Coloring On The Walls

I’ve always felt like a fairly decisive person—that is, until we started talking paint colors.  While it sounds totally ridiculous, I had a hard time sleeping for the first several weeks because of all the possibilities running through my head.  But I faced a dilemma.  A budget dilemma.  You see, we inherited some leather couches from my parents (thanks Mom & Dad!) and while they are super comfy couches that we really are grateful for, they are…cough…maroon. 

Yeah, not exactly the color scheme that I’ve always dreamt of.  It didn’t take long to come to the conclusion that new furniture was simply not in the cards, and since we weren’t sure how long it would be before new/used/Craigslist furniture would be a reality, we decided to find colors that would complement the existing pieces.

I began to take stock of our furniture; I even asked some friends what color they thought it was.  Many of them said it looked brown, but I wasn’t fooled—it was definitely maroon.  My first thought was to paint the main rooms a neutral tan, but then I was afraid it would look dowdy and boring.  Since I tend to default to neutrals, I decided to go out on a limb (I know—so risky) and try some warmer colors in the living areas and master bedroom.  I envisioned mustardy yellow/golden tan in the living room, pale yellow in the kitchen, and a cinnamon/coral color in the bedroom (which you can see from the living room).

So we headed to Sherwin-Williams to pick out paint swatches.  Again, we had debated several times where to buy our paint.  After consulting a friend who grew up painting rental houses, we were convinced that SW paint would be the best for our humble walls that were just starting to come back to life.  If you’ve never painted with SW paint, I highly recommend it for the fact that it literally does cover in just one coat (although we always do a second coat for good measure), plus it glides on like butter—unlike some other paints which you feel like you’re always fighting just to get them to stick to the walls.  It’s definitely more expensive paint, but we loved knowing that we would not have to redo coats down the road.  Plus the SW employees are so great!  And it’s a good thing, because I turned out to be their most indecisive customer—meaning I was constantly in their store hemming and hawing over paint chips.  Thankfully, there is a marvelous little invention called paint samples—whew!  You can buy paint samples for about five dollars at most paint stores.  It’s an inexpensive way to compare colors, since you actually paint it on the walls.  I prefer it to just looking at tiny cardboard color swatches taped to the wall, although when you’re in a pinch, that works too.

We finally chose our colors and then threw a painting party where friends and family helped us bust out multiple rooms in one day.  Since we had pre-primed, it was pretty simple getting color on the walls.  We were super happy that we had spent so much time cleaning and priming our walls ahead of time though, because it turns out that tar bleeds through paint if it hasn’t been properly removed.

This is a picture of the living room…

And this is the master bedroom…

Our camera isn’t the best (or it could be due to operator malfunction), but the wall colors were not as bright as they appear in these pictures.  And yes, I said “were.”  After several months of living with lots of color and priding myself on the fact that I had taken a risk, I finally had an “aha” moment where I realized that in the name of stepping out, I had overwhelmed our house with color.  Too much color.  A rainbow of color.  Ahhh!!

Long story short, a mid-summer catastrophe (more on said catastrophic experience to come…) gave me the freedom to repaint, and in doing so, I stayed true to myself and went neutral.  Some may say that’s boring, but I have come to grips with my love of neutrals—and they are anything but boring.  Personally, I think they create a space that allows for more creativity, almost like a palate that’s ready and waiting for some pops of color, rather than boxing you in and making you feel like everything has to match the walls—not that we want to be all matchy-matchy, but you get the idea.

And here are the neutral walls in all their subdued glory. 

Matt wasn’t convinced that he would like them neutral—but now we both agree that our home feels calm and relaxed, creating an inviting space to simply be in.  As for the bedroom…well, the orangey color is probably next to go.  And since we just got a new duvet (thanks to Aunt Kathy for her sweet Christmas gift!), it’s a great time to think about getting out the old paint brushes.  Can you say addiction, anyone?