You know, those doodad thingies...

Thanks to December's balmy temps, we were able to finish an exterior project in Upper Bucks. (We thought we'd have to wait until spring.) The last details? The five finials that crowned the roof of this late-Victorian gem.

Finials, yes those ornamental doodads and watchamacallits that you put on the ends and tops of things like curtain rods and newel posts. (Ken told me it's called a newel - you know, that big doodad block thingy at the bottom of the stairway.) ...Back to the house.

We rented a high-reach and up we went...

...to find hole-filling and sanding were not going to repair these 1910 adornments.

So we contacted Durham Holtmeier, woodcrafter extraordinaire, in Kinternsville to make new ones.  Click below to see this artist in action.

Last came a light sanding, a slow-dry alkyd primer to penetrate the Spanish cedar and ensure longevity, and four coats of Benjamin Moore "Gargoyle," a great accent to the house's new Benjamin Moore "Revere Pewter" exterior body color.

Okie dokie. Until next time...
~Ken and Carla

Have a Colorful Kitchen Season

Carla's mother loved to do needlepoint, and the family home was decorated with samplers, including this one, which now hangs in our kitchen. And it's true! No matter how "formal" a dinner you might throw, guests will always find their way to the kitchen to sit and chat for a spell. So we thought with the Cooking Season upon us, it might be fun to take a look at some kitchens we know...and kitchens we notice.

Most homeowners want a clean, crisp white kitchen. And we aim to please. The one on the left is a Bucks-Mont NARI CotY (Contractor of the Year) award-winner from a Morrisville remodeling project a few years ago with Gemmi Construction, and the one below is a recent job in New Hope with Gray Contracting Services.

Photos from top: © Randl Bye Photography; ©Linda McManus Images

These New Hope homeowners decided on a coffee-and-cream Venetian finish for their guesthouse kitchenette.

Quakertown customers broke the mold with this roasted red pepper kitchen...

...and we redid our open kitchen in two shades of green.

But there was the Pipersville project where the homeowner didn't want the color on the walls. We won a CotY for the stenciling of the floors. Info on right in sidebar.

For more on choosing kitchen colors, check out Better Homes and Gardens' "Choosing Kitchen Paint Colors."

Plus, Carla keeps a Pinterest board called "Kitchy Kitchens." Get out your shades and take a look at some eye-catching kitchen colors....

And to echo Mom's sampler, here's to "friendly" kitchens everywhere! Happy Thanksgiving!

Ken (taking the photo) and Carla and...

...the rest of the Odells (daughters, siblings);
Carla's mom, "The Helen";
and some good, good friends

J'aDoor

A few weeks ago we got a call from a woman down county who wanted to paint her new front door. You would think that would be an easy job, but the wood of this Dutch door - even though fresh from the manufacturer - needed a good bit of work, filling in holes and sanding smooth. Now...it's ready! However, the owner hasn't chosen a color yet, which got us thinkin' about revisiting some of our past customers and how we helped them get dressed up for visitors.

We did this door in Ambler awhile back. We can't find the colors in our records, but you get the idea: a rust-and-mustard combination. Because after giving their scalloped cedar shakes a very colorful update, the door had to match.

 

We painted Mystic Gold and Shelbourne Buff (both Benjamin Moore Historic Colors) on all the trim on this old stone farmhouse in Durham. Both the gold and buff have a tad more brown than the door at left.

Did we have fun with this! These owners wanted something out-of-the-ordinary for their late 1800s schoolhouse in Doylestown. The entrance screams "Broncos," but check out the welcome board.

A lot's been written about what the color of your front door says about you. And we did a lot of research (okay, a bit of googling) and found most sources pretty much agree that red = prosperous/welcoming, blue = grounded/peaceful, green = traditional, yellow = logical/creative, black = conservative, white = organized, wooden = kind/generous and  
purple = energetic.
This is our front door. It's purple. We ARE energetic...until 9pm or so. We guess this is based in some sort of science, but who cares? For way more on front doors that not only say "Welcome" but "Have Fun!" check out Houzz's 77 Doors.... Then if your door doesn't say who you want it to say, give us a call.
_____________________________________________________________________

Back in May we visited Brian and Joanne at their riverfront home we'd just finished painting, and snapped a shot of a late spring sunrise on the Delaware. As a bookend to the summer season, here's an early autumn sunset, photographed by Brian, from the same spot.




 
See you around Halloween!

~Carla, Ken and Darian
                                    

The Dog Days of Summer

You think they're called the "Dog Days" because you sit around in the heat, practically panting. Well yeah, but the origin of the term is astronomic: The period between July 3 and August 11 is when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises the same time as the sun. So as we bid "Farewell" to the Dog Days of 2015, say "Hello" here to Sampson, Jake and Farley, Seti and Tyra, Atlas, and M. Claude (he is French). Hope you like the pictorial of Odell Painting's favorite summer pupstomers!

Sampson, Fordhook Farm, Doylestown

We wanted to photograph Sampson as early as possible in the day because he gets rather busy, patrolling the sprawling estate of the Burpee Company's historic farm and national historic district, where we are painting the exterior (and some of the interior) of the farm's Inn. Sampson, 8, who belongs to Burpee Chairman and CEO George Ball, is an SPCA rescue. A mix of Rottweiler, Lab and Beagle, he loves to hunt (although he doesn't catch anything). You may get a chance to meet Sampson if you attend the Farm's Open Day on August 15. There will be lectures, exhibits...and food demonstrations! Admission is free.

Jake and Farley, Buckingham

 

Look up "mischief makers" in the dictionary, and there they are. Farley, right, tends to be the instigator much of the time, but Jake occasionally gets the upper paw. These Border Collie/Lab brothers, who survived the deadly parvo virus, were introduced to their humans, Jay and Dawn Nurney, when the 3-month-old pups were transported from Alabama to Pennsylvania, thanks to a rescue team. We've been working on the Nurney property on and off for years, on both the interior and exterior. Now if only these two (the dogs, not the Nurneys) could pick up a paint brush and help.

Seti and Tyra, Ottsville

Here are Seti and Tyra on a back deck we stained earlier this summer. Almost 9, Tyra, right, was a rescue, and these days loves to sleep and  take walks around the property. Ohio-bred Seti, who's only 15 months old, stands nearly 40 inches on all fours. He likes to walk in Frenchtown, talk to people and other dogs - and have his picture taken, says mom Martie Kyde. Aside from both being Great Danes, they have something else in common...

  ...knuckle bones, their favorite "snack."

  Atlas, Doylestown

He's 161 pounds of American Mastiff, and whimpers if you leave the room without him. Also Ohio-bred, this 8-year-old likes to eat and be close to the people he loves. Sounds like a perfect lifestyle. When we were in the thick of the interior job, his mom, Julie Waters, was afraid Atlas was getting in the way. Because when Atlas sits around the room, he sits...around...the room. Ba-dump-bump.

M. Claude, Durham

We first met le monsieur a few years ago when we painted Chris and Hal Taylor's historic Durham home. We reacquainted ourselves with the 11-year-old, 35-pound (!) Bichon Frise - who was rescued from a circus! - when we went out to take a look at the Taylor's barn last month. True to his heritage, Claude is a lover - even of cats! And even though the barn isn't a project till spring, we wanted to include Claude because, well, he is the prototype of the dog we had long wanted to share our home with. ...Which we now are.

Darian, Ferndale

Meet Darian Merolla Odell, the newest member of our family. She is a 6-year-old Bichon and, no, we did not do that to her ears and paws. She was surrendered first to a groomer, who thought a little "paint job" was in order. But the groomer, unable to meet the costs of some surgery Darian needed, in turn surrendered her to the Burlington County (NJ) Animal Alliance, and we found her through Petfinder. We met Darian on July 30 at the Mount Laurel, NJ, Petsmart (pictured below) and three hours later she was sitting on our couch (pictured above). We are in puppy love.

 

 

We'll see you in September!
Woof....

Carla, Ken and Darian

What Color Is Your Ice Cream?

In line at OWowCow - and if you haven't been, this is truly a Bucks County destination - we stood in silence before the ice cream case. "I can't decide," Carla finally said. "So many wonderful...colors."

Picking out a house color when you know you want some sort of change is like holding up the line at an ice cream counter. So to honor July, the apex of summer, we thought it would be fun to compare our favorite flavors to Benjamin Moore (BM) and Sherwin-Williams (SW) paints. But with so many cool options out there, we didn't know where to start...until we found a list of the Food Channel's Top 15 fave flaves (but for the sake of space, we're only scooping up a "lucky" 7).

Be sure to click on each for some yummy complementary colors and decorating ideas.

Vanilla (BM 2154-70)

Chocolate (BM CC-482)

Butter Pecan (SW 6681)


Strawberry (BM 2085-50)

French Vanilla (SW 7118)

Praline (BM HC-68)

Cherry (SW 6862)


So after letting about 10 people go before us at OWowCow's counter, Carla got an Amaretto Fudge Swirl and I got Honey Lavender (SW 6975).


Carla got a cup; I got a double waffle cone. No judgment, please.

Peace and Creamy Goodness,

Carla and Ken

A River Runs By Them

While the weather is often warm well before Memorial Day, it's this holiday that heralds the summer season and, in Bucks County, the return of motorcycle enthusiasts. And it was this weekend, more than a handful of years ago, when a New Jersey couple, out for their late-May motorcycling "pilgrimage" to New Hope, decided to ride a bit farther north than usual on River Road.

"We couldn't believe all the 'For Sale' signs, says Joanne. They called a realtor to see a quaint little craft house that was inland - "and likely more affordable," adds Brian; but the next day saw one home after another, including a 1930s fishing cottage off one of the bridge lanes...riverfront. "I took one look at it and thought, Yeah, sure," says Brian. But it was a buyer's market; the seller took a liking to them; and by Labor Day the house on the banks of wild river was theirs.

This spring, to celebrate the anniversary of their "first date," Joanne and Brian decided to dress up. The house.




After sanding the cedar shakes, we applied two coats of solid stain in Cabot Pepperwood.



This was about a month-long job...in one of the most beautiful settings we've ever had the pleasure of working in. While we always look forward to our lunch break, when we eat and "shoot the breeze," below is where we unwrapped our sandwiches and pretty much said nothing, watching the silent and serene Delaware roll by. (We wanted to take off our shoes and dangle our feet...but we didn't.)



We asked what their favorite time of day is. Joanne said that most of the year it's early in the morning, when the river looks silver. But come Labor Day, as the River Valley begins the descent to night, the river, she says, turns golden.

So be on the lookout for our September newsletter when we'll revisit Joanne and Brian and the splendor of the Delaware at day's end. But for now....

Happy Summer and
Peace,

Carla and Ken

Got Peace?

If you read last month's blog, you know that OP has started a partnership with The Peace Center in Langhorne, thanking those who refer us with a donation to TPC and giving a percentage of our profits from every job we do.

What many of you don't know is that with the first tick-tocks of 2015, we made a commitment to build our business. We love what we do. New color makes people happier, and we believe the house is happier too. But during a workshop we attended late last year, the facilitator - echoing a rather famous Simon Sinek TED - asked, "Why do you do what you do? Identify that, and you're in business."

It didn't take long for us to come up with an answer: Home should be the one place we all feel happy and safe.

As Odell Painting approaches its 30th birthday, we can count more than a thousand homeowners and houses we've made happy. Every day during those almost three decades, we've been repairing broken plaster and spackling holes before making old surfaces new again and turning dull rooms into bright ones. But there's work to done beyond the walls of our homes....

We both come from a background of activism, believing that good work begets good work and that giving back is a fundamental cog in the universal wheel. And between the two of us, we've aligned ourselves with some terrific organizations that we will continue to work with, including the Bucks-Mont NARI Community Service Committee, which - with Eiseman Construction (see story at top) - helps put dry and safe roofs over the heads to those who needed better shelter.

But we wanted a partner and a "why?"

What’s different about The Peace Center’s work is that while realizing the need to empower our girls, they know we’re only doing half the job if we aren’t listening to our boys. While The Peace Center works tirelessly in the quest to end domestic violence, they know that the cycle of abuse will continue - with someone else somewhere else – if we don’t address the pain and needs both partners bring to a relationship. The Peace Center believes we can work through intolerance – even when we don’t agree – and promote transformation not through awareness alone, as are most programs’ goals, but through dialogue and questioning; there is no other way to understand and empathize. There is certainly no hope for peace “out there” if we don’t feel or are unable to find peace in our hearts, inside our basic relationships and within our communities. You can find out more about their prevention and intervention programs by visiting www.thepeacecenter.org.

And if you're looking for something Spring-y to do, click on the peace sign below for a list of TPC's seasonal events.

Only a few months ago, we were afraid to turn on the news or pick up a paper. Not anymore. Because when you're in action you don’t feel so scared.