Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Good-bye, Parakeet!

Parakeet

For all of you who have been curious about our painting, this post is for you. When we put in our sliding doors, we had to paint the dining room. We had no choice. I went all over town and gathered paint samples, brought them home, and placed them on the wall so that I could view them in different lighting during the day. I loved the color that had been in the room, but our builder had painted it, and didn't know what he had used. I picked a color that looked very similar. It was Sherwin Williams Parakeet 6711.

Changing from Parakeet to Lemon Verbena

While Verne was painting he kept remarking about how much he loved the paint. (Not the color, just the paint.) It was their Cashmere line; expensive, but went on like a dream, and the finish was gorgeous. And then I walked into the room the next day. Yikes! I like colors that soothe, and this color was anything but soothing! It was traumatic. I thought, "Well, it'll grow on me." It didn't. Our home is very traditional, and this color is not traditional. I thought I was stuck. No way did I think that Verne would let me buy more paint, and do all of that work again.

I was wrong. My always-sweet better half told me that he wanted me to be happy though I hadn't really expressed my dis-like for the color to him. He knows me. At the beginning of the week he calmly said, "If you want to change the color of the paint in the dining room, go buy the paint and I'll get it done. " Guess what he's doing right now? Good-bye Parakeet, and Hello Lemon Verbena 7726! And yes, I like it!

Our living room walls were looking a little shabby too, so after the first round of painting in the dining room, Verne painted the living room as well. We chose Sherwin Williams White Raisin 7685. It had been a taupe color. I loved that taupe, but we've had it in three houses now. The White Raisin is totally different and really brightens the room. It's an amazing transformation.

you can enlarge the picture to get the view from the living room to the dining room (with the parakeet color!)

But, the White Raisin has a yellow-ish cast to it. Our kitchen is yellow, and the two colors didn't really compliment each other. You see, my house is really unique. I've never seen another lay-out like it. It's long, front to back. If you stand in the living room you see through the kitchen into the dining room. And vice versa. The two yellows were getting on Verne's last nerve. I picked a very soft green for the kitchen. Our counters are a light green, but this is lighter yet. It's really a white with a light green cast to it. Sherwin Williams Restoration Ivory 6413. Guess what Verne's doing next?


17 comments:

Kelli said...

Your husband is so sweet, Tracy! I love the lemon verbena color...very soothing. I once painted my entryway a dark greenish teal and I would sit on the couch looking at it and telling myself it wasn't that bad. LOL Now it's cream. :0)
~Kelli

Anonymous said...

What a sweet husband! I'm sure it will look wonderful when it's all done. Please show us pics again. (o:

randi said...

We have a green room too and I really dislike it. Way too much color for me. My hubs, however, is not much into painting, so it stays. Someday Lemon Verbena sounds nice!

Autumn Haven said...

I think I would have to keep it a very light green if I chose that color. Nothing electric and glow in the dark, lol.

His Girl said...

This looks wonderful.

I've been living with the 'wrong' green for 3 years now. I wonder if it's now safe to say we should repaint?

hmmm... maybe after a couple more projects are finished :) once we paint that room, I'm going to for sure want to do a few more changes ;)

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

We lived with a green color in our bedroom that neither of us liked! We finally changed it to a color my husband suggested and you know what? He was right! It is a lovely Dutch Boy color called "glazed tile" and it perfect for us.

I love to refresh our living spaces by painting. It is a relatively inexpensive remodel!

Can't wait to see it all finished!

sherry said...

I'm a yellow wall kinda gal and ooohh I really like the lemon verbena.

Your Verne is a sweetheart..big time. Rocky was sweet like Verne during our *couch debacle*. I won't be blogging about it but will share with you via email. Suffice it to say though, his love for me shone through and I once again realized how he puts me first. Like your Verne.

Lizzie's room is a gorgeous yellow, the tiniest bit brighter than our living room and kitchen. We need to repaint those rooms (badly!) and are considering using the paint color from her room.

Blessings,
Jane

Susan said...

I had the same type experience years ago. We lived in a split level home with the bedrooms upstairs. We painted one wall of the living room (the long one) what I thought was a beautiful gold. It looked great going on. The next morning I came down those stairs and that wall was pumpkin orange. Needless to say, it was repainted!!

What a sweet hubby you have :o) I do to, he would have done the same thing. We are blessed, Tracy!
Susan

Darlene said...

Green is one of the most difficult colors to choose, I believe!! It so often looks great on the chip and in the can - but terrible on the wall!! I've tried to paint my bedroom and my bathroom with a green color and have rejected it once I started painting with it.

Now I'm considering a green for my kitchen...what am I thinking???

Verne is sooo sweet to re-do the dining room - then keep going into the rest of the house!! I'm sure it'll look great when all done!

Beck said...

The new colour is VERY pretty!

Sharon said...

I painted our office with a color that ended up looking like baby mess! Yikes!! I ended up re-painting it with colonial cream. :)
I like your lemon verbena! It is very cheery! :)

Anna said...

I am totally digging that color!

Karen said...

Tracy, your post is timely for me! I've been thinking about painting our dining room a soft pale yellow or very, very pale green. I've had red for eight years, and it's time to "lighten up"! I orginally had used my living room curtains as my inspiration for the room colors, as you can see each room from the others, too. I can't tell from the pictures....is it a buttery yellow or a lemony yellow? Whichever tone, it's very pretty!
You have a very sweet man to do that for you! I have the desire to paint, but not the energy to put behind it right now. Gordon's very busy, so it's on the back burner, but I can plan!

Tracy said...

Karen,
The lemon verbena is a definite green. In the picture with Verne painting, it's the darker color that you see around the edges of the wall. I'll post finished pictures soon.

Unknown said...

You have such a lovely home, no matter the color :) But I do hope you'll share pictures of the finished 3 rooms with that same view. I'd love to see it.

Good hubby. Mama ain't happy ... ain't nobody happy. He knows that and is a good sport for sure.

Actually, I am sure that he knows that you work lovingly in your home every day and deserve to have a lovely place to be.

Rachel said...

Tracy, I agree. It was not a soothing, blend-in type of color. From the front of the house it was shouting, "Look at me!"
How sweet of Vern to volunteer to paint it without you even asking - sooooooooo sweet!!! I sure hope you will some after pics too:)

Christy said...

We just painted a few rooms in our new house White Raisin and our kitchen Lemon Verbena-how funny is that?

I love the end results in your other post!