It started out innocently enough.
4 days. 4 trips to the paint store. 10 cans of paint (thank goodness for those tiny sample sized cans!) 16 painted cardboard samples.
We both felt like we'd hit a home run with the paint we chose.
We loved the sample - in all kinds of light. We thought it was exactly what we wanted.
On Monday, we emptied the room.
Vacuumed and taped
under Bailey's watchful eyes.
The original Benjamin Moore paint colors we'd chosen were too bright and happy on the sample we tested. They looked different from this example in the Color Wash pamphlet from the paint store.
After much trial and error, we substituted these two Benjamin Moore paint colors: Dijon (193) and Potter's Clay (1221).
Dijon is in our living and dining rooms. For our samples we used leftover paint. We like the color. It took the sunroom in the right direction.
Potter's Clay was chosen based on which sample bottles of paint were available. We couldn't find the chip in the store (even with help from the paint expert there.) When we bought the quart of paint to take the painting plunge, Jim finally found the chip and was surprised at how brown it looked.
On Monday, Jim applied two coats of the base color, Lion Yellow 2158-60.
Tuesday morning, I got up early and ragged on the Dijon paint. (4 parts glaze, 1 part paint). I used 8 oz of paint for the entire room.
There were a lot of edges. I used a 1.5 inch foam brush to paint a light coat along the edges, then feather the paint out so that it would blend. Otherwise I ended up with either too much or not enough paint in the corners and edges.
By late Tuesday morning, this is what we had. It took me 3.5 hours to paint the room.I wish I had a photo of the Dijon on the walls with the tile floor exposed. I'd like to see how that looks together.
We loved how the walls looked Tuesday night.
When we originally chose this treatment, the 3 color treatments looked richer and more interesting than the 2 color treatments. We were pleasantly surprised by how great this 2 color combination looked.
One thing I will say about this paint technique - it's not hard to do and it would work great on rough walls or walls with problems. Definitely more fun and more interesting than patching and sanding and smoothing walls!
Wednesday morning I was raring to go. I woke up even earlier and painted for another 3.5 hours.Same deal - 4 parts glaze, 1 part paint. 8 oz of paint used.
After the first wall, I did wake Jim up and tell him to come look at the color. It was coming out much darker than I expected. He loved it. Reassured, I continued painting.
See Skinny Mini in the picture? It's a great, light, little indoor ladder that folds up to be under 3 inches thick. It has nice wide steps so your feet don't get fatigued like they would on a ladder. I easily reached the ceiling and top of the walls in this room with 9.5 foot ceilings on this three step version. (Yes, Leigh, these details are for you!) We bought Skinny Mini at Lowe's or Home Depot.
Bailey looks great against these walls!
I like how the paint looks with the furniture and rug in the room.
I love having painted walls instead of the expanse of white in here.
I love how the paint looks around the windows and frames our outdoor view.
I don't like how the tile and the paint look together.
I think the paint came out closer in value to the tile than I expected.
Meanwhile, Jim is worried about how it looks with the cushions. And how bright it is.
For two people who usually have strong opinions about things, it's weird to be so uncertain - both liking and disliking things about the paint.
Just now I looked across the room out of the corner of my eye and really liked how the tile and wall look. (The sun just went in - so maybe it's the change of light. Or maybe I'm already adjusting!)
When I look at my little blogging corner, I think it looks good.
We're both surprised that despite how confident we were in the paint selection process, and how sure we felt about the colors we'd chosen, we're not in love with it on the walls.
We've decided to live with it for a week and see how we feel about it then.
Maybe it's just because it's different from what we expected that we're not thrilled.
Maybe there's some kind of lighter wash we could put over it to tone it down. (Actually, in the time it's taken me to get this post together, Jim has had promising results with this idea.)
Maybe by next week we'll love it.
Maybe by next week I'll decide to buy a bigger version of the rug at Target to cover more of the floor.
Deep uncertainty.
Hopefully by next week I'll have forgotten how much work went into it all!
Related posts:
Choosing colors
11 comments:
I agree with you that the walls and the floor don't quite go together......but that being said, the walls are gorgeous!!!
Maybe you can get a bigger rug....or maybe tone the walls down with more wash.
That's a lot of work! I am impressed.
You two did a beautiful job with the 3 step process however I have to be honest. I've done some of that also in certain rooms which are all now repainted or slated to be repainted. I myself find them too busy no matter what the color and after years of painting and repainting I simply prefer a single color in satin finish.
Regardless of the work, give yourself permission to change it if you don't love it. Paint is easy and relatively cheap and three days of work, while a fair amount not enough to live with a finish you aren't wild about.
This morning, it's not sunny and the sunroom looks great. So undecided!!
I am giving myself a break from thinking about it. And then we'll see.
Today I like it and feel like we shouldn't change it.
But tomorrow, who knows???
I guess it's like anything creative....sometimes you take chances and they just don't work out....then you need some time to mull it over until you figure out what to do next. (At least that's how my process goes!)
Thanks for visiting and commenting!!
Sue
I agree about the walls and floor - The beautiful thing about the technique is that you can add another layer on top. Don't give up - it's all a process and like Teresa said give yourself permission to get it the way you want it!
Maybe in the warmer light of summer, the room will come into its own and live up to the name of sunroom. I think it is LOVELY!
And that is exactly why I haven't started taking down the living room and dining room wallpaper yet. Wish one could accurately 'photoshop' paint the way we did with the front doors. But there are too many variables....as you illustrate.
I am liking it more and more today. So we'll see. Yeah - the walls and the floor could look better together - but the walls really are beautiful in person and I can't get over that I did this!! It's actually the first room I've ever painted myself.
Not saying we won't change it - and Jim has been making sample boards all day. But maybe I just need to get used to it!
Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one who goes through paint uncertainty. Uncertainty is not my favorite thing!
Sue
Another thought - you could reglaze with the first golden glaze color, and maybe that would lighten it to what you want? Don't worry about the walls matching the floor - the color of the sky seldom matches the color of the lake. :-) Have I told you how much I love the photos of your sunroom?
The sky doesn't match the lake. I like that!
This afternoon I got a haircut. When I got home, Jim had moved several plants into the room and put some accessories on shelves in the room. Plus he moved a throw rug from the doorway to the expanse of tile.
It looks better. Maybe I'm slowly acclimating to it all!
(But a glaze with the yellow color is also a distinct possibility!)
Sue
How beautiful and brave, me; white walls, I am so tired of them. I applaud your courage and all of the hard work that went into your project.
I think you are right to live with it a while, who knows what element may enter your life to tie it all together just the way you want? How about a nice cactus? Ha, ha, not really!!
I LOVE the colors of the tile and walls. Beautiful work.
This room sounds like it is having its way with you like my living room has with me. I have painted it 4 colors in 11 years. It looks so different at different times of the day, with different qualities of light that I keep changing my mind about it. What a lot of work not to mention paint. It has been the current color for 3 years!
I say leave it and enjoy it!
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