Next Step: Paint

This is just a small sample of the many materials I have 
   been saving for years for the time when I would be able to 
                     paint my house the colors I want.

This is it. In one week we will be in our new home, whether it is finished or not. Our lease is up and we are more than ready to stop paying rent and a mortgage so it is time to go. Easier said than done and it means the last month has been split between making decisions for the renovation AND trying to organize/pack/discard/move as much stuff as I can to save on the moving costs.

This has left me in a schizophrenic place. One side of my mind wants to get more and more out of the rental house, to see it empty out and feeling a sense of accomplishment. The other side, is that it now longer feels like a welcoming space. All of our personal touches are gone, nothing is where it is supposed to be, so I have no sense of respite- which is hard. Basically, I am a creature of habit and after almost two years I am used to this beat-up old house and am having odd feelings of dread about moving. Crazy, right? Have you ever felt that, in leaving one situation for another?

Aside from getting out of the old house, I'm still under pressure regarding the renovation. Last week was about choosing paint. In this one area, I would seem to be very prepared:

It was quite the surprise then to realize, after two rounds of samples gone bad...I. HATE. PICKING. PAINT. Worse, I'm no good at it. It comes down to a fundamental problem: I can't visualize what a color will look like on a wall from a chip. Now, I know few people can but I can't even pick a sample from a chip. They are inevitably too light, too dark, too bright. I am the Goldilocks of the paint world.

This is made worse by the fact that the paint industry feels like a scam. Even designers purchase sample sizes and paint them on a wall to make a choice. That is super and helpful but it adds up! 5 samples and you've spent as much as a gallon (and wasted all that paint) so you are less likely to keep looking and just settle for the one you hate least. 

Having said all that here is where we are so far:

 For the first time in my life, I'm going with grey for the living room, dining room, hallway, and kitchen. It's a soft dove grey but comes off a bit darker in these photos.

These are the two options for the bedroom. The one on the right is my original choice but in person it comes off too bright- like something for a children's room. The one on the left is a soft, blue-grey. Very soothing.

And in case you're wondering how I came up with these two choices? They're both from different rooms in our rental house. I am a creature of habit.

Just to give you a sense as to why I'm interested in subdued, quiet colors in our house. This was the kitchen in our Portland house. Every room was a different bold color. It was well-thought out but I want more neutrals now.

Do you love paint? Are you one of those people who re-paints their house yearly or changes paint color in a room to suit your mood? What kind of colors do you like?