Val, I cannot get over the price of that house-- and it's a 6 bedroom? Gorgeous!!! Go get it! I love the orange homes you posted, too, esp. the lighter one. Zip, the more I look at yours vs. theirs-- and I'm not just trying to be nice-- the more I think there is just no comparison. The other house may be the same color, but yours has that WOW factor. I understand your neighbors (not that I condone what they did) . . .when I look at rooms I love and try to copy them, there are some elements there that are the same, but since I am not gifted in decorating, there isn't the same "Ohmygosh!" reaction. It's almost like the color isn't even important (can I say that on this board?) because your overall look is pulled together amazingly.

Belle and Punk Thanks for the encouragement! We can all use a little of that from time to time. Usually, I paint landscapes and still lifes in oil on canvas; however, I also enjoy decorative painting of all types. I am including a few examples of floor cloths I painted for my house. The one with the strawberries fit quite well on top of one of my tables, so I let it stay there ;-) The other two have held up to heavy foot traffic on the floor---as they were intended. The last picture is of two vintage tole trays I hung in my kitchen. I do not plan to do any painting on them. I like their "character". Thank you for the warm welcome to this forum. I will continue to work on repainting the tole tray I originally discussed, and I will return for much-appreciated help from all of you. http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/paulaandgene/my%20hand%20painted%20floorcloths%20and%20vintage%20tole%20trays/?albumview=slideshow

Thanks kjmama. I loved the old color too, but just got caught in that snowball effect, you change one thing, then another and so on. My style preference is for clean-lined traditional and tailored. I also hate static spaces. I hate when a place looks the same year after year. I always thought I inherited my likes from my mom who sews, but I also remember my grandma re-arranging her furniture frequently. I'm still plugging away at the rooms. I just added a few more pictures to the ablum. One shows the orange chairs where the dining room color shows. The others are of the living as it is today. I have a loveseat I'll be brining in that I plan to slipcover and the wing chairs will be moved to another room. Maybe someday, I'll put in built-in bookcases along the longest wall sigh. I would get better use out of a library than a formal living room. Kathe Here is a link that might be useful:

It looks like it was intended to be "whitewash" but they didnt rag enough off. I would live with it for a while since you are new to the house. You might decide on something completely different.