Epic Makeover Run Has Ended!

I found out first thing this morning that I did not make the cut for the Final 5 in Mandi's Epic Makeover.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed. It would have been awesome to have Mandi come and makeover my space! She has been so sweet through this entire contest that I am sure working with her would have been amazing!

All the remaining contestants look great! There is a contestant from Atlanta still in the running. I am pulling for her, since it's the closest to Saint Louis, so maybe I can road trip down and have the chance to meet Mandi!

I guess I'll just have to pull up these bootstraps and get crackin' on the decorating myself.
It will be fun! (or at least funny! A comedy of errors perhaps) I hope you will all stick around for the adventure that is the making of our Good Home!

What do you think is the feasibility of mainlining caffeine so I can stay awake 24 hours a day to make this happen...I can only work while the kids are asleep!
I mean this is what I am dealing with all day~

This is what my kids were busy doing while I was in the kitchen packing.
Yes, the cat is actually in there.
I can't leave them alone for 5 minutes with out some sort of mayhem.
I love it though.

~Milica
I'm linking up with the Company Girls

We are a SEMI-FINALIST!!!

I can't believe it we are one of the semi-finalists in Mandi's Epic Room Makeover Contest!
There were SOOOO many amazing people and spaces entered!
I am stunned we were one of the chosen spaces!
('cept our space really has NO CHANCE of NOT looking spectacularly 100% more amazing than it does now!)



I am so excited and nervous I feel like barfing!

Up until now my little blog has been my private space to journal and dip my toes in the blogging world just a tiny bit.

Now I've put it all out there for all the world to see
(well, the incredibly awesome-tacular Vintage Revivals World at least!)

Yup, makes a shy girl like me want to hurl her guts out. But since Mandi loves our guts I'll keep them inside for now.

Now to wait and see if I get chosen as a finalist.
(no promises I won't be hurling if that happens!)

The Chosen Ones

Head over and vote for us in the Vintage Revivals Epic Room Makeover!
(Head over and vote for #22!)

Mandi is Rock-Star awesome and she could accomplish more in one week in my old house than I could do in a month (let's be honest) a year, but The Good Home is a big ol' lady and I can't leave her naked while I hope and dream that we somehow win this thing! (if visualizing something can lead to getting it, we are winning this thing!)

Without further ado - Here are the colors I picked out yesterday from Benjamin Moore-

Man, scanning paint chips is NOT a good way to show off colors! I would look at these and say,

"Hey, 1984 was a long time ago, but not quite vintage yet! Ya planning on adding some white geese with blue bows round their necks?"

I promise they are NOT that bad!

I will be tweaking them a bit and adding colors but it's a starting point. Most of the house will be white initially anyway because I am stressed enough just trying to get moved and I don't need to add more stress.

The Palisades Park green is meant to be an accent color. It's just a great vintage-y green.

The Palladian Blue is a really great greyed blue/green color that I love. I am planning on putting it in the kitchen. This, or some variation, will probably pop up elsewhere in the house too.

Hubs has already declared my creamy yellow, Swan's Mill Cream, "boring".
Actually he said, "Do you want something this blah to be people's first impression of the house?" (It was going in the entry) Floored me! I chose it so he wouldn't freak out! I have some great yellow vintage plates/platters I may color match.

The Dove's Wing is a soft pale greige and really lovely. I am planning on using it on the kitchen cabinets. It's another color that may show up again in various shades.

The white is for the trim we have to paint around the house. Much of our lower trim is really battered and paint may be it's only salvation!

So there you have it - my initial picks - Subject to change - Well, pretty much guaranteed to change.

VOTE For #22!!!

VOTING IS OPEN! PLEASE HEAD OVER TO VINTAGE REVIVALS AND VOTE FOR #22!!!!





REMEMBER OUR SLOGAN!
CLICKING #22 IS THE THING TO DO!
(Ok, so it's a lame slogan. I was a bit lacking in the creative department with only 4.5 hours of sleep. Feel free to submit your suggestions in the comments!)

Color Paralysis

I have to paint the Good Home. Right now the poor lady is languishing in awful plasterboard. I love, love, love choosing color palates and I have long had a color scheme in mind, but now that the moment is here, I am paralyzed with indecision.
I turned to good ol' Pinterest to check my likes.

My entry inspiration. We don't get much light in the entry so I want to keep it light and bright

my more general decor inspiration board

My kitchen inspiration board

Bathrooms

Master Bedroom inspiration

Much of our lower trim is in bad shape and I will likely be painting it in a bright white. I am sure that I love white, soft yellow, blues - especially pale gray-blues, lots of black (or dark navy) on creamy white backdrops, with pops of color - especially green and bright turquoise/aqua.  I could even happily let in a bit of pink if it wouldn't cause my husband conniptions!

You think it would be easy! I have a favorite color palate that is pretty well defined, but NOOOOO!
Finding just the right blue or yellow or creamy white is a job for the strong willed not the indecisive waffler that I am!

I love Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams Paints, but my husband would probably have a heart attack when he saw the bill if I bought all my paint there! (we have 12 foot ceilings so we need A LOT of paint)
I am going to get good paint for a few areas that will get extra wear and tear - (and maybe sneak in the good paint to other rooms a bit at a time so it's not overwhelming our pocketbook)

1)The all-important first impression front hall

Right now I am leaning toward something along the lines of BM You are my Sunshine or SW Friendly Yellow. I want it to be soft though. We had an unfortunate experience with yellow in this current place that has frightened poor hubby off it all together. It has to be able to stand up to the lack of light and be cheerful warm and welcoming without being scary yellow. I really want the yellow color in the fireplace tiles but just a smidge darker, like the yellow door in the decor inspiration screen shot above.

2)The Kitchen
Right now I am leaning toward painting the cabinets a creamy white as opposed to a stark white with a pale blue with a bit of gray in it for the walls. I am debating not bringing the color all the way up the walls though, but just to the bottom of the top shelf to let artwork and vintage finds stand out more.

3) The Bathroom 
It has beadboard that will be white. The paint will go above the beadboard. I am debating a very pale grayed out purple in here since the towels we have now are purple and green and white. But I really want blue so we will see... but I want blue everywhere, so a change would be good...

Other than that I will probably buy some gigantic 5 gallon tubs o' white to get something up on the walls until we get around to more real decor choices.
Part of me just wants to slap up a bunch of the white on everything and call it a day...


Any advice on colors? Do you finding choosing colors a pleasure, or a daunting task? (I am firmly in both camps!)

Taking a Deep Breath

My life has been out-of-control
My 2nd daughter is graduating from high school in just over 2 weeks and we seem to have something to do nearly every night!
We move the weekend after the graduation so I have been trying to pack up what we don't use often or is out of season so we can maybe be ahead of the game.
Then we had the tornado.
Easter was in there too.

Then there was the  biggest issue. Not ready to share since we don't know much yet. (don't panic, no one in my house is preggers) Hopefully we will have some answers soon, I really need things to settle down here.

My stress level is through the roof.
Usually when I am stressed I become ultra-productive, but this is serious enough that I really just froze in place.
It has been difficult for me to get through a normal day and get everything done.

I think that is my problem. I like information.
It lets me feel like I have some control over things, even if I don't actually have any control.
I like to have a plan, and right now I feel like I can't plan anything.
At the same time I am running through all different scenarios in my head.

I am just going to take a deep breath, trust God, move forward, and hope for the best.
I am going to try my best not to be consumed by the "What If's" that are plaguing me.

I will be back with some house posts this week.
We are still going to need a roof over our heads!

Devastation and Blessings

Happy Easter everyone. Along with the celebrations today we are dealing with even more here at home.
Devastating tornadoes ripped through St. Louis Friday evening.
I have rarely seen such destruction of neighborhoods. I have lived here nearly my entire life and we have tornadoes, but they have never really hit populated areas. This year we have had it happen three times already!

The pictures were taken at my sister and brother-in-law's house. (taken my my sister-in-law)

We are counting our blessings even more than usual today.
Thankfully no one was home, the damage to the home is repairable and they can actually live in the home once power is restored.
Thankfully they have plenty of family to stay with in the meantime.
Some neighbors weren't so lucky and are staying in shelters over this Easter weekend and have no idea when their homes will be safe.
Thankfully their church and the church school where they worship and their children attend school, just a block away, was spared.
The church on the opposite corner was destroyed.
Their neighborhood was full of huge trees and historic homes. Many of the trees were over a hundred years old. They were ripped up by the roots and thrown on to houses, into neighboring yards and on to cars. Roofs were ripped off entirely.
In other neighborhoods that were hit, entire homes were leveled. Reduced to splitered wood and shattered brick.
It is a miracle there were no serious injuries.

Just for comparison this is what the yard looked like the day they closed on it 4 years ago -

the grand old walnut tree

Seeing it now, it looks like another world.

But everyone is safe. It is a close community. The community will strengthen and grow from this experience.