We haven’t loved all our…

We haven't loved all our paint color choices. Almost all, but not quite. This one we're actually changing after the first coat -- in the front foyer, we'd picked F&B's Blackened. This sounded very promising, "Historically made with the addition of 'lamp black', a pigment made by collecting the residue from burnt lamp oil." On the sample sheet we painted out, it seemed pretty cool, almost a silver-white. But on the walls, it just looks boring and a bit dingy. Argh. (Side note: I like the way the geometry of that Indian ox cart-back bench plays against the geometry of the stair rail. There are many right angles (and other angles) in our house. Helps to keep it feeling clean and not fussy-Victorian. I will resist the urge to put a lace doily on anything, or a fringed skirt. Although well-done lace is gorgeous from a textile POV.)

There's also too much contrast between the foyer and the hall, I think. We're actually repainting the foyer today (well, the painters are) with F&B's Plummett, something of a leap of faith, since I haven't even painted it on a board. "A lighter version of Down Pipe, imitating lead. Appropriate for interior as well as exterior use as often in Gothic architecture." A plummet is a lead weight, used in fishing, among other things. We have Down Pipe in the connecting hall (as you can see above), so I'm hoping that it'll transition well and have a bit more weight and presence than Blackened did. We have a Chinese Blue ceiling in the foyer too, so hopefully they'll all work together. And work with the curtain I sewed yesterday, which I purely love. Peacocks!

That's Vintage Plumes by DwellStudio for Robert Allen, in Jade. 55% linen, 45% cotton, which gives it a wonderful heavy drape; it hangs well and feels good in your hands when you pull it back. About $50/yard, which is insanely expensive as fabric goes, but luckily, I only needed exactly one yard to make this curtain, which screens off the coat / vacuum closet from the hall. I just hemmed it once all around, and then folded the top over to make a rod pocket. That's about as easy as sewing gets -- it would have taken twenty minutes if I hadn't run out of thread partway through. But eventually, I managed to pick up more thread and finish it. Threw it on a tension rod and voila!

I'd originally thought to mount it in the doorframe itself, but the rod was too long for that. And actually, I think this is better -- it highlights the beauty of the trim, and the trim acts as a frame for the fabric, as if it were a painting. We decided to do a curtain there instead of a door because it's a narrow space and it seemed like it might be awkward to be opening a door there to put away coats, especially in a party situation with lots of people around. Fingers crossed that this will work well.

That peacock has some attitude! :-)

More to-do:

• Home Depot: lights, shower curtain rod, lightbulbs, guest bath faucet -- DONE
• 11:00 - meet with zinc guy -- DONE
• 12:30 - meet with Manny re: fence -- DONE
• buy guest towels -- DONE
• buy microwave -- DONE
• buy washer / dryer (Samsung red) -- DONE
• finish grading 474 -- DONE
• submit final grades -- DONE (with 37 minutes to spare -- let's not cut it that close again, okay?)
• exchange baby gates for ones that work -- DONE
• get groceries to cook snacks (vegan, savory) for meeting -- Kev DOING

  Wednesday:

• unpack and clear kitchen
• get & write another set of party invites if we can't find originals
• install gates

• kids at home
• deal with backlogged e-mails
• work on web page for department
• order food for department meeting
• drop off party invites at school (urgent!)
• call to have dishwasher fixed
• make decisions on all shelving / wood-working
• queen headboard, sofa, and chair, washer and dryer delivered
• unpack whatever's left on first floor
• borrow air mattress from Lori?
• catalog guest bedding -- buy what's missing for two sets of guests
• finish prepping for parents' arrival -- what else? afternoon:

• pick up roses at Gethsemane
• swing by Nadeau, check out screen for playroom, mirror for powder room
• Land of Nod ball / stuffed animal storage?

  Thursday:

• cook snacks for meeting
• all-day department meeting
• parents arrive around 10

  Friday:

• cook for party
• get party supplies / goody bags
• take kids to zoo with parents
• Sharmi arrives around 7

  Saturday:

• Mirna and Gian arrive early
• clean and decorate
• party!
• Ryan arrives late