From Drab to Inviting

When we moved into our house several years ago it was painted a "builder's white".  Good for coverage but no aesthetic appeal!  Slowly we began redoing different rooms in the house, painting, removing carpeting, buying furnishings.  The final two rooms to tackle were the living room and dining room.

This project began when we found an area carpet that we fell in love with.  It had shades of greens and blues. 

Next came the couch, which was meant for a living room but comfortable and durable enough for every day use.  The big pieces were there, it was time to pick the paint color.

Picking paint colors can be a daunting test at times, trying to imagine what this chip will look like on my walls is not always easy for the color illiterate.  But it had to be done.  I started the way many people probably do.  I went from store-to-store looking for that perfect color, trying to find someone who could help me coordinate the look of my room.  Finally I went to my local independent paint dealer.  It was oasis in the desert!

I showed a picture of the room and a sample of the couch fabric.  They suggested three color options, one a little more bold, one more conservative and of course one in between.  They also suggested that I take the chips home and look at them in the room where it would be used.  Colors look different at different times of the day, depending on lighting condition.

We lived with the colors for a few days, asking anyone who ventured into the house, what their opinions were.  Finally, we decided we were going to go bold.

I decided that it had been awhile since I had painted something myself that this would be the project to try.  I went back to the local store with the chip in hand.  They had been so helpful I figured they could help me get through the product selection process with ease.  We settled on a flat finish in Fuller O'Brien Wonder-Tones.  They made sure I had all my supplies before I left the store.

Finally, it was painting day.  We started in the mid-morning prepared the area, patching nail marks, spot priming where needed and taping.  I can be a very messy painter.  The product rolled on beautiful, one coat by mid afternoon.  Ran a few errands, had dinner and took the kids to the park.  A final coat that evening.  And it was done!

The room is beautiful.  The flat finish is the perfect touch for a living room.  Thank you Fuller O'Brien and my local paint dealer.