Tuesday, March 13, 2012

MARK TWAINS TAKE ON PAINT

My husband Curtis can attest that I've gone through the whole enchilada of paint colors.
Benjamin Moore
Valspar
Behr
Sherwin Williams
Ralph Loren
Restoration Hardware

I could go on.
Our little condo by the sea has been so many different shades, the walls are probably about an inch thick, just from paint!
The bad part about all this is, I never really seem to hate a color until my whole house is covered in it.
Then I look back and wonder what was going on in my head.
This yellow makes my living room look like an African safari........ Or a big vat of Queso.
One time I painted my whole house a light color of grey.  My Dad came in and said it looked like a battleship.  Out with that color! (He was right!)
.
So the point I'm getting at is, I've been through the wringer with paint colors (and paint brushes) and I can honestly say that through lots of hard work, hard labor and persistence, I do, in fact have a perfect color palate.  (That of course works for me)
So I thought I would share with you.


Walls Walls Walls!
My perfect wall color is by Bher and it is called "Wheat Bread"


Its a little grayish and a little oatmealy, maybe even a little pink.  I am super in love with this color because it compliments every other color out there.  One thing I know about my style is that all my pictures, nicknack's, decorative items, and even some of my furniture is very colorful.  I hate having my walls compete with my stuff. It makes me feel like my living space is at war with one another.  After the day is done, this color is soothing and its just enough color to warm the house up.


Now onto my ceiling, molding and accents.
I am head over heals in love with Benjamin Moore's "Chantilly Lace"


Who knew I could love white so much!  Dare I say that its almost a neon white?! It makes me feel like I'm stepping into a cloud.  It radiates and projects light all over the house, and considering the fact that our little place technically only has 2 windows, we need all the light we can get!  I've used this on all our ceilings and moldings.  It compliments the "Wheat Bread" perfectly!  I've even painted some of my furniture with this color, and its turned out equally as beautiful!


Check out this ceiling painted with "Chantilly Lace."  It looks like they've used a high gloss but you get the idea.  I actually love the look of the high gloss too, but you don't need it that shiny to get reflections off your ceiling, the enamel will give you a little of that same effect.


Last but certainly not least on my paint spectrum is this "Mark Twain Gray Brick" from Valspar.
I think everyone has to admit that the name of their paint color slightly influences them to buy it.  The name of this swatch makes me feel sophisticated, mysterious and adventurous!
Marketing at its best, right?!
Aside from all that, I really do love this color.  Though I don't think I could ever use this as a wall color in our already dark place.  I do really love it for the occasional accent wall.  My husband and I have painted all our doors this color, and I'm also planning to use it inside my new closet office that I'm working on.  This color still really compliments my "Wheat Bread" and makes my "Chantilly Lace" just pop even more!  I also love complimenting this color with my favorite wood stain (that Ill tell you about next.)  This is a great accent color for all my needs!

Oh! It also really compliments my favorite bed side tables that I snagged from Ikea!  Almost a perfect color match if I do say so myself!


Remember that stain that I mentioned I love so well?  "Ipswich Pine" by  Minwax is that perfect dark golden that I love.  Simply buy a few knotty pine boards from your local store and start staining away.  This stain pools into all the knots and turns them a dark dark brown, which makes those knots just so beautiful.


See what I mean?!
Pair that against that lovely "Mark Twain Grey Brick" and I think it looks gorgeous!


I picture my office looking something like this!


With shelves and decor like this!!  Oh yeah!  I'm lovin it!
What are some of your favorite paints and stains?


"BEEP BEEP" from The Little Road!!


Most of the pictures used for this post were found on

1 comment:

Brooke (Crackers on the Couch) said...

Wow. I love that Mark Twain paint! I've been trying to decide a nice, masculine color for my boy's room. I think you helped me find it!