Ladies and gentlemen, we have a color!
Remember that day last week when I took three trips to Home Depot and tried 7 sample colors?
Well, when Mr. FG came home from work and heard about our sad tale, he suggested a trip to the Benjamin Moore store to see what colors were available.
You know how sometimes you're in a place to hear things and sometimes you're not?
This was one of those, uh, not times.
My initial thought was, "NO FREAKING WAY. What a terrible idea!"
(Note: I did not say that out loud. I just said nothing. Which was probably a better choice. 😉 )
You see, I really hate shopping and running errands and wasting time, and that day was full of all three of those things.
So I was Not At All in the mood for more shopping and more choices.
Buuuut, I took a day off from the painting project to do some yard work, and the more I thought about it, the more sense his idea made.
Go to a new store, have Sonia and Zoe pick a new color that's in between the two favorites, and bring home just one sample.
So then it wouldn't be Sonia's color or Zoe's color, but one they picked together.
This way, no one wins and no one loses (a point a lot of you made), but compromise happens. And since the two colors they wanted weren't worlds apart, I thought this idea could work.
(If one wanted orange and the other wanted purple, this would be more challenging impossible.)
Plus, the Benjamin Moore store always has a super helpful paint person to assist with color choices, whereas the Home Depot employees pretty much just mix paint.
So, on the way home from an errand, we stopped by the store and the lovely paint person located a shade that really is right in between Sonia's color and Zoe's color.
Meet Tranquil Blue.
I brought it home, painted a section on the wall the next day (I had to reach a bit to find any unpainted wall by this point!) and they both approved.
PHEW.
I'm pretty sure that was the hardest part of the project, so it should be smooth sailing from here, at least comparatively.
Here's what's left to do:
- Box up some of S&Z's possessions to make room for painting
- Patch holes/dings in the wall and sand patches
- Caulk any gaps
- Paint moldings and door trim
- Touch up ceiling paint
- Tape off trim
- Paint walls
- Paint one wall with chalkboard paint
- Hang things back up on the walls
- Figure out new curtains (we're thinking some like Lisey's)
I've got a good month before school starts, so I think the odds of me getting this done are excellent.
The prep work is always annoying and unrewarding, but when I get to the actual wall-painting part, I'm always glad I did a thorough job of prepping. Molding painting especially makes a huge difference!
(Yes. That's me pep-talking myself.)
Allllrighty. Hopefully my next update on Sonia and Zoe's room will be filled with photos of a room painted all one color.
Which will be a huge improvement over what we've got going on now.
P.S. Here's what their room looks like after the painting job (including a chalkboard paint wall!)
Hahaha. Lots of color!
"Which will be a huge improvement over what we’ve got going on now."
That last picture is really cracking me up. Oh, the things we go through to get where we want to be!
We went through the paint picking thing with two teenage daughters who share a room a few years back. They did fairly well about agreeing, but the blue they picked was kind of like...well, "swimming pool blue". Definitely not what I would pick, but within reason we had told them they could choose the color. They did the painting, too, with a little guidance and help here and there. The end result--still kind of bright for my taste, but with new curtains and a few little accents here and there, it looks nice, and they love it. This summer I'm looking to paint the living room, and though I love them dearly, I didn't let them pick out the paint color. I can only imagine...
Yes. This still is definitely not what I would pick, but I'm ok with it. Some of those other colors? NOT OK WITH THEM.
But this I can live with.
So glad you made a to-do list for painting. That helps those of us who are un-motivated to get started!
It helps me because then I can do a small part of the job and cross something off! If the only thing on the list is, "Paint the room", then I sort of feel like I'm not making any progress when I'm doing the prep work.
It's a mind game but it totally works!
You know you're in trouble when the first item on your list is "Make the list."
I don't know, that patch work thing you have going on could be the start of something! 😉
I thought the same thing!
What a brilliant idea!
The new color is lovely; can't wait to see completed pics!
I'm in your court when it comes to shopping and multiple errands. Returning things to stores or repeat backtracks for forgotten things just kills me.
My view on paint color is that after a week or so you get used to it and honestly it's no big deal. Unless you do what my wife's cousin did and paint a bedroom the color of dried blood.
We have been asked several times if we're going to paint the future nursery but we decided the kid won't care so why bother so neutral off-white eggshell whatever it is, it shall be. 🙂
I'm delighted the found a mutually- acceptable color.
I'm surprised Mr. FG survived the experience.
I had a brilliant idea about what to do if the girls didn't agree on a color: leave the walls in that patchwork till they did. (You probably would refuse to go into their room, which might be a perverse incentive.)
Haha, well, the problem is that we plan to replace the carpet in there, and I want to get the carpet done before school starts (such a headache that day will be what with all the furniture moving!), so I want to get the paint done.
So, because of that, I'm super relieved we got a color picked so that I can move on along!
My favorite part of this post is that you didn't answer your husband right away with your thoughts, but took time to think on it, and then made a rational decision. So glad it worked out too! This is a good lesson in compromise AND perseverance.
I ordered the ATK quick cookbook! I don't normally use a cookbook, but I need some new summer menu ideas. Can't wait to try it out! Thanks for the recommendation!
Separate question: how does one caulk trim? I have several floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases that have separated a bit from the ceiling. I know the fix is to caulk them, but what type of caulk should I use (everything in that room is white-ish) and how to do it? Does it differ from caulking a tub? What about seasonal shrink-and-expand?
Thanks!
If the bookcases are white, then definitely white caulk! I'd just use regular latex caulk, and you'd do it similar to the way you caulk a tub. I might be inclined to do the caulk job in the fall or spring, when the gap is somewhere in the middle ground. I think that would decrease your chances of it splitting with weather changes.
I just squeeze on a fairly thin line, then use a finger to smooth it out. The great thing is that with latex caulk, you can smooth and wipe to your heart's content. Much easier than some other kinds of caulk.
Also: DAP is worth the money. Off-brand caulks I've tried haven't worked out very well.
Congrats to Mr FG! Gotta love a guy who can come up with a solution for
a bunch of females!
I thought the same about that also.
Something fun we did when my daughters was little was a section of blackboard wall, but we put magnetic paint under it for their magnetic poetry. If I did it again, I would do more coats of the magnetic paint to make it stronger, but they had fun with it anyway. Happy for you and your daughters on their new paint color!
What a great solution to the color dilemma! Q for you … can you just paint over all those patchwork blue colors now or will you need to prime the wall first? Wondering if it affects the end result shade of blue with so many different bases if you just paint over it with the new color.
Well, I've mostly covered the dark blue with aqua/green paint now, so I think I'm gonna be ok to just paint. That dark blue is the color most prone to showing through.
I'm using Benjamin Moore paint, which covers really well, so I think I'll be ok with two coats of it. We'll see!
Did you know that you can make your own chalk paint very easily and cheaply? Just dissolve a little unsanded tile grout in some water, stir into flat latex paint, and there you go. There are lots of instructionals out there. I didn't even measure mine, and it worked on the first try. However, I probably would measure it if covering a large area. This link gives you more information. Despite the recommendation for calcium carbonate, I went with the grout as I had some already and the calcium carbonate is rather expensive.
http://salvagedinspirations.com/best-homemade-chalk-paint-recipes/
Yay! You came up with a solution that suits everyone. And since you're replacing the carpet, you don't have to be super careful with protecting the floor. Bonus!
Yes. That's precisely why I wanted to paint BEFORE we got the carpet. Love not having to worry about the flooring!
Yay for standing back and taking time to get perspective! (and yay for our family members who can provide perspective because they aren't so mired in things in the first place)
I'm glad the girls found a blue that they can both love.
Yey! for a solution that works through the problem! It's awesome you tried a different approach and it work, and sometimes that's all it takes, we get all stuck in the "let's choose A or B", that it can take another person sometimes to say, "hey why don't you try C?".
And a great opportunity to also model problem solving that is not about winning, but about find a solution that works. 🙂
How appropriate that the compromise color was "Tranquil Blue" 🙂