Just between us

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Here is the plaid along with the last of my summer zinnias!

Here is the plaid along with the last of my summer zinnias!

There’s been a lot of picking going on here — wall colors, wallpaper and now a piece of furniture. That’s enough to kick up analysis paralysis!

Some picking comes easy and some does not. Kitchen color — easy peasy (it’s the same color we have in the laundry room). Back hallway not so easy peasy. I picked up lots of samples. In lots of color families. The hard part is that it connects the screened porch with its neutrals, black and reds with the kitchen – mellow sage greens and blues with a dab of red.

Then there was the wallpaper. I have a vine wallpaper on one wall so it had to go with that and the sage green painted walls. Hmmm. Luckily the book with the vine paper had a “go with” selections that I liked. (This is highly unusual that I only carted one wallpaper sample book home. I have built up my biceps and ruined my nails from carting wallpaper books around.)

It’s a very mellow plaid with blues and greens and some creamy shades. Hmmm….loved it. Until I put it up.

It’s not unusual for me to paint a half of a wall and say, “it’s the wrong color.” (And yes, I have already gone out and bought another color.)

When new carpet is installed I always insist it’s the wrong one and make the installer show me the manufacturer’s numbers.

My problem with this wallpaper is that it reminded me of an old golfer’s Bermuda shorts. Do you know what I mean? I had a neighbor who was a disaster with wild plaid shorts and golf shirts that didn’t match. (Do they still wear those silly plaids? You do! Well, they look great on you…)

I’m looking at my kitchen and having these visions and wondering how I would break the news to the beloved husband. He doesn’t wallpaper so it wouldn’t affect him except to highlight how neurotic his wife is.

All that was missing from this wall was the goofy hat the old duffers wear. It didn’t look like plaid shorts in the sample book!

This happened as I was hanging it. After I removed the drop cloths and put the paintings back on the wall it, all was better.

Now I’m picking out a piece of upholstered furniture. I won’t tell you how many furniture stores we visited. Some were out of price range. Some didn’t have the quality I wanted. Just like Goldilocks, I found one that I think is just right. (Fingers crossed!)

Currently there are six fabric samples all over my family room. This is my second group of samples. The first run only gets me to the ball park. From then on, each successive trip to the store for more samples refines the selection. I’m hoping for a decision by the end of the week.

None of this matters. It will take eight weeks to get it and by then I am sure that I won’t think it’s the color I picked.

So do you get second, third and fourth thoughts after you have made a decision?

40 thoughts on “Just between us”

    • It’s fading a little. Eventually I won’t even see the plaid! We selected something. It takes 8 weeks so by then I won’t remember what I selected. Hope I like it. I was able to bring home a bigger square of the fabric but seeing it on a big piece of furniture is always different.

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  2. When I first met my partner we painted the house in cartoon colours. Bright oranges and yellows. Ouch, after a few months or more we realised a yellow kitchen hurt our eyes. We went for neutral colours and jazzed the rooms up with the pictures etc. I say whatever floats your boat at the time. You can always change it Kate and there is nothing better than a change.

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  4. I don’t like to decorate or mess with the house and we had the house painted inside a couple of years ago. I stuck with one color all through the house…. kilim beige. I am a minimalist when it comes to the house I believe. CH still wears crazy old fart plaids but I don’t let him go out any place nice in them… 😀

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    • I didn’t think they still made them. To me there were a thing of the 60s. However, I went shopping with my husband this summer for shorts for him and there they were in all their glory. Every damn plaid under the sun! I have the same colors throughout the house but each room may feature a different one. I have a lot of beige walls but there are a few places I like color. I used to enjoy doing this more than I do now but then that’s true of a lot of things. After it’s all done (and I can’t stand chaos) I’m good.

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  6. Our main floor is all one room, kitchen, dining, living, so when we paint, we PAINT. I picked out a vibrant green but on the walls it looked too appley and I wanted more leafy so poor husband had to repaint green on green until I was happy. No such problems this time, but we’re still missing a few key pieces of furniture since I know what I want, it just doesn’t exist.

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    • If I could replace ALL the furniture in the room it would be easier. Making sure something fits what’s already there makes me nuts. Sales people have that “nuts” thing written in their job descriptions!

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  8. Absolutely, I second guess my choices all the time. It takes me forever to make a final decision. But once an area is done I’m committed and never want to change it. I do love the plaid, Kate. Don’t see golf shorts at all.

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  9. It looks pretty. In my powder room I wanted to tie a rich gold and burgundy together so I hired a faux painter. He turned out to BE a faux painter. My bath looks like it was painted gold before the murder occurred spurting blood all over the walls. Cats won’t go in there.

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    • I’m am laughing so hard. Yep, been there, only I did it. I used to do a lot of faux/sponge painting and there’s a part of me that thinks I should have tried that to keep it softer. It’s not just slapping one color on top of another though. You have to know how the first color will affect the other. I would suspect it would have worked better sponging the gold (very lightly) on top of a beautiful deep red. Cats are funny. In my last house, I redid the old 70’s decorating in all the rooms but I didn’t redo the living room. I didn’t use it and it was wallpapered with a flocked white so it wasn’t real gross. The cats never went into that room until I finally redid it and it looked beautiful.

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  10. It is a very mellow plaid, and it looks so nice with the place mats and chair upholstery. I often have second thoughts after I choose something. I don’t like to do things over though, so I usually just let it go.

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    • My whole first floor (and most of the second floor) is muted blues and greens with a warm cream and touches of red so I needed something that would flow into the family room. All my furniture is upholstered so I can move anywhere in the house and it will fit. If I can get past a couple of days, I can let it go sometimes. If I really don’t like it, I will redo.

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  11. Isn’t the plaid on those golf shorts much bigger and bolder? Opposite of your wallpaper! 🙂 I usually don’t have too much trouble picking out paint colors and furniture (my boyfriend, on the other hand, is more like you). Hmmm, maybe my house is a disaster? Or maybe what I pick is good enough. Here’s hoping.

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    • The plaids on shorts are bolder but there was something about the placement of the blocks that screamed golf shorts to me. If the colors weren’t so soft, it would be gone. If I can do a whole room from scratch, I’m good. It’s getting something new to fit in with what I have that gets more complicated. Is the fabric too coarse or bold or shiny……well, you know how it goes.

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  13. Ugh…I hate making these types of decisions…they’re so permanent. The wallpaper look great, Kate!
    Yes, the silly golf outfits still exist, although more people imitate Payne Stewart…he knew how to match.

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    • I so wish I was like that. When we built the house many years ago, I picked out so much stuff. As it was installed it seemed like I was seeing it for the first time! Thanks for your kind comment on the wallpaper. Most people don’t do it anymore. I like a dab of it especially in the kitchen but most of the house is painted. That’s much easier to change.

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  16. Glad you decided that the wallpaper does suit you . . . so much easier than a “do over.”

    And PLAID is in this year . . . according to the TARGET ads.

    Now . . . get two old-fashioned skinny wooden golf clubs and criss-cross them over each other on that wall to complete the “designer” look.

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