Good Evening Steemians!
Having discovered Steem a short while ago while investigating interesting cryptocoins, I've finally decided to take the plunge and join the fun!
I have many interests, including, (in no particular order) art, gardening, reading, coding, animals, home decor, yoga, cooking, canning, bread making, writing, drawing, dancing, learning languages, recycling, upcycling, thrift store bargain hunting, cryptocurrencies, minimalism (albeit a rather colourful form of it;), self-sufficiency, protecting the environment, and reducing our impact on the Earth.
I thought for this first post I would take you on a tour of my house. As you can see, I love colour and would like to encourage anyone thinking of brightening up their living space to go for it! Life is too short for beige and grey, and if you're on a budget (and frankly, who of us are not?) then colour is the easiest and cheapest way to decorate your home. While painting might seem intimidating, remember that, at the end of the day, it's $100 and a weekend of work (a day if you've been doing it for a while!) If you don't like it, you can always change it (which cannot as easily be said for flooring or furniture!)
Without further ado...
This is my kitchen, looking back into the hallway. The print over the door is actually quite a famous war image, with the woman surrounded by bales of copper wire. I happened to be at a print shop when the owner was in the process of chucking it and asked me if I wanted it, which I did. (Cost a little to frame, but worth it!) I feel it has a very Madonna-like quality to it.
Yellow is my favourite kitchen colour. Originally, I painted this kitchen a vivid lime green, which I liked, but I longed for sunny yellow, and so I repainted it a few months ago. I don't like the cabinets as much now, but fortunately, I can fix this by painting them a light silvery grey at some point.
Half of the hallway is painted yellow, to round out the kitchen. The break in the wall provides a natural transition into the dining room.
I know what you're thinking! White? But you said you loved colour! And I do...but in order to avoid the smarty-box look, I like to stagger bright colour with bright white (Dulux Ultra Pure White, straight from the can). It's cooling in the summer, and funnily enough, cozy in the winter. There is something luxurious about being in a warm, bright white room, looking out at a snow-covered landscape. I love it.
That banana leaf plant is only three years old! It loves the ambient light of the kitchen. My sisters both think it's too big, but I love my plants, large and small, especially during the dark days of winter.
Kitty (original, I know) often perches on the dining room chair, imagining, I suppose, a life where she is free to hunt more than the laser pen and cloth mice she has scant interest in.
A cutaway window opens up the kitchen/dining room. The stairs lead to the basement which I am in the process of refinishing. It will be all white (with a short ceiling and minimal light, I can't envision painting it anything but). The photographer of the black and white photo told me he named this photo "Expectations" because the subject had just found out she was pregnant, which is beautiful, I think.
The dining room opens into the living room, which I painted a Wedgewood Blue. It's actually one of the most muted colours I've chosen for a room, but I felt, with the pieces I had, it was my best option. It's a beautiful foil to the pinks and reds in the room and works well with the lime green chair as well (Kitty's second favourite place to sit).
I moved my dog Sue out of the way to take this picture but I see she made the shot anyhow!:)
I don't have to wonder why the former owner tiled the whole main floor (it was obviously the cheapest option!) but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Until I can afford to change it, I've attempted to mitigate the look and feel of what I think must have been the cheapest tile option at Home Depot with a rug I picked up from my upstairs neighbour during my university days. I found it, rolled up where I had left it a decade plus before, in my parents house and was pleasantly surprised by the rich crimson look of it. It nicely accents the other pinks and reds in the room. I love every shade of pink, from blush to shocking. Pink makes me happy:)
(Kitty is looking at Mia, the little YorkiePoo I'm babysitting this weekend. She's unfazed by her, unlike Gus, my other cat, who's been hiding in the closet all weekend!)
From the living room you can see the stairway wall, which I've tried (with some success) to paint an ombra mix of three colours, going from a bright red orange to a pinky salmon at the top of the stairs. This was much harder to do than the blog post suggested, but overall, I'm fairly happy with the results:)
Here's the hallway, also an oasis of white, a bridge to the colour on all sides! I'd love to put a big crystal chandelier in this hall (you can't see the current light fixture but trust me when I say that it's a mediocre polished nickel affair), because I love how they sparkle when the light catches them. Alas, also a future me/more money plan:)
Another view of the stairway:)
...aaaaand another, from the top looking down!
So here's the salmon pink hallway of the second floor. It's a pretty retro-80's colour, not to everyone's taste for sure, but certainly suits mine! It reminds me of my grandparent's house and I love how it glows in the sunlight.
And lastly, a peak into my bedroom which I've painted a very dark forest green. I wanted something cozy but dramatic at the same time. Because I'm not often in my room (unless I'm sleeping or about to) I could afford to choose a dark colour (which absolutely makes the small room look smaller). I forget to water that little palm tree for weeks on end and it thrives in that space!
And that's it! There's also my tiny bathroom which I've painted (ceiling included) an aubergine purple but unfortunately as I'm still in the process of repainting the cupboards, it's not photo-ready. Another time:)
I hope you've enjoyed this virtual tour of my house, and that it has inspired you to consider adding some colour to your walls as well. If you, like me, are already a colour aficionado, perhaps you'd like to post a picture of your colourful abode in the comments below! I'd love to see it:)
Cheers and thanks for taking the time to read my first post! I certainly appreciate it.