Picking a Paint Color ~ White ~ It's Tricky!

 

Hope you are having a fantastic week!

I need to pick a paint color for my new place & I need help!

 

I want all the walls, trim & cabinets to be the same
 crisp, clean, modern shade of white. 
 

 

Here are a couple of examples of the look I'm going for:

 

  Sarah Samuel

 

 

 Liz Bachman

 

 

My refrigerator is white, exactly like the one above. 
Other appliances are stainless steel for now.


Below are my cabinets now...I think they are too beige with my white fridge.  The granite will eventually be going bye bye in favor of some white ceasarstone with white subway tile backsplash.







Here is a shot of my living room (with the seller's furnishings).  There is a lot of natural light in the room.



So what's the best white to acheive a
bright, clean and crisp space?

Is there a chance of going too white and looking sterile and cold?

I'd love to get your opinions and advice!

Thanks so much and have an awesome day!

#somanyshadesofwhite

#help!

xo

~Karen~
 

 

 

 

 



~ S U C C E S S ! ~

What a long strange trip it's been....Grateful Dead anyone? 
Well, grateful anyway.

Yes, I have kept on "Truckin" and success is a wonderful thing.

After six months and nine offers, I am finally in escrow!!

 

Let that sink in for a minute.

 

I really wanted a view...this is a crummy picture of part of my view.  The picture does not do it justice.  It really is a beautiful panoramic view seen from the whole condo. 

So lucky!

 

 You guys, there were times when I thought I would never be a homeowner again.  Real estate prices here in LA are shooting up.  All of a sudden.  Crazy making.  Thought I might get priced right out of the market. 

 

Feeling blessed and lucky to be in escrow on a place that's in a great area and has pretty much everything on my wish list.

It's not a fixer, but it does have granite (you know how I feel about that) so that may have to go eventually.  Why do they use granite for the backsplash?  Oy vey.  At least it's gray...and it's actually much lighter gray in person than my iphone picture shows (and way less pink, it's not pink at all).

That granite backsplash may be gone sooner rather than later.   Ooooglay.

 

And the floors are much darker than I would haven chosen, but you guys I am truly happy to have floors!  You would not believe some of the dumps places I considered (because sometimes it's hard to resist the urge to turn something awful into a thing of beauty). 

 

But these floors are pretty nice and they will certainly do for now.

 

 

 

So many of you have emailed, prayed and sent your good vibes to me and I cannot thank you enough!  It's such a blessing to have so many wonderful friends in this blogging community.  You are the best!

 

~ Thank you from the bottom of my grateful heart ~

 

xo

 

~ Karen ~

 

 

 

Grey and Scout

Sometimes I come across a style that makes me rethink everything.  I get pretty excited when that happens. 
Stylist Liz Bachman writes the blog Grey and Scout...you may already know it, but if not you must check it out.

Feast your eyes on Liz's lovely home.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love her style.  Check her out.


#sochic


xo
~Karen~


(all images via Grey and Scout with permission from lovely Liz)

Cougar Town Set Design {Epic}

Seems like only yesterday, but it was way back in 2009 when my favorite comedy writer Bill Lawrence debuted his newest show Cougar Town. It started out as a show about a recently divorced woman (Courteney Cox) on the prowl for hot young 'uns.  Gross.

About 6 episodes in, the show hit it's stride and became a funny ensemble about a group of neighbors in fictional Gulftown, Florida (the "cul-de-sac crew") who drink a lot of wine and are quirky, funny & sweet.  It's not about cougars anymore.

The show's greatest asset way back then was it's awesome set design by the amazing Archie D'Amico.

Easy breezy coastal design without being too beachy.  Captivated a nation.  Or at least thousands of crazed bloggers and internet lurkers like myself.  We went nuts trying to source every single detail of the set.  Like the fabric, Thomas Paul's Aviary in Robin on the barstools, Ikea's Henriksdal.  That was a week of my life finding that fabric.

Had slipcovers made for my kitchen chairs.  Still love them.

The darling kitchen table from the set below is custom made.  Wicker chairs from Crate & Barrel.

I came dangerously close to having a coral sofa made.  I'm a white sofa girl...always will be.  So glad I didn't do it, but still love the look.  Lamps filled with shells are the Bacchus Lamp from Pottery Barn.

Custom made coffee table is gorgeous.  Spent a month of my life looking for this table until I finally heard from set designer himself that it was custom.

I was never that crazy about the bedding in the master bedroom...

Lucia from Crate & Barrel. 

It has since been changed on the set.  But I did love the bedside lamps from PB...bought 'em.  

Frosted pantry door created quite a buzz.  And the vintage bamboo hat rack is from Wertz Bros. in L.A.  I say that so casually but it took me a month or more to find out where that hat rack came from!  I must have been insane.  Or maybe the challenge of the hunt.

The crazy gorgeous fabric on the two club chairs in the living room...Gran Umbelifera by Gaston y Daniela.  That was SO hard to track down...seriously at least two months of looking.  It's like $500.00 a yard and you have to buy like a million yards. 

But pretty right?

And perhaps best of all...the painting on the far wall in the living room.

Changed. My. Life.

OK, maybe not my actual life, but you know.

Tracked the painting to a prop rental house on Santa Monica Boulevard.  It's an old unsigned painting from the 60's.  Seriously?  I wanted to buy it so badly.  But no deal.

 

(p.s. see that white etagere from Bungalow 5 hiding behind the French door in the photo above?  Still love that piece.)

I never imagined a set design would have so much impact on my own design tastes, but this set hit me like a bolt of lightening.  And I wasn't alone.  In November 2009, a sweet blogger named Melkorka did a blog post "Does Anyone Else Watch Cougar Town For The Set Design?".  Innocent enough question.  As of today's date there are 138 comments and 20,548 hits on that post with the most recent ones being in September 2012.  That's 3 years!(I'm new to blogging but that seems like a LOT of hits to me!)  Poor girl, we took OVER that post.  It became a chat room for all us crazies trying to source every detail of that set. 

I didn't have a clue what a blog was then...people were asking me to post pictures of my finds and sources.  I couldn't understand why I couldn't post pictures in the comments section of someone else's blog.  Oy vey.

I recently emailed Melkorka to ask her if I could post the link.  She's no longer blogging much (I think we scared her) but she sweetly said absolutely yes. 

You can read the original post and comments here on Our Little Big House.  There are lots more sources named along with a couple of comments by Archie D'Amico, the set designer.  I am the crazy poster going by the name of Hartmom (don't hate me).

Entertainment Weekly did a piece on the sets naming many sources but they had some pretty glaring errors.  Shoddy research ;)

The "EAT" letters...yeah have those in my kitchen too...originally from Anthropologie but since discontinued.

It's always fun when something really gets your creative juices going, and the Cougar Town set did that for me.  In many ways it changed my design outlook forever. 

Gotta love that!

As always, thanks for reading...I appreciate you so much!

xo

~Karen~

P.S.  If you are interested in the new bedding in Jules' bedroom set, click here.

Granite and Stainless Steel. {Over It}

Attention Home Sellers: Please stop. 
Please please please I beg of you...stop.

(warning: radical opinion ahead)

 Stop ruining perfectly good kitchens with granite and stainless steel!

It's over.  It's done.
I've never been a fan, but searching for a new home has really reinforced my feelings about this dreaded duo.

My least favorite thing to read in a listing is "updated kitchen" because I know that means one thing only...granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.  Apparently there are no other ways to "update" a kitchen. 
   

In my opinion granite and stainless steel are going to be to this era what avocado green and harvest gold were to the 70s.

Unless you're talking about these lovely gold Viking appliances, which I'm totally digging.  How awesome are these?
 

But I digress...
Mark my words.  Future generations are going to be hiring hulky guys to get those heavy, ugly, massive hunks of rock out of their kitchens while they shake their heads and ask "what were they thinking?".  

(again, it's only my radical opinion...no offense to granite lovers)

Fact: 60% of us think that granite has run it's course..I read it on the internet therefore it is true (wink wink).

One of my favorite choices for countertops is marble.  In the only kitchen remodel I've ever done, I chose the yummiest crema marble for my counters.  I loved the way it looked (and I had white appliances, which I also prefer over stainless).

 

I designed my kitchen (above) based on this image from a BHG issue (below).  I think I still have this torn out page in my files...it's a beauty.

 One of my other favorite countertops is wood.  The kitchen below belongs to Vanessa of the blog This & That.  Vanessa and her husband live in Auburn, Alabama...how fun is that during football season?!  Go Tigers!  They did such a beautiful job on their gorgeous butcherblock countertops and they did all the work themselves.  (Actually they did the whole kitchen remodel themselves...such impressive skills!) It looks so warm and beautiful don't you think?  I think Vanessa's are my very favorite wood countertops...and sweet Vanessa is one of my very favorite bloggers. 

  

 

Vanessa says her countertops are still going strong and looking great 4 years later!  You can read her post about them here.

Here's another example of a nicely updated kitchen using butcherblock countertops.  This home seller used orange and yellow glass tile for the backsplash.  Love this.  Fresh, clean and so pretty.

 There is one granite that I think looks really great however...solid black granite with white cabinets like this kitchen on the set of Cougar Town.

  

I also like nice, clean tile like the black and white below, and there are so many options with tile.  Just look how clean and fresh it looks.  Sort of timeless don't you think?  You just cannot get that look with granite. 

  

So what do you think?  Is granite here to stay or is it nearing the end of it's popularity? 

What is your favorite type of countertop?

I'd love to hear what you think.

Thanks and have a great day!

~Karen~

xo

Staging Your Home To Sell

 

 

As I told you the other day, I'm packing up and moving from the suburbs back to my hometown...the Hollywood/Studio City area...not exactly sure where I will end up yet.   

 

So in order to get going with my big plan I need to sell my house.  Towards that end, I've been clearing out and purging stuff (even more than I usually do).  Another thing I've been doing is staging my home.  Staging your home for sale is all the rage...everyone is doing it.  Sometimes I think it looks kinda fake, like when the dining room table is set for a full meal.  No one really has their table set all the time (do they?).  
However, if it's done right, staging can be very effective. 
It's all about creating a feeling of a certain lifestyle.  The scene you set should show the potential buyers what a lovely life they will have if only they will buy
THIS home.

 

 

You want them to be able to picture themselves having breakfast or a cup of coffee in your kitchen.

 

 

Of course you love your family photos & memories but pack 'em up.  Don't remind the buyer that another family lives here, you want them to picture themselves living here.  A good replacement for photos is a stack of books. 

Looks clean and organized. 

 

You're going for uncluttered, so even if you have to pack up some of your clothes, it's worth it to show that your closets are spacious...plenty of room.  I didn't have to do that...I don't have that many clothes anyway!

 

 



I won't bore you with pictures of my  bathroom cabinets, but trust me, they are clean & tidy.  Buyers look everywhere.  Snoopymcsnoopersons!

It's all about creating a feeling...they think if they buy your house, they too will live a neat and tidy lifestyle.

Seriously, I even slightly staged my refrigerator. Don't laugh..they will look in there.  If your fridge is dirty or messy, it will help if it's cleaned up.

 

 

If possible, keep lots of fresh flowers around the house when you are selling.  If that's not practical, live plants are a good option but I happen to think fake plants are worse than no plants.  What do you think?

 

Staging is really about common sense.  Think about what you would like to see when looking at a home. 
Clean, uncluttered, well-maintained, neutral.
But if you need help, there are plenty of talented peeps out there who will do it for you.  Seems like it would be a fun job.

So come on over for a glass of wine in the backyard and picture yourself living here.

It's lovely I promise.

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

~Karen~