Have you heard the joke about the woman who walks into a paint store? It’s not at all funny. Especially when she’s married to the owner of a painting franchise, whose crews are too busy to help with her one room challenge. So there she is, buying brushes and rollers and contemplating all the fun she’s going to have spending her entire weekend painting her own guest room.
Fortunately, I love paint stores. I love paint chips, deep blues, blushing pinks, and rich ambers. And I love the trans-formative power of paint. My home is newly built, so every room is painted the same color – SW Alpaca, a light greige with a slight pinkish undertone. It’s a lovely neutral color, but for this room, I wanted something less traditional and more edgy.
minimalist white paint
This room has only one window, so it is quite dark and in need of brightening. I knew I wanted white from the get-go, so I chose a bright, clear white – SW Snowbound. When I applied that first stroke of paint to the wall, I began doubting the choice, because it was almost the exact color of the woodwork. I usually like for woodwork to pop. However, I’m now totally digging this resplendent white. It lightens the room and emits this clean minimalist vibe.
dark paint for an accent wall
I also wanted a dark accent wall. And here’s the thing about accent walls. The greater the contrast, the more effective. If you paint three walls blue and one wall green, all walls are competing for attention. If you paint three walls white and one a deep, rich color, then the room begins to make a statement. I selected a Mediterranean blue for the large wall behind the bed – SW Midnight Moscow. I used this color in my mid century styled beach condo and fell in love with it, so I knew it would work.
a pop color
This is where the fun begins. A pop color is an accent color that adds flavor to the design. The exclamation point at the end of the sentence. And it usually comes from something that tugs at your heart. For me, it is this overdyed chenille rug from Urban Outfitters in a beautiful citron color. It tugged. I bought.
William Morris said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Two beautiful things I wanted in this room of my own were this funky citron rug and an Orla Kiely robin’s egg blue duvet. My exclamation points.
Stay tuned for next week to see how it’s all coming together. I’m so pleased to be able to share my progress each week on the official One Room Challenge. Make sure you check out these very talented designers here as well as other guest participants here.
