My New Philosophy: Decorating Hedonism
Well, y’all, it’s been an enlightening weekend for me. I went into the weekend confused, frustrated, and ready to throw my hands up in defeat when it came to my music room. (I seriously considered hiring an interior decorator for an hour consultation or so just to get me back on track. Is that weird? An interior decorator hiring an interior decorator? I didn’t care. I just needed someone to bring clarity and focus back.) As it turns out, all I needed was a little quiet time so that I could refocus and reprioritize, and I’ve come out the other side with a completely different mindset and the freedom and confidence to tackle these rooms. My new mindset? I’ll call it “decorating hedonism.” 😀 But let me back up…
I played hooky from the blog last Friday because I just needed a day to clear my head. After receiving so much input and advice about my music room last week, my head was swimming with ideas and inspiration, and I just couldn’t seem to get my bearings. So I needed to step away, let my head clear, and then return to the problem and ask myself, “What is it that YOU truly want?”
Somewhere along the line I had gotten off track, and now my vision for my dining room, entryway, and music room weren’t working out. The problem, of course, was the piano.
In my opinion, that piano was (yes, past tense 😉 ) absolutely gorgeous. Honestly, it was probably the nicest thing in my house. But that piano completely derailed my vision and plans for the music room, which in turn seemed to be altering my plans for the dining room and entryway. It’s not what I had wanted at all.
It’s kind of like if someone had given me an original Salvador Dali painting, or an authentic Ming Dynasty vase. Either of those things, without question, would be the nicest thing in my house (and obviously the most expensive thing in my house), but I wouldn’t want either one of them. Neither of those are things that I personally want in my house because they just don’t fit the vision I have for the style and decor of my house. (Although I’d sell either one in a heartbeat and use the money to decorate how I want. 😀 )
How did I get so completely off track? I let other people’s voices get inside my head. First there was the wife of the man who listed this piano on Craigslist, who said it was a shame that I wanted to refinish it and not keep the original finish. (And yes, this is the same woman who had told her husband that if he couldn’t find someone to take the piano, she wanted him to chop it up and throw it away. *sigh*) Then there was the piano man who moved the piano, who also restores old pianos and went on and on about the walnut and how beautiful it could be refinished, even showing me pictures on his phone of recent pianos he had refinished. Then there was my mom who convinced me that if I wanted it yellow, it needed to be a really light, soft yellow, but green would be better. And then many of you, who expressed that painting a piano like this would be a shame.
So when I got ready to actually do something with the piano, I had all of these voices and opinions swimming around in my head. But do you know whose voice and opinion got completely lost? Mine. The voice of me — the actual owner of the piano, and the owner of the house where this piano will live for decades to come — was completely lost in the commotion going on inside my head.
That’s how I ended up with a piano that’s half walnut and half gray paint. What I had wanted all along was a bright yellow piano sitting against a lighthearted background of tree limbs and brightly colored birds. What I ended up with and what I had envisioned couldn’t be more polar opposite. And you know what? I.DO.NOT.LIKE.GRAY!! 😀 I gave it a try. I thought I liked it. But after living with it for a week, it couldn’t be more clear to me that I just don’t like gray.
But then the response to my “new” piano was great — so many compliments — so I was pretty excited about it. But there were a few comments that really gave me pause — of course there were the comments from those disappointed that it wasn’t yellow, but then there were comments about how “Kristi has grown up” and referring to the piano as a “grand old lady” and describing how “elegant” the piano now looked.
I hear the word “elegant” used about my kitchen all the time, and it completely throws me off. I don’t see it as elegant, with the concrete countertops and inexpensive subway tile backsplash. I never wanted an “elegant” kitchen, and I certainly don’t want an “elegant” or “formal” house. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not an elegant or formal person. So when I keep hearing that word used over and over, even though it’s meant in a complimentary way, I want to run the opposite direction with my decorating decisions.
So over the last week, I tried many things to make the piano more “me.” I tried painting the painted parts the original yellow that I purchased for the piano. It looked hideous against the walnut. Then I tried black. So drab. Then navy blue. Drab again. Then I thought maybe those of you who suggested gold were right. Maybe that’s just what it needed. After searching and searching for the right color of gold paint, I finally gave up. I came across several tutorials online where people actually used Rub ‘N Buff on entire pieces of furniture, so I thought maybe I’d give that a try. I Rub ‘N Buffed a very large portion of the piano using the same gold I used on the pedals (the process actually went pretty quickly), but it had the opposite effect that I though it would. It wasn’t bright and eye-catching like I had hoped. Again, it was dark and dull.
That’s when I finally stopped the madness, quieted the voices in my head, and asked, “Kristi, what is it that YOU want? If you push guilt and obligation aside, what is it that YOU truly want?”
I wanted a bright yellow piano sitting against a lighthearted background of limbs and colorful, playful birds.
So before I lost my nerve, I headed directly Home Depot, paint samples (kitchen cabinets and buffet) and fabric swatches in hand, and I chose a bright yellow that made my heart happy. The one I chose is appropriately called Smiley Face. 🙂 I didn’t even choose several options, order samples, come home and do a sample board, look at the colors in the various lighting througout the day. Nope. None of that. I chose a color, ordered my quart, and came home and started painting.
It’s not finished yet, but everything has at least one coat of paint on it, so there’s no turning back now. And I wouldn’t want to turn back anyway. Does it make me look “grown up”? Probably not. Is it a “grand old lady”? Definitely not. Is it “elegant”? Absolutely not. But this is exactly what I wanted all along.
And that’s how I became a decorating hedonist over the course of one weekend. Painting over all of that walnut, as gorgeous as it was, was so freeing. And with each brush stroke, I became even more dedicated to my new decorating hedonistic life. From now on, that’s my new philosophy. If I like it, I’m going to do it (when it comes to decorating, that is 😀 ). To heck with rules and labels. And to heck with guilt and obligation. This is my house, and I have to live with it. And a gift (or a free Craigslist find) that comes with strings attached (e.g., don’t paint it!) isn’t a gift. It’s a burden. I won’t be accepting any more decorating burdens into my house. And I can assure you that this…
was the last time you’ll see me making a decision for my house out of guilt or obligation. From now on, it’s decorating hedonism every step of the way. 😀
Who’s with me? 🙂
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I’ve been following your blog for close to two years now, and when you decided against painting the whole thing yellow, I was so sad. I knew it would be gorgeous, eye-popping, and cheery as a yellow piano. I’m biased by the fact that yellow is my favorite color, and that I painted all of my bedroom furniture yellow, but I’m so happy you changed your mind. After following you for two years, the wood-and-grey piano seemed out of character and, while beautiful, like it wouldn’t fit.
I always say, listen and take advice from others, but you are the one who has to live with the decision, so make sure your own voice is what ultimately comes through. 🙂 I’m excited to see the finished piano!
“while beautiful…it wouldn’t fit”
Exactly!
Well said Cecilia! Im so glad for you Kristi…yellow is the perfect fit for you!
Hallelujah! When you first showed the yellow (and green?) paint samples, I was a little surprised because I thought you said you wanted a “bright yellow piano.” This is bright and happy and awesome!
You have to do what makes YOU happy. Can’t wait to see your yellow piano and what you come up with on the wall. I often remind myself, because of your blog and what you are always reminding us, you have to do what makes you happy with your house. Others opinions can help, but when it comes down to it, it is yours!
Yes! To thine own self be true! And I love the yellow with the outlined birds and vines!
I agree! I want to see the birds and vine come to life with this piano!!!
I never like the grey and I thought it was so far away from your style.
Good for you. I don’t fit the normal mold either, but then it really is your house, so do what you like.
Congrats on figuring out what YOU want!
Now you are talking sister!!!!! LOVE what I see so far!!!!!! I didnt like the grey and walnut, it felt constipated.lol
F-R-E-E-D-O-M, is beautiful. One of the very first things that won me over to my now husband, was when he told me to “just be myself!” It’s too tiring to be who others want us to be.
Stay on this path:-)
I loved what you did with the piano, but after you posted your wall treatment choices, I did think, “How will that piano work in there, exactly?”
Guess the answer was, “It won’t!”
It doesn’t matter how cute those shoes are, if they don’t go with the rest of your outfit, you need to change them.
Ahhhhh…this looks more like it!!! I, too, had been caught up in doing the “grown up” thing while trying to decide what color to paint my door. Husband said white, sister said gray. I bought sample after sample, but all the while I secretly wanted a yellow door. This weekend I decided to go get the gray paint and get it done, but something happened while I was at Home Depot. Somehow, a beautiful yellow called Joyful ended up in my cart and on my door!! Now, everybody loves it and it makes me smile just looking at it! So glad you found your voice and painted the piano. It looks so much more like you and now everything else will come a lot easier.
It seems like you always start down a path and then realize you aren’t where you want to be! LOL Like with your living room; it started out brown and you realized that wasn’t you and switched to the dark teal. Then the dresser/buffet piece that you painted green, even tho the console table you made was meant to be green and you had to paint it blue so you didn’t have two green pieces in the same room (but then you moved the dresser/buffet out of the room and painted the table green). It’s such a pleasure to watch you work and turn the space into a very beautiful room that is all your own! 🙂
Honey what you have to remember is that it is YOUR piano – not the person who gave it to you – or the person who moved it for you. I don’t particularly like painted wood but I love what you did to the piano. Sit back and enjoy it!
You go girl! It’s your house so do what you like and want!!
Yay! I say go for it! Early in my marriage my mom wanted to gift my husband and I with some heirloom furniture, with the caveat that it not be painted. We passed. Nether of us wanted strings attached. I personally love the yellow, but even if I didn’t, as long as you do that is what matters! I am excited to see the birds. What are you putting on the bottom of the chair rail?
I haven’t decided if I’ll do a chair rail in there or not, but if I do, I’ll so the same wainscoting that I did in the bathroom (minus the mosaic tile accent, of course).
APPLAUSE APPLAUSE APPLAUSE! Good for you! This is EXACTLY how I feel about decorating and home design! I decorate in a way that makes me SMILE and makes ME happy. To hell with the rules! (This is the same reason I don’t karate chop my pillows! It looks so unnatural to me lol!) I love my home and I’M THE ONE LIVING IN IT! LOVE this philosophy! Carry on! 🙂 And keep smiling all the way!
Allison, I don’t karate chop my pillows either! I was watching a home staging show and they did it on every one in the house and made a statement that it wasn’t “finished” until you did that. Please. how many years did we go with un chopped pillows in our homes? 🙂
Linda
From another Linda, yes! I HATE those karate chopped pillows! The only way I would do that is if I needed to get out some aggression, lol (and then I would fluff them right back!).
Me, too. I think they look silly!
Haha… I read a blog yesterday that said that the karate chopped pillow is on of the pet hates of interior decorators!!!
*one
I feel the same way about the “karate chopped pillows!” One time looked neat but how did it become de rigueur?
I love the yellow piano, Kristi! It is hard to decorate by committee!
Ha! I love it when I am right! I said last week that you may find a way to stay with your original “wallpaper” plan and you have! (I know . . . it’s not about me but this is probably the highlight of my day.)
. . . and I am so happy that you have. You are a taste and thought leader, that I am sure of.
Way to GO!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!! That’s all I have to say about this post 🙂
A colleague once asked me to define hedonism (English teachers play weird word games in the teachers’ room.) When I described a huge footed tub lined in fur and filled with sweet scented oiled water, he simply stared and said that I seemed to understand hedonism in a positive way. I love that you’ve adopted hedonism as your new style. Who should you have to please other than your husband and yourself? I’m glad you took a break to shake off all those whiling doubts. I can’t wait to see what comes next. Brava!
Judi, I loved your laugh out loud funny story. And I’m going to share it with my fellow (non-English, and English) teachers and faculty librarians. They will love it, and totally get it. A remark like that always causes me to think ‘oohhh, that explains sooo much about you’.
Kristi, I’m glad that you are following your heart. I don’t like grey with dark wood at all (and don’t have any grey in my house…probably never will). I’m not a yellow person either, but you are and that’s what matters. I do secretly hope that you leave the most beautiful parts of the walnut ‘naked’. You did such a beautiful job on them and they have a story to tell about the piano’s past. But if not, it’s your decision. 🙂
Good. For. You! I love how the yellow piano looks (from the preview shot). Can’t wait to see it entirely. 🙂
YAY! I love it! Also very sad when you went away from bright and sophisticated as I see you style…..iit’s a little ironic with a touch of whimsy that makes me smile……it’s love the bird wallpaper. I did not want 4 wall of it with a drab painted piano…..THAT screams old lady to me…..it’s could smell the sachet. Not trying to be rude, :).
I’ve followed you for at least a year and went back and read your blogs when I found you and I love your fearless attitude, and can do spirit! I think you just hugged that spirit by embracing the hedonism! Well done, kristi!
I know we don’t know each other “IRL”, but I am crying right now, I am so happy for you. I was one of your strongest defenders this past week. I just felt like folks were taking your invitation to offer suggestions as an invitation to tell you what to do- and dog gone it, they took it WAY too far!
I thought the piano was pretty when you painted it gray, but I never thought it was you. Nothing else in your whole house is gray. You decorate kinda like me- I call it whimsical, but really it is just playful and colorful and relaxed. Not too matchy matchy, but complimentary without being too themed.
My family has passed furniture to me and I feel bad if I want to paint it to modify it. And you are 100% correct then it isn’t a gift it is a burden. I am unloading by the bushel to literally and figuratively downsize. And WOW it feels good.
I can’t wait to see the piano and your version of the Schumacher wallpaper in your lovely, fun, playful music room.
Linda
Bwahaha! You go, girl!!!
Good for you Kristi! And what a good lesson for all of us out here in ?Blogland! who struggle with “shoulds” and the thing that makes us smile!
I was sad the first time when it wasn’t yellow! I want to paint a bright cheerful piano when my house is done being built and you are a huge inspiration! I’m thinking bright turquoise or purple I haven’t decided yet! I can’t wait to see how yours turns out in front of your wall!
This is like when my MIL makes comments about design/decorating decisions on the house we’re currently redoing. While she means well, I came to the conclusion that I just have to block her (and everyone else) out and trust the vision I have!
Great job, it will be beautiful!
I was one of those who swooned over the gray and natural wood piano. I swooned and gushed to you because I thought it was (a) beautiful (b) what you wanted (c) appreciated the beautiful workmanship and (d) admired your accomplishment. I had no idea you were so unhappy with the results. N E V E R, E V E R do ANYTHING because you think it is expected of you. To hell with the world!!!! and what people may think. This blog is a sharing of YOUR world. You owe no one anything. Now, continue to write a terrific blog, do wonderful work and share with us all of your successes and failures! To thine own self be true.
Thank you, Linda J, for putting it so well. I agree completely (and I was one of the ones swooning over what I mistakenly thought Kristi wanted, too). Kristi, you should do what suits you and makes you happy.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I so often end up in the same conundrum–now I just need to be brave and sell the Ming and Dali, and just slap some paint all over the walnut piano, and make my home what I envision :~)
You’re so brave! And I’m so excited that the fun yellow piano against the wall with happy vines and birds and color will come to pass–I’ve loved, Loved, LOVED that idea ever since you first proposed it!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS IS what I imagined! And I think it is GRAND!
I have a piece of furniture tucked away for the same reasons, it was given to me, and it sort of came with strings because it’s mahogany and it was my great grandmother’s….but it doesn’t fit. NOW, if I painted it and replaced the drawer pulls, it would be a beauty…a focal point, like your piano. I am pretty certain this is the PUSH I needed. Thank you Kristi!
I inherited a boatload of cherry furniture that my dad built. Fancy things like a desk with pigeonholes and a fold-out writing surface, a Wellington campaign chest, a Chippendale chair… My taste is very Ikea/eclectic/beach-cottage. I admire your ability to paint stuff you’ve been given. I have an 1890s pineapple-post mahogany bed, and I am *this close to painting it aqua. The yellow piano has really inspired me (in a way the grey piano didn’t).
OOH, Anne if you do I want to see a picture! I’m imagining an aqua pineapple post bed in my “Hawaii” bedroom! Sounds lovely.
I’ll take that cherry furniture off your hands. 😉 I fall firmly in the “Wood is Good” camp. But having said that, I also belong to the “Suit Yourself” contingency, not caring a whit about what some future buyer should think.
Yeeeee-Haaaaa!!!!! I love it!!!! What a gorgeous yellow you have chosen. It makes me smile 🙂 (I’m so happy you came to your senses girl!) and I hope you know that I mean that in a nice way…..Have a great day and be blessed.
YEAH!!! I love your bold style.. green kitchen cabinets, pink buffets, and now a yellow piano! The yellow with the birds just seems so much more Kristi. So keep doing your thing and don’t listen to the negative. There are plenty of us out here who LOVE and ADMIRE your sense of style, your bold choices and willingness to learn new skills to get the job done. Keep up the good work 🙂
Like I said, you are FIERCE! And I love following the process!
your home.. your item. .your vision..
Not saying your a grown up or not:) being grown up is a bit overrated in my book anyway. Play On ~!
Do what makes your SOUL SING , anything else is a waste of time and energy..
Sonny
There are plenty of bloggers out there who have so called “elegant” and “grown up” taste. It’s trendy right now. But I’ve yet to find another blogger who has the loads of skill PLUS the unique personal style that you do. I’m sure it’s difficult to keep yourself focused with so many of us offering opinions, but that’s all they are! It’s your home. If your followers are more interested in controlling your decisions than supporting the design choices that make you happy, I’d say that they should go find someone else who is more easily influenced. The world is more fun with so many different personalities! Good job for resisting the pressure to homogenize!
Amen. Your decorating style is YOUR style. You have to live with it, and more importantly LOVE it! Follow your vision and your heart and you will never go wrong. I love following your blog.
This makes so much more sense with the look you already have going in the house. I know that other people’s voices can get into your head and make you doubt. But, a piano is still just a piano. So, if you want it yellow, girl you paint that thing! And it’s gorgeous! Yellow is a favorite of mine, so cheerful and friendly. Very light and uplifting color!
I’m so glad the gray and walnut piano is gone. It just looked sad and old to me. I think the yellow will be young and happy looking. Staying true to ourselves is not easy these days. Glad you are strong enough to do so.
It’s yours. Go with your dream. Don’t let anyone sway you!!
Yeah..a yellow piano!!
I am with you!!! Amen!
When you can choose a paint color and head home with the paint, not a bunch of samples, you know it’s gotta be right. You chose it with your heart, not your head filled with shoulda’s!
Too much caution hinders creativity.
I love it! It’s very hard to ignore the little voices and think on your own, congrats!!
Christy, I am so very happy for you. I was so happy with the grey and natural because it definitely look elegant even though I hate grey. BUT, yellow is the most happy of all colors, and about 35 years ago I painted my piano yellow which sat in my dining room. I love it. Everybody who saw it loved it. And I can hardly wait to see your new/old yellow piano.
It is fantastic in yellow..makes me want to sit and play a happy song! I refinish furniture for a living and find most people are so afraid of color. I am always saying to then the relative that left you the piece just wants you to enjoy it…Not memorialize it..make it into a piece you love to look at and you will remember them fondly!
YES! I was so sad to see that piano painted gray and this is coming from someone who generally likes gray. The yellow is absolutely gorgeous and will really brighten the room and bring life to it! Really excited to see the finished product.
THIS color will look great with the wallpaper you have planned. The gray was very classy and elegant…so NOT YOU. Sometimes we just have to admit that we were swayed from our original vision. Your taste is not mine but, I think your home is fabulous!
I’ll admit, I’m going to miss the gray and wood piano (because I personally love gray with wood), but I’m SO glad you’re happy with it. That’s really the important part, right?
Incidentally, your efforts aren’t in vain. I was really happy to see the gray/wood combo in the flesh, so to speak, as I have a buffet I’m planning to do very much the same way. It was nice to see it all done and verify, in my mind, that it’ll look nice when I’m done.
Also, we have a small electric player piano in the family that was always promised to me but I haven’t taken it because: a) We don’t really have room for it when none of us can play; b) It’s a lightly stained Maple that just doesn’t go in any of our rooms; and c) It has water stain rings on the top (Grandmother had plants on it) and I’ve never wanted to do the work to strip the whole piano, re-stain, and re-poly it. However, deglossing and painting right over it is an idea I hadn’t thought of. Seeing your gray one made the wheels in my head start turning.
I LOVE the yellow! I took apart an old pump organ and turned it into a liquor cabinet. Some people were not happy that I was wrecking a musical insturment. Uhmmm… I bought it for the purpose of changing it. I stayed the course and am so happy that I did.
Follow your heart… especially when decorating!
http://theladyinthestonehouse.blogspot.com/2013/12/not-so-musical.html
Rock on! I was a fan of the bright yellow all along! So glad you found this freeing and are happy! Now you can continue YOUR vision for YOUR home and live there cheerfully! I bet you’ll smile every time you walk past that piano!
Don’t let the word “elegant” cause you any angst. The urban dictionary defines elegant as “stylish, graceful, and beautiful without being trashy or common.” Using color can many times end up looking childish, but not in your decorating style. The green kitchen cabinets combined with the gold cabinet hardware, etc., are what gives your home a casual elegance as opposed to a formal elegance. I could list many more examples. Every home needs some elegant whimsical touches. I would never consider your home formal, but I would definitely describe it as stylish, beautiful, whimsical, comfortable, AND elegant but never common.
The yellow looks fantastic! I love that shade. It’s just so much better, happier, and seemingly you than the gray. I’m glad you’re happy with it.
Good for you! I love that you followed your heart and I know the happy piano will look beautiful with the wallpaper! I couldn’t be happier for you!
You, go, girl!!
Yo, yo, yo, baby! Kristi’s back in da room! Seriously, the yellow looks great & so you.
Go Kristi! So glad you went with what makes you happy!!!! Can’t wait to see the whole room!
Hi Kristy,I am so glad you went with thyellow thatYOU wanted.now I keep hoplng upon hope that you will find somewhere to do the black on black stenciledwall that you had stareted to do in the breakfast room that was my favorite thing I ever saw you consider and still wish you could use it somewhere mary
I forgot to add that I love the yellow piano. It’s you and your home. The other finish was beautiful but didn’t play nice with your home’s look.
Good for you!!! I love it…and I love the green kitchen. Oh hell, I love everything you do. If I could move from NY to TX….I would be your neighbor. So happy your happy.
All right, it’s your piano, not mine, I see your dilemma and understand the Smiley Face!!! You are back on your track. Is it not part of the fun to have opinionated (especially when solicited) followers? You bet! Please keep sharing. You are part of my inspiration, I need you. ( Feel the love from PA) * waves from the northeast*
The minute I saw what you did I just kept thinking it didn’t seem like you, but a person is free to change up their look every now and then 🙂
Honestly, there is no one better to design for you than yourself. Who else can know exactly what you are looking for? This feels genuinely you, which will make it a perfect fit in your house!
I love my yellow buffet, even if people told me it was prettier before in its natural wood state (it looked better in pictures than in real life). But I’m going to live with it, I know my style, and I will love the finished product.
Good job on sticking with your gut!
Kristi, I am so happy you painted the piano that beautiful yellow (although I voted for the green). The gray just seemed stiff. And everyone was saying the wallpaper treatment wasn’t right for the gray piano, and I love that wallpaper so much.
And, Molly, you and Kristi have restored me to sanity. I’ve painted my bathroom a very unusual shade of green, and one of the bedrooms to very unusual shades of green. One good friend keeps mentioning my obsession with green and obviously thinks it’s a bad choice.
I started to apologize for the green bedroom and to not want people to see my bathroom. Well, the hell with that! I cannot stand boring and conventional and WILL NOT
Kristi, I am so happy you painted the piano that beautiful yellow (although I voted for the green). The gray just seemed stiff. And everyone was saying the wallpaper treatment wasn’t right for the gray piano, and I love that wallpaper so much. Didn’t realize until I saw the “new” piano that the other one just wasn’t you.
And, Molly, you and Kristi have restored me to sanity. I’ve painted my bathroom a very unusual shade of green, and one of the bedrooms two very unusual shades of green. One good friend keeps mentioning my obsession with green and obviously thinks it’s a bad choice.
I started to apologize for the green bedroom and to not want people to see my bathroom. Well, the hell with that! I cannot stand boring and conventional and WILL NOT have them in my house.
Kristi, I forgive you for choosing yellow instead of green. When I saw that wallpaper I just knew I had to keep track of everything you do!
YAY!!! This is the first thing I saw this morning and it made my day… Yellow !!! Happy!!! Fun!!! I for one am so GLAD you did what you wanted………I think it will be perfect in a happy, colorful music room!!! I love it!!
I love the yellow! It has”KRISTI” written all over it! I think you should have your own paint line – KRISTI yellow, KRISTI green, etc… I just love your blog. I look forward to each post!
Hooray for you! It is your home and you only have to make yourself and your husband happy. Can’t wait to see the yellow piano as yellow is one of my favorite colors. It always makes me happy!
Hey Kristi~ I love yellows! But the color I saw on your piano when you finished… I didn’t see as grey. I’m just hoping you aren’t changing the color for the piano because of the wall paper that you love. I do Love >> complimenting each other! Do you think that after doing your niece’s bedroom had any decisions w/ your colors for the music room? It turned out so beautiful!
I laughed out loud when this popped up. “Smiley Face” is a perfect name. I likeed the other one a lot although I wasn’t sure about the gray. Since you did such a good job, I’d love to invite you to come paint my piano, but I can’t afford the plane ticket. I’m thinking Lipstick Red. It’s the new black.
I’m so glad you went back to the bright yellow! I loved those inspiration pictures you shared, much more than the drab grey. I can only imagine how hard it must be to stick to your own style when you have a blog that invites so much commentary on everything you do. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all turns out!
Full steam ahead! 🙂
One of the hardest things to do in life is finding out who WE are! It is freeing to realize what you want to do and be, but hard to ignore those who think you should be something else. I loved the idea of the yellow piano from the start and mentioned this could be my favorite room in the house. I am not an elegant decorator either, I like fun and whimsy and COLOR! I just stopped following a blog because she wants her living room to be whiter ( it’s all off-white right now) ! Life is short, enjoy whatever the heck you want in your own home and be happy!!
I love it. so glad you got back on Your Track. /when people ask me what my style is…I say “Whatever I like”. I am the one who has to live with it….others are just visiting.
GREAT JOB! You are right to paint and do what you two love!!!!
OOOOOh how I Love your process… and it is just that. We can deny ourselves and choose something else, but your instinct always wins… At least this path- you tried the walnut and paint option and “now you know”, it’s not for you. It was pretty, and I think we must be on the same timeline… because just a few days ago after I ‘ooohed and ahhhhhed” over the result I was thinking… you might have done the piano some justice, but it’s not yellow and chaos ensued with the rest of the plan, walls, etc. You have a blog and I think it helps you process your design decisions at a faster rate, or at least document them, whether it’s highlighting what you want or what you don’t want- it’s a glorious process. Me- I deny myself what I am drawn towards, but my husband always points out- “you’re doing it again” and he’s right. I am drawn towards muted aquas, browns, blacks and grays, have been for years! Why do I do this? Because it’s trendy and I don’t want to be trendy, and then it falls out of trend and it’s dated. OH THE HUMANITY!!!! But I have resisted and I still have an undecorated house after a year and a half! HA! So enjoy your beautiful happy bright yellow piano. at the end of the day- it’s still all you. 😀
Yay! I wanted bright yellow back when you showed us your yellow samples. Then I saw the walnut & grey and loved it, but…. something about it wasn’t right. It wasn’t really you. Go yellow!
And I can’t WAIT to see your lighthearted limbs and bright birds background ideas!
Yeah! Our Kristi is back! And she’s shining brightly. Don’t ever change for us, or anyone for that matter. We love you just the way you are, unpredictable, creative, spontaneous! And that’s why we follow you! 🙂
While reading your thoughts it sounded just like me trying to redo one of my rooms….I love my daughters and I really want to listen to their thoughts but in the end I find myself improved by considering their thought processes but in the end “to thing own self be true” kinda says it all!! Thanks for sharing–the “raw meat” version!!
Thank you for going with your gut and going with yellow! The grey and wood piano was beautiful, but broke my heart a little. The yellow was soo pretty (and you) and seeing the grey with the bird wall papers just didn’t work. I’m happy you’ve stuck with your original plan. Always go with your gut! 🙂
I think it is amazingly beautiful and amazingly you! To thine own self be true……..
LOVE the yellow piano. LOVE your blog. You are fun and fearless…don’t change for anybody!
The bottom line is: This is YOUR home, do what you want! You have no obligation to anyone (except perhaps Matt). We are just onlookers, here for the ride.
Honestly, I LOVE it. Would love to see a picture of the whole beautiful thing. Good job!
As I started reading this, I was like “am I going to see some yellow? oooo where is it!?” and then there it was and I was SO excited to see that peek of yellow!! Go you! 😀
I am also in love with your wall paper ideas in the music room.
You might have created a problem for many of us today (in a good way). I have an oak curio cabinet in my dining room that my hubby bought new in the 1990’s. He always gasps when I say I am going to paint it. Today I’m not thinking about it anymore, I am going to do it. Thanks for the inspiration Kristi.
I loved the gray and walnut piano. FOR ME. It would totally work for my style, in my home, but no, it isn’t your style at all. Can’t wait to see the yellow! I always tell people that even if something isn’t what I would do in my house doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it in theirs. Wouldn’t the world be boring if we all had the same style?
…And a gift (or a free Craigslist find) that comes with strings attached (e.g., don’t paint it!) isn’t a gift. It’s a burden.
Amen.
Don’t we get to see a picture of the finished yellow piano??? Or is just that little corner, with which you teased us, the only part that is painted yet? Although I thought that the walnut was beautiful, I’m glad for you that you are going with what you like and not worrying about “everyone else” or “resale” value down the road. The truly important thing about a piano is really how it actually sounds when played, after all–or why even have one. (And how does it sound, btw. I am curious, as someone with an old piano myself.)
The word “hedonism” sounds too negative for what you seem to be saying–it sounds as if you are doing something immoral or selfish, LOL! You are doing NOTHING immoral or wrong by painting YOUR piano yellow, if that is what you really want! It is more like decorating “freedom” or “liberty” to go with your personal vision, I’d say!
Too many of us don’t really know what we TRULY like and want in our own homes, and go by what we see in magazines, blogs, etc. We don’t have the ability to visualize clearly, beforehand, how things will really turn out, that so many gifted designers, like yourself, have (and have developed from experience as well.) I think that one mistake that rookie decorators, like myself, make is that we forget to look at the whole picture, and just focus on one or two elements, of a design scheme. You were smart to regroup when you quickly realized that, although the redone gray and walnut piano was, in and of itself, gorgeous, it did not fit in with your overall design vision for your home. Although it was probably frustrating to you, it was a good lesson for us all, and it sure makes following your blog all the more interesting (though I feel your “pain”!) Kind of reminds me of “reality” tv, except you didn’t have to manufacture the “drama”–it just happened naturally!
Can’t wait to see the finished project!
Yay!!!! So glad you changed your mind and went with the bright yellow piano as I really didn’t think the grey was you.
I don’t like gray or two toned furniture myself-with exceptions. A two toned piece of furniture adds more pattern to a room adding to busy-ness and eye overload, and when the furniture piece additionally has curly-Q’s and such it really overwhelms a room. Solid colors work much better to tone down the busy-ness, good call, particularly if you still want to employ that paper. And, I hate to say this but the overall effect of your kitchen is, if not elegant is formal. You’ve used mostly formal elements with formal balance. It is eclectic but pretty much 80% formal. Perhaps unbeknownst to you you have a small formal side. 🙂
What a great yellow! Good for you.
I am so pleased for you. It is as if we can visually see your engine being revved to life again after being released from all that mental oppression. There would have been nothing strange about consulting with a professional peer either. You would have probably received advice to do exactly what you have done. Take a minute to step away then do what you truly love.
Looking forward to watching the transformation of these rooms
YOU GO, GIRL! Decorating hedonism all the way! (I like that term, by the way!) I’m happy you’ve gone back to your vision. I did like the gray, but yellow is awesome and I can’t wait to see what it looks like with the walls.
Yellow…there ya go! You’ve got your happy back 🙂
I like that…. you got your happy back!
It’s your piano and your house, you do you. I have family and friends who have lots of opinions and great style and have absolutely been in the same place as you were with the piano. At the end of the day, you’re the one coming home to your design decisions and they should make you happy. Everyone else can deal with it for the times they’re in your home.
THANK YOU! I’m so happy you went back to the yellow, especially the bright, cheery, fresh yellow. The two-toned piano had taken you in the wrong direction for the rest of your house, a square peg in a round hole, if you will! This will totally work with the wallpaper and your entryway/dining room and your beautiful doors. Yay!
Definitely love that you’ve come back to what makes YOU happy Kristi because who cares what strangers on the internet think when you walk past it every day unhappy?
I’ve stopped taking furniture from family because it comes with “opinions” which are more like “orders” on what I should do with it. In fact, I’m nearly to the point of refinishing 3 wood pieces my family passed on to me and “suck it up buttercup” is my default reminder (to myself) that these are mine and I can do as I wish with them. It makes me laugh a little because I have no problem with bold paint or tearing up carpet for new floors or buying a new bathroom cabinet but refinishing a dresser has me worried. Hedonism all the way!
Like many others it seems, I was so dispappointed when you did not paint your piano bright yellow like you said you would. I’m almost 40,, not an old lady by any means… and I think that bright yellow is just plain cheerful… As for the vines and birds design your are looking for, here is a fabric that I really love that could perhaps inspire you, not the color but the drawings themselves.
http://www.dwellstudio.com/Vintage-Blossom-Fabric-Jade-DWL3238-DWL3238.html
I love it and admire you for staying with what works for you. I wish we were neighbors. I have no decorating friends, but maybe that’s a good thing, but it would be nice to get some encouragement sometimes. I do love your blog!
Rita
Good for you!
I am so glad I read this post.
Thanks for letting all of us know that it isn’t okay to do what is against what YOU want to do. Because you’ll never be happy with it.
It’s now high time to do what I WANT to do in my own home, I have a black wall and the rest of the condo is banana cream yellow, I am stuck in continuing to decorate because my family doesn’t like the black wall… (what about resale, it’s extreme, not a neutral color etc…)
I’d would have like to yell out “SO WHAT?” It’s my place, I live here and I want to be happy while I am living here. But nope… I shut my big mouth and let them damper on my decorating style and decorating choices.
So here I am now thinking about how I am finally going to finish decorating MY place, not how “they” are going to decorate it!
LOVE the yellow. Cheerful, playful and you.
I hadn’t posted any comments about the pre or post piano finish but I was always rooting for the yellow piano. I liked how you finished it but also felt the bird and vines paper just didn’t pop with the Grey and wood finish.
Also, I think the yellow piano will really be a stunning contrast to those beautiful doors you made! I can’t wait to see the finished product.
You’ve given me the courage to finally get off my butt and decide on what to do with my beautiful mahogany dresser that I stripped down. It’s been sitting in my basement for years because I can’t decide between staining or painting. I only spent $30 for it and I’ve never had so much indecision about a piece of furniture before! I, too, have been listening to those other voices.
I hate when we let others get in our design heads. I love your blog and that you are not afraid of color So I’m happy that you came back to your world of color. It’s beautiful.
I am so happy grey is out….myself, I am not a fan of grey. Go with what you like. You have good taste and I like your ideas and style.
Good choice! I love it!
Keeping true to your own self IS very grown-up. Way to go! 🙂
I applaud you! I’m gathering the courage to change the things in my home that just aren’t working and you have inspired me – those ‘strings attached’ are not worth it in the long run. Looking forward to seeing photos of the cheerful birds frolicking above the yellow piano, and imagining the smile on your face…… all good.
I am a home stager and designer. I often get asked for one, most important thing to know when it comes to decorating. My answer…listen to your gut. Deep down you know what works for you and what makes you happy. Sure, you may need help here and there, but basically you already know. You just have to learn to listen (to your gut). That intuition will never steer you in the wrong direction. Here is the proof! Good for you!
Horray!!! I am glad you chose a vibrant color!!! At age 66 I finally realized – I want more color in my life. I am taking steps to complete that! Do what your heart tells you – not what you think everyone wants you to do. Amazing how much happier and confident you become. It’s my life and home- my husband is loving it,
Self love takes so much Courage! Good for you! Why do we get so wrapped up with everyone else? I have nothing respect for you and it allows me to have Courage for myself too. Cannot wait to see the results. Gorgeous.
I think you should trademark your new anthem! If not, I know I’m going to use it.
I’m so glad you decided to listen to your inner voice and do what you want! While the piano was beautiful with the grey and walnut, it didn’t fit in with anything else in your home or with the design you wanted.
I watch so many decorating shows and read quite a few decorating blogs and the one thing that just drives me crazy is these so called rules or the trends of the time. Right now its kitchens that are white everything (cabinets, counters and back splash) and grey seems to be the color everyone is painting everywhere else, whether it’s furniture, walls or the exterior of their house. They become so overdone to me and after a while, I get tired of seeing them. It’s like no one has any originality anymore.
That’s why I love reading yours! You don’t tend to go with the trends or follow the rules and it is so refreshing! My mantra is “To Thine Own Self Be True”. If you follow that, you’ll never go wrong and you’ll ensure that you keep yourself happy.
I skipped a word. I have nothing but respect for you and your choices!
Aha….so glad you are back……with that wonderfully fun yellow piano!
Love it. Isn’t it awesome when the clouds part and something is so right it makes your heart do a little “jump”!. Don’t forget, it’s sometimes the process of getting to that moment that is so enjoyable and makes us use really appreciate our choices and options. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Look at it this way; you showed a varied idea for sprucing up an old piano. It was lovely; but not what fit with what you wanted. Some other reader will be inspired and put ‘a grand old lady’ in their music room, thanks to you. (I voted yellow and was almost disappointed you chose grey!)
Now your “wallpaper” will look phenomenal! And, the colors and style will just flow beautifully from room to room!! Yay for you!! Makes me want to run out and order my new teal couch right now!! 🙂
OK, now that you have declared your style Hedonistic we all can understand it. That is what you like and want so stick to your guns. Stop asking for opinions and just do your thing. I sure don’t worry about the people who cannot understand why I have an eight foot long farm animal trough hanging on my wall. It is there because that is my style. So go for what you want and don’t ask for opinions. Just do it. Blessings
Kudos to you for following your own style and vision. I loved the walnut but it didn’t work with the big picture of the house. May I suggest however that you put a little tag on the back of the piano noting that there is a walnut piano beneath the paint and whether it’s solid or veneer. I inherited a nice painted dresser from someone and was shocked to find really beautiful wood beneath. I’d have taken a bit more care in my refinishing choices had I known that before.
Amen Sista! As we say here in Harlem “You Do YOU, Boo!!”
LOVE that color!
Random Question of the Day, though, in regards to the piano:
Are you still keeping the company portion as you did in the painted/stained treatment or just going right on over it?
Agree always do what YOU like it will save you time and money!! I had this same issue and just cant wait till we move because it will be all me I have written it down and save pix and samples and just cant not wait to walk on my path and not the that of others or what was given to me and I don’t want to hurt feelings by saying no or I don’t like it!! I LOVE the yellow and think you just go for it!!
She’s baaaaack! There’s the Kristi we all love!
Kristi,
I am so glad you changed your mind and repainted the piano. It is YOU!
Well done kirsti! Can’t wait to see it,it’s going to be fab! Xx
While I thought the gray and walnut was beautiful, I do NOT like gray either. It has been the rage for years now and I am waiting for it to go away. I have always loved green and the gray/greens I am seeing are beautiful. You did the right thing making yourself happy. I also thought the “bright” yellows you showed us were cool. While not my taste, I loved looking at them. I am looking to seeing your bright cheery music room.
THose earlier shades of yellow you were flirting with seemed so dull, so subdued and overly pastel. If the bright yellow piano in this latest blog is YOUR piano, then I think it is exactly the shade of yellow I would have chosen had I a piano to paint and wanted to paint it.
Oh YES! I’m with you and I’m so glad you did it! 🙂 When I saw the direction you took your piano with the stain and gray paint, I gulped and thought, well she can do whatever she likes, but I really didn’t care for it and I really loved the yellow idea. I think in a lot of ways we have similar tastes so I was a bit confused. So I’m glad to see you’ve gotten clarity for yourself and gone back to YOUR original idea. in the end if it makes you happy in your house, it’s the right idea.
Yellow rules! Good for you!!!
You! Go! Girl! and I will too!
On its own I really love the grey and wood finish of the piano. But I think you are correct to paint it yellow as that’s what will look wonderful in the room. You receive a lot of comments so I can easily see how they could cloud your ultimate vision. Best of luck to you as you complete the room.
the minute I saw the gra/wood combo on your piano, I knew it would be yellow soon.
I know it! It just didn’t speak to me. It is not vibrant like most of her other work
I’m so happy for you Kristi!!
I love your blog because I’m always learning with you, but the most important things are not the DIY stuff; there are so many others amazing things: your attitude, your happiness, your kindness, your strength… your bring that to everyone who reads yours post and today I coudn’t avoid my big smile seen your pretty yellow piano while I was thinking, “Once again the long way, 🙂 but you did it !!!! and I love it!!!”
Thanks a lot!!
Laura ( the long way apprendice)
Kristi I am new to your blog and the what made me fall in love with your blog was your decorating style. I am so happy you are doing what you love your way. I was a little shocked when I thought you were caving to others opinions. I am so looking forward to the birds and vines and I am so happy you are being true to yourself.
Can’t wait to see it, but I can already tell it will be lovely! I could only be happier if you painted it chartreuse!
Yellow it is !!! So right for you!
She’s BBBAAAACCCCCKKKK!!!!
Love the yellow!!! Love your stuff!!!
Keep on doing what makes you HAPPY!!
I can exhale now. I thought the gray and walnut piano was “pee-yew” but I kept my mouth shut. I love the yellow piano! I hope it will be glossy I don’t care for yellow for ME – but I can (and often do) admire its use in other people’s homes. A friend has a sunny yellow kitchen and another a sunny yellow library that I drool over.
Decorators should know that they can’t impose their choices on clients if the client doesn’t like the colors – or, for women, if WE DON’T LOOK GOOD IN THE COLOR. Let’s face it – our homes are our biggest accessories. We have to love wearing the color.
I am so glad you decided on yellow. Follow your heart. I must say I was disappointed when you went with gray because it didn’t seem like you. IT did not reflect the same person in the coral buffet or green kitchen cupboards. It is following your vision and passion that caused many of us to follow you and read your blog. Glad you found your voice again. I am looking forward to the finished project. Blessings !
Ok, after this post I think it’s honesty time! lol
I don’t always like what you do – and not because something is not the thing that I’d want for ME, but because I don’t like it, in any kind of setting. Piano was one of those things. Simply not pleasing to the eye. Your living room was one of these things, too, looked too dark and drab (dark can look all sorts of fabulous, that was not the issue to me).
But you know, when you DO make things I don’t like, I normally won’t comment. Because if it IS an acceptable combination (like your living room for example, everything DID match), who am I to judge, taste is something subjective. Aaaaand because if you do something that doesn’t match (this is a completely honest comment, remember?) I always say “it’s ok, she’ll realize it herself and change her mind”. And you know what? You always do! lol You may allow yourself to get off track, but you always get back.
Why am I saying this? Because I think that’s what other people do too. I’m sure I’m not the only one who didn’t like the piano and felt it didn’t match, but if it is acceptable, what’s the point of saying “me personally, I don’t like it”? We are not going to be living in that house, you are. It’s one thing to say “the windows are too big, are you sure you won’t lose all insulation” and another thing to say “I don’t like white windows, I think you should go with wood”.
So when you see the “omg, how fabulous” comments over something you don’t really like, don’t think that everyone thinks the same and break under peer pressure.
And finally, I am not a decorator, but my idea is that the heart of decoration is HAVING THE STRENGTH TO TURN DOWN beautiful things, even things you love, if they don’t match the rest of your home.
Looking forward to seeing your yellow piano (that is not what I would do, but I think will match the birdies beautifully). <3
Phoebe’s right; just because all you hear/read are accolades, may just mean others are respecting your choice as your own, so they choose not to reply negatively. (Mum would say, ‘If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all’). I love your decorating style in 99% of the choices, as what you do is fabulous. You do always pull it together though, and watching your journey, like all of our journeys with all our own meanderings, is wonderful!
Bravo!
WAY TO GO, KRISTI!!!!!
This might sound silly but I just want to say that I am PROUD of you for remembering that this is YOUR house and YOU (and Matt) have to live in it every day. Your house and everything in it should make you smile and LOVE being in your home!
I love your Decorating Hedonism!!! I cannot wait for us to finally be able to buy a house of our own so we can be Decorating Hedonists right there with you!!!!
I’m happy you got your MOJO back…I was afraid we had lost you, or worse…that YOU had lost YOU! Smiley Face rocks! 🙂
Yay Kristi!!!!!!! Good for you! Good for me, too, as I really didn’t like the grey-wood combo. I would never have said so, as it’s your home, your choice. Isn’t that it in a nutshell? YOUR home, YOUR choice! If you can’t do the things which make your heart sing, in your own home, in this time, when will you be able to do them? We have to live authentically, otherwise we’re not true to ourselves, not really living a life which sits comfortably with us. I am so, so happy for you, that you reverted to who you really are, and what you really wish to live with. Happy, sunny, fun yellow! What a joy to look at every day!
Congratulations Kristi. I’m sure you’ll look at that piano every day of your life and just know it was the right thing for you! Happy days!
Cheers, Liz (Australia).
Thank you, Kristi! I really bothers me when people try to push their ideas of “perfect decor”, “good taste”, “a grown-up home”, etc on other people. At 49 years of I technically qualify as a grown-up. However, when you enter my home you will be met with a turquoise deer head lamp, Guitar Hero controllers on the wall, a silver painted buffet serving as an entertainment center, and a wall full of things that make my husband and I smile. I tried to do the “grown-up” thing when we moved in and painted everything neutral. That was a mistake. I hate it! The only room not up for repainting is the master bedroom. It is painted guacamole and is perfect.
I love your kitchen! It is vibrant, fun, enjoyable, and you. I would love to come sit in it and have coffee with you. Please, follow your decorating heart. This will be your forever home. Decorate it so that Matt and you smile when you enter. Keep up the good work. I can’t wait to see your dining room/entry. You are so inspiring.
Good for you for following your decor “voice”. Your right that yours is the one that matters when it comes to your home. There’s always going to be be the paint it, don’t paint it, make it chippy or turquoise camps. No one is really wrong but rather just wrong for your style. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Yay!!!! I don’t comment often but I had to this time. I absolutely love it when you find you again!!!! From now on I think I will have to ask you where you are!!! I love wood but I was disappointed when you didn’t stay with the yellow . I don’t know you except from your blog and yellow seems to fit you a bright and happy color.
YAY!!!
ADORE the colour… it makes me feel happy for you.
It can be difficult to stick to your choices when you have so many disagreeing with you. A very wise friend of mine once told me that life works by the 80:20 rule… 80% of people will want to play it safe while the other 20% are quite happy to stand out and be
different…
You are one of the 20%… but if you are in that catergory you have to be strong as you will receive lots of ‘criticism’ and people will try to dissuade you from your decision.
Good luck with the piano and everything else that you are doing. 🙂
LOL! Guess your style is more upbeat than updated traditional after all! You do such good work that everything you do looks really great, including the gray and walnut piano, but I am REALLY glad to hear you’re going with all over smiley face yellow after all! It will light up that music room on even the grayest of days and be a fitting tribute to the happy music you will be playing. Can’t wait to see how it looks with the bird and vine ‘wallpaper’. Decorating/remodeling a home is an ongoing process, and I love that you ‘keep it real’ about changing your mind and let us in on the process.
I haven’t commented in a while but I had to now. The grey and walnut piano was beautiful but so NOT you. I have continually painted and repainted things and rooms but I have since found out that my first gut feeling about what I like or what color I want is dead on. When I sway from that I usually end up with a do over back to my original want. One thing I notice is you seem to like saturated colors, not muted greys and beiges. Stick with what YOU love! I for one love the yellow and can’t wait to see it finished. I have always wanted a yellow painted piano….it makes my soul smile! Yay for you.
LOVE, love, love what you are doing!
The yellow is even better! I loved it the first way too, (because I do love gray, brown, and stained/painted pieces too) but this yellow really is perfect with your wallpaper vision. I got brave because of you, and tried a glazed blue on my bathroom cabinets (still loving it). Now I’m thinking of another pop of color in my future….planning a do-over in my sewing room. hmmm…yellow… (ps – what a great color name – Smiley Face – 🙂
I do not like yellow. I love taupe. However when I saw the taupe and naturally finished piano I thought, “that’s not going to work”. It goes with noting else you have chosen. Totally goes against the clear bright colors you have so far. It would only serve to derail your vision and you would be struggling to make it ‘fit’ in. I’m not kidding, I honestly thought that.
I still do not like yellow and I still love taupe. But the yellow you are painting your piano now fits in perfect with YOU!
I’ts going to look fab!!! <3
Yay for you!!! I can’t wait to see all of it, the preview looks gorgeous to me!!
I’m a tried and true neutral lover, but I think your home has to reflect you and your family. I read your blog for ideas that I haven’t seen before and brilliant colour combinations that, while I could never live with them myself, look beautiful and happy.
I love that yellow on the piano and I’m glad you went for bright yellow. I can’t wait to see it all come together, it’s going to be fabulous!
You go girl! I have been following you for over a year and you are so inspiring to me…because you follow what YOU want! I have been wanting to paint my sideboard in my dining room, but my mom says I will regret it. Thank you for unknowingly empowering me!
Thank goodness! I was excited that you were going to paint the piano yellow (and I don’t like yellow), but then I was disappointed with the yellows you showed us. None of them felt like ‘you’. While the walnut/gray was lovely, it screamed country farmhouse to me. You are definitely NOT country farmhouse! I’m so glad you found your way again. It seems everytime I think you’re not being true to your style you step back and realize it. The projects you come up with after those moments are killer!
Kristi the piano is adorable and your sassy style is awesome! More importantly, your realization that a gift that comes with strings attached isn’t a gift; it’s a burden, will set you free! Your house and your taste. Enjoy
This whole story made me smile! Last week, I showed my husband the picture of your ‘gray’ piano. He didn’t say a word… I said, “While it’s beautiful, and elegant, it’s BORING and nothing at all something that this woman will enjoy having in her home. It will be painted yellow before the week is over.” He said, “Yellow is good.” 😀 Welcome back, Kristi. You took a little detour, but you are back on the right road again.
Kristi the piano is adorable and your sassy style is awesome! More importantly, your realization that a gift that comes with strings attached isn’t a gift; it’s a burden, will set you free! Your house and your taste. Enjoy
If it makes your heart sing then do it!
Hahahahahaha! Yellow! My first choice! Glad you came around!
Right on sister! Way to follow YOUR gut for YOUR house 🙂
I think its beautiful at least you investigated what was underneath the old finish and tried something new based on responses to a question you asked your readers (which way to go), based on what the seller and mover said. Its neat that you value your readers but yes at end of the day its your choice, your house…
In the end it wasnt for you, but no biggie. Now you know what you believe and why you believe it…who knows what this ,universe learning opportunity, is in preparation for, in the future… 😉
I started a blog in May of this year, but soon after a few people began telling me it was a waste of time and what they think I should be doing instead. I have to admit that I did listen to them and was doing what they suggested, but last Sunday night I realized I was doing what they wanted and it made me so unhappy that i started blogging again. I know I don’t have any followers except for one lady who leaves a comment once in a while, but I love to write and it’s better than talking to the walls 🙂 good job Kristi, I love your honesty and your blog. Have a great day!
Kristi, thank you for this post. I am actually sitting here tearing up reading it, which may sound silly but it is true! At 33 I still feel like I am trying to figure out who I am and what I want from my life. I tend to play it safe, try to do the “grown up” thing and I end up feeling like that grey piano. Looks nice on the outside and may be right for some, but in reality I want to be the yellow cheery one! People pleasing is something we’re taught from the time we’re little and I applaud you for stepping back, reassessing and doing what you really want to do in your home. I have never seen a kitchen like yours(beautiful and amazing!!) and by the time you are done with that house, it will be so awesomely you! Good for you with the yellow and thank you for sharing your process behind getting to that place.
YEA! Go girl, I loved the yellow. I was probably one of the people who told you it was “elegant” but I just couldn’t feel it against your plans for the walls, which I love. I am trying to figure out a color scheme for my house which has beautiful (read problem) two story ceilings in the entry and great room and, at ceiling height, each room can be seen from the other. Thank you, thank you, I was about to give into something in a beige scheme which just is not what I want. I have a beautiful original oil painting (a gift from a wonderful boss when I retired). The colors are fabulous, beautiful greens, turquoise, golds, browns, etc with which to begin a color pallet. I still don’t know what it will be but thanks to your post today, it won’t be beige! It won’t be something I can live with but something I can love!
Yay!!!!!!!!! The grey and walnut, while beautiful, just didn’t seem to quite fit. I couldn’t get past the disappointment that you weren’t going to have your cheery, yellow piano. So glad you got there, for your sake. Congrats!
All I can say is yes!! I thought that gray and walnut combo was not your style too! The same thing happened with you kitchen floors. You had a basketball stadium floor remember! Go with what you want and we will love you for every bright color you choose!
Kristi, I’m so glad your inner voice brought you back to bright colors again!!! Trust that little voice, it’s always right! Glad to see the yellow!
I am so happy that you went back to yellow! Although the piano painted grey looked quite nice, it really didn’t go with your plan – nothing in your house is grey and neutral – everything in your house is bright and cheery! And the grey colour certainly did not go with your beautiful wallpaper. I’m so glad you are back on track. And yes, it is always great to hear other people’s ideas, but you know you have to stay true to your heart.
Hi Kristi,
You are definitely on point. About 10 years ago I wanted to get Black carpeting for my house; everyone said don’t do that. So I purchased off white carpeting it looks terrible now I hate it it will not come clean. So now I have to get new flooring. Listening to others will never satisfy you. Others mean well but you have to make yourself like it. I am getting hardwood floors and I have gotten comments about that it is too cold and I said “I ‘ll wear socks!
Continue on with your fabulous work you are so talented.
This post seemed so familiar, then I figured it out, it was the Jan 2014 credenza post! You had gotten off track and had so many opinions and options & you got lost in the mix & finally realized what was off about the room for you. then it became the star of the room & didn’t work out there either but ultimately you always find your way back to what you truly want and what works best with your pieces and you shine as bright as that yellow piano in the end! my heart was happy to see that yellow piano, can’t wait to see this room come together now!
Yay!!! Christi has awaken and painted the piano yellow. It looks beautiful. You had me afraid that you had lost it when you made it look like an elephant instead of the canary that belongs in a music room.
Love,love,love the yellow! My favorite color!
Doesn’t it want you to smile with satisfaction every time you walk by!
I LOVE the yellow!!! So glad you decided to go that route 🙂