To paint or not to paint

The entryhall , with it's 18 foot ceiling, is now painted. Thanks to Mr. Designdumonde and his ladder bravery. As I put it back together I see flaws.

Those orange floors will just have to have another Oriental rug on them so that they are less, well, there and that fugly orange banister has a date with some white paint but it is my little desk that I wonder about.

I like painted furniture in small doses. I feel like they are fun accents but plan for the look to become dated so my favorite things likely won't ever be painted. I like this desk but its not a family heirloom.I am leaning towards painting it a glossy color. My first go-to is black but I have a bamboo chest painted black just steps away from this. There is always gray but I don't want to max out the gray in my house, if that is even possible. I really would only consider those two colors. Yes, me the color lover doesn't want a color on this. I just don't want to hate a year from now and I don't want it to be a problem in the new house.

So, help! What color do I paint it? Or do I paint it at all?

Those bits that look like inlay are what drew me to the piece but they are just applied either paint or stain.

P.S. We painted the walls SW Repose Gray at 50% and love it! The hallway, family room and kitchen are all getting painted the same color too.

Life lately-lessons on buying paint, etc.

I wish I could be typing that I am putting my house on the market next week but, alas, it is not so. We are still stuck on painting doors. Still left to go is painting vast expanses of wall, mini master bath redo, new kitchen counters, sink and floors and a dozen other tiny things not worth mention. Hopefully Mr. Designdumonde will get the position he just interviewed for that is 7 miles from home as opposed to the 50 he currently travels 6 or 7 days a week.

We are using this Valspar color for all of the interior doors in our house. It is the story of a lesson learned for the umpteenth time. Don't buy cheap paint! The Valspar type that we got is not all that cheap but it is not the greatest going on the doors. It, in fact, prompted my husband to make me promise that I would never, ever let him try to pinch a penny on paint. 

This week I plan to start painting or at least choose a color for the large, interconnected part of our house. I think SW Repose Gray will be right but I might have it mixed at 50%.

Working from home is a wonderful blessing and a challenge beyond what I thought it would be. The tug of household chores and choosing whether or not to make dinner at all is huge. I knew when my family started asking "if" I was making dinner and not "what" there had been a shift. 

My son went back to college but not until he ate us out of house and home (food bill more than doubles when he is here) and hit a car (at the DMV!) 

My youngest has her first loose tooth and I must say I was not expecting that just yet, so it made me a  little sad.

Spending enough time in the studio has been a challenge but I have spent time reshooting work that I was not happy with images of, like these ink and gouache prints on Hosho paper.

My hope this week is to begin painting walls, spend time in my studio and finish organizing my closet. Oh yeah and squeeze in a dinner or two.