Truth: I repainted the mudroom…or dining room…or laundry room. Whatever you want to call it. Here it is back before we moved in just as HH was finishing up the tile…
We painted it Benjamin Moore’s Camouflage although I wouldn’t use my picture as a good inspiration image of the paint color. We had the BM swatch color-matched at Home Depot in Behr’s primer + paint. Most times, I don’t have any problems with getting paint color-matched and switching from one brand to another. But this color was a rare exception. The color-matched version is browner/khaki-er than the true BM color. I even went as far as to get a BM sample mixed for comparison and there was a noticeable difference. The real Camouflage is a bit greener and grayer and less brown. I’m not sure if the mix up was a brand-to-brand problem or a user error in Home Depot’s paint department. There were times of the day when I thought I liked the color but then, other times, it would take on the safari khaki color and I couldn’t even look at it.
When I told HH I wasn’t happy with the color, you can imagine his reaction. “So, take the Behr paint back and put in a complaint for a redo/refund.” But I’m not one for confrontation. That was nearly a year ago. I should note here that this is also the same color we originally painted the nursery {before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl} and I ended up repainting that room too.
I finally came to terms with the color this past weekend and decided to stop fretting over it and just repaint. Here’s the untouched and unedited {and quite unfinished and messy!} laundry nook before in BM Camouflage…{ugh, it clashed with the tile!}
And here’s the repainted {but still untouched and unedited so you get a good look at the true paint color} nook in BM Halo…
Ahhh. SO MUCH BETTER. In case you’re wondering, I had the color mixed in BM paint. No color-matching. I think I’m scared. I decided I’d rather spend the extra money and know I’m getting the true color.
Here are a few more unedited pics of the freshly repainted room {still need to paint the french doors just like I need to in the kitchen! And please don’t pay much attention to the furnishings or lack there of. Other than finishes + paint + wardrobes + cabinets, this room hasn’t been touched.}…
It took me an entire day and one coat of ~½ gallon of BM Aura paint with lots of breaks thrown in to feed/entertain/take care of the kids. There really wasn’t that much wall space, that’s just how slow I am. Ideally, I would have taken down the cabinets in the laundry nook and detached/pulled out the wardrobes to paint behind them but HH is away and I AM ONLY ONE PERSON. My solution was to paint the little spaces as bet I could with a trim brush and small foam roller. It was tedious but turned out just fine. You would never know the walls were painted after the cabinets and wardrobes were installed. I also skipped the painter’s tape and cut everything in by hand. I think I’m better at it that way.
All of this to get to today’s topic: repainting. Why do we have such a hard time coming to terms with this home improvement project? In the scheme of things, it’s really not that difficult or expensive to repaint a room if we’re not satisfied with the color. And it certainly doesn’t take very long to do. Maybe our ego doesn’t like us to admit it when we’ve chosen a ‘wrong’ color. Maybe we don’t want to waste all that time/money/paint we put in the first go around that we think we should live with it. But if we don’t like it or it’s not working, should we live with it? I don’t think so.
Paint is one the easiest and least expensive ways to transform a room. So, you don’t like your {insert name of room here}’s wall color? Then accept the fact that it isn’t working, look for another color and repaint. Don’t worry about it. I think living with a color that isn’t working/you hate takes way more energy than actually repainting. And it can make all the difference between having a room you dislike and having a room you love.
We’re human. We’re allowed to mess up. We’re supposed to mess up. It’s how we learn. How we deal with mistakes in life and in home improvement makes us who we are. So, call out your mistakes – or whatever else isn’t working! – and address them instead of living with them and letting them eat away at your conscience. My mind is a lot lighter today.
So what d’ya say? Is there a room or, god forbid!, roomS in your house that just isn’t/aren’t working for you in the paint department, if ya know what I mean? The first step is admitting it.
Hi, I’m Dana. I didn’t like the paint color in my mudroom so I repainted it. Now I love it! Next up? My bedroom.
Really. There are worse things.
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
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