I have to share my new color: Sweatshirt Gray/Ralph Lauren. Home Depot is discontinuing Ralph, and it was $13 a gallon!
BTW Pam…today you talked about painting the insides of bookcases accent colors. Here’ s what I did… I got the idea of painting my shelf background black from the cover of Better Homes and Gardens – November 1944… Instead of spending 40 bucks on a can of paint (only to find that it doesn’t work) I stuffed every piece of black clothing or fabric I could find around the books and items on the shelves and then lived with it for a day. It passed the test, and now I use that method for everything from draperies to upholstery. The bookcase is to the right of the dining room picture. I don’t know if you can pick out the black on the bookcase, but it’s great with the leather chair and slate fireplace. Now all I need are two cheap (but fabulous) Duncan Phyfe 40’s dining room chairs under the windows, opposite — painted black. People tell me to cover that scroll work over the bookcase — but I tell them no… I don’t live in a condo. My house is from 1939, and proud.
Thank you, Gavin. And readers, if you are stressing over paint colors, my first reco right now is to look at California Paints. They recently introduced a new 20th Century palette — with 55 colors straight from mid-century archives. Whenever I am in a pinch, I start by looking at “authentic”. In my mind, California Paint’s extensive new, authentic palette is now the #1 place to to start.
Disclosure: California Paints recently signed on as an advertiser on my site. That said, I write about retailers that interest me, whether they advertise or not. In fact, I hope to have someone start helping with advertising sales soon, so I don’t have to think about or even know what’s up with whom. Me just wanna research and write.
bepsf says
Gavin – I love your home – It’s like a beautiful dream…
BTW – There is a great way to marry 18th Century with MCM: It’s called Hollywood Regency.
Gavin Hastings says
I really love Hollywood Regency…but there is an “art” to combining the elements. I may have too much Grandma in me…..
Hulu or Youtube the film “Gods and Monsters”- the house is the real star of the movie.
bepsf says
Gav–
The inner Grandma is no bad thing…
…just channel the Grandma who drove a Thunderbird convertible, drank Manhattans and preferred the Italian Line when sailing for Europe.
😉
Sara in WA says
It’s the perfect color to show off the great woodwork! And the scroll work is my favorite part of the room. Timeless!
Happy Daze says
Very nice, Gavin. Simple but elegant.
Shane W says
Gavin –
That place is freakin’ killer! I hope my house comes out like that when I’m done. Right now, it just looks like a collection of old stuff in there. DOH!
I used the Sherwin Williams Historic Preservation color “Pearl Gray” in my LR and hallway. It’s perfect too. The best color I’ve put up so far is an original from my house for ’54 (and a bizzilion others) that I’ve termed Seafoam. That color, along with white trim and orig. varnished doors just knocks me out. My son wants it in his room now too, which is original for that room YAY!
Yer house is G’d up from the feet up! LOL
jkaye says
Beautiful, beautiful home, inside and out. I notice in the dining area that you painted the chair rail and everything below it the same color as the upper walls. A lot of homeowners would have picked out that woodwork in white. The one-color treatment looks great, less busy, and I am wondering what prompted you to go with that look.
Also, is that a pet on the black leather chair, or a throw of some sort?
Gavin Hastings says
That is Maggie….the lazy little dog.
The chair rail took a lot of consideration….it was an “add on” by previous owners and they put it up over the existing wallpaper…and then painted over it 5 or 6 times with Lucite. To fix it correctly, or even just remove it would require more time than I really want to invest (I have bigger house problems) so painting it one color was the best way to make it “go away”.
Unseen-but this faux panel effect runs across the other wall behind the chair. So-if it were painted white, it would have to stop at the corner-and that was not anything I wanted to do.
Also notice though…the placement of the chair rail probably should have been placed under the ledge of the bookcase….and the 2 panels they applied under it are off-center.
pam kueber says
It is so amusing, Gavin, how you (and I’m pretty sure: all of us) can pick out all the itty bitty things that are wrong or not-right with our houses… while, anyone walking in would be just stunned at how fabulous it all is. We are so hard on ourselves!
Gavin Hastings says
Pam-
Thank you for once again for showcasing my life’s work.
The decor may seem out of place on this blog- but I have seen the photos from the 1940’s through the 1960’s and it has always been in this style. I haven’t found it yet ….but there has to be a way marrying the 18th Century with Mid-Century Modern.
My next quest is for a “Miro-esque” piece of artwork for over the fireplace….and I’ll send the Madonna back to Sean Penn.
TappanTrailerTami says
Gavin, what a fab house, with even better decor. Gray has always been one of my least favorite colors – probably from having spent 40 years in western WA state, where gray skies abound. Lately, (after 5 years of CA sun) gray is started to grow on me a bit, and your beautiful walls just reinforce my newly emerging appreciation of gray.
Scroll work is the eye candy of your bookcases and good on you to recognize that. Love the black interior too – another thing I probably would never have thought of.
Lastly, the marriage of 18th century to mid century modern – I struggle so much with confinement to one era, that I now have a hodge podge of whatever suits me. Even though people are either pro-wallpaper, or anti-wallpaper, since visiting Bradbury & Bradbury, I really view wallpaper as one of the things that can successfully bridge different eras successfully and tie together things from different times, provided you find the right patterns with the right influences. Same goes for some fabrics.
Anyway – be proud of your accomplishment, it is beautiful!
Joe Felice says
I actually thought it was a cat. Where is this house?
RetroSandie says
Gavin-it’s just beautiful!!! I would never have thought grey would look so nice inside. I love the shade and the white accents with it. The black in the bookcase is a marvelous idea. Everything is gorgeous! (Yes, leave that scrollwork!! LOL) Please show us more!!! 🙂
pam kueber says
Yes, Amy: “Restraint”. Now there’s a word for all of us to ponder. Well — me, for sure!
Amy Hill says
Well, “restraint” isn’t my forte. I never saw a tcholtzke(sp?) I didn’t covet. I have too much stuff to dust.
Zoocrewmom says
Restraint is a dirty word. We should never use it again. No one ask my husband how many lamps are sitting in storage in our basement…
Gavin Hastings says
Basement DO NOT count.
I call those items “on tour” and the Not Ready for Prime Time Players…..
Just another Pam says
What a truly beautiful home, the stuff of dreams.
The ‘Not ready for………..’ is wonderful too, I shall probably have three opportunities to use it today alone. Credit will be given.
Cindy says
What a beauty, Gavin. I could sit right there by the fireplace with a book and be content all evening! If you’re not a designer you should be! Show us the other rooms.
btw, I have Just Right Masonry coming by tomorrow to look at a project for me. Thanks for the info…I found him on google…how else?
Gavin Hastings says
He is one of the nicest guys you will ever deal with and would not hesitate to to call him back. Send him my best regards from the couple on Puritan Road in 16 Acres.
Amy Hill says
I think this is lovely, Gavin. Looks like a page right out of Traditional Homes. You show such restraint in your decorating, it makes the house seem much bigger.
Nice Work!
Gavin Hastings says
Amazingly…it is 2700 sq feet!
Amy Hill says
Oh my, I thought your home was smaller. You definitely have the concept of scale mastered. The room appears perfectly proportioned. I need you to come down to my place and design it, too!
Elizabeth Mary says
Gavin,
OMG, I love the colors in your house — and the outside is pretty cool too. So glad to find another lover of Ralph Lauren paints and sorry to hear they are going away from Home Depot. When I moved into my 1946 Cape Cod Ranch 7 years ago picking the paint color was the hardest decision as I had lived in white for so long. But, I settled finally on Ralph’s soft gold called Manilla. I love it. Seven years later it looks as good as when it went on and everyone who comes in asks what color it is. I guess Home Depot has given it up to make room for their new Martha Stewart line. Too bad!
Elizabeth Mary