painting

My parents bought a new house so yesterday I helped them paint the walls a pretty color with a sophisticated name, something like, almond butter. It really made the house, which was totally an old lady house, much brighter and easier to be in. They get new hardwood floors next week. It is going to be beautiful.
Painting that house made me want to paint mine. Joey has denied this request, oh, maybe a hundred times.
See, the problem is I get all hyped about some idea, some canary yellow or mysterious purple, and when it's all done the house or room looks like the carnival just passed through. It never comes out looking as perfect and grown-up as it was in my dreams. In fact, it almost always comes out looking horrible, like a eight year old was in charge.
So what do you do?
Here are some tips I have picked up along the colorful pathway of my mistakes:

Pay the extra ten dollars and buy a little can of the paint you think is perfect. Paint a huge section of the wall, not just two feet. Live with it for two days so you can see how the paint looks at all different times of the day, as well as the effect the color has on you as you live in it.
Don't be afraid to go bold, but be patient and make sure you sample the color first. Be willing to switch colors if you want to, or if your husband wants to. I have also read that in painting, 75% of your effort should go into the preparation. I am always so darn excited to get the color on the wall I forget about things like taping edges, taking down pictures and mirrors (I am the type to just paint around the mirror), moving furniture to the center of the room before your hands are all splattered in paint, and the biggest of all: drop cloths.


I think that would have cured all my mistakes. I am currently wanting to paint my bedroom these beautiful sea green/blues. We'll see if I can convince Joey I have seen the error of my ways, I will buy a can of paint to sample, I will use drop cloths, and we will love it at the end. We'll see.