smithical - almost...

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

you know the times you go to the salon and you leave with a style or color that you weren't planning on, and it just doesn't feel right? and you tell yourself, "it's only hair...it'll grow back, and the color will fade...." well that's the experience i had with our dining room this past weekend.

i've had a "muted mustard" color in my mind for a few weeks now (it's been red or orange in the past for the dining room, but i wanted something that wouldn't be too similar to the living room, even though these rooms aren't next to each other). the problem with yellow is that it's hard to translate to a wall. the little color swatches don't look at all the same once you put a few coats of it on a wall. and after the walls were painted and the trim was started on saturday, i just couldn't take it anymore.

"i HATE it!" i yelled. kenny shrugged his shoulders and said, "that's fine, we'll go back to lowes and get another shade. or even another color." i wish i had his personality. to me, i just just wasted two perfectly good cans of paint, and a whole day of painting was wasted as well. my life was all but ruined.

why am i so dramatic?

so we spent some time looking through our farmhouse/victorian/colonial style books, did some online research and i found another color series to go with in the dining room. half of it is currently on the walls (the rest will go up tonight) and then we can finally start the floor work.

here are some before and during pictures of the dining room. before:

there's a peak at that awful carpet again over in front of the fireplace. the colors were the same as the living room.

and here is the first color that we've since painted over. ignore the bottom half of the room as that is tinted primer (for the darker of the yellows). i don't really think the yellow isn't a bad yellow. i'd love it in any other room (perhaps our back porch or laundry room?), but not the dining room. i didn't want bright! yellow! for a dining room that's supposed to be more calming. AND...when i was describing the colors of the room (yellow walls, with black furniture) to a friend over the weekend, she said, "oh, so you have a Steelers dining room!" i cringed. now i am a ~~fair weather~~ fan of the steelers just like any pittsburgher, but i do not want a Steeler themed dining room. (thanks, joan! :)).

i like the plywood so much better than the carpet. i told kenny i didn't care if the floor wasn't in for weeks. the plywood is so much cleaner than the carpet ever was! doesn't that photo make you all want to come out, get your hands dirty and help us install a floor in three rooms? :)

a picture of the completed dining room is forthcoming. probably after the floor is in.

homekeeping

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 2:14:31 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Tuesday, November 11, 2008 2:34:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Lookin' good.

Have to agree on the yellow though. We painted one of our upstairs rooms yellow because it is rather small, and close to the master bedroom... she's a planner. :)

I would love to help install the flooring... wish I could be there! The floor you guys installed in your old kitchen looked awesome.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Brent | bleister88AT NOSPAMgmail dot com

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 3:46:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I kinda like the yellow, but yellow is a hard color to get right. My parents painted their small bathroom yellow once. It was a "suck your eyes out" yellow. A little too much in the morning. It was quickly changed. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Stephanie | cm dot stephanieAT NOSPAMhotmail dot com

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 3:59:37 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Hahaha! Now you KNOW I'd go nuts over a Redskins room!!!!! (But still, not really a Redskins *dining* room. ;-p)

Sues | susieblake23AT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 8:51:05 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

i'm just like you. i fall to the floor in a heap, moaning and wailing, wondering what business i ever had picking a yellow to begin with.

(our living/dining room is yellow. we tried seven different shades. but we bought sample pots first! i learned that after picking the "perfect green" for our house in pittsburgh, the hard way.)

we ended up with a muted golden yellow (sherwin williams humble gold) that you might like. hopefully, what you're doing now turns out perfect. but if not, here's the thread on gardenweb (scroll down for pictures) that inspired me to try humble gold:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg060852199457.html

and here's a picture of the walls (and pine floors, too) after one coat:
http://flickr.com/photos/serinat/2765474509/in/set-72157606595052832/

serina | serinatomanAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 10:12:40 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Thank God for calming male presence. :) What a gift he is to you. (and you to him, of course.)

I can't wait to see your new color!

stephanie | stephaniekgAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 2:08:34 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

i think we've painted every single room in our house at least twice, including the nursery which has been painted three times. somehow, you just can't really see what a color's going to look like until you've splashed up on all the walls and seen it in every light. we painted the nursery first ramie (a way too dark puke green brown), then full moon (aka: big bird yellow), and now rice grain (a boring, but pleasant creamy color). i feel your pain and frustration. but just think how happy you'll be the third time when you get it JUST RIGHT!

stacy | stacy dot fischerAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 6:14:40 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I have done so much painting recently that I know how you feel...Nothing looks the same on the wall! A friend used a "butterscotch" color in their "lounge". It was a beautiful yellowy/orange/toffee color. Very rich and not bright at all. Think it was Sherwin Williams. I think I remember last year you wanting a deep plum color somewhere in the house? Am I remembering correctly? Good luck! Susanne

sus | dms01AT NOSPAMconnecttime dot net

Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:25:27 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I like the yellow but not for a dining room. Better luck next time. I feel your pain though. I've been helping my step mom do some decorating and I've been in fits over the paint color selection! Oh the DRAMA!

Reynie | reyniefordAT NOSPAMhotmail dot com

Sunday, November 16, 2008 2:02:18 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I feel your pain with yellow--I've had a couple of yellow disasters over the years. Most recently, I gave in and with to Benjamin Moore to pick out one of the Pottery Barn colors. I love it, and it was such an improvement over the yellow we had on the walls before. It was Concord Ivory, btw (they don't even call it yellow!) The paint cost a good deal more than Lowe's or HD, but it was the right color, so it was more than worth it!

Meg Evans | carocaitbobAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com