English Conservatory Meets Florida Sunroom - Renovation Reality
Welcome back to the evolution of my Florida home. If you’ve missed any of this One Room Challenge series you can find weekly updates here: Intro, The Plan, Custom Windows, Design Changes & lighting, Renovation Reality
Things aren’t going as planned and that’s the nature of renovations, design dilemmas, and supply-chain issues. Let’s discuss.
I’ve been through a few home renovations and troubleshooting issues is part of the process. When something goes off-course, I need to sit with the problem and give myself time to audition possible solutions. Ideally, the result is an unexpected happy accident, but rushing a decision is neither pleasant nor advisable.
One place things went awry with this project was the paint. Leading up to painting, I agonized over the perfect shade of white paint (don’t we all?). I wanted a neutral white that didn’t read warm or cold. I’ll spare you with all the trials I ran and cut to the chase, for me, it’s Sherwin Williams Pure White (Please note that paint colors look different in every home and it’s a good idea to do your own sampling). The rooms would be color drenched for a calm aesthetic that wouldn’t compete with the angles of the ceiling or furnishings. I explained to my painters multiple times that I wanted everything painted in one color, a flat finish for the walls and satin for the trim.
So, I was shocked when I walked in and saw the trim so obviously painted a different color than the walls and definitely more reflective than a satin finish.
The board is SW Pure White in satin. Trim & door are semi-gloss in a different shade.
Definitely not the same color.
I pointed out the obvious color mistake… only to have an entire painting team try and gaslight me by insisting that it was the same color with the sheen of the trim throwing the color reflection off. An optical illusion. It wasn’t until I painted a sample board and leaned it up against the trim, AND found this can under a pile of drop cloths, that I was able to have my contractor back me up.
The painters’ explanation quickly shifted to “this is a more expensive paint with no additional charge.” Yeah, sure. Ultimately, the team repainted all of the trim to match the walls, and it’s beautiful!
I hit another snag this week with the sofa. A delivery disaster might be turning into a happy accident, but I won’t know for sure until next week.
Selecting a sofa was challenging. I wanted one delivered by Thanksgiving so it had to be in stock, and it had to be deemed ‘comfortable’ by my husband. After multiple trips to two different local stores that carry a rotating selection of one-of-a-kind gorgeous furniture pieces purchased right off the showroom floor, I made my decision. A lovely beige sofa arriving that same afternoon. To my horror, I watched the brand new sofa unload off the truck with matching stains on each arm. Sadly, the sofa was not wrapped properly and damaged in transport. I refused the delivery. Side note, my husband never thought it was comfortable but we already know that his vote is often overruled.
With my rug and pillow samples in hand, I went to one of the popular chain stores in hopes of finding my happy accident. The salespeople thought I was crazy hauling cushions to the front windows to see everything in natural light. After my delivery disaster, I was determined.
New sofa possiblilty
The best news of the week was the arrival of these gorgeous paintings! They’re designed and custom painted by the extremely talented Virginia Beshears. She’s incredible and was able to color match just by looking at the images of the rug long before it arrived. I had no idea what the collection would look like and was overjoyed by the beauty of each painting as I opened them up. Saying they bring me joy is an understatement. Chef’s kiss, Virginia!
This room is part of the fall One Room Challenge®, be sure to check out all the amazing transformations going on!
