Wrong color! - Don't know what to do

mysweetpeasWil&Wes wrote: DH was so sweet and gave the go ahead to buy the bedding set that I love for Wil at PB Kids, so I bought it a couple weekends ago so that we could match the paint and he could start painting the room. This is a pic of the bedding (just the quilt and sham, not the bug duvet/sheets)...

Bright Stripes Quilt

Well in the pic, it shows a red room, but DH and I didn't want red...I suggested a lime green to steer away from so much blue, but DH suggested orange since there are several bright orange stripes throughout the quilt (you can't see it in the pic). So we bought orange paint, which I thought was more of a nice sherbert, but after painting it, it's definitely more of a Tigger orange or maybe a better way to describe it is Home Depot orange! We only did half the room, meaning there is a chair rail dividing the room horizontally, so the orange is only a small section on the bottom half of the room, white on top...But it's still not very pleasant to look at! DH spent a lot of time doing it and I know that we both don't like it, but I can't get myself to say anything. The new furniture will be here Thursday, so I'm hoping the dark wood will help mute the color some, plus the blue bedding is a good contrast since blue and orange are complimentary colors. So maybe that's all it needs, right?

What should I do? Let it go and see how it looks with everything set up? Or tell DH now so that he can paint before the furniture gets delivered? Although he admits to hating it too, I still feel like the bad one if I told him we should change it, kwim?

gr33n3y3z replied: If you both dont like it change it now

luvbug00 replied: If you both hate it. change it. I don't think he'd mind if he really doesn't like it.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Really? He keeps griping about how he doesn't want to re-do it, but he also gripes about how he hates the color. So I'm stuck in a bad place, especially since he said in the middle of painting "tell me now so that I can stop if we need too"! But I couldn't tell I didn't like it until he was finished!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I'd change it. It'll be a lot easier to do now than after you've got all the furniture in there!

Reds and Oranges always dry a lot darker and brighter than the card shows. Try a lighter shade... and to make sure it doesn't happen again, I'd either just paint one little spot and let it dry so you can see how it looks, or ask them if you can paint a bit of wood or paper right in the store after they mix it - after you've been dissatisfied once it wouldn't be too much to ask.

ETA: I love that quilt!

jcc64 replied: Btdt, MANY times. Keep in mind that b/c I am a designer in the home furnishing business, I am far pickier than most, I am borderline neurotic about colors. If it isn't exactly right, it gets changed asap. The room I am sitting in right now (my studio) was painted 3 times (by me) before I was satisfied. Paint is relatively cheap considering the profound effect it has on a room.You will forever regret not changing it. Do it before the furniture gets there! Orange is probably a pretty difficult color to get "right". Also, having gone to Syracuse University, I am no fan of blue and orange. I'd go with the lime green. I just painted my ds' room with a similiar color called Dill Pickle from Benjamin Moore. It's just the right combination of bright and cheerful w/o being obnoxious. It happens to be available in one of their little sample bottles that costs $3.99 and allows you to test a little on the wall before committing to a lot of paint.
Another option is to apply a color wash or sponge paint on top of the orange to bring it closer to the orange you had in mind. If it's too bright, maybe sponge or colorwash a creme or tan over it to mute it down. It's relatively easy to do- every home center carries how-to pamphlets about faux finishes.
Good luck!

mckayleesmom replied: Maybe you will change your mind once the furniture is in the room.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied:
Thanks Jeanne! Hmmmm, I thought about the faux finish, but I'm still afraid of the orange. We sat in the room this evening and figured we would just put primer over it for now instead of making DH frantically paint before the furniture arrives on Thursday. He's been working 13 hour days, so I don't want to throw him over the edge! I may play it safe and go with a blue, although I didn't want blue originally (too typical for a boy IMO), but I may take your suggestion on the lime green and buy a tester this weekend! Thanks!

I think what bites is that I can't help DH because I'm PG and don't want to breathe the fumes. So it's hard to tell him what I want when I'm just standing around, kwim? Poor guy. But he hates it too! What were we thinking???? It looks like a big jail cell or a hockey rink!

BTW, you would think I would know better too with the Broncos being blue and orange, ICK, but in my mind, it was sherbert!!

~~*Missi*~~ replied: If you really don't like it both of you it would be way easier to re-paint now without all the furniture in it. But then again maybe it will look better all finished but you know the furniture and bedding and probably can see that room in you head and if it doesn't work do it now while you have less "work"!

Good luck
Post pics that may help

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Rae~maybe try a glaze-that can tone down the color and is not as much work since you do not have to paint perfectly like you do with a solid color paint...

amymom replied:

I really like this idea. Maybe use the white over it or a blue. Or the tan. I think it would look great.

MommyToAshley replied: I'd repaint it. But, if your DH is working long days, it can always wait until later.

A friend of mine painted her kitchen a "stone brown" It sounds like a dark color, but it's actually a really light tan that looks tan sometimes and looks grey other times. I thought I would hate it and the room would look like a big cave, but I love it once I saw it on the wall. I think it would be perfect with the quilt. It would make the colors of the quilt pop out. You could add a border or other accents throughout the room. I like the idea of the lime green, but I wounder if it would be too bright if you add a lot of other accents throughout the room. (Although I like bright rooms for kids) Just a thought.

widgetX12 replied: I think a nice shade of green would complement that comforter nicely.