I am reminded constantly in life that when I am whining about something it is almost always about what I would classify as a first world problem.
In other words, I am being silly and too caught up in my own stuff.
It is easy enough to do and we are all guilty of this, aren't we, since by its very definition personal problems are, well, personal to the person involved.
Sometimes however, a little levity is required.
Folks, I am here to provide that levity. I share because I care.
You may recall my giddy abandon as I decreed my intention to paint the sitting room off my kitchen coral.
Well, dear son (whose painting skills appear to be disintegrating even as we ask him to paint more - could this be a Superman-Kryptonite thing?) and a chum painted yesterday.
The results:
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| OH.MY.GOD |
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| These? NOPE |
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| I need to lie down - in another house... |
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| A nice colour for a padded room... |
You'd be hard pressed to find a more obnoxious shade and believe me, it looks worse in real life.
Duly chastened, I called our interior decorator friend, who made an emergency visit and has me on the right path. Yup - first world problem, first world solution.
I feel vomitous (I know that's not a word, but it needs to be!) when I am in the room right now. It is, shall we say, overwhelming in its ability to recall Pepto Bismol and Don Johnson Tshirts in the 80s all in one fell swoop.
More pictures to come when this is fixed on the weekend.
Yup - definitely a first word problem, and a funny one at that. I wish all of my mistakes in life only cost $50 and a few hours of my son's questionable labour...
As a palate cleanser, I offer my bleeding heart (how appropos), which is just starting to bloom:
I have no worries at all, when I get to look at something as beautiful as this and when the people I love are healthy!
Now that I have perspective, I am going back in that room to meditate. With both eyes squeezed tightly shut....
Have a great day and stay safe out there!
xoxo wendy
Wow! It is indeed quite bright!
ReplyDeleteI quite like it from these pictures, but I'm sure it's more overpowering in real life. I can imagine it would make me feel a little bilious after a while.
It may be a first world problem, but after all, that's where most of us live. There's no shame in complaining about interior design mistakes, just as there's no shame in writing about any of the minutae of our lives. That's what makes life interesting, after all!
So I'm guessing that you'll be moving away from the idea of coral in your house?!?
Oh I never say never.... ;-)
DeleteFor this problem, I refer you to my previous paint comment and suggest Benjamin Moore Patriotic White which is the shade of the sky on a cloudy day when the sun is playing hide and seek beneath the clouds.
ReplyDeleteThanks Yippee! I think it won't be patriotic white, though it is a lovely shade!
DeleteI am very surprised you let him paint more than one wall before pulling the plug. Fortunately it can be repainted...I suggest a white primer first, may need two coats depending how dark and obnoxious the coral is, and then color away.
ReplyDeleteOh b&b - it was going over matron, so needed to be sure what the colour was really like! Oh it is funny! I think it is hysterically funny that it is so ugly!
DeleteOh dear, you have me doubting myself - as it looks on my monitor, I love it! Isn't that the colour that ladies of our age are supposed to wear close to our faces? :0) Still, if it caused such a strong reaction in you, then I guess it must really look bad in real life!
ReplyDeleteOh it actually looks good in the monitor, in real life it is like pepto bismol meets orange, and it looks awful in the room I think because of the light, etc. in Florida with lots of windows I think it would be grand!
Deletechoosing paint colors is so hard, right? really if it is any consolation it does not look bad from where i sit. it looks cozy but i take your word...vomitous was it? lol x
ReplyDeleteI almost painted the whole house white Janet - I know you would have approved!!! We are going lighter throughout - could be my 50s kicking in! Though I still love my navy blue library, my peacock blue bedroom and raspberry hallway!
DeleteIt does not look bad at all on my ipad,but it is probably way different when you see it IRL.
ReplyDeleteI cant wait to see what color it will be after its repainted:)
Ina - thanks for the kind words, but trust me - it is hideous! And I am someone who loves a good dose of colour!
DeleteThe right shade makes a huge difference in the mood of a room. If it's a room you'll be spending significant time in, then getting it exactly right will be well worth the time, $, and effort
ReplyDeleteEverytime I go to an Art Exhibition, I always study the colours of the walls and how it interacts with everything. They spend a great deal of time selecting it and the results are always interesting. Often the lighting is dimmer than is typical in most homes but then I always feel most rooms are overlit.
Wendy, you may want to even try getting some large sheets of cream construction paper, see if your paint store will mix you a small amount of a certain shade to slather on sheets and tape up on the wall to see how it feels. That's probably a $10, 10 minute exercise that might get you exactly where you want to be.
Yes - I know to do that with the cream construction paper and ought to have done that with the blotches of test colours as they look hideous on the coral. I am feeling good today though and am off to the pain shop for a lovely soft shade of green!
DeleteI love your blog Wendy! We painted a powder room in our first house (a townhouse) bright (maybe even neon) coral, at the advice of our interior decorator who generally had lovely, but admittedly somewhat funky, taste. It was also our cat's litter box room, and SHE so hated it that she started peeing in the corner of the basement. Which we didn't realize until we put the townhouse on the market and the realtor pointed out "that smell". We had to rip out the carpet and the padding to get rid of the smell; clearly, we should have gone with our instincts (but we were young, and thought our decorator must have better taste than us!) and thrown in the towel right away and repainted; good move by you to acknowledge mis-steps!!
ReplyDeleteAudrey - I really couldn't even attempt to live with it - it really was that horrible! The cat story is hysterical!
DeleteUnbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI love Benjamin Moore Atrium White, which I've had in 3 homes and would you believe it's a different color in each of them! It looked great in our previous apartment which was kind of low-light except at 4 pm in the summer but we weren't ever home then... and in the current apt, which is light-flooded it's a different cool cream, but still lovely. I use white-white on the ceilings and in a satin finish on the baseboards.
Anyway our local paint store has lots of Benj.M. colors on large cards, about the size of a sheet of notebook paper.
And meanwhile treat yourself to a good pair of polarized sunglasses.
Ours has the large colour chips as well (though tellingly, not of this shade of coral...hmmm).
DeleteI do love how paint colour look different in different rooms, time of day, etc, Our house is not a bright house at all and I think that definitely impacted the coral, which needed a very bright sunny location to let its charm fully flourish!
Hello Wendy,
ReplyDeleteWe have just removed our sunglasses to comment. Well, your drawing room is certainly bright. Cheerful some might say. Hideous others might say. It all depends on one's perspective. Whatever, you have been bold, you have gone where others fear to tread, you have struck out against those of a more pastel nature, you have discovered the final frontier and gone beyond it........and, now, in the cold light of day, you must reflect, ponder, deliberate and ask yourself would David Hicks have decorated in Coral?
Coral could be the new white........we see a trend emerging!
Hmmm - I don't know - would David Hicks have used coral? For sure Tony Duquette would have!!! If coral is the new white, we may need to be afraid....I almost replaced the colour with the most divine shade of persimmon by Behr Paint, but that will be another day....
DeleteI've always remembered what somebody told me once a long time ago, paint walls several shades lighter than what you think you want because the finished walls will be much more intense than what you can imagine from a paint chip or even a large swatch.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh, Wendy, and the perspective!
Interesting advice TR and come to think of it I had heard it myself! I think a lighter shade would have been equally bad, since in the end, it just doesn't match the shades in the furniture I have there. There is some serious clashing going on....
DeleteLoving the word vomitous, I think you should sit on that sofa and sing " pretty Flamingo" at full pelt, that is the colour that was in my head when you said coral. Paint swatches and how they actually look have driven me to the rooftop before!
ReplyDeleteI should have painted coral for the garden!!!!!!
DeleteWhat's this about our young labourer and his painting skills? Oh to have those long arms! I'll be painting our side entrance hall in BenMoore's "Barley" today, which if my memory serves me correctly is a favourite shade of Lane's as well. A very soft yellow with no hint of acidity to it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I'm only doing touch ups so it is very easy, I was going to re-paint it white and then I remembered I don't have long arms...
So true about perspective... and the cereal/ milk conundrum at the top had me howling.
I do love Barley, Dani. Is your trim white?
DeleteI have been laughing while reading this post. The first picture with the cereals had me! I apologize. Yes we do have our world problem and I sincerely know what you mean... You are wise and will have a different perspective in a couple of days/weeks/months.
ReplyDeleteTake care Wendy...
Thanks Steph! I think it is so funny! I will be happy when it is redone, however!
DeleteI don't mind coral but I think it depends on the light - I suppose in Canada like here it wouldn't reflect the color so well. Funny I am having the same paint issue in the new floor - it is so pale because of all the light up there so it is a completely different color than what i wanted even though i have used it before. But i can't be bothered to get the builders back in!!! Cant wait to see the newly painted room and the peace it brings :)
ReplyDeleteNaomi - you are right - it is VERY pink here and it all glows very oddly....
DeleteI needed a good giggle on this cold wet morning ( I don't think you are having any better). So what is the name of this, um , hue? It calls to mind the orangey rock paintings sold in Arizona galleries and guaranteed to continually disrupt your peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteSo soft greens. I'm sure your decorator friend will know what you need. I love BM's French Canvas, very pale neutral olivey shade, goes with everything. Eggshell finish, no shinier.
We are so fortunate to have these problems!
Lane - you are so right! And it is supposed to be colder tonight! I will be going out in awhile to cover my tomatoes and basil with sheets to get them through the night!
DeleteGreat perspective!
ReplyDelete!
DeleteLOL, that is serious pink going on there!! It's so hard to figure out how a room is going to look, just from looking at those little paint chip cards. Looking forward to seeing the re-do!
ReplyDeleteserious pink...
DeleteThanks for the giggle Wendy! Meditating in that room might be a challenge for me. I'd KNOW how loudly the walls were screaming. Luckily paint is cheap and it sounds like the labor is even cheaper.
ReplyDeleteJennifer - they were begging to be repainted!
DeleteOK, I read the green paint post first and so this truly made me laugh knowing the end result was fine. Goodness!
ReplyDeleteI know!
Delete