“Moonshine”
Isn’t that a lovely name? That is the name of the paint color I chose to paint our house with. It is by Benjamin Moore. I paint matched at Home Depot, so your color may vary.
When I was younger, I watched Kim Basinger in “I Dreamed of Africa.” I do not remember anything about the movie, except it was sad. But it inspired me. My inspiration came from the grey walls in her house, in the movie.
I longed for grey walls in my own home. This was the year 2000. I just wanted it noted I wanted grey walls long before grey walls were trendy.
And now they are everywhere. It kind of breaks my heart, but I went with my dream. The twenty-something-year-old in me would not be denied. She is pretty persistent. Have you seen all of my horse print clothing?
I scoured the internet for the perfect grey. I really liked Benjamin Moore’s Grey Owl. But my husband had wanted to keep the walls white. I knew this color would be too much for him.
I ended up seeing Moonshine on Young House Love. Their house looked amazing. We tried it. We loved it. Sold.
So, our kitchen, family room, hallway and laundry room all got this color.
Our “formal” living room, AKA book storage room, stayed the same, Ralph Lauren Forde Abbey. We just repainted it the same color, for a fresh update. You cannot imagine the nicks and scuffs that were on the walls after ten years of two adults, two kids, and two dogs.
Let’s take a moment and admire the “moonshine.” It is beautiful during the day.
What are the color of your walls? Are you obsessed with grey? You can see more of our grey walls in our post about our baseboards.
* Peacock painting by Ginette Callaway.
Lakshmi painting by Gloria Muriel
Cyclops in the hallway by Shawn Smith of Shawnimals
I shared this on Savvy Southern Style
And My Romantic Home
I love the colorful decor in your house, and those bookshelves even more. Did you have those built? We are in a Spanish style house with a huge dining room and I am trying to get a feel of a cozy space where you can entertain but could also read. My husband doesn’t get what I am going for and I am not articulating it well, but I want a wall of bookshelves next to the dining room table. I will have to show him this picture.
Thank you so much Maggie!
The bookcases are actually three separate bookcases. I got them from one of those unfinished wood furniture stores. They were very inexpensive. I had the idea to have crown molding added to them and also molding on all of the joining edges to make them look like a built-in. Then I had them all stained to match. It was so much cheaper than having them made or purchasing a big piece. Molding and paint are cheap!
I also have two smaller ones that match around the big window in the room. Making five total.
I hope this helps!
Have a wonderful week!
Jenni
P.S. I am so jealous of your Spanish style house. I love that style.
Awesome advice! Sadly neither my husband nor I were blessed with the DIY gene. It would never have occurred to me to use molding to achieve a built in look. Thank you.
Thanks Maggie! I am glad I could help. We have only DIYed two small itty bitty things. We always hire. We are awful at projects. I hired the bookcases out to a local carpenter a couple of years ago. It took him three days to do the five bookcases, the frame around the big mirror and our bathroom vanity (that I have since had changed). It was $500 for all of that work, including all of the molding, and the paint, and the painting of it all. So, I am not sure how much each bookcase was in that, but it was not a lot. We all ready owned the bookcases. Which I believe were between $100-150 each.
Anyway, I hope this helps more!
Jenni
Okay…I have to know the story behind the life saver buoy on the wall. Way cool. 🙂
Brynne
Thanks Brynne. I found it in an antique shop and I just knew I had to hang it around a piece of art. I wanted an Alice in Wonderlandesque house. The life saver reminded me of what she would have saved from the ocean of her tears.
Have a great Monday! : )
Jenni
I totally love your house and the colours and all of the paintings and “bits and pieces”. Our current home doesn’t itself to the colours we would like to use, the old greys and greens which you see in old English houses in all the films as we have a very modern house.
Instead most of our walls are quite creamy or beige as my wife really wanted neutral colours but she has now seen the light so the next batch can be strong!
Our living room has a feature wall which is chocolate cookie dough and even after 5 years, it is still good enough to eat. Everyone says it looks yummy!
Our kitchen is Moroccan terracota which looks great in the summer and makes it feel warm in the winter.
We have some paintings on our walls but also plenty of classic film posters and old maps.
We have plenty of statues and carvings of Polynesian face masks and African animals, lots of Egyptian and Greek things and a few decorative swords and even some old WW1 barbed wire.
Most of furniture except for our sofas are heavy antique wood. Tables from India, beds from Mexico, cabinets and storage units from Ethiopia and bookshelves of English oak.
Thanks Stephen.
I am intrigued by your house. It sounds lovely. I love the sound of “Moroccan terracotta.” That sounds beautiful.
Your house sounds like a fun mix of adventures. I bet everything has a story! Your wife sounds cool!
Thanks for all the pictures you painted for me. It sounds marvelous. I love hearing about people’s lives.
I hope you are doing well. Have a fabulous Tuesday!
Jenni
Your house is so gorgeous and fun! I have zero sense of decor, but I absolutely love seeing pictures (like yours) from those who do!
Oh my gosh! You are so nice! I try. I just want our home to be super fun and colorful for the kids. I really appreciate your sweet comments. You made my night!
My advice with decorating (not that I am a professional by any means), is to put things you love in your home. As long as you like it, that is all that matters. : ). Anyway, I hope that helps.
Have a terrific week! And thank you again!
Jenni
I love seeing more of your house after falling in love with your Anthro photos in front of the fireplace…it is one of the most beautifully soul-full and inspiring interiors that I’ve seen in a long time. It holds infinitely more appeal for me than the more sterile photos that seem to be everywhere these days, it makes me feel that the person who lives in such a house is someone with real passions and joy and a personality I would really enjoy getting to know. Thanks for sharing.
I thought long and hard about how I was going to respond to your comment. Because it was so sweet. So beautiful. And I wanted to find the right words to tell you how much your words meant to me.
But all I could come up with, is, “thank you.”
Thank you so much for your kindness. I very much appreciate you taking the time to write me and leave me such a generous remark. I very much hold it to my heart.
Thank you.
I hope you have a beautiful week.
Jenni
Came over from YHL Forum. Love your house, has so much character and is very cozy looking. Can’t stand when although a place looks beautiful, I’m afraid to sit on anything or touch it. Also love that you have white appliances! Jus’ sayin’….. 😉
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave it. Oh, and the compliments! Yay! Thank you so much. You made my day. I really strive to make my house comfortable. So thank you for saying that!
Edited to add: And, yes! I love white appliances, too! Why aren’t there more of us?
I hope you have a fantastic day!
Jenni