Saturday, February 5, 2011

A painting mistake!


 Snowed in and snow crazy I decided I would paint my bookshelves pink.
I imagined a pretty shell pink color.
 However the can of shell pink that I had been saving had gone bad~
it turned mildewy. Throw it away if you ever have that happen to you.
After you paint something, the smell stays and it is horrid!
So I decided I would use another can of paint that was in my cellar.
 I wasn't thrilled about the color as I didn't like it when I painted a room that color
and I immediately painted right over it!
Ben Moore Morristown Cream. A heathery color. Mauve is what it really is.
If you don't like it on a wall you still won't like it in a small area either.
You can see I tackled the left side first.
The right side has the old living room wall color that I never repainted.
The yellow tone was bugging the heck out of me,
and so was the snow.
When the painting urge strikes, I pile all my things up and get right to it.
I figured the mauve would go with the color in the rug border, and all would be fine.
 Both sides painted now...step back and see how if feels...
I hated it!
It is too syruppy looking, even for me!
Bookcases are visually busy that a bad color compounds the problem.
Why would I share this bummer of a moment with you all?
Because we all make mistakes. 
Listen to your vision voice.
I used a paint color I hated and I should have known better.
 Now I am going to run the other direction and
paint the shelves the wall color, grey.
I may use beadboard wallpaper and paint it white.
Those are my two options.
This was my version of the Cat in the Hat
 "Snowy Day Pink Ring That Won't Go Away" lesson.
Soon it will all be a not so fond memory!

27 comments:

  1. I know this won't change your mind, but I think it looks great. Like a room out of the latest House Beautiful magazine. Sometimes it's hard to feel in a picture. At least you were entertained during the snow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You'll get it right...you have SUCH GREAT TASTE! Love your room, so soft and elegant! Can't wait to see what you do next!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Use it till Valentine's day, then recreate.

    ReplyDelete
  4. so true...our projects don't always turn out right the first time. good luck with the next color choice!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You will get it the way you want, I think it looks fine. I live in a rented flat and am not allowed to touch the walls so I think you are lucky to be creative and try any colour you like.
    xoxo'
    Angela.

    ReplyDelete
  6. In the photos it looks good but I am sure in person it might look a little different. I think the gray will look good too. Either way, your living room is gorgeous!~Hugs, Patti

    ReplyDelete
  7. Live and learn. How many times have I made blunders? At least it's just paint. An easy fix. I have a million and one things bugging me in my house right now. And most of them I can do nothing about.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You know what they say ! There are no mistakes , only learning experiences.
    I painted my kitchen school bus yellow once, was gone the next day. It's only paint !

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I deleted my first comment after realizing that you'd already put everything back on the shelves and still weren't happy with it.
    Love the Cat in the Hat comparison! ;-)

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like it...but like someone said above me things do look different in real life than in the pictures! I think grey would look good. Have you thought about doing a stenciling? I use a lot of left over paints and when I pull something out and don't like the color I add craft paint to get it the right shade. Probably not supposed to do that but it works, especially for smaller spaces. Good luck on whatever you choose!! (I do know how much it sucks when you spend the time painting and it doesn't turn out the way you expect)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Some things don't always go the way we planned! I didn't really mind the pink. You've got a real romantic vibe going and it seemed to fit in. But in the end it has to be something that you like! I think It will look great no matter what you choose!
    Kim:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Laughing out loud...we have all been there.

    Personally though, I think it looks alright. But, you'll get what you love and then all will be well again.

    Stay warm,
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh dear ... I feel your pain. Have done the same thing! I do these things in the middle of the night when the paint stores are closed... its called impatience! Hope you are able to 'get out' soon. (I think the photos look great by the way). xo

    ReplyDelete
  15. In your picture it looks great to me! But it must be wrong in real life.
    Paint color is so hard to pick out. I just painted my my 25 ft entry the wrong color!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Amy!
    It is so good to know that people like you with incredible taste make painting errors too! This happens to me and I think I don't know what I'm doing! I remember watching Linda Reeves on HGTV she's a big Canadian Designer and she said she painted her kitchen 5 times before she got it right!!!
    I really didn't think the pink looked bad but I can't wait to see the new colour you choose!
    Pamela :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I haven't painted anything yet (other than some picture frames & a fire screen)....but it's been on my mind. Appreciate the heads up about the "old paint". However, i think everything you do is beautiful & the carving above your mantle is so unique & beautiful! xoox

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think it looks pretty...but if you don't like it, you don't like it. Lesson learned.

    ReplyDelete
  19. In the photos it does not look bad.. but I totally understand.. I've been in my townhouse 7 years now and I think I've gone through 5 colors and gave in and went white.. enough of the colors. Your room is romantic and very nice!
    You will find the one color that makes you happy, just takes a bit of time.
    Right now I have paint chips laying on my concrete floor.. pulled the carpet and am going to paint it.. still have no idea what color? So far I've chosen gray,, not sure what shade, but it will be gray!
    Sandy

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Amy,
    In looking at your photos the color looks okay, but I think I know what you are going for. Shell pink would be lovely. I just picked up a new copy of House Beautiful and it features the color pink. It also shows many different shades of pink paint. Check it out.
    I know you will get it right. You're that kind of girl!

    hugs
    Sissie

    ReplyDelete
  21. I so understand! Though it's hard to tell from the pictures that the pink/mauve is just NOT the right color, I so understand! I love the gray idea. I'm starting to like gray these days but haven't incorporated it into my house yet. My house is so BROWN that I have a hard time invisioning adding gray to it. Oh, well I don't have time to do anything at the moment anyway!
    Sounds like you may have a bit of cabin fever!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well, it happens to the best of us...
    But I bet you enjoyed the painting part or you would not have finished the job:)
    It is a stress reliever for me, I mean the painting.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think it looks okay. But I do think your next two choices would look better :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. i'd go with the bead-board amy

    ReplyDelete
  25. Throw that can of paint OUT and you won't be tempted ever again! :) Seriously....I think it looks nice but paint colors are tough to tell in pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Amy, I nearly painted my whole house the wrong colour, went out bought all the paint and after painting the first room I hated it. Mind you I had bought 5 different sample pots and still got it wrong. I had to rush out and change the colour, bought something totally different, and thank goodness I really liked the colour I picked which was antique white usa by dulux. It's good to know we all make mistakes, luckily it's only paint. I have to agree with the majority of the others that it looks good on the pictures. Maybe it's not showing as it's true colour on the screen, so maybe you just need to change the shade of pink?? I have seen other bloggers using a toile wall paper to back cupboards etc. which I think is really nice. But if you're totally against the pink your other 2 options both sound good. take care,Maryann

    ReplyDelete
  27. It looks great on my monitor, but I know what you mean- I'm very anal about color. I've lost count on how many samples I've bought for my bathroom. Finally gave up and painting it taupe, like almost every other room in the house! ~sigh!~

    ReplyDelete

 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...