Dan...painting is a funny thing.
My parents bought the house before the one they are in now in 1979. In California, and probably in many places, this was the "earth tone" period. Everyone's house was painted the same or slightly lighter or darker version of mud.
A few years before they moved (this would be maybe 10 years ago) my mom wanted to repaint. I offered to help my dad because I didn't want him, even then, on high ladders (not that I wanted to be either!).
My mom's color choice? Yellow and grey. I thought, yech! Better not say anything. This house is going to look like a family restaurant.
Unbelievably, it looked great. The yellow was light and bright and charming, and the grey was light also. It didn't look cartoony at all, it just looked right.
The most amazing thing...the people that bought the house redid the roof last year, and that is the ONLY thing they redid. The house is the exact same color, the same paint we put on (we did do a careful, patient job with it). The wierd thing is, it looks just like my parents still live there, which I have never seen when you sell your house and look back after so many years.
At any rate, paint is a wierd thing. Sometimes it is not until you step back and look at it that it works or does not work.
Another example is my office. When we moved in, my office was that kind of pinkish "sponge" type treatmen with aspects of greyish blue to it, if you know what I mean, and pink verticals. Of course, I said that is the first thing that must go.
However, once I settled in, I found the color to be very warm and relaxing. It is not "pepto bismol" pink, but a pleasant shade with the aforementioned grey running through it. Since I work long hours, I am delighted at the relaxing tones it has.
Of course, no one believes I work in a pink room, but, I don't care, the color stays!
