A twelve step program.....

16 years ago

Loosely a trash to treasure story. As most of everything in the bathroom came from hand me downs and cast offs even the sink....Will post pictures soon.

Hi my name is Sunnie and I have a color phobia. All of my walls are white, off white or light beige. My carpet and appliances match the walls. When left to my own devices I will chose black, white or khaki clothing. My car is pale gray and even my dogs are white! I know I need to work on my fearsÂ.. I like color I really do, its just that I worry that it will be awful, and I will be stuck for a lifetime with this horrid colorÂÂ

So after researching over a year for a great gray/blue, painting tiny little patches ALLL over my bedroom and bathroom, asking everyone and their mother Âwhich one they liked, etcÂÂ I bought the paint. I steeled myself and began the process. So late on Saturday night, all alone, tired and overwhelmed, I sat in the floor and cried. The wet, shiny paint highlighted the imperfections in the wall and it was the miserable wicked color of an EVIL SMURF!! This confirmed every fear in my little beige mind!

I crawled into the guest room, said a prayer, fell asleep determined to paint it over in the morning, with off white of course! Woke up with a sick feeling and crept across the hall to quickly peek inÂ.. I slowly swung the door open, breathed in the paint fumes and braced myself for the visual assaultÂÂ..But alas during the night my color God Mother swooped in to save the day (or night) and replaced the putrid blue with a calming, soothing medium blue gray!

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Comments (8)

thrift_shop_romantic
16 years ago
Oh, I hear you, Sunnie. Color changes SO SO much between daylight and evening. Maybe you can change the lightbulb in that room to more of a natural daylight one, so the Evil Smurf color will be banished.

My lovely aqua entryway in evening light tends to look surgery room green-- horrifying. And I'd had for years a tan-peach in the bathroom that looked entirely too flesh-colored to be pretty.

Glad to hear the turnaround with the blue-gray. Color is worth it. Life's too short be all neutral. :-)

--Jenn
Carol_from_ny
16 years ago
If you want to add color you can without painting the room. Add it in your accessories. Just make sure you spread the color around the room for balance. A few nice red pillows, a red vase and pic with lots of red in and maybe a painted red piece of furniture can go along way to chase away those color fears.
You could even try painting just one wall in a room to ease yourself into the world of color.
Don't feel you have to have color on the walls to love color. I've seen some lovely homes with a netural backround and the owners used color in the accessories cause they got bored with the same color so quickly.
As for the white dog, you could buy it a lovely colorful collar :)
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sistersunnie
Original Author
16 years ago
Funny you should mention the dogs collars, I just broke down this weekend and bought both a red collar and lease! I didnt use to be this conservative/boring/safe(you fill in the word) about color. Getting older I guess......
quidam
16 years ago
This thread really makes me laugh. I am glad someone can admit their own color phobia.......and it made me think about my color choices which are mainly muted and earthy. I also dress this way.

My kids like bright colors and dress and decorate their rooms that way. Maybe as we get older and start to dress more conservatively, we also transform our environment accordingly. So, my suggestion is to slowly start amping up the colors that you wear and you may see a change in how you feel about color. Just a weird thought!

Thanks for posting. Loved it!

Sheri
luna_llena_feliz
16 years ago
I can definitely relate! I too lean towards neutral colors on walls and floors. But as carol_from_ny suggested, I do use color in my accessories. I think we tend to get this way because it is cheaper to stick to neutrals in your wardrobe and bigger areas of your home because so many colors that you think would match actually clash (like a brick red and a pinkish red). And painting walls a wild color can be a problem when you get sick of the color scheme and want something totally different in a couple of years.

I'm glad your color choice worked out in the end!
Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
16 years ago
Soooo,

None of you would be comfortable on my Purple Couch?

Or my Dark Teal Guest Bedroom?

Gayle ;)
toomuchglass
16 years ago
I Was going to say exactly what Carol said .. use color in the accessories. Sistersunnie -- I think we have alittle something in common .... believe it or not ... I'm color challenged,too.
I can see my design .. but I don't even know where to begin with colors. Isn't that funny ? I'm always afraid it won't look good . When I try & decide on colors -- it stresses me out. Are we too much of a perfectionist ? I think so ....... Hope you come back to read this !
sistersunnie
Original Author
16 years ago
Once I layered in the furniture/med-dark wood, the bedding and curtains/ creamy fluffy off white, and some accesories/blue and white ceramics, the lamps, etc. The room looks quite serene. I like it. Just looking for the right art work and head board arrangement. Almost finished.