Front Door Paint Colour and Schlage Matte Black Lever Set

I posted a story on my Instagram to ask for your feedback on whether to paint over this cranberry red front door of ours at cottage. The response was an overwhelming Yes. 

I then asked which colour you would prefer by showing five different most popular shades of navy and charcoal. No surprise the majority voted Hale Navy and Jet Black. 

I know I wanted a darker shade to go with our pastel yellow sidings, but couldn't decide between navy and charcoal. Looks like most of you share the same dilemma. It turned out I didn't have to choose after all. Introducing Benjamin Moore's Raccoon Fur, a dark charcoal grey with a navy undertone! When it's darker outside, it appears more charcoal and black; but when there's sunlight, the blue undertone really shines through. Perfect, right? The picture below was taken when it's bright outside, you can see it appears more navy. 

This one below was taken at dusk, and it's charcoal. 

Now onto the door hardware. Remember we replaced all our interior doors with this gorgeous Schlage Camelot lever in matte black? Installation was a breeze and probably made much easier because our cottage builder used the same Schlage hardware throughout, but in a polished brass finish. 

I know I wanted our front door set to look a bit different from the rest of the house, but in the same matte black finish. Before selecting the Camelot trim, I also looked at the Schlage Addison collection. I chose the Camelot for its softer and vintage silhouette which breaks up all the boxy and rectangular lines inside our cottage. But for the front door, I wanted it to be slightly more clean-lined and modern because we have Scandinavian-inspired patio set. 

Don't you just love how elegant this Addison trim looks? 

I can't wait to install them when we open up our cottage next Spring. 

*The lockset was generously sponsored by Allegion on behalf of Schlage, but all the opinions are my own. 

Cottage Life: Closing Up for 2017

How is it already mid November and I still haven't posted about our cottage closing? Well, it got cold early this fall, so our cottage had to be closed up by early November. We were last up there two weeks ago to finish up a few projects plus putting things away, plus taking a ton of stuff home (liquids, anything with a battery, and even LED TV). This was our first year at cottage, so there's obviously a learning curve. I am sure we will get better organized next year. 

Packing up cottage for the season was exhausting, but I am so glad we were able to complete quite a few projects during the short three months since we took possession. We left the cottage looking more lived-in, cozy and us. 

This is our dining room before we closed up the cottage. You can see the leaves outside started to change colour. 

And this is the view from our front porch. 

Picture below is our guest bedroom. The Scandinavian nightstand is from JYSK. 

The George Nelson Crisscross Bubble Pendant light is from GFurn. GFurn is a Montreal-based shop specializing in the Scandinavian and MCM style furniture. The small orange scissors print is from my favourite illustration artist Alanna Cavanagh. I fully intend to invest in her large orange scissors print next Spring, and hang it in my cottage living room. That print stole my heart 10 years ago, and 10 years later I still love it. However it really doesn't work with the overall style of my home, so I've been putting off acquiring it. 

Bedding is from Sarah Richardson Design. 

Besides the small orange scissors print, I also picked up Alanna's newest addition, the SJP Sparkley shoe print. I had planed to hang it above the headboard under the transom window. Our framer made a mistake by installing a thicker frame so there was a two-week delay to re-frame, and the framed print didn't arrive until after we closed up the cottage. That's going to be the first hole I punched into the wall next Spring :))

The guest bedroom is still a work-in-progress. Next year I will need to swap out that white dresser which takes up too much space in a small room. Maybe I will pick up another teak chest like this one. 

Living room is pretty much a wrap with the addition of the NuLoom Marrakesh Shag Rug.

Next year Alanna's big orange scissors print will likely replace that highland cow print. A pop of colour is much needed in this neutral space. 

The hooks are from CB2. I like the minimalist look, however the installation was nothing but. It took us a good 30 minutes and at the end I had to use glue to secure one of them. Alas, they look amazing by our entrance. The small table underneath will need to be replaced. Any suggestions? 

And this is our porch. I will be back to write about choosing our front door paint colour and a sponsorship.