The circus has left town

This room is primed for a makeover!  I used a bit of gray primer along with the white, not on purpose, but because I had a 'primer shortage' and had to add in some of the primer we used in our dining room.  It looks better already, no?

I also put a nice fresh coat of white paint on all the baseboards that already looked fine because I'm a crazy perfectionist.  Now I have a nice clean slate to do more paint experiments.  Isn't it funny how the same primer looks so different from different angles?  Funny, or annoying.  One of those two.   More annoying, I think.  Yeah. 

Welcome to crazytown

So, like a home decor masochist I decided to take a trip to the local Benjamin Moore paint retailer on my lunchbreak.  And now I'm sitting here comparing all these instead of priming my pink room:

Oh, and I found this fabric on Tonicliving.com:

Gah!  I am officially nuts.  Just wanted to keep you in the loop.  That is all.

Gray paints = gray hairs

My my, repainting the dressing room is proving to be as hard as finding Lindsay Lohan credible work.  I found some fun fabric at Joanns that I wanted to use for curtain panels awhile ago, and I got all TEN yards for $5.00....woot woot, hey hey hey, I'm awesome.  Nevermind that I don't have any clue how to turn fabric into curtains.  That is what google and The Nester are for, because Sara Don't Sew.  Anywho, the paint issue is kicking my behind because the gray in the curtains is 'kind of blue and that's not coo.'  Here is a glimpse of the fabric and the grays that are tormenting me right at the moment:

The upper left is Behr Dark Pewter, it's too dark.  Bottom left is Behr Grey Timber Wolf, it's too purple.  Bottom L shaped is Behr Dolphin Fin which I love, but it looks weird with the blue-gray of the curtains.  The big swatch was color-matched to the gray in the fabric, however it came out really blue on the wall and I don't likey.  It looks 'slate' to me, but it is very close to the fabric gray.  I'm thinking about warming the color up a bit with craft paints.  Does anyone have any fabulous ideas?  Some people custom mix all their colors and swear by it, so if those people could chime in I'm all ears eyes!  Here's another shot of the fabric with the custom mix:

Maybe I do like it?  I'm not sure.  I don't want the room to look blue.  Maybe I should just paint everything red, put some red lace over the windows and call it my 'Lady Gaga' room?  At least all the trim is painted.  Please don't dwell on the fleshy doors, I know they look terrible.  That is another I hate the previous owners of this house project for later.

What say you, decorating divas?  Mix and match different grays and hope for the best?  Find new fabric with a gray background that I really love??  After all, I'd only be out 5 bones and could find another use for it for sure.  Give me your thoughts!

ps - thank you to Jamie for the gray paint samples!  She's undergoing a little paint dilemma of her own, all part of her huge home renovation.  Progress pics of her place are coming soon!

No, I'm not pregnant

That is what I have to say to friends and family when they see this room for the first time:

WHA?  I know, this is totally not my style.  This room was painted (YES, BY ME) within two months of moving into the house because I was just TOO EXCITED to paint all the bedrooms.  Big mistake!  Always take your time and think it through before painting!

This room functions as my dressing room...hence the exorbitant amount of sweaters on that shelf.  With the paint and decor, I was going for 'Victoria's Secret', but ended up with 'Circus Nursery.'  Britney Spears would probably love this room.  I also didn't take the time to sand, prime and paint all the trim before painting the walls (I only did the ceiling and baseboards first) so all that has to be done before I can fix this disaster.  What a rookie mistake!  It's amazing how much I've learned in one year. 

                  

The pink is not horrible, but it's just not for me.  I'm tired of everyone thinking it's a little girls room.  And the brown stripes were supposed to be bold, but turned out boring and 'pastel' because I just used leftover paint from our living room instead of buying something specific for this particular shade of pink.  I've really learned that rushing never is a good idea....oh, and that my cat loves to pee on shag rugs. 

Just ignore the bra on the floor that I've circled in red.  These are the only daytime 'before' pics and I noticed it too late.  I thought for the sake of keeping it real I'd leave it there instead of attempting to photoshop it out.  Here's a better pic taken at night:

No offending brassieres in that one!  And the color actually looks better, I think. 

This sad excuse for a light fixture is going to stay, but I have some ideas to make it look nicer.  And just in case you were wondering what is behind door number 2, it's these:

Oh, and a bunch of other crap.  My plans for this room involve replacing the pee-stained rug (gag), repainting, putting up (possibly making?) new curtain panels, addressing the light fixture, buying (making?) a cushion for the bench, and trying to come up with storage ideas.  I would love to do built ins around the windows, but I have the closet door in the way on the long wall, and the plumbing access can't be blocked on the opposite wall:

So, there is some potential to do a 'corner unit' in the corner between the windows, I'm still mulling it over.  I don't really care for the color of the wicker dresser anymore, but I don't think there is much I can do with it.  I could move it elsewhere in the room, (or out altogether) but I do use it frequently, and it was expensive, so I want to keep it.  It also matches the rest of the set in the guest bedroom.  My colors for this room will be some sort of gray and yellow, I love that combo and it can still work for a nursery IF the day ever comes when we need one.  Or maybe not, on most days you can almost see your breath in this room....we'd have our very own baby-popsicle!  

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to dive in and do some good stuff to this room. 

Chicago lights and designer eye candy

I must have looked like a complete nut running around the streets of downtown Chicago snapping pictures in the dark Sunday night.  But I really had no choice, it was just too pretty.

The next day we did some shopping, and I just had to stop and gape at the prices in Jonathan Adler's store.  I'm not sure I was allowed to take pictures in there, but this place was insanely awesome so I am going to share anyway:

            

This bedding was dying to come live in my aqua and brown bedroom, but I couldn't bear to even look at the price:

The setup in this 'bedroom' was stunning!

           

I love this combination of orange and brown.  This rug is awesomely graphic, but not over-the-top:

            

I want painted wall niches! I wish I could be this bold with color. Actually, the dark teal here is almost identical to the color in my front hall. Hey, I'm a designer after all!

            

This store was so beautiful.  Check out the chandelier at the entrance!  At $750, I will never own it.  It also takes 30 candelabra bulbs (insert "how many __ does it take to screw in a lightbulb" joke here) so that sounds like hours of fun.  But, it's gorgeous to look at.   

                       

So, what did I buy from the store?  Not a thing.  The one thing I thought about buying was a delightfully-scented candle, but it was $38 (or, $30 more than I was willing to pay for a 7 oz. candle) so I left with just my 'window-shopping glow' and these pictures.  In fact, I didn't buy anything on our entire shopping trip besides the hotel, food and parking.  This is a first for me, folks!  And also kind of depressing.  I have to go to the mall now to make up for it.   

Digging the Raffaello hotel

Every year my mom and I take a little overnight trip to Chicago for wasteful spending and drunken debauchery shopping, wining, and dining on the Magnificent Mile.  Last year we stayed at the Doubletree, and while it was very nice (not to mention it had warm cookie bribes) I decided to try a different hotel this year, one that we can't stay at in Wisconsin.  I found a great deal on a 'boutique' style hotel called Raffaello. 

It has a fantastic location, right behind the John Hancock building and next to the Water Tower place.  It looked gorgeous online, and was only $99 a night with $23 overnight parking that lasted until 4pm the day of checkout!  This is a steal in downtown Chicago, most hotels were charging around $40 - $50 a night for parking.  Oh, and we got free coupons to Bloomies and Macys just for staying here!  Here is what we saw when we walked in:

Yeah, this pic is as blurry as the Sex and the City ladies filmed in 'soft focus', which is why I want a new camera.  But wowsers, the online pics were right on!  This building is historic and all the moldings, beams, and original marble were still there.  This was our room:

You can't really see the lovely detail on the crown molding because I'm a stupid photographer.  Anyhow, the bathroom was so huge I had to take three pictures to show it all properly.  You could have a really comfortable Jello-wrestling match in here.

Ok, one last bathroom pic - doesn't this make you want a frosted door of your very own?  The designer of this place did a great job with the $25 million renovation budget, adding modern fixtures while keeping the original structure of the building.   

That weird contraption by the bathroom door is a shoe shiner.  HECK. YES.  The red side is for brown shoes and the black side is for black shoes.  Of course I used it.  My old black shoes have never looked so purty!  Here is another 'soft focus' shot of the bar and tv area:

        

This hotel is the only completely non-smoking hotel in Chicago.  Also, they are in the process of selling many of their suites as 'hotel condominiums', apparently hotel condos are the next big thing in real estate.  According to an article in the Daily Herald:

Individual hotel rooms are sold to investors who buy the unit and allow the hotel management to rent it out when they’re not using it, sharing the revenue.

A unit can be used as a downtown weekend retreat, as lodging during business trips or as a place for family members or friends to stay. Buyers have the choice whether they wish to place their room into the rental program for general hotel guests.

Owners who join the rental pool help pay for program expenses such as front desk, reservation and housekeeping services. Revenue generated is used to offset the owner’s share of those expenses.

The historic 17-story building has 175 condominiums hotel suites with prices starting in the $270,000s. The Raffaello is 77 percent sold and the fastest selling condominium hotel in Chicago.

Hotel amenities include a lobby with on-site board room and meeting facilities, a restaurant with room service options for suite owners and guests, and a 24-hour doorman with valet parking service, valet/butlers and a professional concierge. Raffaello also features an outdoor patio and private top floor deck and garden.

If you had the money, is this something you would invest in?  It is definitely an intriguing idea.  It wouldn’t be a bad thing to always have a place to stay when you visit the city, plus have the added revenue of renting out your room.  However, I would be worried about messy people like me guests trashing my room, but I suppose there are safeguards in place to remedy that situation.  Also, it's kinda creepy that strangers are sleeping (amongst other things) in your bed, but that's true of all hotel rooms.  Either way, this is a gorgeous hotel with a lot going for it, at a very reasonable price.  Check it out next time you visit the windy city!

ps - check out this picture of the conference room floor. GAH!  I die from the beauty.

Blogging necessities

I went to Chicago this weekend for a 'girls trip' with my mom, and Shaun's mom and sister.  I took pictures, but a ton of them turned out blurry because it was dark and I hate using the flash.  Therefore, all I want for Christmas is this:

How's that for subtle?  I really really want this camera.  I would even take a photography course to figure out what the heck to do with it.  

ps - it's also available on ebay for less!  Which is where I will be buying it if no one in my family takes the bait....