Feeling Gray

A peak inside of my neurosis, and why our house will never be "done"

It started a few weeks ago in class. We had a 10 minute break. I used 3 minutes of that break to use the bathroom and text Markus. The rest of the time I spent online looking at what I always look at when I'm bored, design blogs. I went to DS* and stumbled across this post and the gray/cream combination in this picture really caught my attention.

Oooh, aaaah, gray and cream!

And I thought to myself: "self, those colors sure would look nice with the orange clementine rug in your dining room". By that point the break was over and I had to pretend to be interested in IT management and Porters Five Forces. But all I could think about was turning my dining room into a gray/cream/clementine oasis.

So when I got home I googled "gray and orange design" into my iPhone. I found all kinds of inspiration. And before I knew it I had my Benjamin Moore paint fan out and was rummang though fabric samples I have collected over the years. I came up with this inspiration board and have been drooling over it ever since.

I also decided that I MUST. HAVE. picture frame wainscoting and crown molding added to the dining room.

So the next day I tell Markus "I think we should paint the dining room gray, add some molding, and install a new light fixture". And he asks if this is because of the orange rug. No, this is because I'm neurotic, and on a break in class I found a picture. Duh!

This is what keeps me up at night. I do not try to solve world hunger or end poverty but rather wonder what colors work best with my clementine rug and what fabric would be best for drapes. This is normal, right?

I'm In Love

I have been lusting over a rug from Pottery Barn for almost a year now. It first graced the front cover of their magazine almost a year ago with a very hefty price tag so I filed it away in my brain as something I would acquire later in life. You know, when we win the lottery and have perfectly trained dogs and children. I couldn't imagine spending that much money on something that the dogs might use as a fire hydrant. You never know with those two, Meeko especially. I think it's his way of telling us we aren't paying enough attention to him or we would have seen him eyeing the back door.

Anyway, I was in our local Pottery Barn this weekend exchanging some frames when I decided to browse through the rugs just to see what they had. The rug that I have been lusting after is no longer listed on their web site so I assumed it was sold out. I even searched EBay to see how much they were selling for and it was still out of my price range. Can you imagine my delight when The Rug was on SALE at MY local Pottery Barn. I quickly ran to the counter to see if they had the size and color that I wanted. They did not. However they did have another color in my size. I had to think about it because that color totally threw off my plan for our dining room. I had envisioned it in light greens/greys/blues with accents of brushed stainless steel and dark wood. The color of the rug in stock is called clementine and does not go well with greens/greys/blues. But after thinking about it I decided I had to have the rug and I could change my design. So I called over my interior designer (also known as my bff, Christina) and her 11 month old son, Christian (also known as Mr. Bubs or Bubby) for a consultation to discuss fabric options for drapes, chair covers, and lighting. We came up with a good plan. Now I just need to find the right fabric. Bubby gave his seal of approval saying it was very comfy for crawling around on and the pattern was entertaining to look at.

Do you want to see what the rug looks like?

Hi, my name is Sarah and I'm a decoraholic. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.