chartreuse!

i have a crush on a color. that color is chartreuse.

the color is named after the yellow-green french liquor,

but i see it everywhere in my garden - it's often the color of new growth in spring.

chartreuse foliage left to right from top:
gold lace juniper, euonymus, euphorbia, fir tree (?),  chardonnay pearls
deutzia, coral bells snow angel, red twig dogwood, abelia bronze anniversary

it also happens to go with a surprising variety of other colors, and it was the answer to a tough problem in our new screen porch. what would pop with pine, white, haint blue, dark gray, medium gray and coral, the colors both inside and around the porch? i tried a few colors and finally got up the nerve to paint both doors to the screen porch in sherwin williams chartreuse.

doors are sherwin williams chartreuse

chartreuse in 'urbane bronze' mudroom

sherwin williams 'chartreuse' against 'sticks and stones' walls 

how can such a bright color be so calming? the sherwin williams shade is somehow too mellow to be neon. the feel is modern, but the color is in the company's historic collection. it's perfection in a color.

master bath makeover

here was our tiny master bath when we bought the house:

and here it is today:

master bath - view from bedroom

master bath, looking through hall bath (that's right, they're connected...)

new floor to ceiling toile shower curtain

shower curtain goes all the way up to the ceiling, and i painted the ceiling the same color as the walls to add to the height of the tiny room

cabinets painted annie sloan chalk paint 'old white', walls are 'big bend beige' by benjamin moore

close up of my shower curtain made out of spray-painted metal conduit and plumbing straps to connect it to the ceiling...cost about $10! couldn't find a ceiling mounted rod and didn't want to bother drilling through the tile. problem solved!

so pretty!

raising the shower curtain really opens up the room!

i am so glad i raised that shower curtain! the hard part was finding an extra long curtain and liner. so i gave up and made one just the right size and pattern for our little bathroom. just hope the pretty toile decorator fabric holds up to daily use without needing frequent cleaning...

to celebrate, phil invented a new drink.

new drink by phil called the toile - orange bitters, angostura bitters, dry and sweet vermouths and cognac. mmmmmm!