I know.
In case you're wondering how someone gets the color wrong at least six times, let me assure you that it's really not at all difficult. In fact, it's especially easy when you're a visual person who has a definite idea in her head, and you're just trying to figure out how to get it from your head to your wall. Make sense? I wanted a subtle, light, tan/beige. Not too yellowy gold, not too gray. Well, here's how I got to this point.
First, I tried Nicole Balch's nursery color - Behr "Wheat Bread". Lovely color - actually, very similar to our kitchen color. Loved it in Nicole's pictures. Too dark and too gray for what I was after, though. Perfect for Elenor, not perfect for SweetP.
Next, I tried a paint I already had - Sherwin Williams "Aesthetic White". It was one of the rejected options for the foyer - and it was rejected here, too. Super pale gray blue. Bummer.
After that, I gave Benjamin Moore's "Berber White" a try (also known as Manchester Tan). I had read lovely things about this color in House Beautiful. Swatched it up. And? Not at all tan in this room nor a white. Downright green, really. Granted, it was a really pretty pale gray green. But I didn't want green. Not the one.
What does that bring us up to? 3?
I think next I went over to Lowe's and grabbed a color that I thought looked about right, but maybe too dark. Laura Ashley "Stone 2". Since it looked a little dark for my purposes, I had them mix it at 50%. (I had actually asked for 75%, but the gal behind the counter convinced me to go lighter). Guess what?
Wrong. Way too light.
But, I wanted to try just one more. So, Friday, when I was near the only local store that sells Benjamin Moore paints, I picked up a can of Carrington Beige to test in SweetP's bedroom and two whites for the foyer (per Erika at Urban Grace Interiors). It was totally green on my walls. There's a large tree in the yard in front of SweetP's bedroom window. All of the natural light in the room is filtered through its leaves. I have no idea how Carrington Beige might have looked had it been winter, but I know that in August in SweetP's room - Carrington Beige is green. Lighting is everything, remember?
So, tomorrow I'm going to try just one more color.
Ha - not really. I'm done. I think six is my limit. Laura Ashley "Stone 2" is the chosen color. It's not what I had in my mind's eye, but enough is enough already.
Besides, it's really a lovely color :)
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2 comments:
You have more patience than I do! I tried a shade for our kitchen (I wanted a bright, bold pop of lime green, don't have a large amount of wall, so I thought it'd work) and it was aweful!!! So I kept adding more white and more white to it and finally dumped the whole pint in, and finally got it down to an acceptable shade. Actually, I really like it. But now I'm color shy. Plus, I have to pick a color right the first time because it costs $$$ to get sample after sample and I feel really guilty getting all that extra paint. But I feel guilty decorating and spending any $$ on it because my mother wouldn't spend a dime on decorations! Ok, she might pick one item up every five years or so . . .
Hi, Laura! Thanks so much for leaving a comment :)
It's true - the samples do add up. I think the Lowe's sample cans are around $4... so I spent $24 trying to choose a color. That's about the price of a gallon of paint. I suppose you could look at it this way - if you buy a gallon of paint that you hate because it's the wrong color and wind up having to buy a second gallon to repaint, you'll spend about $50. If you take forever choosing and buy six testers (like me) and then a gallon of the color you want, you'll spend about the same. BUT - you save a lot of time and energy by only painting the room once.
Of course, you could nail the color on the first or second try - then you'd save money and time :) I have done that before, by the way ;) It doesn't **always** take six.
Thanks again! Hope to hear from you more.
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