River House Diary

Not everything goes according to plan at River House. Yesterday the Kenneth James Juan Chan grasscloth wallpaper began falling off the walls in the half bath. Thankfully, the installer is coming this afternoon to repair it. But we are very curious as to why several piece decided to let go at the same time. Falling wallpaper; personal collection

Zuniga Interiors recommended the tongue-and-groove ceilings in the kitchen and foyer and the great room ceiling beams be stained a light wood like Hallmark Floors Balboa Oak . And it is beautiful. But the yellow pine wood our builder used on the ceilings didn't look anything like that when stained with several different Minwax colors. So on to Plan B -- evoking the feel of an old southern porch with white trim and haint blue ceilings. Great room ceiling; personal collection The tongue-and-groove ceilings are stained with one coat of Minwax Simply White. We planned to stain the beams the same, but the wood absorbed the stain very unevenly. So we ended up painting them a custom Sherwin Williams blend to match Magnolia Home True White, which is what we used on all the trim in the house. The ceiling is Sherwin Williams 9054 Little Boy Blu but just 30 percent of the color.

I wanted a traditional mantel but it wasn’t to be and I am so glad I didn’t get one. I love the tile surround and the espresso stained chunky mantel. Finished fireplace; personal collection

I could not find a Minwax stain that looked like Hallmark Floors Balboa Oak on yellow pine wood for the tongue-and-groove ceilings in the foyer and kitchen and beams in the great room. We decided to whitewash the wood instead, using one coat of Minwax’s Simply White. The ceiling in the great room will be painted 50 percent of Sherwin Williams 9054, Little Boy Blu, hopefully evoking old southern porch ceilings. Kitchen ceiling; personal collection

The paint color for the Den built-ins exceeded our expectations. Simply goregous. Den built-in cabinets; personal collection

Billowy Breeze — don’t you just love the names of paint colors. It’s Sherwin Williams 9055. Zuniga Interiors wanted us to paint only one wall two paint chips darker than this color as a feature wall, but we decided to paint the entire bedroom instead. Billowy Breeze; courtesy of Sherwin Williams This is how one coat looks on the walls of our master bedroom. Master bedroom wall color; personal collection

The painters spent last week prepping the interior for paint. I can't wait to see what it will look after they are finished. Now, if I could only decide on the stain color for the tongue-and-groove ceilings. Kitchen prepped for paint; personal collection Great room prepped for paint; personal collection

It's hard to describe how much a couple of coats of paint changes a house. I am loving our exterior. River view elevation; personal collection

Our project manager mentioned that our mahogany front doors would need to be stained soon in order to maintain the warranty. I selected Minwax 273-Espresso. This is the darkest stain we will be using in the house and will match the kitchen island and the shelves in the great room built-in cabinets. Our front doors stained in Minwax 273-Espresso; courtesy of Austin Bayliss

Our paint selections were due to our builder yesterday. So I asked Zuniga Interiors if they thought we would be using any more paint and wallpaper then I already knew about. And they sent this beauty as a wallpaper option for Bedroom 2. I had no idea dandelions could be so pretty! Carolyn Light Blue Dandelion Wallpaper by Advantage; courtesy of Home Depot

The paint and stain colors for most our river house will be from Sherwin Williams. Sherwin Williams custom blend to match Magnolia Home Pearly Cotton (MAG041) for most of the main level of the house; courtesy of ACE Hardware Sherwin Williams custom blend to match Magnolia Home Carter Creme for the upper level of our house; courtesy of ACE Hardware Sherwin Williams custom blend to match Magnolia Home True White (MAG008) for casing and trim; courtesy of ACE Hardware

I just love how this tile shimmers! We're using it in the Half Bath on the toilet-sink wall from floor to ceiling. Daltile Premier Accents Pearl Herringbone stone mosaic wall tile; courtesy of Home Depot The rest of the walls will be papered in Kenneth James Juan Chan grasscloth in Taupe. Kenneth James Juan Chan wallpaper in Taupe; courtesy of Amazon.com

When I said I wanted a dark and moody Den, Zuniga Interiors took me at my word and suggested Sherwin Williams 9059 Silken Peacock. Sherwin Williams 9059 Silken Peacock; courtesy of SherwinWilliams.com I wasn't prepared to go that dark! What a whimp. I chose 9057 Aquitaine instead. Sherwin Williams 9057 Aquitaine; courtesy of SherwinWilliams.com

It is possible to fall in love with inanimate objects and I can be very loyal. This has been my favorite wallpaper for several years. Our interior designer wants us to use it on one wall in Bath 2, which is the bathroom overnight guests will use. Galbraith & Paul Lotus wallpaper in Aqua ; courtesy of Galbraith & Paul