Painting the Drawing Room

I've always been fond of this grey-green hue.  Muddy colors in general appeal to me because they are so complicated and change color with the varying light.  We have the Pantone catalog of colors at the department store where I work in Display, so I spent my lunch hour perusing the thousands of thumbnail swatches and gradually whittled my selection down.

Then it was off to Home Depot, where they wisely started offering 8oz. sample jars of paint for just a few bucks.  Eight ounces doesn't sound like much, but it was still way more than I needed --thank god I didn't buy a whole quart!

Unfortunately, after painting a partial wall, I found the color too bright.  Back to square one, darlings!  Of course I couldn't get too upset --did you hear the Entrance Hall of Merriman Park is now ensconced in Sue Cook's Gallery?  Oh, you already knew?  My, how news travels!

Well anyway,  I decided that since the color was all wrong, instead of just shelving it until it dried up to dust, I'd try doctoring it up, myself.  A few squirts of Alizarin Crimson should do the trick.  Sho' nuff, it worked!  If you ever want to tone down a color, always use its exact opposite on the color wheel (never black)! --works like a charm and you won't get a murky mess.

I chose a velvety brown for the niches.  Mrs. Thorn used a similar scheme in one of her rooms to great effect.  I am not planning on using the bust of George Washington in the niche, but it gives you a hint of what a statue will look like (if ever I find a pair)!

Since I was kind of on a roll, I thought I'd tackle the fireplace.  I was going for a brown marble effect and even though its been ages since I faux-marbled anything, it's a little frightening how it all comes back.  You have to understand, darlings, that I had the misfortune of living through that brief, tragic moment in history when every and I mean everything was faux-painted!  I think I've already written about how my ex-best friend, Todd faux-marbled his entire dining room set: table, chairs, all of it in painstakingly wrought in shiny, black marble.  I was like, "really?  Marble Windsor-style chairs, huh?  They must be really heavy."

Anyway, here's my version, though it turned out a bit lighter than I had imagined.  But I'll live with it for a few days and we'll see if it makes the final cut.

I also managed to drill all the holes for the wiring, my Christmas present is rumored to be a chandelier and wall sconces!  So all in all, a pretty productive weekend! 

Have a great week!