it is with the pink and gold, and you know I have lots of that around.

Design Sponge

But you run the risk of it becoming vomit-y really easily, and the lighting in the kitchen isn't great, which means that's a high probability.

I love. love. love. this coral, but I think ye ole Joseph would read it as too pink.

Houzz

I'll probably need to save that for a guest bathroom down the road or a baby's room.

But then yesterday I was wandering around the condo making note of the various colors used, and I feel like the condo is missing some drama. I get some in the furnishings in the living room and the (wonderful crazy) chandelier, as well as the teal velvet drapes in the master bedroom, but otherwise I went pretty happy-go-lucky, wall-wise. So now I'm contemplating going the complete opposite direction and doing a lovely glossy darker shade in the kitchen. I think it would play nicely off the off-white cabinetry and be a great backdrop to the light grey living/dining area that leads into the kitchen.

I'm realizing that my current paint color obsession may just be navy.

Indulgy

Houzz

Although...glossy green? Be still, my heart!

Savvy Home

Greener still:

source unknown. Le sorry.

I am conflicted! I think I've pretty much talked myself into doing a darker room, but I'd love to hear your thoughts! For a reminder, here's how the dining room leads into the living area. You would be able to see the kitchen color around the window above the sink.

Go on, opine me. You know you want to.

Fem.

My new goal is to put up at least one blog post per week. We'll see how I do, won't we?

Every spring I find myself getting giddy at really pretty, feminine interiors. They aren't necessarily designs I would have in my own home (mainly because of that whole "Joseph" thing), but they still make my heart go all pitter-patter, and I find myself figuring out ways to fem up my space without going totally overboard.

This season's inspirations:

Elle Decor

Lonny

Elle Decor

Houzz

Houzz. Not sure why those little green tags are showing up...

Lonny

To feminize a space co-habited by a dude, I've found the best thing is to just add a few sprightly throw pillows or flower arrangements, but who knows? Maybe I'll paint the dining room pink tomorrow just to see what happens.

Stay tuned!

New-trals.

I would just like to point out that when I said yesterday that I only got out of my neutral rut by losing weight, I in no way meant that you had to lose weight to wear colors! I really hope it didn't come off like that; I started thinking about it and worrying it might've. I want EVERYONE to be jazzy; my weight gain just happened to be the reason that I personally was in a battle against color. My sister has pretty much the best body around, and she was in a neutral rut for years, too. So there!

Anyhow, I do know that some people have the pendulum swung the entire other way and could use a bit more of the "boring" spectrum in their closet. Thus, my suggestions for cool-arse neutrals you need to scoop up.

Stripey, oxford, grey lacey, peep-toe, navy, military, necklace, drapey dress.

Ta-da!

Jazzy.

I may be too busy to blog regularly, but I'm never too busy to shop. And I've really been trying to step outside my comfort zone a tiny bit with what I wear; maybe wear colorful shoes when I do black top and jeans, or a cardigan with a pattern instead of a solid. I know, I know: really small changes, and nothing in particular to write home about, but still. For instance, today I put on a black shirt and black jeggings, and instead of my usual black cardigan and pumps I went crazy with chartreuse:

and a polka dot pump:

Well, more specifically, two polka dot pumps.

I was pretty good about stepping outside my comfort zone when I was about 16-20, but then I gained 40 pounds (15 of which I needed to gain, admittedly) and any confidence I had went straight out the window. I still bought some nice pieces, but they were all black and cut in a way so as to camouflage pretty much anything and everything (minus chubby cheeks).

At any rate, as the pounds started dropping off, my closet started to get more and more fun. I started embracing colors that I never would have worn before, like coral!

bonus: Jane!

And even (gasp!) PATTERNS:

Purple paisley people eater.

While I would love to say I've gone full man repeller, I am not that cool or adventurous quite yet.  But if you're stuck in an all grey/black/brown/olive wardrobe and looking for a change, spring is definitely the time to do so! Below, my picks for adding some spice to your closet (don't worry, nothing is too crazy. Maybe in 2014):

Orange, palm print, bib necklace, floral pants, wedge, yellow, blue frock, pink hi-lo.

Tomorrow, my picks for jazzing up a wardrobe that needs MORE neutrals!

xoxo

CORRECTION

Thanks for not showing me pictures of Oscars after-party dresses until just recently, internet.

Amy Adams's after-party dress kicked her ceremony dress's huge patootie in a major way.

Oh Oscar de la Renta, what a fine, fine creation you have given us indeed. I am so thrilled that there is 20s deco inspiration everywhere. This dress now takes my cake for best one of the night, hands down.

Shiny fringe!

Also- gratuitous ring shot. Halos FTW.

It's always awesome to see a real life person pull off a dress better than the model did on the runway, don't you agree?