All Dressed Up

It was a relief to have the painting finished and I was very happy with the colors. It's the most beautiful house in the neighborhood now, from the front and the rear.



But my favorite color is the Fairy Dust back door and thank god for that because I certainly have to look at it an awful lot as I go in and out and in and out and...!

Preparing the Canvas

The came highly recommended by my star contractor, these brothers from Columbia (South America, not South Carolina). We started out friendly enough but by the end, they were frustrated because the job took them longer than they expected and I insisted that they paint over areas they missed.

The studio was done well enough but that's because the Hardie Board was already properly primed. Less than a year later, I had to have all of the trim on the house and the back door completely repainted. The painters who redid the work were fabulous, we worked together well and they were very entertaining.

Exterior Palette

You all know, and if you don't, someone will tell you how difficult it is to choose wall paint from a one inch square sample chip.

I was out of money and over the project but the building had to be painted and frankly, so did my house, so I forged ahead. If you build it, they will come. Do what you love and the money will follow. That sort of thing.

I knew that I wanted a warm grey with cream trim and some accent colors. There is a row of Hackberry trees that, more or less, line the east side of my property. So I stuck the chips up on the bark and "Voila!" A Palette.

The Ralph Lauren colors are as follows:

Body of house and studio - Forde Abbey
Trim of house and studio - Loft Living
Front door of house - Black Truffles
Back door of house - Fairy Dust (Glidden)
Front, back and shed door of studio - Khaki
Front patio floor, back utility room floor and exterior steps - Mombassa Mint