Alchemy Wins
Remember my battle with alchemy? Here’s the paint chip. Against the actual paint. Oh. It is a close match. I now realize that the issue was how my camera was perceiving things. BAD camera!
Alchemy against refinished salvaged pine trim, casing out the entry from the pantry to the new foyer. Note how the trim perfectly abuts the new wall. Yes, Ross is good.
I know what y’all are thinking.
WHAT is going on with the wall?
In the pantry I did a mud finish that I learned decades ago in Florida. The finish is common there.
Rather than do a smooth mud coat (which is a ton or work), one applies a ‘dragged’ coat. Once the mud dries, the surface is washed so it softens a bit and becomes smoother.
The beauty of this is:
- It goes MUCH faster than a smooth mud coat.
- It requires no sanding.
The latter is particularly valuable as fewer things are more horrible than the fine dust created by sanding mud. And, as Cody is living in the carriage house, keeping the dust down is a vital consideration.
The finish would not be right for the Cross House, but in the carriage house, with its 1920s Mission-style interior, it feels appropriate.
I have not yet decided if I will do the same finish to the kitchen itself.
NOTE: There is an art to the dragging, and an art to the washing. Each takes some experience to learn.
The door frame between the pantry and new bathroom had been painted. It was shellacked originally. Before installing the salvaged pine trim I needed to remove the…oh, the horror…paint.
After MUCH ado, I finally settled on taupe as the second color in the pantry and kitchen.
In the pantry, I did the walls in alchemy. The shelves will be painted taupe.
This will be reversed in the kitchen, with the walls and ceiling taupe, and the wainscoting alchemy.
And I ordered emerald glass pulls for the Home Depot cabinets, and emerald knobs. They should stand out against the dark cabinets.
I am living to get all the refinished salvaged pine trim installed as this will add gravitas to the whole.
When everything is done, the kitchen will look like it is pretty original to the 1920s. Except, save the floor in the kitchen, everything will be new to the room. This is, of course, the opposite of my approach in the Cross House but the two houses are not comparable. As nothing inside the carriage house is original to 1894 I feel more freedom regarding the historical narrative.
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I love those green pulls!! It’s all going to look fantastic!
I wouldn’t call that taupe but it certainly goes with Alchemy.
The pulls are beautiful. They will certainly complement that sink.
I have cobalt blue in my kitchen and a pale green in my bathroom.
Progress! Well done!
I would bet that the historical narrative in the Cross House has proved at times to be a two-edged sword; necessary to achieve your overall goal, but at the same time inhibiting you from always doing what you would like to do. I would also bet that you are, in spite of a few setbacks, enjoying the break from the rules while working on the carriage house… In the end, I wonder which house will be the truest expression of your personality. The Cross House might be seen as your masterpiece, but I think that the carriage house may well be the one that tells people who Ross really is…
You’re so considerate of Cody and his cats. I wouldn’t want to live with the drywall dust either — and I would loathe trying to keep the cats clean.
Love the colors, and my mom would have too. I think of her often as I read your posts. I miss our visits with you at the Cross House, and today more than usual. She would have loved meeting Cody and his cats.
Love the colors! Taupe will look great with other colors in place.
The trim finish and your process, was fascinating.
The carriage house decor is very interesting. I like the 1920’s narrative for the Carriage house, since noth8ng of 1894 remains.
What fun Ross! You are a magician—alchemy & abracadabra!
Just can’t wait to see the final pics! Great job!
I spent the first 50 years of my life in Southern California, and that mud finish is much more common there. I prefer it over the super smoothie or the orange peel finishes.
Is there any part of the carriage house that you will wallpaper? You have chosen a lot of colors of the period. Either wallpaper or stenciling would be awesome, even in just one room. Even if just a border above a chair rail or along the ceiling. The dining room maybe? I was looking at some wallpaper reproductions and even though my house is 1922 they just don’t fit my house because it isn’t really a Craftsman style house. It is neither 1922 nor 1949, which are the years of construction/remodeling.
It is so exciting to see paint.