26 January 2006

Roy G. Biv

Today I drove the Bug down to my local Sherwin-Williams to hunt for a swatch of Banana Cream paint. I am weak to the almost constant temptation of painting and repainting the rooms in our house...(sometimes it takes awhile to get it just right.) In fact, the only space that has retained its original color from the previous homeowner is the rich lipstick red of our dining room. Most of the other rooms in the house have been slapped with rollers and trim brushes at least a few times in the past two years. I’ve had a couple of mishaps with purple: a lavender bathroom that looked like old lady eyeshadow…and the time I painted the entry hall bright Barney purple -- a failed attempt at finding an inviting shade of plum. We recently (re)painted our guest room a vibrant peacock blue, transforming it into a cozy workspace for Jeremy to hide away and song-write. And I like it a lot. So far.

It was on our visit to Savannah last November that we discovered a beautiful creamy yellow on the walls of the Eli Whitney Room where we stayed in the Gastonian B&B. I had to have this color.

Our bedroom at home is drab khaki-taupe, and since we only have one small window and lots of deep stained moldings, the space feels almost absent of light. Jeremy calls it a cave. I have been thinking a lighter color might be just the ticket.

So last week I called up the Gastonian and asked to know what color they had painted the Eli Whitney Room. Sherwin-Williams Banana Cream.

Color is such an important thing to me. I don’t think I could have a house with every room painted white, even though I'd like the cleanness of it. If you enter our house today and begin walking from room to room, you’ll move from Iced Apricot to Blue Lagoon. Ruby Red to Pale Sage. Fresh Butter to Misty Sea...

Banana Cream seems like the logical next choice, don't you think?

Sounds like a carnival fun-house, I know…but for us it feels like an artist’s palette every time we turn a corner. To me, that feels like home.

2 comments:

Christine said...

That's always been one of my favorite things about all the places you've lived...the every-changing wall colors :) You never know...when you talk in the door...what color it'll be today. Glad to see you're keeping up the tradition :)

Love you,
Stine

PS. I'm still loving the book you gave me, and putting it to good use!!

Lauren said...

kierstin, i completely agree with you on the personality that color brings to a home. we moved into our house and promptly painted the rooms: french roast (dining room), ryegrass (living room), determined orange (guest room), plum dandy (playroom), lime rickey (office), teacup (bedroom) and van gogh (ella's room). we LOVE our yummy palette of color! i hope banana cream brings you just the effect you're hoping for....lauren