As anyone who knows us well will tell you, compromise doesn't always come easy to our marriage. Stubborn and self-assured is more our style(s). Therefore, decisions that require choosing from several options -- like interior decorating -- are always a bit of a challenge.
It's been awhile since we've had to select more than one color/texture/style for a room -- thank goodness! Our tried and true method of Bill narrowing the field (Libra) and me making the final decision (Leo) has broken down a bit due to the sheer enormity of the task. In the past two weeks, we've had to select carpet, paint and tile for the basement family room and stairwell; paint for the guest bath; tile, paint and fixtures for the master bath; and paint and area rugs for each of the three bedrooms. We haven't even made it to lighting fixtures and already it feels like a marathon.
Three lessons I've taken to heart:
Pick your battles. Like any other major event (say a wedding or Christmas), pick the one or two things you really want and let the other things go. Easier said than done, of course, but if the man wants green walls in the bedroom, do I really care? No. As long as the color of the bathroom walls is flattering to my complexion, I'm set.
I like neutrals. Yes, I'd like to think that I'm a sassy color gal, but at the end of the day, my interior color palate leans heavily toward browns, greys and off-whites. "Accent with color through things," I say. Bill can't understand why I can't go for blues, greens or even dark purple (where I finally had to draw the line). "It's sooo boring," he says. "Haven't you seen my mother's fingernails?" I tell him (they've been painted various shades of beige for 40 years), "it's in my genes." Maybe we'll get a red couch instead.
Paint is cheap. No, I may not LOVE the color of a certain wall, but at the end of the day, it makes him/her/them happy. "Pink is it!" according to Rose. For now, at least, she's right, so her room is a lovely pink box. Evan was shocked (shocked!) that he couldn't choose black (first choice) or red (second choice) for his bedroom walls, but is satisfied that bright blue will be good enough. It's easy enough to switch it out later on.
Colors mean and say a lot -- especially when they're chosen for one's personal space. Considering the enormous patience the entire family has demonstrated over the past few months, it's a simple thing to let each person select his/her favorite. I'm not sure what it says about me that I'm the most neutral of the bunch, but there it is.
We're a colorful combo.
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