Missteps

Lately I've been wondering if it's Newton's Law that Kim will never successful select a paint color on her first try (or second). It seems that each time I select a paint color from a swatch, it turns out much brighter on the wall. This dynamic is puzzling to me because it seems the variation from paper to wall wouldn't be that extreme.

Although both our master bedroom and master bathroom paint turned out brighter than I intended, with a little time to get used to it not being what I envisioned, I decided I liked it. Matt liked it immediately.

When I ventured to complete my third painting project, the paint job itself turned out well, but I was disappointed by my choice of colors. At first, I thought to paint the half bath a deep red. Then, I second guessed myself and went with dark blue instead. When finished, it just didn't look quite right. Matt agreed. When I told him I wasn't sure what other color to go with, he immediately said "red." That's when I knew I'd redo the room in red.

At the time, all the energy I had for painting was sapped due to the failed project of painting that bath in a color that worked. It took a while, but now that we're renting here for another year, it seemed a good time to repaint. Finally inspired, I bought the red paint.

On the swatch, it looked like a deep, cinnamon red. When I popped open the can and brushed it on the wall...no kidding, it looked hot pink. I was astonished.

That was one of those panicky moments that I decided by force of will not to freak out about it. You see, I had already taken everything out of the room, wiped down the walls and taped all the edges. It was frustrating work; I was much more impatient this time because that tiny little room felt like a sauna while I worked. Fortunately, it dried red...whew!

When Matt saw it upon his return home (I had just finished painting the second coat), he said immediately, "I like it." Just like it was with our room and bath, I'm giving it time to settle in on me, so I can be sure whether or not I like it. The red looks better; it's just so bright...definitely not the deep red I'd envisioned.

This is before:

This didn't look quite right near the different color blue in the kitchen.

This is after:

The red I was shooting for is the color of the rug. Oh well.