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pennquaker09

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janinegirly

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Hi Penn,

I dug out your old threads with pics of your beautiful house and have some questions if you don''t mind. We''ve just closed on our house (a colonial) and it needs painting and some upgrading, so I''m trying to soak up all the information I can.

Do you know the shade of paint throughout your house (looks like a warm beige/tan)?
Also where did you find the sleigh bed that''s in your master bedroom?
Any suggestions on getting window dressings done professionally without paying a fortune?

Thanks!
 
Hi janinegirly - obviously I''m not pennquaker and sorry to crash the thread, but I''ve been so interested in knowing what''s happening with you and your new home! Have you moved in yet? I really want to know what you (or your hubby) think of the commute into the city. My DH and I still aren''t going to be leaving the city for a few years (we had bought a condo downtown as an investment and now need to save $).
 
hi blushing!

well we are in transition, meaning I''m at my parents in Princeton so my mom can help. For the next month my hubby will be commuting from the Summit house so he can do the painting and prepping. I will start off commuting from Princeton which will be horrible I''m sure (2 hrs door to door), but it''ll be worth it to have peace of mind (knowing my mother is watching the baby).

DH has done both commutes and says Summit is a great one--only 30-40mins express and our house about 1 mile from the station (residents get a parking pass). We also both work midtown, so can walk from Penn Station. It''s going to be a busy few months for sure!

How''re things with you?
 
ooohhh, love Penn''s colors too. He has great taste!!!
 
I'm more than happy to help! Which house were you looking at, our old one in Philly or the current one in New Jersey?
 
Date: 12/29/2008 4:07:19 PM
Author: janinegirly
hi blushing!

well we are in transition, meaning I'm at my parents in Princeton so my mom can help. For the next month my hubby will be commuting from the Summit house so he can do the painting and prepping. I will start off commuting from Princeton which will be horrible I'm sure (2 hrs door to door), but it'll be worth it to have peace of mind (knowing my mother is watching the baby).

DH has done both commutes and says Summit is a great one--only 30-40mins express and our house about 1 mile from the station (residents get a parking pass). We also both work midtown, so can walk from Penn Station. It's going to be a busy few months for sure!

How're things with you?
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Summit is definitely at the top of our list - we also love Westfield and Basking Ridge (although it's a further commute). I also work in Midtown so, it won't be bad once I get to the city. DH will either work in midtown or downtown by the time we move out to NJ, so he might have a little longer of a commute than I will. It's good to know that residents get a train pass - is parking hard to find at the station? Also, how are your taxes? I'm sure they're high, but are they insanely high?

I'm doing well, thanks! I can't complain about our current living situation. We have a great apartment (2 bedrooms) and I love the location of it, but we're still itching to get out of the city in a few years.

BTW - I'm not sure if I ever had a chance to tell you, but Chloe is adorable!
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I lurk on the Preggo and Mommy threads.

Pennquaker - your house is gorgeous (I had to back through your posts to see the pics). What area of NJ are you in?
 
Pennquaker: I think it was the foreclosure--very large home with majority of interior painted a warm tan. I thought it was PA, but maybe it was NJ. Also curious where in NJ you are!

Blushing: I think parking is easy if you are a resident, but that is only for Summit...not Westfield etc. Taxes are high all over NJ, you are correct! But our house is on the smaller side, so the taxes are more manageable. Plus we have no real furniture after living in a NYC apt, so a huge house would''ve taken forever to furnish! Thanks for the Chloe compliments
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, it''s going to be so hard to go back to work!
 
The paint that I used is Benjamin Moore and the color is Blond Wood.

I would recommend Benjamin Moore over pretty much ANY paint. One of the others would be Ellen Kennon, but it''s not widely available. If you would like to know more about it, I would be more than happy to share.

Off of the top of my head, here are some more colors for you to consider:

Benjamin Moore - Twilight Gold, Wheeling Neutral*, Waterbury Cream, Powell Buff, Monroe Bisque, Squire Hill Buff*, and Moccasin.

Also, check and see if the BM dealer in your area has Aura, it''s BM''s best paint.

The sleigh bed came from a furniture store in Tennessee. My dad got it for me when I had my first place when I was in college. I took the liberty to see if I could find anything \, and Ethan Allen has 3 that look similar.

I think drapery is one of those you get what you pay for kind of things. I like finding a fabric and then having them custom made, but that can be costly. When you''re buying silk dupioni and what not, it get''s expensive.

One way to replicate the look of custom drapery is to find premade panels in different colors or patterns and combine them.

If you want to look into fabrics, I really like Robert Allen and Kravet fabrics. There are others, but those are the main two.
 
I almost forgot, we live in Tenafly.
 
thanks penn! I took at look at benjamin moore''s site and they have something called "personal color viewer" where you can download photos of your actual home and play around with shades. Do you ever use it? Seems like the shades look different on their site than they do in actuality (ie some of your photos). Anyway, thanks for all your help!
 
No, I get sample pots or quarts and I paint on the wall directly.
 
Thanks for the paint suggestions Penn. We are getting ready to have our house painted and I just love your colors!
 
Date: 1/3/2009 9:39:49 AM
Author: steph72276
Thanks for the paint suggestions Penn. We are getting ready to have our house painted and I just love your colors!
Click to expand...


I have more btw.
 
Hi Penn,
I visited Benjamin Moore today and took some swatches. It gets so confusing with so many shades of beige! Our designer recommended we choose furniture first and then select around that. Still, it seems some of these colors would look great with anything (blond wood is still one of my faves!).

I have another question--we have a dining room with molding about 2/3rds of the way down--meaning there are 2 panels if that makes any sense. How is paint supposed to work in that case, a darker shade from the color wheel on the lower section? The previous owners had pale yellow and pea green..ugh.
 
hey Penn, have you ever used Goldfinch? (or goldenfitch...I forgot what it is called).
 
Yes, yes, choose your furniture and if possible, your window treatments first. Only pick your paint if you have a definitive idea of what you're going to put into your space. Tell me what your style is and what you're looking for and I'll do a little searching for you.

What you're referring to in your dining room is called a chair rail. You have different options. I think it just depends on if you prefer to have it or not. If it were me, I'd probably keep it because I love traditional elements such as chair rails, but it's up to you.

Tacori, I have not come across anything by that name? Is it a Benjamin Moore color? I can't seem to find my fan decks at this moment, but I will find them and post later.

I know other colors aside from other manufacturers also. And I know great colors other than golden tones and what not.

Nate says I should take some design classes.
 
Penn, yes it is a BM color (#187). My inlaws are painting their house (living room, kitchen and entry) that so I was curious if you ever used it.
 
Hi Penn,

Well here''s a better idea of my style and what I''m working with. We have a classic colonial, so it is very traditional to start. We are going to repaint the entire house since the previous owners pretty much painted every room yellow. My style or what I''m going for is classic, tasteful, subtle. A few quality pieces rather than clutter of small ones. Traditional but clean look. I prefer subtle warm tones to strong bright ones.

Right now I''m trying to figure out the master bedroom, dining and living rooms. We have zero furniture to start since we came from an apt in the City, and with a new baby--not much time. For the master bedroom, I''m likely to go with a solid sleigh bed, and trying to figure out paint colors and drapery there. For the dining I was thinking something in the blond wood family and the living area a pale yellow. Although I''m considering a cream set for the living room (couch and chair), so not sure if pale yellow makes sense?

Oh and thanks for letting me know it''s called a chair rail--I def want to keep it, but wasn''t sure how paint works above/below it. IE if it one is a complimentary shade or simply a shade darker. I''m just not crazy about current shade from previous owners (yellow and pea green below rail).

PS You''ve never taken design classes? Wow, you''ve got a natural eye I guess!
 
Date: 1/5/2009 8:50:45 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Penn, yes it is a BM color (#187). My inlaws are painting their house (living room, kitchen and entry) that so I was curious if you ever used it.
Click to expand...


Okay, I found it. I like it, but I have never used it. However, I stepped outside for a second to look at it with some natural light and it looks like it has a slight flesh undertone, but I''d need to see a larger sample and it would also depend on the light exposure to their house. I do like that it has a pretty good LRV.
 
Date: 1/5/2009 9:56:43 AM
Author: janinegirly
Hi Penn,


Well here''s a better idea of my style and what I''m working with. We have a classic colonial, so it is very traditional to start. We are going to repaint the entire house since the previous owners pretty much painted every room yellow. My style or what I''m going for is classic, tasteful, subtle. A few quality pieces rather than clutter of small ones. Traditional but clean look. I prefer subtle warm tones to strong bright ones.


Right now I''m trying to figure out the master bedroom, dining and living rooms. We have zero furniture to start since we came from an apt in the City, and with a new baby--not much time. For the master bedroom, I''m likely to go with a solid sleigh bed, and trying to figure out paint colors and drapery there. For the dining I was thinking something in the blond wood family and the living area a pale yellow. Although I''m considering a cream set for the living room (couch and chair), so not sure if pale yellow makes sense?


Oh and thanks for letting me know it''s called a chair rail--I def want to keep it, but wasn''t sure how paint works above/below it. IE if it one is a complimentary shade or simply a shade darker. I''m just not crazy about current shade from previous owners (yellow and pea green below rail).


PS You''ve never taken design classes? Wow, you''ve got a natural eye I guess!
Click to expand...

Okay, so I have some more questions for you.

What is your budget for the following items:

Sleigh Bed
Sofa
Coffee Table
Dining Table and Chairs


Other living room pieces like chairs or maybe an ottoman

Secondly, how much space do you have in your living room? How do you plan to use it (reading, tv watching, etc)? Do you have a fireplace?

And, I know you said you have zero furniture, but is there anything that you own that you plan to take with you?
 
Penn,

We have a guest room''s worth of furniture (what was in our apt) and a nursery that is complete. I think I have found a dining set (Ethan Allen), some possible living room pieces (couch and matching chair from Thomasville in cream), and a potential sleigh bed from Thomasville as well. The dining and bed sets are likely to be cherry or a mix of cherry/mahogony. Our budget is about 5K a room for furniture (not paint/drapery,etc). Mostly I''m at a loss for color schemes, like what paint goes best with even these few pieces.

We do have a fireplace in the living room and that room would be mostly for entertaining and a visual (first room you see when you walk in).

Thanks!
 
just bumping up in case..

I''ll actually take anyone''s opinions who have designer skills (which I certainly do not! ;))

Basically, I''m trying to figure out what shade beige could work in a dining room (with cherry/mahogony dining set). I love the look of the blond wood shade, but is it ok for a dining room? Any suggestions on coordinating colors (drapery,etc)?

In the living room, I''m trying to figure out if pale yellow paint is ok with cream/off white couch and chair. I will probably purchase a 3rd offseting chair--but can''t figure off the best offsetting colors (along with drapery)?My style leans traditional and subtle.

Sorry if I''m repeating myself, I think I''m losing my mind with a new house and baby! It''ll all look different/better in a few months I keep telling myself...
 
This is what I would do: I would find a rug you liked first and then paint the beige color on the wall to match and a window treatment from one of the colors in the rug. I think a coordinating color of green would be beautiful so I would find a rug with at least beige and green.Basically, the whole room will take its color palette from the rug you buy and will look pulled together.

As far as the living room with the pale yellow and cream. Yes, I guess it goes but what other colors are already in the room? The other furniture? Is it connected to the kitchen?
 
Hi Her,
Thanks for your post. There is no other furniture yet in the living room--that''s why it''s so hard, it''s a total blank slate! I plan on buying a 3rd chair which can have some offsetting color so the room isn''t so bland, and then also add color through drapery...but no idea what those colors should be to make it pop.
 
I think painting the dining room in Blond Wood is great. I would paint above the rail in the Blond Wood and below, a simple off white would be nice. It will definitely go with your dark wood furniture.

Now I don''t know if you''d go for this, but you could paint your living room in a nice neutral gray (with a slight hint of blue) and it would look great with a cream or pale yellow sofa and chair.

I actually went on the Thomasville website and I came across their Seasons Chair (picture here), I think it has the look you''re going for. Tell me if I''m off base. Thomasville is having their retirement sale, so it''s definitely a good idea to look there.

Have you been to Safavieh Home in Livingston? They carry many quality brands.

Do you have any preferences when it comes to your window treatments? Do you like floral prints or stripes or just solids?
 
Hi Penn,

Thanks for all your suggestions! I''m pretty much sold on the blond wood in the dining room, and I love your idea of the shade below the rail. What primary rug colors did you use in your house with this shade? Greens, dark blues? (I''m thinking oriental rug,etc.)

The living room is more of a challenge. Hmm, I''m not sure about gray..I guess just the word gray conjures up dark room, but I''m sure you have better vision than me. The Thomasville chair meanwhile is exactly the one I''ve been looking at! It''s on sale since it''s discontinued, but it''s more gold in person, and I''m shying away a bit from strong yellow furniture because we won''t be in this house forever, but the furniture will follow. That''s why I thought cream was safer (or some neutral shade) and I could offset with a 3rd chair with color or patterned upholstery. Just can''t figure out what color could tie pale yellow and cream! Maybe I need to rethink the pale yellow paint..

As for drapery I prefer stripes and solids. Not so much florals...

In my searches on line I found this picture--looks very pretty! But then it''s more surrounding yellow furniture than walls...

lr09.jpg
 
wow that was small...maybe this is better

lr12.jpg
 
We just repainted our house and if you''re looking for a soft yellow paint, I''d highly recommend BM Windham Cream. I''m not really fond of gray paint but we painted our dining room BM Wedgewood Gray which is more blue than gray and I think it would look great with yellows and creams.
 
I tried to post earlier today, but my internet has been really crappy. Anyway, I have a picture or 2 for you!

What do you think of these drapes?

Drapery_1.jpg
 
no offense penn, i think your home is lovely and you have great style but those drapes make me think bunting and the fourth of july.
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