Did you quickly regret paint colors after painting?

[acsnmama]

We've been in our house almost a year now. My kitchen is a turquoise/robins egg color, somewhere along those lines. I don't like it anymore!! I haven't in a while. I wish I had painted it a neutral color and decorated with that color instead. I also regret the color of the hall bathroom, (blue/purple color, but too dark) much too dark for a tiny space.

Yet I still have a terrible time picking colors that are more neutral but still nice, and won't be drab after a short time...

DH knows I don't like the color anymore, but I also know he won't be quick to agree to change it, but I'm dying to reprint the kitchen, I just don't know what neutral color.

[Happy]

Paint is cheaper than therapy. :)

 

Try Navaho White--sort of a warm white. Still quite white.

 

Benjamin Moore Kilm Beige is a popular color.  Kind of a builder beige.

 

Go to Home Depot and pick out a few paint chips. Walk outside with them so you can see how the color changes. Pick a couple and have sample sizes made. When you get home, paint a poster sized paper with the sample. Tape them on the walls and watch how the color changes with the light in your house.

 

 

[Chris in VA]

Uggh, twice.

 

Living room was supposed to be a blue-y, gray-y, sage-y green.

Looks like Pea Soup.

 

Shutters were going to be a colonial blue, but it was too light, so after the first was painted, we changed to a more navy tone. Just.in.time....lol

 

We don't paint the rectory; someone does it for us, so I can't just do it myself. Not that I would, but I have to live with the livingroom for a while yet.

 

What color cabinets and apps do you have? Is there a curtain or other decoration you'd like to highlight?

[Julie Smith]

Not the color. But we had someone paint the house before we moved in and they used flat paint through-out. Very flat paint so it hold dirt very easily. 

[MistyMountain]

When we first owned our own condo we painted it a darker color rather then a neutral and it was a little dark then when we were selling it we had to repaint. I haven't regretted a paint color since then. I stick to more neutral colors.

[Trilliums]

We had our last house painted and the test colors looked great.  The house ended up looking oompa loompa orange at some times.  I wanted to cry, honestly.   We rent that house out now and don't live in state, so I haven't seen it in a while, but I still look forward to when we sell it or it needs to be repainted.  I am going to go for something more bland for sure.  On the plus side, the house is in California so those kind of tones do fit in a bit better....but still..ugh.

 

 

[zoobie]

I try to get samples and do large swatches, but I still painted our den 3 times...

Per google, the next 40% off sale at Sherwin Williams is April 11-14, so now is a good time to repaint! I have bought untinted gallons when it went on sale but I hadn't picked colors yet.

[Myeightkiddies]

It hasn't happened lately.  However, in the past, it happened all the time.  In my 20s I loved to paint the house.  It made rooms look clean and fresh.  Unfortunately I made many mistakes in choosing colors and would repaint it months later.  Nowadays I am not physically able to do it by myself, so I really think through my choices.  Usually what I do is tape swatches on walls for a week or two.  It allows me to examine the color at various times of day.  I'm happy with my current choices.

 

If you don't like the color you have, definitely repaint it.  It will make you feel so much better when in those rooms.  If you are worried about choosing the wrong color, either tape up swatches or buy a pint of the intended color. Paint a section and give it a week or two trial.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Yes, I did.  For the exterior of our house.  I had the paint chips up for a few days on each side of the house.  I thought I was going for a taupe color.  When it went on, it was more like the boring beige that was already there.  Seeing that we won't be repainting the outside of the house anytime soon, I just have to live with it.  For the interior, I am much more forgiving of myself, knowing that it is not terribly expensive or difficult to change, unlike the exterior. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I made that mistake with my first house. I don't regret paint colors now that I use neutrals (revere pewter, shaker beige, and white dove are some of my favs. I do have a bathroom in sea salt and I may paint my laundry room turquoise, but I agree...paint is cheap therapy!

I wouldn't commit myself to wearing the same dress for ten years; why should I feel that way about paint? Trends change, your preferences change, no problem!

[gardenmom5]

of the colors I didn't like - it was pretty fast we didn't like them.  I have gotten small sample size containers and painted a large swath to see what it really looks like in different lights.

 

(and not all "neutrals" are pleasant.  dh choose our first interior color.  seagull white.  it was very "dirty" looking.  I choose all colors now.)

[Belacqua]

I regretted letting my husband talk me into painting the kitchen red. I have never liked red. I felt like I was inside somebody's stomach.

 

Fortunately, my husband agreed and the kitchen is now a lovely dove gray. :)

[Susan in TN]

Oh yes - I am the worst at picking out colors.  Once I got this color called "sand" but on the wall it looked like the color of cheap band-aids.  ugh.  Dh was kind enough to go find the color I was really looking for (and he's partially colorblind!) and it was perfect.  The same thing happened with a basement half-bath.

 

Before we painted the new house, I followed all the advice and painted a bit of the wall first to see if I actually liked it, and lo and behold, 5 years later I still like it (a kind of pale sage green in the living, dining, and kitchen).  The basement of the house was a nice blood red, even the stairway walls and ceiling.  I'm sure it was probably very artsy, but I had to agree with the contractor who said it was like descending into hell. 

[trulycrabby]

I do the entire house in a soft white, then paint accent walls in neutral colours.

To try out a colour, I get a sample jar, and paint as large a section as the sample will allow. A larger section gives a better representation of how a wall will look than a paint chip, imo. We do have one bathroom that has a 3x5 foot sample patch of green in it that I have never gotten around to fixing...for about five years. :o

[gingersmom]

When I first moved into my old house I went paint crazy. It looked like the fun house at the circus. Not sure what I was thinking.

[NoseInABook]

I have only a few times but we repainted quickly after! 

[Alessandra]

In the space of one week, I painted a bathroom black, looking for a sophisticated lacquer look. Reprinted it dark green almost before the black paint dried. Shortly after, I re reprinted it a soft, warm grey, which was beautiful.

In the same week, I painted a hallway a truly lovely pinkish salmon. Then I applied a clear glaze. It looked exactly like smoked salmon. So I reprinted it salmon, but without the glaze.

Btw, this was before kids.

[Alessandra]

Double post

[helena]

Yes! I call my kitchen bile yellow.  :glare:

[Cafdog]

Every time I have regretted a paint color, I have chosen said color from paint chips.  It is so much better to invest the few $$$ and get the small pot of tester paint.  Colors will often look much different in your house, in different lights (day/night/artificial), and can vary if put on drywall or plaster.  I highly suggest painting test sections of your wall, and living with them for a few days - and be sure and paint test patches on all the walls.  Light can hit different walls in ways you don't expect.  Trust me on this one.  :)

 

[DarlaS]

I was so very careful to choose a nice soft pale lime for my living room. It's mint.  :glare:

 

The family room is more traditional colors and I am weary of that. Pretty much immediately regretted it since I wanted it a nice turquoise or a creamy pastel yellow. I kind of went along with other's preferences there. I'm changing it someday SOON.

 

The pink stripes in my dd's room? They are very nice, but I did that when she was five. Now she's going on fourteen and it's time for a change. Youngest ds's room is ORANGE. He loved it for years--and this room needed a vivid color, but it's getting a little old. DS (17) has a bright blue and lime green room that was just right. When he was eight.  :tongue_smilie: 

 

Love my kitchen though! 

[Supertechmom]

YEp, I painted the kitchen red while hubs was out of town.  Neighbor had the same color in her living room and it looked awesome.   It looked awesome in my kitchen until I turned around and looked at the cabinets and appliances.  They were pink !!!  i went to bed thinking it would be alright in the morning.  Nope.  All my white was pink still.  I repainted it a nice cheery yellow to match the living room and the cabinets/appliances magically turned white again.  I'm not sure the color was there 12 hours even.

[Aspasia]

Story. Of. My. Life!!!

Let's just say, in the first six months after we moved into our house, I painted my kitchen four different colors. FOUR. One color only lasted six days. It was that bad. I've gotten very good and very fast at painting it. Thankfully, I finally nailed it with this last one. The problem has been our cabinets. I went back and forth between white and off white, and ended up choosing off white. Big mistake. It's impossible to decorate around. The color that I have on the walls now is Benjamin Moore Sandy Hook Gray. It's gorgeous! I'm loving all sorts of grays in my house. The ones I have are warm but soothing, cool (ish) but cozy. I've also repainted my dining room and am planning to repaint my living room.

I have issues.

And it's not for lack of thinking about it really, really hard. It's not like I just go to the paint store and grab a color that strikes me. I think about it A LOT. I have put tester paint on the wall, and I just can't really get a feel for how it will turn out until the whole blasted room is painted. Oh, and I'm picky about my paint, so I always get Benjamin Moore's Aura paint. I don't like to think about the amount of money on my kitchen walls...

[Pod's mum]

I found a colour I really loved for the main room, kitchen/lounge/dining.

A yellow that becomes a sort of lime in some lights.

For well over a decade before that I had lived with a mix of insipid pinks through the whole house (think cheap paint watered down to almost cover 60's wallpaper).

Well I loved the new colour, it went really well with powder blue trim.

Now I'm in a rented house with that same kack pink through the kitchen and hall with a loud "It's a boy!" blue in all other rooms.

Much nicer house than the one I own, but I'm twitchy to paint.

If you can paint, then revel.

If we'd stayed in the other house the bedroom with textured purple paint that I spent ages choosing would have been rebirthed.

[Spryte]

I love paint.  It's so easy to change.  

 

Mostly I've had good luck with colors, and DH is great at choosing them.

 

But... I recently painted our cabinets with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I distressed them lightly, they are waxed beautifully.  And I love them.  Really.  Our cabinets look brand new.  But I don't quite love the way the color looks with our wall color.

 

So I am debating repainting the walls to go with the cabinets ... or the cabinets. Or maybe just dark waxing the cabinets.  I don't know.  (Help!)

 

[Heather in Neverland]

I wouldn't say I regret colors necessarily, but I do change my mind often! We repaint different rooms all the time just because I get bored and want a fresh look. I am more likely to go with neutral furniture (we have black/brown leather couches) and then change wall colors and throw pillows about once a year.

[KungFuPanda]

I've had the 'wrong' colors in my LR/DR for ten years. I love the colors, but my house doesn't get enough natural light for such deep colors. My hallway is like a coffee with way too much cream. That color works. I should just put it throughout my downstairs rooms. Someday I'll feel like it.

[KungFuPanda]

I wouldn't say I regret colors necessarily, but I do change my mind often! We repaint different rooms all the time just because I get bored and want a fresh look. I am more likely to go with neutral furniture (we have black/brown leather couches) and then change wall colors and throw pillows about once a year.

You paint EVERY year? Come to my house!

[Tammi K]

We built a new house and everything was builder grade off-white. We started painting in the foyer that had a two story high ceiling. That meant dh was climbing way above my comfort level. (I'm terrified of heights) The farther along he got, the less the color looked like 'cracker' beige and more like pepto-bismol pink.  Everytime he would come down the ladder to fill up on paint, we would look at it and say, "Hmmmm, maybe it won't be so bad when it's dry.", "Hmmmm, maybe it's just the evening light.". "Hmmmm, maybe it will be better when we have other colors on the wall." 

 

Well, we finished that night, went to bed and when we woke up, the sunlight shining on the walls made it look like someone spread bright pink stomach medicine on the walls. I was thinking just perhaps I could learn to live with it. Until dh woke up and walked into the hall! We bought new paint and repainted that day!

[Allearia]

Yes! There is a house nearby that I have always loved, darker blue with white trim. When we were having the exterior of our house painted and tried it, the shade of blue was completely wrong and it looked like a giant smurf. When I walked up and saw it after coming home from work I could barely look at it.

We had it completely redone the next day, reversed it so it was white with blue trim. Probably around an extra $1000, because they had to cover the blue. It is still not my favorite but much better than Smurf House! I wish I had a picture but at the time I was so horrified and embarrassed. I think the neighbors were glad we switched too.

So, things could always be worse....

[Heather in Neverland]

You paint EVERY year? Come to my house!

 

Well I don't actually do it...my dh does. Or sometimes we hire it out. Labor is dirt cheap here. I had my living room, hallway and master bedroom painted for about $200 (USD) including paint! Crazy cheap.

[Tap]

I regretted letting my husband talk me into painting the kitchen red. I have never liked red. I felt like I was inside somebody's stomach.

 

Fortunately, my husband agreed and the kitchen is now a lovely dove gray. :)

 

LOL  I was just going to say, I regretted painting over my luscious dark ketchup red, with a wonderful grey, because, while it was a great grey that tied well with the counters....it made my kitchen go from  vibrant and fun, to boring and well---grey.

 

 

 

It went back to red the next day.

[PeterPan]

LOL  I was just going to say, I regretted painting over my luscious dark ketchup red, with a wonderful grey, because, while it was a great grey that tied well with the counters....it made my kitchen go from  vibrant and fun, to boring and well---grey.

 

 

 

It went back to red the next day.

That would totally be me if I did that.  I have so much COLOR in my house, and sometimes I wonder why I didn't pick neutrals to be more Pottery Barn.  But yeah, if I painted over my colors and went to neutrals, I'd spend all day dreaming of colors on the wall.   :lol: 

[acsnmama]

The colors the people painted this place when we moved in were awful (drab). I wanted to go bold! I did! Then I found all these different decorations that will NOT match. Darn. I then thought about how they would be perfect in a neutral room. After living in apartments and this being our first house, I certainly wanted color! Well, not these colors.

I have no clue what color to paint our tiny hall bathroom that gets zero natural light. That will probably be my first project, start small, work my way up...

I don't want to paint!!

[acsnmama]

I LOVE houseofsmiths.com her house is amazing!!

[TechWife]

I painted my bathroom a light shade of purple once. Two months later, I was done with the color, but it was a couple of more years before I was willing to put in the work to change it. Change it I did - right back to it's original, neutral color. I kept my purple & green print towels, though! 

[MollyAnn]

Whenever a color doesn't work out DH and I call it "the Bathroom Effect"
About 5 houses ago we chose a beautiful shade of spring green for the bathroom, in the small room it became neon green. I am pretty sure my make up looked really off for the year we had it up there. It came time to move and we painted it a beautiful cream.
In the house we own now we painted over dated, dark, fake wood panelling with a really nice sage green. We started with what I thought was a Caribbean blue and we got one wall done and realized it was hideous. I insisted we go back to the store and pick something else. We are about to put the house on the market and we are having it painted 'creame brûlée' I have to say it is really pretty and makes the room look larger.
I can't stand white walls, too many rentals I think.