GET THE LOOK: MY SAN FRANCISCO LIVING ROOM

Back in February I moved from Chicago to San Francisco and started the daunting task of decorating my home from scratch. I brought nothing with me (I love a good palate cleanse, no pun intended) and had the deadline of having my home ready for Rue's anniversary issue, which came out last week! I may have felt stressed and overwhelmed all along the way, but let's face it, I love this stuff and am already itchy for my next decorating project!

Starting next week I'll be sharing the full process with you, room my room, but in the meantime, I'm thrilled to be teaming up with Hayneedle, from which so many of the pieces in my home are from, on a twitter party tonight! I'll be sharing my design inspiration, answering your questions, and helping give away 4 fun prizes!

Just sign on to Twitter at 5pm PST / 8pm EST and use the hashtag #hayneedleNrue to join the conversation. And just for fun, I put together a little "get the look" with some of their items I'm loving!

*photography by Emily Johnston Anderson for Rue Magazine

PROJECT SF HOME: DINING ROOM SNEAK PEEK!

Here's a little peek of what's been keeping me so busy these days! I'm getting my place all ready for the full reveal of my new home in the upcoming issue of Rue!

The shoot is on Saturday and though I still have a lot to do, it's come a long way if I do say so myself!

PROJECT SF HOME: STRIPED BATHROOM

I've had this bathroom image saved in my inspiration file for awhile now. And since I'm going more dramatic in my new home...

I thought it was the perfect time to do something whimsical and fun...

Pedro the Painter started on the stripes yesterday and here's a sneak peek at how it's coming along. We used Simply White and Silhouette, both Benjamin Moore, for the paint.

What do you think?

*inspiration image via desire to inspire

PROJECT SF HOME: WEEK 5, PAINTING BEGINS

Those close to me know that my home is totally stressed me out. I moved to San Francisco on February 2nd and almost three months later, I still feel like I'm camping out. Not an easy thing on the psychology of a home perfections. But this weekend, I feel like I made leaps and bounds on progress. It's amazing what paint will do to make your home feel that much closer to 'finished.'

This is a second bedroom, which I'm converting into a dining room since I'll be entertaining more than I'll be having out of town guests. I know I wanted a dark and dramatic space and the moment I tested Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray, I knew I'd found the one!

One room pretty much takes one day, so before starting, I made sure I was mentally prepared for all the work. So I got into my scrubby paint clothes, opened the windows, put on my favorite music, and poured myself a nice beverage.

When painting a room, you always want to start by using painters tape to outline all the areas you don't want paint on. Then begin with the ceiling, making your way down the wall, and finally finishing with the trim and moldings. This will ensure gravity is working with you, not against you.

I went back on forth whether or not to paint the ceiling, but finally decided I wanted that drama and went for it. It actually makes the ceiling look taller and creates the effect of being enveloped in warmth.

And voila! My beautiful new dining room! I cannot wait to get my furniture in here and a beautiful big brass chandelier. In the meantime, I'm off to paint the bedroom in a delicious pink!

PROJECT SF HOME: WEEK 4, THE SHADE STORE

Now that the paint colors for my new place have all been chosen (I'll be using 6 total), last week I spent some time selecting fabrics for draperies and shades. When it comes to large tasks like that, convenience is paramount for me, so heading to The Shade Store was a no brainer. It's like a one-stop-shop for all your window treatment needs.

I worked directly with the showroom manager who was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. Before starting, we decided to grab coffee next door so I could explain to her my vision: we talked about my design aesthetic, what colors I'll be using, what kind of window treatments I envisioned in each room, and much more! By the end of our little consultation, we were ready to start selecting potential fabrics and styles.

What I love about The Shade Store is that they have every style of shades and drapery they offer displayed in the showroom to see. This made it incredibly easy to spot the exact look I wanted and even play around with them to test function.

The part that was most fun for me though was checking out all the fabric swatches and going through drawers and drawers of colors and textures to choose from! We decided on a dupioni silk for the dining room draperies in pewter. A heavy cotton in the living room in a bluish gray (that looks amazing against my down pipe walls, by the way), and a white linen for the bathroom. I'm still making my selections for the bedroom and kitchen.

My experience at The Shade Store could not have gone better. If you're in the market for new window treatments, I would highly recommend them. Just days after my visit to the store, they sent someone to my home to measure all the windows and are coordinating the installation with a local contractor. I cannot wait to get them up! Believe it or not, I've been living with zero window blinds since arriving. Yes, that means I feel all creeped out at night when I sleep, hoping no peeping toms are watching me...

Project SF Home: Week 3, Farrow & Ball Down Pipe

After trying 10 grays and 6 whites, I've thankfully decided on all my colors for the new apartment, save the bedroom for which I'm still waiting to receive my sample of Pink Ground.

Today I thought I'd share with you my pick for the living room. The bold, the beautiful, the "aggressive," as my friend put it, Down Pipe from Farrow & Ball. Grant first tipped me off to the color and though I didn't love it at first, after staring at if for days, I've had a complete change of heart.

Originally I thought it had too much of a teal undertone as I looked at the sample on my south facing (hence lots of light) dining room wall. Then I had the clever ideal of trying it in my west facing living room that is sorta dark and intimate. And that made all the difference in the world.

Down Pipe is truly a handsome color and my dark living room needed a color strong enough to hold its own. I know that's a funny way to describe a paint color, but it's vibrancy certainly packs a punch.

Instead of fighting my natural light deprived living room, I've decided to embrace that feature and go extra moody in there. Of course, I'll lighten up the space with lots of light colored furniture and ambient lighting.

I have Pedro the Painter coming over to give me an estimate tomorrow - can't wait to finally get all these gorgeous colors up on my walls!

*via AB Chao and google images

Project SF Home: Week 2, The Perfect White

I had a mini-panic attack the other day after realizing I've been in San Francisco for one month already and still only have a bed. That kicked me into gear and forced me to put work down for a minute and really start thinking seriously about selecting furniture, etc. But first, let's finish up the business we started with Week One and talk about paint colors!

Previously I shared my hunt for the perfect gray with you - which I found - and this week it's on to the perfect color for trim! On Sunday I took a trip to my local hardware store and spent a good amount of time look at and discussing Benjamin Moore whites with the colorist on hand.

I was searching for something that looked good with the grays I selected (more on that later!) and didn't have that yellow tint that reminds me of the 70s. I narrowed it down to five different whites based on recommendations from you (thank you for all the comments you left!) and what caught my eye.

Armed with my new samples of White Dove, Decorator's White, Calm, Chantilly Lace, and Simply White, I rushed home to try them all. I'm happy to report, I found a winner! But first, here's a little review of each that I tried.

White Dove: This is one of those colors you always hear about for trim, so naturally I had to try it. For me, it had too much of a yellow undertone, so it was an easy "no."

Decorator's White: I've heard that this is the #1 best selling color for trim and molding, as the name would imply, but it felt too blue and cool paired against my grays. So, this was a no-go for me.

Calm: This "paint chip" actually looks nothing like the real color. It's a very lovely light gray and quite nice. In fact, I'm trying to come up with a way to use it somewhere else, as it's a bit too dark for trim.

Chantilly Lace: It actually dries as a very pure, bright white. I really loved it, but it's too white for the warmth I'm going after. If you're looking for a really stark contrast for your trim, I'd definitely recommend this one.

And the winner is: Simply White! Again, the "paint chip" here looks nothing like the real color. It's a beautiful, warm white, with hints of gray and void of yellow. It's quite perfect and I'm thrilled to have found my white in one shot. How did I discover it you ask? Well, I was on location for a Rue Issue 4 photo shoot last week and the space was painted in this white - I instantly loved it and knew I had to try it.

So, the last room in the house to find paint for is my bedroom. I can't decide if I want to keep with the gray theme so the whole home feels congruent, or indulge in a little (sophisticated) pink. Thoughts? Recommendations?

Project SF Home: Week 1

So, as I embark on the massive task of decorating my new place in San Francisco from scratch, I thought I'd chronicle it here on the blog. I'm hoping that 1. it'll keep me accountable to actually getting stuff done in a timely manner and 2. (hopefully) provide a bit of inspiration along the way.

Since my place is completely empty, save my bed, I thought it would be convenient to paint now rather than later. The downside is that I'll have to make sure my furniture works around my paint colors, not the other way around. But I think I can do it (hopefully I won't prove myself wrong.)

Since my Chicago home was so light and airy, I knew I wanted something warm and moody in SF. So, I've decided on gray - a fantastic neutral I just can't get enough of.

So, I took to Benjamin Moore and Farrow & Ball's sites the other weekend and started ordering samples of grays. I wanted a beige undertone (not too blue, green, or purple), and here's what I choose, clockwise from top left: BM Chelsea Gray, BM Silhouette, F&B Cornforth White, F&B Down Pipe, BM Bunny, BM Sweet Innocence, BM Graytint, BM Bear Creek, BM Stone Harbor, and BM Revere Pewter.

After testing them all on various walls in my home, (and staying very organized with labeled paint sponges along the way :) I have some clear favorites: Cornforth (my absolute favorite of all!), Chelsea Gray, Stone Harbor, and Revere Pewter. I had heard such good things about Down Pipe, and though I love it, it has too much of a green undertone for my aim. Oh well...someday in another home! Which are your faves from above?

I also took notes of what I'm thinking for each room - here's a look. Now, I have to find a white for all the molding. So, if any of you have some favorites, I'd love for you to leave them in the comment section below!

Hopefully, for next week's update, I'll have my white!