I have 18 vertical planes of wall space in my house. 18 paintable planes, that is. I did not count the walls in the bathroom, or the kitchen where the cupboards are. I have a one-year lease and permission to paint. Currently the walls are all white, with some scratches where the last occupant scraped the stairwell while moving out his furniture. There is a living room, a kitchen (lots of windows to work around), a hallway (large empty wall which will be fun to paint), my bedroom, my son’s bedroom. 5 rooms. I don’t have to paint all five rooms. I don’t have to paint any rooms.
I am 29. My husband picked all the paint colors in our last house, except for our bedroom walls, which were a warm grey/brown that I loved. It felt tranquil and warm and spa-like…or it would have were it not for the failing marriage and undertone of deep sadness. I would read in that room, and feel guilty for doing something I enjoy. I would watch the trees move out the window and wish to be a bird. The sticking in the windows through which I looked was never painted, not even white. They are probably still naked pine. It was something we would do someday.
The rest of that house had yellow walls, or it did for most of the time I lived there. That color was called Champagne Bubble, but it had a strange green tint that eventually bugged me. Maybe it was the lighting, but there was nothing warm and cheerful about Champagne Bubble.
Our other forays into color choice involved an accent wall of reddish/burgundy, which looked kind of neat and certainly defined the edge of a room that receded uncomfortably. There was also a grey/blue powder room and a loden green hallway, both not my choice. They were fine.
That is my history in paint.
I feel some pressure in picking paint colors. From comments my friends have made, it seems like many people experience a similar panic at the thought of committing to a shade for the walls. Partially, though I’ve painted many walls before, I think it has to do with the amount of work and potential mess involved with painting. This is going to take at least a good weekend, if not several. I will constantly be faced with the color choice. It better be a good one. And also, there’s a bit of anxiety about matching. What if the color clashes with the carpet? What if it looks bad with my furniture (which would be tough, given that all my furniture is wooden except for the sofa)? What if it looks bad in the light?
Also, there is pressure because I follow several home decorating blogs like Apartment Therapy. I love seeing before and after and reading all the helpful tips and seeing other well-decorated options. I like the color palates and the well-planned projects. I want to live in a place that feels as good as some of the featured apartments look.
Maybe the heart of this is that I want to make a place that feels like home. Maybe it’s not the color on the wall at all, but the capacity for comfort and definitive Anne-ness. Maybe what I need to figure out is what makes a place feel like home.
I’m going to consult my bank of lyrics where I often find inspiration:
When the morning broke and the sky fell down
It went black as night and the wind blew round
And stole your directions, you lost your way home
And you felt like a passenger left by the road
But I'll tell you the reason you couldn't get home
Cause there's nowhere you've been and it's nowhere you're going
Home is only a feeling you get in your mind
From the people you love and you travel beside
It went black as night and the wind blew round
And stole your directions, you lost your way home
And you felt like a passenger left by the road
But I'll tell you the reason you couldn't get home
Cause there's nowhere you've been and it's nowhere you're going
Home is only a feeling you get in your mind
From the people you love and you travel beside
So, if Stornoway is correct, home is a feeling, not a paint color.
I want my home to feel:
· Open
· Sincere
· Honest
· Welcoming
· Non-pretentious
· Spontaneous
· Clean/Classic/Classy
· Unique
· Interesting
I think those are the things that I myself want to be.
So how do I get that in my home? I have the basic pieces there already in terms of furnishings and, for the most part, they are pieces I really love. I will selectively only buy furnishings that inspire me.
For the walls, the 18 surfaces I can paint, I am thinking:
· Living Room - ?? Toying with Vintage Wine sort of a purple port color from Benjamin Moore, at least on northern wall and then maybe also the…
· Hallway – Vintage Wine
· Kitchen – Leave white
· Master Bedroom – Creamy brown/taupe (coordinate with accents on bedspread), make hanging vase for above harp. Needs curtains
· Austin’s Room – Navy Blue with white and red accents – Radio flyer trike, red bed, blue dresser, white shelves, big graphic artwork, flag.
