color my world {white}

I like white!  That's really an understatement . . . just ask my friend Will (wink).  I love white walls, white kitchens, white linens, and white shirts.  And heck, I even love all the white still piled up outside my door.  If only it didn't come with all the cold air (brrrrr).  Here are some of my favorite whites!

1_ Beat Light Fat Pendant by Tom Dixon
I love everything about this pendant and dream of it in our next home.  Maybe in the dining room?
 
2_ Geometric Decorative Pillow Cover by Classic by Nature
I love the subtle stitching on this pillow cover by Classic by Nature.  
 
3_ White Leather 7-Pocket Tool Pouch by Klein Tools
I have been kinda handy lately and I'm thinking it might be time to ask for a good old tool belt so I can stop holding onto screwdrivers with my chin and nails with my mouth.  And these white leather pouches by Klein are pretty enticing, though I'm sure one wouldn't stay white for long.
 
4_ White Enamel Tea Kettle by Kaico
I've been admiring the white enamel cookware by Kaico since spotting it on Design Sponge a few years ago.  I would definitely start with this tea kettle.  
 
5_ Ceramic Fox by Jonathan Adler
White ceramics are my thing, and I really admire the whimsical animals Jonathan Adler has created.  This fox would look so cute watching over Ella in her big-girl room.  Maybe I can pass on my habit . . .

6_ White Bamboo Round Tote from Crate & Barrel
The bamboo trim on this tote makes it feel sturdy.  And it collapses when not in use.  I'm thinking as a hamper for the new bathroom.
 
7_ Granit 5-Piece Place Setting by Eva Zeisel
I've always had a thing for Eva Zeisel's pottery.  I gifted my mother three of her vases over a few years but have yet to added any of her work to my personal collection.  We'll be shopping for new dishes after our move (goodbye mismatched post-college stuff) and I'm thinking these might be a beautiful option.

yellow walls (from the other Fort)

When I started this space several years ago, I intended it to be a shared space for both my sister and me. We imagined paperForts together and we sure do have big dreams for it. So, in the pursuit of accomplishing at least one of these dreams, I'd like to introduce you to my little sister Anastasia. She will be posting here regularly and taking you along for her ride - in life, design, and all things home. Give her a warm welcome!

Hello! It's Anastasia (or Auntiestasia if you ask Ella). I'm the sister that makes up the other half of paperForts!  I'm a freelance graphic designer working predominantly in web and UI design, based out of Atlanta, GA, where I live with my partner Tricia and dog, Mister. When I'm not working, I'm usually texting with my sister about the many projects we want to do or have already started around the house . . . which brings me to today's post . . . Yellow Walls!

We recently moved to a new neighborhood in Atlanta. While looking for a house to rent, we found this gem with beautiful open space, really nice amenities, and a fenced in backyard for Mister - exactly what we needed after a long and arduous experience at our previous rental (long story for another day). The one hang-up we had about this new place? The sunshine yellow paint that covers all the walls of the open floor plan. When we first saw the house, the color wasn't a big deal to me - anything can be painted. But when we went back to sign the lease, Tricia was definitely miffed by the yellow and I realized how much of the house was covered in this alarming color.  While nothing is wrong with the color in and of itself, I just never imagined decorating a yellow room. So, I asked our new landlords if we could paint to which they replied "Yes," as long as we got them to approve colors. Great! Where do I sign?

When we finally moved everything in, and were actually living within the yellow walls, I had to agree, it was a lot of yellow! From the front hall into the kitchen, across the dining area, through the living room, and down the back hall which, in total, makes up about half the house.  I've painted rooms before, and even a red wall like the one Mr. Big had in Sex in the City in my old rental which had super high ceilings and required three coats, but never have I ever had to paint what I estimate to be about 850 square feet at one time. It is a daunting task, but it is also too much yellow.

First we talked about just painting it all white - the easy route. But all the trim is white, so basically we would go from too much yellow to too much white. We loved the color they painted in the garage (go figure) so we thought a lighter version of that in either a warm or cool tone would go well with all the white trim and would pass the landlord's approval by going quite neutral.

Upon emailing our landlord our plans to paint, we were smacked in the face (not literally) with "We would rather you not..." 

WHAT!? Yea, get us to sign on the dotted line, and then make us live in all this YELLOW!? What is going on!? Later that day though, she changed her tune and replied that we could paint. But between the "We would rather you not...," she gave us earlier in the day and when she finally relaxed her position, I had come to the decision that it just wasn't worth buying all the paint and hiring painters or doing all the painting ourselves; it was just too big a job for a house we may only be in for a year or two.

Still, I couldn't shake this yellow wall fiasco, so I vented to my sister and, in all her genius, she immediately went on the hunt for some inspiration for all this yellow.  And thanks to sites like Pinterest, it's pretty easy to find inspiration whenever you need it.  Now, after all that, I'm actually pretty excited about the possibilities! Stay tuned!

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this weekend: next weekend

This weekend I spent a lot of time thinking about next weekend.  Next weekend I will be left alone at home to patch, sand, paint, and stain my way to a completely finished dining room and kitchen.  It's probably too ambitious to think I might get to the living room too, but that would be quite awesome.  And all of the painting had me thinking about the color palette for this house.  I don't want to spend my entire weekend contemplating colors in the paint swatch aisle of my local home improvement store - I'd never get anything done.

So here's what I have so far . . . 

I've already used Behr White Truffle for our master bedroom.  And all of the existing wood trim upstairs has or will get a coat (ok, several coats) of Behr White Fur.  We don't have many doors on our first floor - only exterior doors.  All of the upstairs bedroom, bathroom, and closet doors are Benjamin Moore's Midsummers Night color matched in Valspar.  And then, we picked Valspar Winter in Paris for the bathroom before we knew that we would be renovating it as well.  I think we'll stick with it for now.

I think that using White Truffle for the kitchen and dining room makes a lot of sense.  It will keep the space really light and neutral, especially since the minty backsplash is already providing a nice dose of color.  I'm not sure if I want to go so far as to paint the inside of the exterior doors in Midsummer Night on the first floor.  I'm leaning more toward painting them in the White Fur trim color.  Most of the trim on the first floor is unpainted and I plan to keep it that way.  I want to strip the old, crackled varnish off  most of it and re-stain and seal with Minwax Polyshades, a stain and polyurethane in one.  

color my world {mint}

Mint . . . it just sounds good.  As you may have observed, I currently have a bit of a mint obsession (see here, and then I couldn't quite let it go again here).  So, to pay the proper homage to my color of choice these days, here are a few of my favorite {mint} things:

1_Bell Sconce, Eleanor Home  I pinned this sconce awhile ago thinking it might be great above the sink in my mint inspired kitchen.  Too much mint, maybe?  It's cute anyway and comes in a ton of other colors.  

2_Wire Basket, Ferm Living  Ferm Living is one of my favorite brands for modern home goods.  This wire basket comes in three sizes.  I'm thinking this would be great for containing any kids out-of-control stuffed animal collection.

3_Miniature Senagalese Basket, Poketo  There are several places to find these Senegalese baskets these days, but I'm really liking this mini version - perfect for stowing desktop clutter.

4_Mint Tribal iPhone Case, Brika  Since I just cracked the back of my old iPhone 4, I'm looking forward to the arrival of this case with an original design by Field Trip for the new 5.

5_Mint Cloud Goodnight Pillow, Juniper Wilde  This lady designs and produces some pretty awesome stuff and this pillow is one of them.  It's made from organic knit fabric and printed in an eco-friendly way. I'm thinking there might be a mint theme for a future nursery in this house (well, our next house actually).

6_Triangle Eco Throw, Happy Habitat  Mint and coral!  Yep, add this to the nursery too.  Karrie uses recycled cotton to create these fabulous blankets and throws.  Stylish and good for the planet - doesn't get much better than that.  

7_TPS Mint File Cabinet, CB2  I dream of an all white workroom in the attic of an old house, and in that workroom are these pale green cabinets.  It's good to know you can add some color to basic office furniture for a bit less than buying a Bisley.  I personally think this mobile version is a bit more stylish too.  

color my world {yellow}

I love doing these posts once a month!  It's like a treasure hunt for me - being inspired first, by an image or product, and then trying to find other amazing items to fill out the board.  This month, I was drawn to the color yellow.  I was hooked when I spotted this bench in the Crate & Barrel catalog months ago and have been keeping my eyes open since for all things yellow.

Here are a few of my favorite {yellow} things:

1_American Nail Plate Mini Wall Sconce, Lighting Universe  I found this outdoor wall sconce about a month ago when I started thinking about easy and affordable ways to give our porch a little facelift.  Our house is grey and I thought the pop of yellow would be a good complement. I love this simple fixture and it comes in nine other colors!

2_Salt Water Sandal by Hoy Shoes, Zappos  I've been obsessing over these sandals since Ella started walking.  They are classics and will never go out of style.  But I'm sure that, by the end of this summer, they will be so worn out I'll probably have to get my next daughter a pair of her own.

3_Nate Berkus Topanga Beach Towel, Target  I think we only have one beach towel in our house, so I wouldn't mind adding a few of these to our non-existent collection.  

4_Sewing Basket with Handles, Connected Fair Trade  I'm thinking this would be perfect for the farmer's market, or anywhere really.

5_Landscape Collection Hang Pot, Wallter  I've been collecting images of great hanging planters with the intention of purchasing one to fill a corner of our master bedroom, and I love the modern simplicity of this one.  Maybe the yellow one would look great on our porch with the Mini Wall Sconce.

6_Bright Shapes Melamine Serveware, West Elm  The graphic patterns and prints this season, and in the recent past are, in my opinion, fantastic and the pattern on this serving plate doesn't disappoint.  

7_Smile A3 Yellow by Seventy Tree, Etsy  I love this print and, if I had a foyer painted all in white, this would most certainly be hanging on the wall as a cheery reminder.

8_Yellow Watering Can, Crate and Barrel  Now this gets me excited about gardening and might actually motivate me to keep my plants alive.

9_Sonny Yellow Bench, Crate and Barrel  The bench that started it all!  This would definitely grace my all white non-existent foyer too.

color my world {coral}

I'm dying to start a post with "HELLO SPRING!", but it just doesn't seem to be coming (yet).  So in lieu of spring outside, I'll create a little spring inside.  And what says "spring" better than coral!  I've been lunging and butt kicking past this color in the store windows of the mall for a few weeks now and after grabbing a pair of these sandals on sale at Target this week, I just had to see what else I could find.

1_Marimekko Musta Virta Red 20" Pillow, Crate and Barrel   A little girly and a lot stylish, this would be perfect to add to my daughter's room.

2_Beaded Colorblocked Long Necklace in Coral and Pink (The Ankaa), Son of a Sailor, Etsy I don't typically wear a lot of jewelry but this simple necklace is right up my alley - neutral with a great pop of color.

3_Ballerina with Metal Toe Cap, Zara I love a colorful flat (probably because I tend to wear a lot of very basic colors), and these are on the top of my list for spring.

4_Austin Tote, Fossil  I think I have a tote obsession, but it comes with the baby territory (I practically carry a back-up nursery in my bag now), and this tote would add some cheer to any dreaded diaper change.

5_Coral Ombre Bangle, Banana Republic  I can't wait for the weather to warm up because short sleeves mean bare wrists, and bare wrists need accessorizing!

6_Geometric LOVE Print, 7 Wonders Design, Etsy  You see a lot of these Robert Indiana inspired Love prints and usually I'm not a fan, but this guy I like.  I am a sucker for geometry.

7_Hay & Hee Welling's About A Chair, A+R Wouldn't this be fantastic in a kid's room?!  If only my daughter was old enough to need a desk chair.  I'm sure this chair could encourage lots of homework doing.

color my world {teal}

When I think of teal, I don't necessarily get a good vibe.  Maybe I wore too much of it in the early 90's, often combined with hot pink, neon green, and bright yellow.  Man, was I stylish!  

Despite this initial aversion, however, I've discovered a fondness for teal (again, apparently).  I think it all started while drooling over the Wishbone Chair by noted Danish modernist, Hans Wegner.  As an architecture-type, it is in my DNA to drool over such things, and I am in love with the fact that they come in colors, introduced three years ago for the chair's 60th anniversary!

Here are a few of my favorite {teal} things:

1. Ampersand Screen Print \ 2. Canteen Hook and Knob \ 3. Bai Square Retro Wall Clock \ 4. IKEA Raskog Kitchen Cart \ 

5. Bicycle Pillow Case \ 6. Chive Pill Terrarium \ 7. Jonathan Adler Santorini Hera Vase \ 8. Hans Wegner Wishbone Chair

color my world {gold}

all that glitters is, well, gold ...

for much of my adult life, gold has been out. that is to say, yellow gold, and usually when speaking of jewelry. but as all things old become new again, i've grown particularly fond of many a gold product, especially my antique yellow gold wedding band that originally belonged to my husband's great-grandmother. you certainly can't shirk history, nor would I ever want to. so here i present a few of my other {golden} favorites:

1_gold wire barrel pendant, lazy susan

2_gold flatware 5-pc set, west elm

3_midas glassware collection, design within reach

4_gold moroccan linen pillow cover, lauren Alison on etsy

5_gold feather tray, williams sonoma home

6_a yacht to talk about in sunset, mod cloth

7_campbell crisscross cuff, shopbop

8_libations bar cart, crate a d barrel

9_stars (gold) wall sticker, ferm living

color my world {navy}

all of the nautical stripes in stores last year has caused a bit of an obsession with the color navy.  call it indigo, midnight blue, dark blue - it doesn't matter - i love it all.

here are a few of my favorite {navy} things:

1_red staggerwing urban tote in navy waxed canvas and distressed leather
2_blu dot strut table in navy
3_jonathan adler cotton zig zag navy and natural pillow
4_unison sailor + regatta duvets and cases in navy
5_bisley 5-drawer cabinet in oxford blue
6_land of nod herringbone pouf in blue
7_anthropologie boreal flora & fauna print in blue
8_serena and lily indigo herringbone throw
9_terrain sea grass basket in blue