Color Mistakes

by Charlotte
(Website Editor)

Readers share their color mistakes with us... so you don't have to make the mistakes all over again!

Read on, laugh and learn...

...but don't let it put you off having a go with color...

Don't be scared of color - give it a try...

Share your own color stories here too...

Or if you're experimenting with color, and would like some advice you can ask a question here too...

Not Mauv-elous!

by Maureen
(Tehachapi, CA)

Back in the '80s, mauve was so popular, and the birth center interior where I was going to have our twins was THE most perfect mauve, and I had to duplicate that in our bedroom.

Even after my husband warned me repeatedly that the color was too dark on the chip and needed to be blended with white, I insisted on what I had selected.

The painters dutifully painted all four walls, and when I finally saw it, I burst into tears!!

It was hideous--imagine a whole room of circus pink, like Bazooka bubble gum. No,... more like Pepto Bismol.

Thank goodness for One-Coat color coverage in basic beige!

Comments:

Oh no!!! LOL!
by: Anonymous

Oh no Maureen - what a shame!!

Unfortunately colors nearly always turn out darker when the whole room is painted - its a good idea to choose the color you like, then choose a shade one or two shades paler to paint the whole room.

I hope you still managed to get some nice mauve accessories to brighen up your room, and the incident hasn't completely put you off using color in your home!

Thanks for sharing! :o)

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Nov 01, 2009
Still Love Color
by: Anonymous

Yes, I chose mauve accent pillows for our floral comforter and was pleased. I was naive and stubborn and have thankfully matured in my home decor approach! Color is my friend!

My tearful story is now a source of full-blown laughter. Life is good!
-Maureen

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Nov 04, 2009
You go girl!
by: Anonymous

Maureen, your story is an ispiration to us all. May we all be as color courageous as you were. It is better to have painted & lost than to never have painted at all. You go girl!

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Rethink taupe

by Ann
(Colorado)

I decided taupe walls and cream ceiling and trim were an elegant way to re-do our bedroom.

The taupe looked innocuous enough on the paint chip - sort of a neutral brownish green.

Once it was up on all four walls it reminded me overwhelmingly of my daughter's diaper after a meal of pureed peas.

Adding the cream-colored balloon curtains just enhanced the diaper image.

While I was on a trip my husband took matters in hand and repainted the room a warm adobe color which looked great with the hardwood floor and hung rolled twig-type shades bound with turquoise and brown.

It looked very Southwest, wonderfully calm and NOTHING like a filled diaper.

Ahhhh!

Comments

Oh dear ...LOL ... :oD
by: Charlotte

Oh Ann!

Thank you so much for sharing that with us! That was so funny - but must have been very off-putting for you at the time!

It's so difficult, isn't it, to know just how a color will look, and, more importantly, make you feel, once you have painted your whole room in it.

Sometimes, even with the best preparations, these things do happen .... I'm just so pleased you've got a lovely husband who was able to sort it out for you - so kind!

Thank you so much for sharing your funny story, and glad you've got a lovely room now!

Charlotte :oD
x

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Mar 10, 2009
Don't necessarily REthink, but think long and hard!
by: Rachael

Taupe and any kind of adventuresome brown shade can be VERY tricky. Undertones that you didn't think were so bad can (like your diaperesque situation) come back to bite you.

It helps to compare the paint chips to direct colors instead of other neutrals - something with a green tone, next to a red chip, will be almost glaringly green. A yellowish tone next to a bright blue is also very apparent, etc. Comparing similar colors to each other can wash out your judgement sometimes.

I'm battling with finding a delicate slate grey for my bedroom right now. It's a toughie!

Kudos to you for going classic (and to your husband for taking such bold initiative!), and enjoy your new cozy color!

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