Katie’s House: Deep Blue Walls in the Dining Room

As you may remember, a couple of weeks ago I shared some plans for painting my dining room. I had hung swatches of four different Benjamin Moore paint colors, and spent more than a week staring at them in different light and from different angles (thanks to Mera for pulling double post duty last week while I deliberated!). I stared until my eyes crossed and I couldn’t remember a color that wasn’t blue, but still I couldn’t pull the trigger. They were too green, too blue, too dark or too light – nothing was feeling quite right.

Dining Room Before

Dining Room Before

Finally – encouraged by my mom who had used their paint and really liked it – I decided to go check out Miller Paint, a company based in Portland who has a store in Eugene, and look what I found! A rich and lovely deep blue:

Red House West - Dining Room_Miller Paint2

The color I chose is Nova in Miller’s Evolution line – I decided on the ‘wipeable matte finish,’ and I love the soft sheen. The way it catches the light makes it look almost like clay.

The plant basket is from Nate Berkus' Target line.

The plant basket is Nate Berkus for Target

Choosing to use this paint was kind of a leap of faith – I usually do a lot of online research to read reviews and see images of the colors I like used in actual rooms. There isn’t very much information available for Evolution paint and – to make it a little more challenging – they don’t sell small sizes of this particular paint formula. What they do have, for $1.99, are 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets that the color is actually painted on (not printed like regular swatches). I was leery of the accuracy, but in this instance at least the swatch gave a very true representation of the color.

Nova blue paint swatch on the Nova blue wall

Nova blue paint swatch on the Nova blue wall

The paint isn’t cheap – $50 a gallon – but is less expensive than Benjamin Moore’s higher quality lines, and I gotta say that the consistency and coverage of this paint is incredible. Does that sound like hyperbole? Like an advertisement? Don’t worry, no one is paying me to write this; I honestly loved using this paint. It’s thick like yogurt, has almost no smell, and it took just over half a gallon to put two thick coats onto my dining room walls.

Red House West - Dining Room_Miller Paint5

Remember that time RHW reader Carol called me a Chair Champion in the comments? Well I do, fondly and frequently, and I’m doing my best to be deserving of both the moniker and the unitard emblazoned with CC I plan to make. On that note, I was so excited to find these four mid-century teak chairs on Craigslist last week! They go beautifully with the three Bramin chairs I already had – their legs are similarly shaped and they are broad-beamed and comfortable – and that wood grain… be still my heart.

Bunny tested, Bunny approved

Bunny tested, Bunny approved

The chairs don’t have any kind of manufacturer’s mark on them, but I found some pictures of these similar ones (the only difference is the way the back is attached). My guess is that my chairs may be knock-offs of that designer, but I’m not sure. Someone really needs to make a dichotomous key for mid-century modern chairs with characteristics like type of wood, shape of back, etc. If something like that already exists, or if someone has found a good, comprehensive source for identifying mcm designers, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Red House West - Dining Room Chairs3

The chairs are in really good shape, with only a couple of dings in the wood. I washed them with Murphy’s wood soap and rubbed them down with neutral Restor-a-Finish and Howard’s Feed & Wax. The seat coverings were soiled, so I recovered them in upholstery fabric I got at a local store called Econo Sales, which sells upholstery and outdoor fabrics for really cheap. Mine was only $6.95 a yard (with a width of 54″), so it was an inexpensive makeover – less than two dollars per chair. Initially I’d planned on something monochrome or dark, but ultimately decided light fabric would play better with all the wood and dark paint.

The runner is from World Market, and I added the tassels :)

The runner is from World Market but I added the tassels.  As I do.

The pattern and texture of the fabric are subtle, but really pretty in person.

 

Red House West - Dining Room Chairs2

I decided to forgo curtains entirely. I love the old original windows and they look into two evergreen bushes – a rhododendron and a camellia – and across our driveway into a laurel hedge (also an evergreen), so privacy isn’t an issue. They are east-facing so there’s no afternoon glare, and I love the natural light that moves through this room during the day.

Red House West - Dining Room_Miller Paint10

Whyyyyyyy is that light fixture so far off center?  No really, why?   I’m hoping that when Cameron and I are back for good at the end of summer we can fix it.  The vintage cast iron light was an eBay bargain last fall. When it arrived it was rusty and sticky with many coats of gold spray paint and the slurry of a thousand cigarettes smoked beneath it. We had it powder coated, and if you live in or near Eugene and have a need to get anything powder coated, send an email and I’ll pass on the guy’s name. It was cheap – like $20 – and he was really helpful and nice.

Any guesses on how many times I bumped my head on that light while I was painting?

Did you guess 100? Well you are wrong! It was only 20, maybe 30 times – luckily it’s a small enough room that I couldn’t get up enough momentum to really brain myself on it.

Getting the dining room to a good place has inspired me to start thinking about painting the living room too. I’d like to go lighter in there – it’s still the green it was when me moved in – and I’m on the hunt for a white or light gray that’s not too yellow or blue or dingy or stark. You know – no problem. If you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them!

A view into the living room and the myriad paint swatches

A view into the living room and the myriad paint swatches

Thanks for reading along and we hope to see you back on Wednesday for a new post! Anybody else do some home improvements this past week?

June Good Score!

Good Score! is a monthly feature here at Red House West highlighting our readers’ secondhand finds.  If you scored a great bargain at a thrift store, found a treasure on the side of the road, or discovered a one-of-a-kind gem at a yard sale, we’d love to hear about it! Please send a picture and a brief description of what, where and how much to redhousewest@gmail.com -OR- use the hashtag #rhwgoodscore on Instagram and the last Friday of each month we’ll share a few highlights. To see previous Good Scores, click here.
Thanks so much to the folks who sent in Good Scores this month!  We love seeing what you’re finding and we love sharing them.  Please send us more.  MOAR!  And now for the fun part!

A bounty from Elisa:

First, I got some plant pots which makes me very happy because we have no yard and have to pot all our plant dreams.  I always have pot sticker shock so I was happy to find some for $2 each!  My favorite may be the small blue and white pot that looks like I plucked it off a Dutch or Turkish person’s ancient windowsill, but I also scored a yellow and brown, and multi-color.

Thrifted Pots
Second, I got a really fun carved wooden coat rack thingy.  It is imported from Indonesia from David Smith and Co. and has my current favorite color- turquoise.  It also has peacocks, so … you know, that is something new. Plus, magically it exactly fits in the tiny entryway space we have even though I totally forgot to measure it before buying.  Hooray!  $20, but well worth it for a little fun.
Peacock coat rack
Finally, for $5 I got a small carved and and shell-inlaid wooden table (plant stand?  Not sure what its function is meant to be or will end up).  I am a major carved wood and inlay enthusiast- but I actually don’t have almost any of it because it is always too expensive and impractical.  But cheap and impractical and I am in!
Screen shot 2014-06-26 at 8.28.06 PM
……
From Brandi:
From the thrift store.  I love the shape of this small dish and I now search for this designer, Ben Seibel, whenever I encounter dishes.
Ben SeibelBottom of dish
…..

Thanks again to those who sent in their good scores and thanks to everyone for reading along.  Have a great weekend, and check back in on Monday for an update on Katie’s dining room!

Opal’s Teepee

Hi friends, Mera again. Katie is working away on her dining room, so this week you get a double dose of me. I’m secretly glad, because I am excited to show you something I made that I’m really proud of: Opal’s teepee!

Kids’ teepees are definitely having a moment right now, and I am a major sucker for a fort, so I gave it a go and made one for my girl. I am both a lazy and impatient seamstress, so making this teepee was a coup for me (my master-seamstress mother-in-law helped too!).  I wouldn’t presume to do a tutorial–my process was far too rough and tumble to pass along–but I’m glad to show you what I used for materials and where I looked for guidance and inspiration.

DIY teepee

Apart from the wood dowels, I had all the materials on hand.  I used:

-An old white queen-size flannel flat sheet

-red double seam bias tape

-white thread

-red thread

-approximately two yards of vintage calico fabric

-twine

-six one-inch wooden dowels, cut to 6.5 feet, with small holes drilled one foot from the top

-double-sided fusible interfacing for the heart

After gathering my materials I scoured the internet for a proper tutorial.  I didn’t find one that I particularly followed, but I gathered bits and pieces from this site, and this one.  I also got the idea for the heart from the beautifully made teepees on this site.

teepee notes

I wanted to make a large teepee, in the hopes that it will have a long life as a beloved fort and reading spot.  Using the size of the sheet as a guide, I figured out how large each of the five panels could be, and how much would be left over for the top front panel.  As you can tell from my scribbled notes, I really did just make it up as I went along.

Sewing the trapezoid-shaped panels and doors was a bit of a challenge for me and my limited sewing skills.  In the end it turned out great, and so far Opal hasn’t criticized my uneven seams.  🙂

DIY teepee on redhousewest.com

I had a small amount of vintage red bias tape with white polka dots on it, just enough for the door panels and top of the teepee, but not enough to go around the bottom edge.  I couldn’t find anything similar to the polka-dotted version, so I used plain red bias tape that I had on hand, and painted little white dots on it using white block printing ink.  It’s an imperfect fix, but enough to trick the eye into not seeing the difference.

redhousewest.com

By the time I got to the front top panel of the teepee, the only part of the sheet left was the hemmed edge (that goes at the top of the bed).  It looks a little silly, but the heart helps to at least partially conceal it.

redhousewest.com

Inside the teepee is actually really cozy, even for adults.  It gets warm in there, and it’s a great spot to read book after book with Opal.

redhousewest.com teepee

The teepee is up permanently in our play room/craft room/office/room where we stash things we aren’t sure what to do with.  It’s a big beautiful room (although not at all organized, let alone decorated) in this house of pint-sized spaces.  I’m not sure what the room will eventually become, but for now it’s great to have a space where Opal can play or read while I work on projects or catch up on email.

redhousewest.com teepee

And just in case the above photos gave you the impression that the teepee isn’t put to regular use, here is one more photo from Katie’s recent visit:

redhousewest.com teepee

Wolsey and Opal are not the only ones in my family who look at Katie with wonder and adoration.

I’m so pleased with how it turned out.  With the addition of the round flokati rug (which I bought here) and lots of pillows and blankets it’s a cozy hideout for cats, kids, adults, and dogs alike.

If you’ve ever considered making your own teepee fort, go for it!  They’re pretty expensive to buy and if I can make one, you definitely can (and I’m happy to try to answer any questions you have in the process).

Check back on Friday for Good Score (there’s still time to send in pictures of your thrifted glory!), and next week for an exciting update on Katie’s dining room. Hint: it involves the discovery of a local Farrow and Ball-like paint manufacturer!