It's easy being green

I have had a long love affair with a color. Well, to be more specific, a shade of a color...a shade of green that I can best describe as "mod green" or perhaps a tad cheerier than olive. Avocado, perhaps? You see it a lot in home accessories these days, yet few are bold enough to go for it on their walls (though Pottery Barn did feature it as a wall color not too long ago). When Jeff and I first met, I had one wall of my apartment painted this color. And here we are, 7+ years later, and I still love the color. So using it, even on a prominent place like my walls, feels like a safe bet. Trouble is, Jeff is not a fan (to put it mildly) of this color. He does like what I would consider this color's orange sibling -- and thus the school bus color that adorns our kitchen walls.

But my green -- what I have come to call "beloved green" -- had to wait until I had a space all my own.

And with the completion of our basement renovation project last week, which included a carve-out for my own office, that space has finally come to fruition. So here, I proudly present the transformation of an ugly former storage space in our basement into my own slice of green heaven.

before:

...during...

{closet in progress...we removed a set of very 80s-looking mirrored doors}

after!

{come on in! or stay out -- i've got a door now! with a lock!}

{la-la-la-love the green}

{new closet doors and a new broom closet to the left of the original closet}

{if you need me, i'll be here}

{a re-purposed antique desk...great for storage)

Mantle

I love mantle design. I am normally drooling over photos I see in magazines of mantles that successfully pull off an eclectic yet put together look. I have been trying to mix things up on my mantle with brightly colored frames, art painted by the kids, etc. but still have been stuck in symmetry. Any attempt against symmetry has resulted in a look that just doesn't make sense. I am finding that it takes a lot of effort to pull off a look that appears to be thrown together with no effort.

So recently, with the holiday decor officially all gone, I have designed my mantle again. This time, I anchored it with symmetrical elements -- the upside-down candlesticks that I found are a perfect resting place for some ivy (it's lovely to have some live greenery around here) plus the ones with plain white pillar candles. But I then added in a bit of non-symmetry with paintings and photos that go in different directions and are layered on top of each other. Not exactly avant garde, I know, but it's a step in the direction I want to take. Now I just need to mix it up with those candle sticks (the tall ones -- I love the short ones on the ends and feel they allow me to express myself within their confines). Perhaps some bell jars? As always, stay tuned!

White is the new tan (and blue, and off white...)

{out}

{in}

We have a new rule in my house. If the towel is not white, and not new(ish), out it goes. I have been plagued for years by a mismatch of towels from various stages in my life and Jeff's life as well. Worn-looking dark green towels from his bachelor days. Old white towels with blue squares on the trim from when we were staging our condo in Allston to sell it. Three sets we got as wedding gifts that yes, I can now get rid of as we approach our 5-year anniversary. I mean, really, 5 years is a pretty great run for a towel. And please raise your hand if you can even remember giving us towels for our wedding...bet you can't.

I've had this towel jumble for a while and found the perfect solution recently in a magazine -- specifically, in an article aimed at organizing the home. It suggested purchasing only white towels. They can be bleached to look super-clean and will give your bathrooms a "spa feel" (that is assuming, of course, that your bathrooms don't have hundreds of hairbands and torn up toilet paper on the floor like mine do...never seen that at the ole' spa). I know that bleach isn't great for the environment, but I figure that a few glugs a week won't hurt too much.

So today, I put Operation White Towel into motion. I purchased 4 white bath towels and 4 hand towels at Target (bath mats and wash clothes to follow). I brought them home, washed them (and glugged in some bleach, just for good measure) and now they are ready to go. We're all going to use them -- no more kid towels. Just a clean white towel for us all. And when any of them shows the slightest bit of yuck, it shall be promptly replaced. Those are my rules and all towels must obey me.

I am keeping a few old towels for "yuck" clean-up and also a blue set that is fairly new for guests. But those will be kept in their rightful places (basement and guest bath, respectively) and will not come into play in my everyday life.

Ok, then, that's all I have to say about that. Thanks for listening.