Creature Comforts and House Paint

There’s just something about a freshly made bed. Maybe it’s the scent of fabric softener or the remaining warmth from the dryer that can still be felt or perhaps it’s the unwrinkled expanse of smooth cotton sheets. Whatever it is, it’s one of my favorite things: crawling into a freshly made bed. And here’s how anal I am, I have to wear clean pajamas, take a shower and shave my legs, and dry off with a clean towel on new sheet night. It’s one of my only OCD quirks, I promise. But it’s like some kind of odd ritual for me. I suppose everyone has their “thing” and this is mine, Internet. Thankyouverymuch. 🙂

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In other news, we’re going to paint the house! It’s been almost 3 years since we’ve moved in. It was probably due for a paint job about 5 years ago… but whatever. There were more pressing issues to attend to like leaky bathroom pipes and butt ugly 80’s vinyl wallpaper. So, we’re finally getting around to choosing paint colors. This is a daunting task let me tell you! The subtlest color on a paint chip can look like a flashing neon sign on a house. You have to be so careful! I have this fear that we’ll choose the wrong color and our house will look like a fruit juice kiosk at a theme park.

Our lovely Mormon neighbors across the street painted their home a couple of years ago. It went from a nice, bland cream to a yellowy-orangish nightmare in a couple of hours… I’m obviously not a fan of their color choice. It’s just that it’s a little… how should I put this… it’s a little loud. And it hasn’t really faded over time like I was hoping it would.

Steph and Big Red recently painted their house too. It went from boring gray on gray to sunny yellow and white. It’s definitely an improvement but it’s not my favorite look for their house. Their color is a little too bright for my taste.

Now, I’m being totally judgmental about the neighbors’ houses, I know. But I’m thinking of all of their work with respect to our house. What would I do if I were painting our house? They’re happy with their choices. Good for them. But I don’t think I’d chose “loud” or “bright” if it were me.

All of this exterior home improvement going on around us is making our house look like a rundown shack! J and I had to stop hemming and hawing about painting the house and get on with it already! It’s been 3 years for crying out loud! Enough exclamation points!!!

What does our house look like now, you ask? Well, the paint color can be best described as a pale blush color (read: faded pink). It’s washed out. It’s chipping off. It’s cracked. It’s discolored in places. Ick! Just plain ick. The previous owner of our home was a single mom of grown children who favored pink, I believe. It’s not us, I’m afraid.

J swung by the paint store on his way home on Friday to get their color sample wheel. We perused. We deliberated. We steered clear of the category entitled “Energetic Brights”. We decided to chose a Top Four list.

Here are our top four sample color choices from the paint chip color sample wheel of fun:

• Orange Blast (not as bad as it sounds, but definitely not my choice. Had to give J his pick too…)
• Frangipane (unsure of how to pronounce this)
• Captivating Cream (my favorite)
• Banana Cream (sounds yummy, no?)

This is Florida after all so a plain white or beige house just won’t do. We’re trying to stick to the warm tones without overdoing it in the brightness department. A little pigment goes a long way on a house in my humble opinion. The colors we’ve chosen are a bit like beige with a tinge of orange or yellow to them. I’m hoping they don’t look like Carmen Miranda’s fruit stand when we paint the test strips. I’ll keep you posted. J is supposed to buy some samples tonight so we can test them out on the front of the house.

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