Brown-out!

Muddy Bath in Guilin Shanshui

This is pretty much what it feels like in my living room. For that matter, in my dining room, family room, kitchen, stairwell and basement! Yes, my whole house is painted in various shades of dark brown. 

At first, I kinda liked it. It looked pretty good when I viewed the house before buying it. But, after a couple of months of living here, I'm feeling like it's really getting under my skin. Part of the problem is that a lot of our furnishings are wood, our flooring is honey-oak and every time I like a photo in a design magazine or blog, the walls are a shade of off-white.

I've been speaking to a few different design folks and they agree with me that for some reason, brown is a very, very popular colour in Regina. Even the "Fine Living" magazines here featuring million-dollar homes show most rooms painted in brown. I'm not sure I get it.

So, after our last White, but not Quite Right adventure, we've decided to return to Sarah Richardson's palette and give this one a try as an overall main floor living colour:

• Bisque
• Bisque lends a softening effect when applied to cabinetry as an alternative to bright white.

We're only one coat in, but so far, it's coming out as a nice, soft, warm white. Photos to come!

I should also share that it was a bit of a mishap that led to this choice... We started out with Benjamin Moore's White Dove but when we put some samples on the wall, it didn't look at all right. After some thinking, I discovered that the chips have a date code on the back and the chip we'd chosen was produced in 2001 - it had yellowed over time! With a fresh chip, we realized the sample was in fact the correct colour (and was also too stark for me). This was a good learning experience!

DIY Rating: 10 for testing out sample pots before buying 

(I'm learning my lesson after two failed attempts at white!)

As for my colour choice...I'll let you decide once the before and after photos are ready!