Let's talk color!

If you've ever had the luxury of being allowed to paint a space you live or work in, then you know that decision paralysis can be a real thing.

You're standing in the paint aisle of [insert your favorite home improvement store here], and maybe at first you like how organized all the colors are. It's the color spectrum laid out in front of you, begging to be used. Then the overwhelm sets in. Ok, it's too many colors. Let's pick a color - maybe you're into green right now. Oh, that's still a lot of greens. You're trying to remember what room you're painting. My kid's bedroom? No... the living room. Right. Ok, so maybe tone it down a little. Olive? Forest? Army? Emerald? Jade? Wait, it needs to match the couch, so I can't decide right now, can I? Ok, I'll bring just a few of these home...

Suddenly, it is 2 hours later and you aren't any closer to painting the living room than you were last night at dinner and you already need a nap!

Unless you are like my husband and you feel the need to paint your stairs the week of Christmas 2 days before your extended family comes over, I recommend you give yourself some time to prepare for this project. Maybe it is a small room (a half bath) and you can prep on Saturday and paint on Sunday. Maybe it something more involved (bedroom or living room) and you need to prepare one weekend and paint the next. Just be realistic about your skills.

Ok, so let's break the project down a little:

1. Pick a color - let's get this out of the way first! It's usually the most fun part, and once you have your color in mind, everything else is pretty routine. For inspo, wander the paint aisle, check out the Pantone Color of the Year, scour Pinterest, or find the latest copy of Better Homes and Gardens. Are you painting trim at the same time? Don't forget a color for that, too!

   Note: Don't let color scare you! A lot of people used "millennial gray" for so long, but you deserve to live/work in a space that you love, so just go for it! It's just paint, right? Don't believe us? Check out some of the colors our customers have picked on our Gallery page.

   
   

2. Supplies - this might depend on the size and type of space you're painting, but consider primer, rollers, brushes, trays, painter's tape, towels or paper towels, drop cloths, tarps, stir sticks, and of course, the paint! Expect things to go wrong while painting. I once knocked half a can of primer all over the floor! Luckily, we were painting before we put new flooring in, but if you don't have that luxury, think about how you will protect your flooring and furniture - or anything that isn't getting painted. Lastly, don't forget about those tall and tough to reach spaces! Maybe you don't want to buy a ladder, but can you borrow one? (Siri, call Dad.)

   
   

3. Prep the space - I find this part so tedious, but it is so necessary. You're going to put all those supplies from the last step into good use. Tape off trim or the ceiling. Move furniture out of the room. Cover what can't be moved. Put those paper towels right next to the paint trays.

   
   

4. Finally, paint! Ok, well, probably primer first. But then paint! And then wait an hour or so (whatever your paint brand says), and then paint again! Like I said above, be realistic with your own skills here. If you need to leave in an hour and you've never painted before and you're trying to tackle a large, weird-shaped living room, maybe don't get started. But if you've painted before, it's a half bath you're just freshening up, and you've got an hour and a half to kill, I say go for it!

   
   

5. Clean-up - ok, maybe this is the worst step, but if you want to save the supplies you just bought for next time, then don't skip it. Carefully pick up the tarps and drop cloths after paint has dried so you don't get paint splatters on your furniture or new walls. Wash out your rollers and brushes. Seal the paint lid.

Ah, now you can step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor! This new color looks great as the sun is setting, and...

Is that a scuff?!?