Using Paint to Change Your Home

Pink is not my favorite color. It is not that I hate it; it’s just that a little pink goes a long way. While pink is great accent color it is not good for a whole room. Imagine my horror when I moved into my grandparents’ house complete with pink bathroom. Pink sink, pink toilet, pink bathtub pink walls, the only thing not pink was the dark red floor tiles. What was my grandmother thinking!
Replacing the pink fixtures was definitely not an option on my budget. A large area rug solved my floor problem, but what about the rest? There was no fighting the pink. So instead I embraced it. If I was stuck with the pink at least I could choose what shade of pink. My first step was to buy the biggest brightest neon pink towels available, no more insipid pastels for me. I wanted pink with an attitude.

The room was better, but still desperately needed help. Next I changed the curtain, a small but significant difference. First I tried a flowery curtain with lots of blue and yellow, not one of my better ideas. White ruffled eyelet came next, pretty, but too froufrou for my taste. Then I found material at Wal-Mart, off white covered in tiny rose pink hearts with a border trimmed in black with brown bunnies and pink and purple tulips. My new curtain was beautiful, hardly any pink.

Once again it was time to change the towels. I found white bath towels with a flower border that matched the colors in the new curtain. Finally the pink was starting to recede.

A variety of counter accessories came and went, along with a half a dozen different colored trashcans. Still the room seemed dismally pink. It was time for drastic measures, the washed out pastel pink paneling had to go.

Finances once again prevented ripping out the old to make room for new. This would call for some creative thinking- faux wainscoting. The new color palette for my room would be slate blue, apricot, azalea pink, white and lavender. These colors and a new wallpaper border would save my bathroom, I hoped.

First I drew a line around the room. Then I covered the line with masking tape to make it easier to see. With paint brush in hand the transformation began. I painted above the dividing line slate blue, while the wall below remained the same. Then using irregular shaped sponges I painted random cloud shapes over the slate blue using all of the remaining colors. This created a soft multicolored wall finish. The final touch was to hang the rose covered cottage border along the dividing line. I had a brand new room in only one Saturday.

I was thrilled with the results. Fresh color covered most of the pale pink paneling and I had done it all myself. I proudly showed off my new to my friends and family. Several months later I learned that not everyone thought my paint job was a success. I was told in strict confidence that one person thought my walls were covered in MOLD!!