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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Paint Colors and the Quest for Frugal Beauty

What with root canals, taxes (oops), and packing, my head is spinning. Mr. FS is doing some interior painting also.

Here are the colors we're using. The 2 front rooms of our house were painted a beautiful terracotta when we moved in. We would have been too chicken to stray from white, but we learned that terracotta goes with everything. Frugal Son is having a minor crisis over any change; Mr FS is apprehensive, and I am too--a little--but I think we need to step out of the terracotta comfort zone.

The entry way and study will remain terracotta. The entry will turn to a deeper tone: Sherwin Williams REDDISH.

That's not the bold move. Susan-the-color-expert suggested blue for the living room. She picked out the tiniest bit of blue from my grandmother's little Oriental rug and this is what we have: Benjamin Moore JAMESTOWN BLUE.

Oh, I feel like J. Alfred Prufrock: Do I dare/Disturb the universe? But J Alfred (I just re-read that poem after 20 or so years) is a big baby. I'll be like Britomart instead. Over the doorways (how appropriate!) in the House of Busirane (a very bad place, Faerie Queene Book 3) are the words Be bold, be bold. Of course, Britomart also sees the words Be not too bold.

I don't think I need to worry about that. My quest for beauty is not in the same league as Britomart's quest in Book 3, which culminates in the rescue of Amoret from the magician Busirane.

What's been your boldest move in the quest for beauty?

7 comments:

SewingLibrarian said...

Jamestown Blue is a beautiful color! We have it in our half bath. It really shows off white objects that are placed against it v

Anonymous said...

I like this blue and it will look beautiful with the terra cotta.

Boldest move--reupholstering my favorite reading chair in deep purple brocade.

Frugal Scholar said...

@SL--It DOES look good. We have white wainscotting in that room and wilkl paint that later in the summer.

@Terri=Thanks for the reassurance. I see you are a lot bolder than I am.

Unknown said...

Be bold, be bold-but not too bold, lest that your heart's blood should run cold.'

I didn't even remember what that quote was from, but I remember it vividly from reading as a child. Our living room is GREEN. Not like mint or cucumber, but actually GREEN.

Frugal Scholar said...

@Carolyn--Green is my favorite color. But my house doesn't like green--I fought it for a long time. I would love to see that book you remember--sounds awfully familiar.

SouthrnTiger86 said...

I'm painting a hand-me-down over-the-toilet shelf from my aunt this weekend. It's been the same sloppily primed white since I got it two years ago. I'm painting it a deep, cool brown. My apartment bathroom is tiny, and many have told me that painting my shelf will make the room seem smaller, but my solution has been to switch to a white shower curtain with a tan filigree (gotten from a discount store using my friend's employee discount).

I'm excited about my quest for "frugal beauty."

Frugal Scholar said...

@ST66--Sounds beautiful! Especially the shower curtain. My bathroom is my next project.