THE FIFTH WALL IN YOUR ROOM

I would imagine that most of us think about the walls in  our rooms when we think of paint, adding architectural elements or accessories.  Have you ever thought of your ceiling in the same way?  As the fifth wall in your room.  I have always been intrigued by those that would paint the ceiling in their rooms a different color other than white, or the same color as the walls.  A few years ago  I decided my living room needed a different color on the ceiling.  I actually had made the decision to paint it but was trying to decide on the color.  I was looking in the sage green family.  I had three choices, one was too bright, one was too gray and one scared me because it looked a little dark.  I sound like Goldilocks, don't I?  My sweet husband was ready to paint (trust me this does not happen often, he actually hates to paint).  We were losing time because the paint store was closing in 30 minutes and this was the one day he had the time and the inclination to do the painting.  I took a deep breath and went with the one that I thought might be a wee bit dark.  The painting has been done for a long time and now when I look at that ceiling I remind myself sometime we have to force ourselves out of our comfort zone.  I am going to show you some pictures of different  treatments that can enhance your ceilings.  Some are as simple as Paint.  Some are literally a total rebuilding of your ceiling.  But they are all thought- provoking. Enjoy the view!

In the Southern states they often paint their porch ceilings blue.  Martha Stewart even has a blue paint called porch ceiling blue

I have thought about painting my porch blue many times but I am not sure it would look appropriate in a typical California Ranch in Suburbia.

How about some great wallpaper?  There are so many lovely patterns that could work on a ceiling and as you all know , wallpaper is IN again!

Another fun look with wall paper done by Jenna Lyons in Domino Magazine

Something as simple as blue paint makes this room more inviting

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In my guest room the walls are painted a french vanilla and I painted the ceiling the palest blue I could have mixed, it is a customcolor that I formulated.  I love to look up and see the blue

Here is the green ceiling in my living room with a simple accent moulding to add a little architecture to the room.  This is another effective way to enhance your Fifth wall.

This bathroom has a tray ceiling and they chose to paint it gray to make it pop and to show the depth of the tray ceiling better.

This is a picture of my own kitchen ceiling.  This is what is left of the 1978 covered flourescent light box.  We kept its orignal size and form but added mouldings to make it look like a tray ceiling.  We dressed it up with the ceiling medalion and a 1940s mini chandelier.  I have its mother in my living room.  Simple and Cost effective.

Pink and green is always so sweet, they chose to add the pink in the ceiling instead of on the walls, Good Choice!

This is a ceiling that is a little more labor intensive, It is a coffered ceiling but look how interesting it is.

This room has a tongue and groove ceiling that adds so much charm to this gorgeous room done by Brooke and Steve Giannetti .  Brooke is the ever talented author of one of my favorite blogs, Velvet and Linen. Steve is an amazing architect who was just featured in Veranda magazine.

Here is a plank ceiling that has been stained in a natural woodtone.

Sorry this picture is rather small I hope you can see the destinct lines in the ceiling.  This type of ceiling is called a Groin Vaulted Ceiling.  This is definitely a more complicated ceiling treatment but so elegant and interesting

This is another Groin ceiling , I think this is a better picture.  I find this type of treatment fascinating.

Oh My!  I love this entire room.  Look at this ceiling and the wonderful mouldings and medallion that has been added to enhance the gorgeous chandelier. This is rather elaborate but imagine a simple version of this look in your own home.

Another use of just mouldings and again it is a great impact.

A picture of the medallion on the sage ceiling in my living room with the accent moulding and the dentil crown.  None of this was that costly but it really gives the room a simple elegance.  The chandelier is the Mother to the one in my kitchen, both from the 1940's

Last but not least I have to leave you with a bit of whimsy.  This is a little girls room done by designer Candace Olsen.  Too Cute!

I hope you have enjoyed this little gallery of ideas to enhance your Fifth Wall and maybe it will inspire you to do something different in your own home.  Let me know if you decide to make any changes!!!

"Enjoy The Process" of: Enhancing your room with a new ceiling treatment

Kathysue

Footloose and Fancy Free Friday!!

Today is Footloose and Fancy Free Friday!!  I thought I would show you some Really Fancy Showerheads.  I know it sounds like a strange thing to be fascinated with, but when I saw a picture of the first shower head, I got curious.  I went looking for other Fancy showerheads.  Here are a few that I found.  They are over the top but I am looking for FANCY and I found it!  For your viewing pleasure:

I don't know about you, but I won't be buying any of these anytime soon.  Who comes up with these ideas?

I guess the FANCY people!!

"Enjoy the Process" of: Thinking about Fancy Things

Kathysue

RESULTS OF THE HOME PERSONALITY TEST!!!

Now that we have all taken yesterdays test and found out whether or not our home reflects our own personality , what do we do with this information?  If you have found that it does reflect your personality then you are probably quite content in your surroundings .  What about finding out your home does not at all reflect your personality ?   I would venture to say that you probably have not been happy with that room or place in your home for a  long time.  Most likely, you are constantly having to rearrange it and clean it out. You may find yourself continuously  buying new things to try in the room or rearranging the furniture, but it still never quite seems right.  In a future post, I will go over some methods I have used to find out what you will really love in your home, Stay tuned for that!

So I have taken the test I  posted and here are the results of my test:

First I went into one of the favorite rooms in my home- my kitchen/ dinette.  You might have already seen this room  at RMS or on some of my dear friends blogs: Debbie at Professions of a Plate Addict, Marty,at A Stroll through Life; and Barb at Grits and Glamour ; Susan at Between Naps on The Porch;  Joni at Cote de Texas.  These five wonderful ladies very graciously posted my kitchen on their blogs.  OH!SORRY! I  am so moved by the generousity in blog land, I digressed from my test. Let's get back to this room and the test.  Here is a picture of  my kitchen/dinette

Fresh, Clean, Inviting

These are the three adjectives that I would use in my description, Now what does that mean in relation to my home and my personality?  According to the test these are the three things I like best about myself.  It is true I like to keep things in my life Fresh.  I have been known to open all the windows and let the fresh air in even in the dead of winter.  I have to have lots of light with nothing covering my windows.  I will often add new touches to my home just to keep it fresh and new looking.  I also have to have things clean, I am a little quirky that way.  What looks clean to me is an uncluttered enviroment and it has to smell clean, so I am always trying new cleaners with a fresh smell.  Lighter colors with sharp contrast give me a clean look also.  Now for the inviting I always like to be open to friends and family and make them feel welcome and invited  in my home. I was very lucky to be raised by a Mom that taught me the skill or welcoming people into my home, she was the Princess Grace of entertaining.  Are you starting to see how this works?

Next I will describe the paint colors in my home. They range from a white with a drop of yellow in it to a color that resembles French Vanilla Ice Cream to a Soft Buttery/Maize yellow

These are pictures of actual walls in my home ,they show the white ,the maize and the french vanilla colors.The three adjecticves I use to describe these colors are:

Warm, Cheerful, Inviting

This is suppose to describe my personality, I would only hope that it truly does describe me. However, to be honest, I think I prefer to leave that description to those who know me best.

Finally, for the really hard part of the test. My area of shame-Yikes! I can not believe I am going to show this but we have to keep it real in order to find our true decorating personality for our homes .  The funny thing is that in writing this, I realized I have several of these areas- hidden behind doors.  What then, does that say about me, Hmmmmm !!!

I know!  It's shameful, isn't it ?  And to think this is not the worst of my messes hidden behind doors.  The three adjectives I think of here are:

Disorganized,Cluttered,Messy

Ouch ! that was a little painful, now you have it . This is what I do not want people to know about me. Sometimes I can be  all of the above adjectives. These are qualities I do not want in my rooms, inside the closets or in the actual room itself.  I know I acknowledge that I am far from perfect and so I will always struggle with this.  However,  I also know enough about myself that if it starts to look, Disorganized,Cluttered,or Messy in my living spaces It drives me crazy. So what is the remedy?  Well the same remedy I go through several times a year.  I declutter by purging, organize by finding creative storage and I am much more vigilent about putting things in their proper place.  I need to join Lauren over at Pure Style Home to read the posting she is doing on this very subject. 

You see my friends, this is how it all works!  Now you know all about Kathysue and her Homes Personality.  Have you figured out yours?  If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to hear your comments!

"Enjoy The Process" of  Being True to Your Personality in your Home!

Kathysue