Old Yeller

I pride myself on being a decisive person but because I am also a frugal one, I cannot abide expensive mistakes. As I embark on another painting adventure (a bathroom, this time) I do not want to get the colour wrong particularly when I’ll be using a top price paint like Benjamin Moore. (Careful readers may recall my previous, joyous renovation recounted here not long ago).

I was especially rattled because this particular bathroom has remained a poisonous Cough Drop Yellow for many years after I thought I had chosen a pale Shortbread colour. I just couldn’t face the stress of tackling it again. (And take note, this heinous colour was from a cheap and unpleasant paint store that just happened to be closer. Never again).

The General has been quite vocal about his distaste for this bathroom and has casually asked a few times if I chose that colour myself, even though he knows quite well that I did. Now that I am in the throes of sanding, filling holes and ultimately re-painting I naturally invited him to participate in the new paint selection process.

We trundled off to the paint store and returned with actual samples. (Such a brilliant idea - you can paint a square of cardboard or a broad stripe on the wall and view the paint in different lights in order to make choosing easier!) The little pots are generous enough that you could use the rest for a small project like a bird house or even a wee table.

But unlike myself, The General is anything but decisive. His eyes were darting about in the paint store (possibly looking for the exit sign) and he was overwhelmed by the colour displays. He unhelpfully said “green sounds good” a few times when pressed. Fortunately, but not coincidentally, I had already spent hours online researching so we returned home with Beach Pebble, Quiet Moments and a Grecian Green.

As the week progressed, The General feigned mild interest (he looked a bit like the swaying victims of Kaa in The Jungle Book) and may not have been fully listening as I extolled the virtues of alternative, possibly superior greens like Soft Fern or the ever-popular October Mist. There were also whites - hundreds of them - to complement them. To be fair, even I was going slightly mad by this time, but I wanted to get it right.

Sadly, once applied, the samples all became different versions of Elephant Gray since the yellow still flared beneath like turmeric cat sick. (This is not a Benjamin Moore favourite).

It was clear that the walls would have to be fully primed with white first - and then the sample colours re-applied.

After many (many) hours of work, I invited The General in to help me choose.

He looked around, up and down, nodding his head slowly and I could see he was weighing his words carefully.

“It’s gotta be this one,” he said with conviction, gently tapping the all-white of the freshly primed wall. “It really pops. Looks so fresh in here now! What’s this one called again?”

“They call it Primer,” I said, looking for a stir stick to bite on. “It’s very popular.”

Then, because he had been so genuinely earnest we both started laughing. Uncontrollably.

The painting continues … and Grecian Green is the winner since I know readers are now on the edge of their seats.

*** Disclaimer: Benjamin Moore did not supply me with paint (sadly!) or endorse any of these lovely comments about them but they remain THE BEST.