Uptown: Priming with PARA Paints

I am happy to report that I making progress on the painting projects in my house. (I wish I could say the same about some of the decisions that I still have to make.) The hallways were a dark deep red and the kitchen was a dark brown so I felt like the walls in these spaces needed to be primed before I painted them white. The walls were all in great shape so I didn’t do anything besides wipe them down. I probably should have lightly sanded the walls but I usually just skip the sanding step if the walls are in good shape. Tsk, tsk, right?

I used PARA Paints professional latex primer* for this job and it worked beautifully. It went on smoothly and covered the dark walls very well.

Here’s a look at the upstairs hall. The ceiling is super high and luckily my dad brought his 21′ ladder and was brave enough to deal with the high points.

White-Cabana+ParaPaints

Anyway – the place is so much brighter now that the hallways have been primed with white. I am so excited about the transformation that my townhouse is going through.

* Thanks to PARA Paints for their support.  

The Friday Five: Bedrooms & Books

It’s Friday! Hooray! I don’t know about you but I am feeling quite worn out this week! It was a short week and my week wasn’t more busy than usual so I’m not sure why I feel so drained. If you’ve followed the reno updates this week on the blog and Twitter, then you’ll know that my weekend will not be filled with sleep-ins and lounging around with a good book. Instead, I’ll be giving it my all as I prime and paint my home (or as much as possible in one weekend) and I also am attending a “how to install backsplash tile” workshop at The Home Depot. I’m looking forward to it all even though it means my lazy days are on hold.

For today I’m leaving you with five bedrooms that showcase different approaches to incorporating books – aka a growing library – into the bedroom.

tumblr_mmftfrwu1e1rsz7pao1_1280via Snob

april-bookshelf-1

Safdie Rabines Architects via The Fete Blog (I know this isn’t a real bed but I couldn’t resist adding it in!)

wood-bedroom-built-ins

via Alma-Nac

books

via A Merry Mishap

Bookshelf Fantasy For Bedroom White Bedroomsource unknown

What do you think? How do you arrange the books in your house? Are they in every room? Do you pile them high on the floor in your bedroom or do you have designated shelves? I’d love to know!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.

 

Celebration: Welcome Giselle!

I am so so so excited to share the news of my niece’s birth. My very first niece! I’m too thrilled! Giselle was born exactly two weeks ago and has been getting a lot of love and attention from her 3 older brothers (and her parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.).

Tutu-lulu-jellycat

Tutu Lulu Cream Bunny

 

I am definitely looking forward to meeting Giselle and seeing the whole crew in NYC soon.

Welcome to the world little Giselle! xoxo Zia Jojo