Hi Everyone,
Happy August. Happy Renoversary.
It is 14 months, and we are in the final stretch of the renovation!
What does that mean?
It means the living room and den are EMPTY in anticipation of next week’s floor repair and refinishing.
Let’s look at it before.
Everything you see below… including hidden chairs, tables, toilets, vanities, and dozens of boxes.
The painter’s tables, supplies, paint, vacuum cleaners
Plus, all the furniture in the den, including my dresser in the closet, had to leave the upstairs.
In addition, on Wednesday, moving day, I also moved out of my neighbor’s apartment which would’ve been enough moving for one day.
But, no. That was only the beginning of the pain. However, I knew these days were coming. “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”
The painters and I spent about three hours moving the big stuff downstairs.
They are the sweetest and awesome craftsmen, too.
But, the big news is…
Wednesday night, I slept in my bedroom for the first time in 14 months. It was surreal.
On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, I spent hours gathering and organizing small household items that needed to be moved.
Then, I filled a good-sized box with trash and set other items for trash that I wasn’t sure about on the 38″ coffee table.
On Thursday, I had to make brutal decisions I’d debated for months.
One was the 33″ x 60″ writing table I’ve had for about 23 years. While it would fit in the bedroom, it’s quite tight. In addition, I never use it, and despite trying to remove it, it’s filled with sawdust.
Then, there’s the green sleep sofa in the den. For a sleeper, it’s okay. However, I’m not in love with it, and I’m mostly doing away with the apple green that looked lovely in my Bronxville apartment.
Plus, it, too, is filthy. So, I tried to donate it. Nope. Sleepers are difficult to give away.
Anyway, everything not needed was hauled away.
Bye Bye Green Sofa. Thank you so much for your years of service.
So, now you need two new sofas, Laurel?
Yeah.
Eventually.
The painters, and Brendan + Eugene, and I worked incredibly hard on Thursday and Friday to get everything downstairs.
Almost there.
Ready for Gary (Gaready?) ;] who’s installing and finishing the hardwood floors.
Okay, let’s go downstairs to see the bedroom as it was Wednesday evening.
I don’t have many photos. However, yesterday, more furniture, including my beloved screen, came downstairs.
This is still Wednesday before the screen came down. I’m sorry, but I don’t have an image of the screen yet. The ceiling isn’t always this green. But, the walls are usually more lavender.
Okay, about the wallpaper– I don’t think I will do it. It’s not that I don’t love it. It’s that the color is problematic and it might be too much. There’s already a lot going on.
However, having my things downstairs is fantastic, but it also makes me think of things in a new light.
The yellow chair isn’t staying down here. However, the chinoiserie cabinet looks phenomenal down here. Still, I need storage by the bathroom. I’ll have to think about that one.
Since my bedroom is the only place to sit, and the bathroom and kitchen are upstairs, I am up and down the stairs many times a day. I’m enjoying hanging out in my bedroom. It is so much warmer and cozier than it was. It looks like it must’ve always been like this.
hahahaha.
Nope, not even close.
The image below was taken July 31, 2023 and published on the blog on August 3red. What a coincidence!
This image is threatening to give me PTSD.
above and below 1.2.2024
Below, after the wall was built out to cover the pipes and the crown moulding went up.
2.13.2024
Remember the painter I had to fire? Well, the crown is beautiful now.
There’s more news but it will need to be saved until Monday.
However, the other day, because of a misunderstanding, one of Chris’ expert painters painted a sample of Benjamin Moore Knoxville Gray hc-160 in the wrong entry. I was thinking of it for the upstairs entry.
However, when the table I got a year ago went into the little four-foot-wide hall parallel to the staircase, I put the Hondecoeter (Chinese knock-off) on top and stood back.
Whoa. This photo doesn’t capture the beauty of the colors, and the table looks amazing.
Sooooooooo…. you know what’s coming, don’t you?
Yes, another rendering! lol
It’s not a useless exercise because Chris will press me for the rest of the colors this week.
I’ve simplified things by doing a color drench of Knoxville Gray, except for the ceiling.
What color is Benjamin Moore Knoxville Gray?
Well, like almost all paint colors named “gray,” it is not gray. It is a very grayed-down green with blue undertones. I wouldn’t call it teal, but if the light is cool, I imagine it does read as teal. In my entry, it looks like the perfect “library muted pine green.”
It’s dark, but it’s not the darkest color out there. The entry and staircase is a small space, so it’s perfect for a dramatic color. The unamed color in the palette is what I’m 99% sure I’m going to do in the den.
What do you think?
xo,
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38 Responses
Good morning Laurel, I love the dark color of the hallway and know that both/either look perfect. You mentioned that you are keeping the ceiling white. Have you considered painting the ceiling so the hold room feels snug? Thanks for documenting all of your amazing work!
What a transformation! It’s wonderful to see the final reveal after a 14-month renovation journey. Your bedroom looks absolutely stunning—elegant and inviting. The attention to detail and the thoughtful design choices really shine through. Congratulations on completing such a beautiful project and creating a space that feels truly personal!
WOW! That color looks gorgeous! And I like the idea of no wallpaper in the bedroom-I always think bedrooms should be calm and quiet.
I’m glad everything is coming together–it has been touch and go lately with all the problems! Hang in you are almost at the finish!!
Laurel, it all works, capturing your luxury boutique hotel vision. Your lamp colour selection is genius.
How wonderful is it to enter your home in a dark moody room and transit to a light airy room! Taken to the next level, perfect!
Your own room! Your own bed! YAY!
This is so exciting to see things coming together!
I’m so happy you’ve moved back in. Good things are happening…. I love the “moody” rendering. I think a little moody spot or two can make a home more interesting, It is a historic home, so it wouldn’t be out of place to do that. Many great designers before our time incl. David Hicks, Nancy Lancaster were not shy to design with depth of color. Seems there are quite a few folks who prefer the trendy white walls+trim+cabinets+sofas and chairs.. thank you for sharing your journey. Plus in the digital world it’s probably a challenge to share as-is lighting and scale of your home. But it’s wonderful to see how beautiful it’s turning out. Good luck in the home stretch…
Hi Laurel,
I could never be of much help with suggestions, but I’m sure appreciative of all the decisions you make! I’m loving everything I see and, yes, that chinoiserie looks FABULOUS in your bedroom. I’ll bet that room is cozy, as you said. I can’t wait to see your entire place when it’s all finished. So beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing all these things!
Laurel, I LIKE it! Love the way the space is evolving, especially the new color scheme. As much as I liked the wall paper mural, I can see how it might have been a bit much. Dying to see your screen in the space. By the way, wasn’t your lovely chinoiserie cabinet cut down to fit that space upstairs? 😉
If you don’t change your mind about which mural to use the Knoxville Gray is perfect :)) Are you still going to use the same colors in the upstairs entry? I wonder if the color will look totally different up there? Just goes to prove what you always say about testing and realizing how different the same color can look in different rooms.
Call it serendipitous or a fortuitous glitch! But that color looks absolutely perfect for this space! I applaud your decision to omit the wallpaper; with all the various attention grabbing features as you make your way to the bedroom, it makes sense giving the space an elegant more subtle, serene appearance!
Knoxville grey does not look teal to me on my computer. I much prefer the unnamed color to Knoxville.
Obviously, what I am seeing is computer dependant and human eye/brain dependant.
There is too much grey in the world for me. The grey of 20th-21st century life.
As far as the bedroom wallpaper, is it just not done to use that gorgeous mural on some of the wall?
Personally, I would not want a heavy bedroom.
And my particular brain cannot bear to live in a mural space. Just me. My imagination goes wild, just wild and I cannot stop sinking into the mural. They are fine to visit.
Hi Ramona,
Knoxville Gray is not teal. It looks like pine green in my space. The name “gray” is a misnomer if ever there was one.
However, since my head is not screwed on as tightly as I would prefer, I went back to see what I wrote.
Well, like almost all paint colors named “gray,” it is not gray. It is a very grayed-down green with blue undertones. I wouldn’t call it teal, but if the light is cool, I imagine it does read as teal. In my entry, it looks like the perfect “library muted pine green.”
Yummmy! How about some faux gold leaf squares on the ceiling??? Oooooooo…XO
Hi Jacqueline,
There are two bell jar lanterns on the ceiling. The lamp doesn’t go on that table, but I stuck it there to show the color in the space.
Oh my gosh, Laurel, just seeing the stair rail upstairs which is emblematic of all the changes you’ve made to this home (and the hard work it took) is breathtaking. What SHOULD have been there…. and as you shepherded it from concept to fruition, did. Even this peek is thrilling. I (and I’m sure you) can’t wait to see it all….. I’m so happy for you that you get to live in this gorgeousness, no one, no one , no one in the world deserves it more. Enjoy in good health!!!!
I read every post, but missed what happened to your gorgeous antique couch. Not the sleeper, the other one. Can anyone enlighten me?
Hi Parker,
No worries. The antique settee is resting comfortably in the loft (yes, I have a loft!) over the den closet and adjacent bathroom.
I guess I’m in the minority. I prefer the original green you selected. I do NOT like Knoxville Grey. At all. (there, I think I’ve made my opinion quite clear, even if I end up in the minority). That whole staircase area is SO beautiful, and once the floors are the black and white you’ve imagined, the grey color is just…nope for me. I’m willing to see how it all plays out since I normally love your color sense. (big of me, huh, since I don’t even live there! lol) Whatever you do, please YOURSELF, not us. Everyone deserves to live in a space that makes their heart sing.
Hi Linda,
Chris made a big sample for me and I have to admit it was reminding me of the cafeteria in my elementary school. lol However, behind the wood furniture it is not nearly as rich as the Knoxville Gray, which is NOT in any way gray. In my space it reads as a saturated dark, easy-on-the-eyes green with a slight blue undertone. But, this is my space with LED lights.
I don’t expect everyone to like what I present. As you can see, I like a LOT of things. I’d be thrilled with any of the schemes I’ve come up with.
Hi Laurel,
From what I can see, your bedroom looks beautiful! I can relate to the feeling of finally being able to sleep your bedroom again! What paint sheen did you use on your walls? Knoxville Gray looks fantastic with your floor and furnishings!
Hi Janine,
The walls are matte and the trim is satin in the Scuff-X formulation.
Wonderful to know that the bedroom is now usable. It has been fun, enlightening, a bit frustrating, and a lot of pleasure to have been a very small part of your blog.
I am just a country gal, living in rural Iowa, who enjoys reading all your posts. In part because you are like a vacation to another country. Travel is such a mind expanding experience.
I love the Knoxville Gray in the entry! So gorgeous…and I am glad you decided not to do the wallpaper in the bedroom. IMHO it’s kinda depressing. Can’t wait for the next installment!
I love the Knoxville Gray for the entry space – it gives it such a moody, rich, sophisticated look. What a fortuitous accident.
I FOUND IT……the painting!!
Hi Gail,
I got the painting from https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/. I’m sure it’s acrylic because oil would take too long to dry.
Ok the knock off painting I want it!! Is it just a print or oil( faux or not) please TELL me where you found it. Simply email me. Thank YOU! Love the ongoing remodel. I did a huge one on an older home and understand ALL you are going through. That first night in your bedroom…best feeling in the world.
I think this is the first peak of the stair railing upstairs and it looks fantastic.
Hi Laurel, Loving your process of thought as it evolves. I used Timson green on my marble topped vintage powder room vanity. It brings out the smallest spray of a subtle gold color in a dramatic floral Cole and Son Wallpaper. It’s not easy to let go of stuff like your well used sofa. You’ve given me inspiration to edit what I truly want to live with. It must feel great to be back in your home with the improvements you’ve
chosen thus far. Happy for you!
Oh, I love that Knoxville Green, wherever it’s going to go, rich, saturated, elegant! Wish I could use it somewhere. Great pick!
LOVE the Knoxville Grey. With the floor and the dark console table…I swoon.
Laura you have impeccable taste so it is hard to disagree with you on this choice! It find it too muddy and standing alone it is not a “pleasing” colour. The one positive is it matches the wall covering very well. What about the no name colour? Although if you do it in the den then you want another choice there. I’d say, “Back to the drawing board!”!!
I like your decision not to wallpaper your bedroom. Although it is a beautiful paper, I think it would have been too much in your bedroom and with the fabulous scenic wallpapers in your entry & downstairs hall, too much for your home in general.
I cannot read your emails anymore. It jumps to the bottom of the page.
Hi Laurel,
I love a dark color in a dark space. So I think it’s a great idea. And your blue lamp pops off the dark wall. The artwork looks stunning next to the wall color. I say go for it!
I like that TImson Green a lot, though.