Color Crazy

All the walls in our new home are white....along with the woodwork. Back in February 2011 when Lexi was born, I came to stay for a month since our house in Milwaukee was still on the market. Shelly's sister, Becky, also came to visit for a week and she decided that all the white was just too MUCH WHITE. Of course she would think this since her house is full of bright walls; I don't think she's ever met a white wall to tell you the truth. While she was here, we went shopping to Walmart (THE store of ALL stores down here) and she dragged me into the paint department. Before I knew it, she was pulling all these pallet brochures of 'colored' paint and even convinced me to buy one of those little test sample bottles. When we got home, she couldn't wait to test the BLUE paint sample on a wall in the living room and dining room. She also picked out all the colors for the kitchen, dinette, our bedroom and our bath. I thought she had a point until Grandpa came down a few weeks later to meet his newest grandchild and took one look at the dark blue 'splotches' on the walls and was not impressed. So, I put all the paint sample brochures and swatches away and enjoyed the newest addition to the family and thought I'd figure it out when we moved down here....whenever that might be...there was plenty of time. So the dark blue 'splotches' remained on the walls when we headed back to Wisconsin.

Well, we have been living here for almost 7 months and at first, I really thought that by hanging more stuff on the walls, it would brighten things up, it wouldn't look so white and it would alleviate the chore of painting. And, it meant I didn't have to pick colors (I lost Becky's choices). I don't like picking out colors; choosing a color for anything makes me break out in a cold sweat. Hey, I'm the one who had to go to a class to learn how to pick out fabric colors for a quilt. I decided to get back into quilting since we have moved down here....I mean, it's WHAT they DO down here...they quilt. In Wisconsin you knit and in Tennessee you quilt. And how did that class work out for me? I still shake when I walk into a fabric store or look through my 'stash' to start a quilt. Sorry.....I'm digressing.....

Anyway, I have decided that I need more color in my life....at least one wall of each room but then that brings us back to deciding what color to put in each room.  First of all, I have not painted a wall for many, many years and when I did, all the rooms ended up being 'off white'. Remember that color? I got news for you, they don't call it that anymore. There are like 42 shades of white, I kid you not! And you are wondering why I'm going crazy? But it's ok, I have decided on yellow for the kitchen and green for the dinette area. I just have to chose pick one from the many below. Well, after talking to Shelly, we have narrowed it down to.......

Before I get to the choices, let me tell you that the days of 'light yellow' and 'light green' are long gone. Some of the names of paint out there sound good enough to eat like Banana Frappe, Butter Cream, Iced Lemon (yellows). In the greens we got more of an outdoorsy selection like Crisp Morn, Dillweed, Dancing Leaf and Sunwashed Kelp (greens). I finally figured out what you have to do is first cross out any of those that are just too wild and would give you a migraine sitting in a room with walls of that color. Next get rid of the colors that I'm just not brave enough to put on a wall (like Becky). Before you know it, you have just a couple. Then I tossed it into Shelly's hands (cop out) and the winners are......Green Aloe and Bumblbee Yellow. Yeah!!

As for the other rooms, well.....it took so much out of me to make these choices that it may be a while before I will be able to look at paint swatches again. And, the blue blotches on the living room and dining room walls? They're still there and eventually they will get covered but it's ok, it isn't hurting anyone. Becky is visiting in June and maybe I'll hand her a brush and paint so she can cover them up. But first I'd have to find the right 'white' color and at the speed that I pick out colors, she could be here for a week and gone before I make a decision. I think she's safe.