Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2018: Caliente AF-290

Good morning friends. I have been following the Doc's orders to rest and slow down and limit my screen time, thus my absence.  However, when I found out that Benjamin Moore's color of the year was such a bold choice with quite the fitting name of Caliente, I had to hop on here and blog about it! You know I am all about the bold and the beautiful and this color delivers!

When asked in an interview by Architectural Digest on how she would describe Caliente, Ellen O'Neill of the Benjamin Moore team responds, "..'OK you can’t live in a shocking color. You’ve got to live in a warm, seductive tone.' We spread them all out and we arrived at Caliente. It was very charismatic. It lured and it beckoned. It wasn’t shocking. It has an almost a brown undertone which makes it soothing. I kept thinking of red gallery walls in a stately mansion that really showcased beautiful oil paintings or ephemera. Those stately reds; intimate reds. That’s how we arrived at that specific color."

When I read of this year's color choice, I immediately thought of designer,  Miles Redd because he is known for punctuating his spaces with hints of red or boldly embracing the hue in his interior designs.  The two spaces above from his portfolio are perfect examples.

traditional home

decorecomgigi

pinterest

If you're timid to try this color on your walls, embracing it with accessories is another option

pinterest

A red smeg, anyone?

dezeen

Painting an architectural element Caliente is a great way to add a pop to a neutral space.

black girls killin it via pinterest

Get caliente with your lip color-who doesn't love a red lip, right?

So what do you think about Benjamin Moore's color of the year for 2018? While I have dosages of it as accessories in my home, I don't have it on my walls. I am an orange kind of girl but I have painted a similar hue in a past project before. 

My Living Room Refresh Using Paint.

     Painting is one of the quickest and least expensive ways to give your space a refresh. Right at the beginning of January, I decided to finally take the plunge and enter the dark side. Well, ok, I've dabbled on the dark side before with the guest bedroom refresh, but this time, I painted an entire room, not just an accent wall.

     I obsessed over painting this space a delicious dark blue or green for months, but kept changing my mind as I wasn't sure how I would like it, plus, it is very time consuming to paint this space with its tall ceilings. But I knew there was no escaping it once I started to dream about painting the room. By this time, I had already ruled out dark blue and knew it was going to be green, Benjamin Moore, Tarrytown Green to be exact. However, once the room was painted, I felt like I needed to paint the sliding doors on the bookshelf(originally a dark muted brown) to pop more against the green.

 A before of the room with the bookcase. It has such a different vibe and feel now!  My initial thought was to paint those sliding doors on the bookshelf orange, but I talked myself out of it because I thought since orange is my favorite color that I should try something new. Well,

I did and it lasted only a day. I wasn't madly in love with the yellow and since I am such a passionate person, the yellow had to go.  So, I was back to having orange thoughts, but it couldn't be just any orange because I didn't want an orange that had too much yellow or too much black undertones.

     I remembered this orange candle that I've had for years and brought it to do a color match at my local Benjamin Moore store. That's when I was introduced to the ADVANCE® Waterborne Interior Alkyd Paint.  ADVANCE offers the application and performance of traditional oil paint in a waterborne formula that cleans up with soap and water.  Once fully cured the painted surface becomes very hardy which meant the sliding doors on the bookshelf wouldn't get chipped easily. I bought a quart in a color called Jeweled Peach which  matched the candle beautifully. I also opted for a satin finish instead of high gloss.

I love the contrast between the pink(Benjamin Moore Pearly Pink) in the kitchen and the Tarrytown Green.

It goes beautifully with Justina Blakeney Nana wallpaper too. 

This is such a sweet spot to read.

Well, there you have it! The day was a dark, rainy, and cloudy one when these pics(except for the last one i took) were taken(which is why all the lights are on) but the colors still shine through. As usual, big thanks to Lea Hartman for capturing almost all of these images for yet another one of my projects so beautifully despite the weather.

Our Made from Scratch Picnic Table: A DIY

Last year, the hubby made this table above using the left over pine wood from when we had our shed built. He purchased (from Lowes)pretreated wood that was thicker than the wood we had to use as the legs. I think he did a fine job as a first timer.

sorry about the distracting flip flops. I had just washed them and was drying them in the sun.

Anyway, this is what the table looked like after being left out in the elements without being sealed. I was determined to get it sealed this past Memorial weekend as long as there was no rain in the forecast. Mother Nature cooperated and I set my plan in motion. I decided to use supplies that I already had to complete this project, i.e, paint, etc. I did have to succumb and purchase a sealer that was for exterior projects. It’s called Ultimate Spar Varnish and was purchased at Lowes.

The Process

No, Zion didn’t do any sanding. I had already completed sanding the table (with a 120 grit sanding paper). He wanted to know why I was outside in the scorching sun instead of sipping on some nice ice cold beverage inside. He’s always curious about how things work, so I showed him how the sander worked and sent him back inside because it was time for priming.

Since I was using primer I already had, I was short a bit to completely cover all the table. However, I had enough to prime the top and the legs. Oh and yes, that’s Baby Ian in the background… They just wouldn’t let me complete this project in peace.


I have been meaning to do the dip dye look on a project for some time and decided to have some fun with our picnic table.

For the main paint, I used left over paint that was used on the exterior of our house and to achieve the dip dye look, I used left over paint from when our front door was yellow.

After the paint dried, I used the Spar Varnish to seal the table and let it dry thoroughly before use. I wanted to use wood filler to fill in the cracks in the table(prior to sanding) but couldn’t find the one I am sure we have here. I was determined to reuse or use materials I already had, so there was no going off to buy any wood filler. What do you think about our “green” and budget friendly table? Happy Wednesday my friends. XX

A facelift(diy) and Other Randomness…

It’s no secret that I am addicted to painting and a paint brush is never far from my hands. I just love to transform things using paint. Well, my time away from the computer has been not only for leisure.; I’ve also been painting, cleaning, folding laundry, and more cleaning. Anyway, do you remember this bar table? Well, of late the colour pink has been catching my eyes and I haven’t been able to avert my gaze.


This flirting with pink led to me purchasing a quart of Benjamin Moore Pink Ladies and giving my thrifted bar table a Spring inspired facelift. I.Absolutely. Love. It.!

Remember, this is what it looked like. Not so gorgeous, right?

And then I made it into this!

Now, it’s even more “me” with the dash of pink.

Randomness as Promised:

Baby Ian enjoys being chauffeured around by his Dad and brother…

some backyard fun

Yes, I know I can barely fit on the swing, but swing on it anyway!. Blessings and happy Sunday everyone! XX

Doubling Up: Wreath Action

How are you my lovelies? I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I had out of town guests/family visiting so I was busy entertaining. Now onto this front door! Such a festive front door, is it not? I went with two wreaths instead of one because I wanted to keep things simple but still have a wow factor. In addition, I didn't want to compete with my orange door as it’s a statement piece on its own.

I chose the deep plum ribbon to tie in with the colour of the foyer(which you see as you open the door) and the red ribbon is to tie in the rest of the wreaths on the outside that have red ribbons.  The colour of the door is Fireball Orange by Benjamin Moore.

P.S. Yes, I repainted the door.  For my new readers, the door used to be yellow. Read more about it here. Have a wonderful day everyone. XX

It's on and Popping: Exterior Colours of the House

(this view shows a straight shot of the back of the house)

Yep, i think the colours i chose for the exterior are popping:-). I really do love the end result. I chose the colour, Benjamin Moore Mineral Alloy #1622 for the siding. Mineral Alloy is a beautiful blue grey colour. I wanted a colour that would have presence and highlight the lines of the house beautifully. I think this colour delivers.  For the trim, i chose BM Maritime White #963. It complements the siding colour nicely and is light on its contrasting effect.  

It was an overcast day when i took these pictures, so you're not really seeing the richness of the colour, but you can get a great idea nontheless of how it looks from these. So, what do you think? Have a lovely day everyone. XX