This is (probably) the last painting update because Mr. SK is finished painting!!! He is amazing!!!



He actually finished Tuesday, and then yesterday and today he's been working on doing the trim. These photos were taken yesterday morning before he started on the trim, so ignore that part.

But here are the photos of the piano room. Remember that the piano room is painted in Navajo White, and the family room & dining room are painted in Irish Cream. The Navajo really takes on the color of whatever is around it, and because of the time of day, there are some spots where it looks blue-ish or green-ish but in the middle of the day or when it's dark out, it's all just the color you see in most of these photos. I love it!

The other thing I love is how well it works with the Irish Cream. I really didn't want anything to look too yellow, and I don't think it does.

So here is actually standing in the family room (Irish Cream) looking into the piano room (Navajo White), I think this shows how the colors work together.





Piano room facing toward hallway door and family room door (I'm standing about where I hope to place a grand piano in the not too distant future!)


Piano room, facing front windows


Piano room wall color


And now for a question. The dining room has a double window that looks out to the backyard (which is very pretty). But there are these shutters there, and I can't decide if I want to keep them or not. But if we're not keeping them, Mr SK will do some touch up on the trim, so I feel like we need to decide that soon... If I keep them, what should I put at the top of the window? Or, maybe I should take them off? Do they look weird opened up? Because during the day, and at meal times, I will want to open those up. (I have the impression that the previous residents never opened them.)

Dining room window shutters closed


Dining room window shutters open

I like the shutters. They work with the house. Maybe put a box valence on top of the window.

Paint looks great!

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box valence

I just googled that b/c I didn't know what it was, but yes, that would "finish" the window. There's a patio door to the right of this window, so if I could get a curtain for the door and a box valance that matched, that might be very nice. Thank you!

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Paint looks great!

Thank you! I can't wait to move!! I wish the scheduler for floorers would hurry up and call me so we can finalize our timeline! >_<

Very nice, SK! I really like your paint choices. Also, it looks like you get a good amount of sunlight coming in.

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I really like your paint choices

Thank you! We really agonized about it, but we had excellent advice here at WTF and that was soooo helpful!

I wouldn't have even known where to start without Steve's recommendation of Navajo White.

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it looks like you get a good amount of sunlight coming in.

I think so, of course you don't really know till you live there and experience it at different times of the day etc. And there's lots of green all around the outside, which we love!

I'm not a shutters fan, though I suppose they work well in warmer climates like yours. I dont think you need to put anything over them unless it's a second set of shutters.

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put anything over them

I don't mean over the shutters themselves, but more, elsewhere on the window, the window looks naked to me...

Anyway, I don't know if I'll keep those shutters or not, but they are a little more interesting the all the generic blinds on the windows in the rest of the house.

Although I should say that I'm grateful there are working blinds on every single window (excluding this one). Not having to rush out and buy a whole house worth of window treatments is a huge benefit!

What direction do those windows face? We had shutters in our living room and our den (back room) when we moved in. I didn’t put anything at the top of the windows; I like it to look architectural and spare. But when I bought my grand piano, I traded the shutters in the living room for top down bottom up shades, because the windows are on the south and west sides of the house (corner). I didn’t want the sun on the piano. If the sun isn’t an issue, shutters are fine for now, and free.

The back room still has shutters; they’re on the east and south corner. I love the windowed corners on my house. Light from two directions is really pretty.

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What direction do those windows face?

South-southwest I think, maybe. If there’s a lot of hot afternoon sun in the summer, I will want rom darkening shades or something just for temperature control — this is the dining room so I’m not worried about the piano here but AC bill could be a concern! I’ll find out soon!

I vote no shutters. It squishes the height of the room. How about trying blinds? You could have half, full coverage or open all day and closed for privacy.

The feeling of lengthiness of walls is important in newer houses.

Just my opinion...

Shutters are quite practical but I have mixed feelings about them design-wise.

The fact that they cover the lower half of the window allows for privacy, but still gives an outside view and light through the top half of the window. The modern version is a top-down blind.

The louvers are also nice because you can let in some light by tilting them up when the shutter doors are in place without having the sun shining directly in to heat and fade items in the room. Venetian and mini-blinds give you that same flexibility, but I don't think there are any with a top-down feature.

I like the way box valences look, but they can cut down the amount of light in the room pretty drastically, especially in north-facing windows.

You might want to live through an entire year and get a feel for the way light moves through your house. The angle of the sun changes between winter and summer, and the amount of light that gets in may also depend on whether there are leaves on the trees or not.

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I like the way box valences look, but they can cut down the amount of light in the room pretty drastically, especially in north-facing windows.

Ahh, good point. Those windows face southwest, but still, I like lots of light.

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You might want to live through an entire year and get a feel for the way light moves through your house.

Also a good point. Or... maybe I will choose window treatments for this room on the assumption that we will want to have the option of having the blinds/curtains/whatever totally open/up. The other reason, besides light, for this is that this window faces the back yard and there are lots of plants, trees, birdies and what not that I am sure we will want to enjoy looking at. We will eat breakfast and dinner here, so being able to enjoy the view will be a big factor.

It faces the back yard? Naked windows. I hate window treatments. I want to be outdoors all the time and naked windows are the next best thing to being outside.

Windows without garnish are like paintings without frames.

They’re appropriate in some settings, but not in others.

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Windows without garnish are like paintings without frames.

That's kind of the direction I'm leaning, I think I'll eventually get rid of the shutters and have some kind of fabric thingy (need to learn all those terms first!) even if it's not a full-on curtain.

I am not particularly fond of over the top window treatments with lots of frills and various separate pieces on the same window. But a simple curtain or thingy at the top (valance?) does a lot to finish off a room IMO.

But I also do not want curtains that don't open all the way or window treatments that obstruct the view, so whatever I end up doing, it will probably be pretty minimalist.

Another thing I am not sure I like is the trend of having curtains that go all the way down to the floor. Why is that so great, and why is a curtain that stops just after the bottom of the window such a decor faux pas? I don't get that. Which length of curtain looks good depends on the rest of the room IMO and not all rooms need a huge sweeping swath of fabric.