You may have seen the image of our colorful Cloudland Paintworks truck on our website. Hopefully you’ve also seen it in person when we’ve come to your home to assist with your residential painting needs. This winter we’ve been out and about helping many of you to clean the snow and ice off your roofs. But we’ve also been busy behind the scenes, getting ready for our full spring schedule: (more…)
Have you ever stayed in a hotel or bed-and-breakfast that was so charming you wanted to recreate that same feeling in your own home? Before we had children we frequently stayed in charming places in Vermont or the Berkshires, and even though they were all different, there were certain qualities they all shared. (more…)
Choosing colors for your home can be fun, and also challenging. There are so many options! Does the color name ever sway your choice? I know it has for me! The trim color in our living room, for example, is Shaker beige–chosen partly for our love of things that are clean and simple, but also for our interest in the Shaker communities we have visited over the past 10 years. Shaker beige just seemed like the natural choice.
I also love purple. I love all its shades and variations, from light periwinkle right up to a dark, rich plum, and all the shades in between. If there is a purple paint called “Wisteria” (more…)
It’s winter in Connecticut and we’re digging out from another snowstorm. Our cars have literally become one with the snowdrifts. But for all the aggravation and the backaches the snow can bring, it also brings out our inner strength. We are New Englanders after all. The snow may slow us down, but it can’t completely stop us. We dig out. We carry on.
The other night as I was shoveling the driveway, I stopped to take in the beauty that surrounded me. I could see the stars in the sky, the moon was casting a silvery glow on the snow, and the pine trees were frosted with a dusting of white. As the moonbeams caught the icicles on the barn, they too shimmered in the evening light. All around me it was still and quiet and for that moment I felt transformed. It was just me and the moon and the stars in a winter wonderland.
We are New Englanders, and we are as much a part of this landscape as the Colonials, capes, and farmhouses that surround us. We are sturdy, we take care of each other, and we keep going. That’s why we grab our shovel and wade through 18-inches of snow to get to the birdseed. It’s winter in Connecticut.
I was driving home from work one afternoon looking at the beautiful winter wonderland that surrounded me and out of nowhere suddenly thought, “I need to go home and change the artwork in my living room to a winter scene.” The thought surprised me, because I have never in my life changed my artwork for the seasons. Once I choose how I will furnish and decorate a room, it pretty much stays that way. So, where did this thought come from? And why did I just as suddenly decide to move the curtains from my husband’s office to the family room? I have no idea, but it made me wonder if other people change their artwork for the seasons. And, if so, do they change any other accent pieces at the same time? What do you do?