Are you guys familiar with the site Natty by Design? I found out about this gem from a friend of mine who lives here in Santa Monica. She told me she just bought a campaign dresser from this site and thought I'd be interested. I checked it out and oh man she was right, and was I jealous! Okay, and I still am a little jealous. So here's the story. The woman behind Natty by Design knows a thing or two about refinishing/painting furniture. And when I say a thing or two... I really mean she knows everything about it. Not too long ago she posted this, with a bunch of beautiful vintage furniture she found, bought, and is in the process of selling. You tell her which you want, redone in what color, and she does it for you. And does an amazing job. My friend saw the post and quickly snagged the campaign dresser. Here is what it looked like before -
Totally good looking, right?
And this is how it was spruced up - How great does the navy look? I love it and am sure it looks great in her boys bedroom. The paint color is Benjamin Moore's 'old navy'. Click here to read the post on this dresser from Natty by Design, and also be sure to check out all her 'popular posts' on the side bar... she's transformed some pieces to look so super cool.
-Megan
'Design Therapy' is a great segment where we highlight fun DIY's (both small and large scale!) as well as well organized spaces. Anything that breathes new life into an object or area of your home we find therapeutic! If you have a DIY project or well functioning/organized space in your home, we'd love to feature it! Simply click the button below!
My friend Courtney is in the process of moving from the Los Angeles area up to San Francisco. Her husband recently took a new job that moved them to Switzerland for 3 months (which they've just returned home from), so you can imagine how jealous I was of all their fun weekend travels throughout Europe. While there, her husband's company informed them they could have a relocation budget to move all their previous furniture, or they can get money to buy new furniture. Can you guess what they picked?? Yep, they will be selling some of their previously used furniture and get the exciting task of picking out some cute new things for their new home.
Courtney has fantastic taste. Once she heard the news from her husband about the money for new furniture she started picking things out right away.
For her master bedroom she is going with a dark slate pintucked bedspread, with accents of white, teal, and coral. A fun color palate, right? It's a good mix of masculine and feminine, has my favorite neutrals (gray and white) with pops of bright color to bring energy and warmth into the space.
Courtney's master bedroom color palate
(and yes, colors vary on your computer screen)
Courtney would like a 2nd Opinion on paint color for her room. Here are my two options for what I think would look great -
Option 1: Bunny Gray from Benjamin Moore
This gray would be modern and fresh, while still being soothing and relaxing. It would tie in perfectly with the dark slate bedspread and would still let the accents be the energizing pops of color in the room.
Option 2: Barely Teal from Benjamin Moore
While still being gender neutral (which I think is important cause I can't imagine Courtney's husband being overly thrilled with a super feminine bedroom :), it still helps to liven up the room. It will help bring the room together and let the furniture and bedding really shine while adding a light, fresh, energy into the room.
Quick painting tip: which ever paint color option you choose, get a small sample paint can and paint a patch on the wall. After it dries make sure its a color you love before painting your whole room (paint on the wall can definitely look different than what you see on the paint swatch). Many designers will pick 3-5 variations of a color, paint samples on the wall, and pick from there.
-Megan
**If you'd like to submit a question to our 2nd Opinion segment (it can be as big as a room or as small as a lamp... whatever question you have, we'll help you out!) click the button below. We'd love to hear from you.**
We've talked about wood paneling on 2nd and Strand before, here. On today's Design Therapy we get to see inside a readers home to see how she implemented wood paneling in her family room. Reader Natalie sent in some great before and after shots of her room. Not only did she and her husband add some great color to the walls, but the plate rail her husband installed is truly inspiring. The picture below was taken during their paint color picking debate. Picking a paint color is a true challenge, for anybody. I'm happy to see that Natalie did all the necessary leg work to make a great choice! This is a great family as it already had crown molding, good light, nice furniture, and plenty of seating. But Natalie knew she could do more with the space. I really like the improvements she and her husband, Nick, made. Impressive right? My two favorite parts are the contrast between the white wainscoting and the dark armoire and sofa, and the addition of the plate rail. I think the decorative molding makes the room feel bigger and really draws your eye up the wall. What a great place to display artwork and other meaningful accessories. I also really like how the white space allowed them to go darker on the wall paint, but that the whole room feels bigger and brighter in the process.
Thanks for sharing your Design Therapy with us Natalie! It looks fantastic and with such classic choices it will look fantastic for a long time!
-Andrea We'd love to feature your home on 2nd and Strand. Click on the button below to send us info on how you've improved your space.
A general rule throughout my life was to stay away from drama, especially the nonsense you can easily find in those glorious middle school and high school years of life. But, I do have to admit that I've been drawn into the drama as of late... but a healthy, beautiful form, that is a black wall. After searching and searching, I can't find my inspiration picture for this post. On Pinterest I saw this amazing circular entryway painted in a high gloss black paint. When I saw it I thought, "Wow. That's amazing!" But then I thought there was no way I'd ever do something like that in my home, mainly because its intimidating, and because I'm typically drawn to more lightly colored spaces. BUT, obviously that room has stayed with me these past few weeks and every time I see something cool that's black, I think back to that lost picture (why didn't I just pin it?!?). So what is it about black? A long time ago we did a post called Color Psychology 101 where we talked about how different colors make us feel. How does black make you feel? Although there are negative feelings every color can give us, as black can feel extra dreary (like reminding us of death for example), it also has some cool connotations as well, like: sophisticated, mysterious, glamourous, formal, dignity, etc.. The main word for black I've already used plenty of times (and yes, its in the title) is drama. But even if my inspiration picture is lost, I have found some other gems that are also inspiring to me (from most dramatic to least dramatic).
I love brass, and I love how these amazing bookshelves (and the art) pop off the wall and the solid black really highlights them.
I can't help but try to imagine this room with a different color accent wall and drapes. I gotta say I love the accent wall, especially with that quilt on the end of the bed and how it highlights that gorgeous headboard and wall trim.
The black wall makes this space.
This is a great example of adding a little dose of drama with black paint without making it seem overwhelming or too dark.
Painting nooks black is such a great idea. What a great way to highlight the beautiful things you want to display and really make them stand out. If you do decide to do this, I'd make sure you had other black things in the room so the nooks didn't feel totally random and out of place. So what do you think about black walls? There are endless images of black walls that are beautiful, so if I haven't sold you, search it online and see what amazing rooms you can find.
Would you paint a room black? A wall? How about a nook? Or nothing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on using black paint in your home.
-Megan
My friend Colleen asked for some help choosing a new paint color for her kitchen. She had picked a paint color based on a piece of pottery that she really liked. She however did not like that color painted on her kitchen walls. If you look closely you can see the previous paint color, a warm and rich brown. Looking into the dining room you can get a sense of the rest of Colleen's house. It's a very warm, inviting, and purposeful home. It is important to help the kitchen colors play nice with the rest of the house. Also, the cabinetry and the granite in the kitchen are top notch, so we want the color to highlight those features especially. I will give you guys another clue, the rest of Colleen's home is not blue - lots of greens, yellows, and warm woods and golds. Here are a few paint colors I recommend from Benjamin Moore. Here's the tricky bit. I already know which color Colleen chooses. Want to see the results? We picked #4 because there are a lot of red tones in both the cabinetry and the granite. In order to make those starts shine brightest we picked the green option as it's complimentray to red, it all goes back to color theory!  Can you see the green paint playing a supporting role up above the window? I love what you've done Colleen! Thanks for sharing the before and after shots on 2nd and Strand.
*Every Friday we do a post called '2nd Opinion'. These posts are based on reader submissions on home dilemmas they would like a 2nd opinion on. Here at 2nd and Strand we will give our opinions, and invite readers to do the same in the comments or by a poll. To see past 2nd Opinion posts, look on the right hand sidebar at '2nd Opinion' under categories on our site. If you would like to make a submission, follow the link on the left hand side of our homepage! We'd love to hear from you!
I love stripes. Always have, and probably always will. I have been really inspired by all the pictures I've seen with stripes painted on walls, so I thought I'd share a few fun ones with you that I've been enjoying - What do you think? I've never done anything as bold as painting stripes on my wall, have you? I love the fun, unique character it can bring to the space. When you think of stripes on a wall, it can make you worried it can be a bit overwhelming, but I think the bedrooms shown in the second and third pictures prove that isn't always the case. Things to consider: depending on the color, width, and direction of the stripe can totally change the feel of your room. In my opinion, vertical stripes seem more energetic and busy, while horizontal seem a little more calmed. Also, the thinner the stripe, the more busy it's going to be. If you read this post, you already know what colors promote energy, and which are more relaxing. So taking this all into consideration, if you want a visually dramatic look, I'd do something like the first picture (multiple energetic colors), or the fourth picture (vertical, thinly spaced). You can find inspiration for a less dramatic look from picture 2 (horizontal, cool colors, wide width), or picture number 3 (the bedroom section: horizontal stripes, soft colors, wide width). If you like this look but are worried to paint a whole room with stripes, look for a smaller space in your home to apply it: an entry way, a kitchen nook, a reading area, a mudroom, a hallway, a bathroom or even as an accent wall. I suppose the most important thing to remember is to have fun! So here's the real question: would you ever paint stripes on your wall? Why or why not? And if so, what colors would you use and what area of your home would you paint? -Megan
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