Top 5 Favorite, No Fail Paint Colors

It's no secret around here. I love to paint. It's like therapy to me. There's something about the smell and watching the walls change colors with every pass of the roller. Add in some great showtunes to sing along with and it's a perfect way to spend an evening.

It's also no secret that I'm a weirdy.

Since I love painting so much, you would think I'd have an easy time picking out paint colors. Nope. I love the process. I love the paint chips. I love testing out the colors. But it stresses me out.

It's like I can feel the colors. It has to feel just right and have the perfect undertone. A perfectly good color can make me feel extremely uncomfortable depending on the room and the lighting. Weirdy, remember?

My top five favorite paint colors are colors I have agonized over finding. Like, there may have been tears involved. I've spent a small fortune in discovering them(would you believe how expensive 20 sample paint pots can be?). These are all colors I have lived with in my house and that I love.

Pantone Color of the Year 2016

Guys.

Guess what I found at Target?

Pleated culottes.

Picking a Paint Color for the Craft Room

Ok, I am so excited because I'm finally seeing the end in sight for our little craft/exercise room! It's been so cluttered and junked up for too long and I've slowly been chipping away at it. For two years.

Last year I worked on reducing the amount of stuff I had. There are still a few things I'm holding onto that I probably shouldn't have but I have a whole lot less than I did! Even after that, I'm still having a storage issue. That has been the main hindrance to making this room organized and functional.

I've figured out a furniture layout that I think will work. I'd love to have a small table to work at in this room but, unless I find a great deal at a thrift store this year, the table will have to wait. So right now I'm focusing on creating that storage I need that's functional but looks nice too. I'm planning on hanging shelves on one wall and I wanted to get the painting out of the way before doing that.

Usually it takes me forever to decide on a paint color but this time it took me one day. I'm usually up nights thinking about colors for weeks and asking Hubby's opinion every two seconds on three shades of gray-white that he can't tell the difference between. Not this time. I'm so proud of myself.

Bringing Color to a Boring Hallway

I did a thing. Randomly on a whim. I really didn't think this one through. I did just enough thinking to make sure I had a clean paintbrush and a stir stick.

I painted the inside of our front door.

I have been really bored with the hallway and up the stairs. As I was pondering how to remedy the situation, I remembered that colored door trend that I had wanted to try someday. Why not now? The whole hallway needs new paint anyway, what's the worst that can happen?

You know, besides Hubby coming home from work to find me covered in paint, aggravated that I painted something instead of putting the laundry away?

Eh, details.

Here we have the before and after, my friends!

Decorating with Navy Blue

Clockwise from top right: Living Room, Kitchen, Office, Bedroom, Living Room, Bedroom, Living Room, Bath

Navy blue is an "in" color right now. And the best thing about this trend, is its timelessness. Navy never goes out of style! Navy can be a neutral or a color. You can pair it with neutrals or colors. It can be bright or muted. It's pretty and awesome!

Right now, I'm getting ready to redo the Little Man's room and navy is one of the main colors I'm using. It's gonna be gorgeeeeoooous! It's my new favorite color!

Anyways, there are so many great navy color combos out there! If you've been thinking of using navy in your home, here are some beautiful inspiration photos to get you going.

Sources, clockwise from top right: Dining Room, Living Room, Office, Living Room, Bath, Dining Room, Family Room, Bedroom

I love the classic navy and white! Everything just pops against it! To keep it from feeling too cool, warm it up with natural fibers, like a cowhide or sisal rug, and layer on the textures with lace, paneling, or baskets.

Sources, clockwise from top right: Bedroom, Living Room, Bedroom, Kid's Room, Bedroom, Dining Room, Bedroom, Living Room

This is my second favorite navy combo. Green will also be in the Little Man's room!

Sources, clockwise from top right: Living Room, Nursery, Bedroom, Living Room, Bedroom, Living Room, Nursery, Bedroom

I never thought I was a fan of orange, but I am loving these rooms! I think I'll try to bring some pumpkin orange in with pillows come fall. And the coral nursery is so sweet!

Sources, clockwise from top right: Living Room, Bedroom, Living Room, Living Room, Bedroom, Living Room, Living Room, Bedroom

Red can come off looking too overtly 4th of July-ish when paired with blue(not that it's a bad thing if that's what your going for!) But it can also be playful, moody, or sophisticated. I love that moody navy bedroom with the dark red rug!

Sources, clockwise from top right: Dining Room, Nursery, Living Room, Bedroom, Living Room, Kitchen, Bedroom, Living Room

Yellow isn't my favorite, but it can look so cheerful and bright, or even moody, when paired with navy.

I just picked some of the main color combos out there. There are so many variations and different shades to pick from, this post barely scratches the surface! So what are your favorite navy color combos? What color scheme would you absolutely never use?

Link Parties:

Hookin Up with HOH: House of Hepworths

I Gotta Create: Wildly Original

Time to Sparkle: Love Grows Wild

Two Girls and a Party: This Silly Girl's Life

Whimsy Wednesdays: The NY Melrose Family

Handmade By You: Made to be a Momma

Master Bedroom Re-do

Remember back here when I gave you a peek of the inspiration for our master bedroom? I finally painted it. The walls had been sporting the I'm-trying-to-pick-a-paint-dalmatian-look since, oh, Thanksgiving-ish? Or is it Christmas-ish? It's been a while.

I finally decided on Partridge Gray by Glidden and Better Homes and Gardens. It took me a week or so to paint it since I was the only one painting. Don't get me wrong, Hubby totally would have helped if I had asked, but I absolutely adore painting. He doesn't. And I rather enjoyed my quiet evenings painting this room.

I've scoured my computer and, unfortunately, I cannot find the 'before' pictures of our room. I must have accidentally deleted them off my camera before I uploaded them. And I am so happy with our room now that it makes me quite sad that I don't have any pictures of it from before. It's quite the transformation.

This was the wall color. It was the same color that is currently in the guest room. Not bad, but not us. And there was absolutely nothing on the walls except a few cube shelves in one corner.

This picture is from our previous apartment, just to show you what our bedding looked like. The brown would have worked, but the background is more cream than white so the bedding looked dingy and blended in with the yellow walls. But I do love that print(I'm sure I'll think of something to do with it.)

The shams on the bed are my shortened king-size pillows. The blue pillows were downstairs on our couch but I think they like it here better. The king-sized blanket is folded in between two flat sheets at the moment until I can make a new duvet cover out of them. Wow, and I just realized that everything in this photo is from Target, minus the little things on the nightstands. The nightstands, lamp bases and shades, sheets, gray duvet set, and the blue pillows are all from Target.

I have a serious problem with that place, people.

And I also have a problem with ironing. Moving on...

Down came the sliding closet doors and up went the IKEA curtains. Before we redid this room, our bed was under the big window there, wedged in between the wall and the bathroom door. The room feels much bigger now that the bed is against the long wall instead of the short wall.

Our nightstands were becoming a haven for a ridiculous amount of books so I stuck two old baskets in each nightstand to hold them all.

This is the side of the room that needs more work. The shutters are a future diy project that will hang on the wall. Isn't my dresser pretty?

You've already seen the framed jewelry hanging on the wall. On the other side of the bed, I framed scrapbook paper in frames from the Dollar Tree. I love how the gray print echoes the design on the dresser.

I want to point out my floor mirror. I've been wanting one but they are super expensive! I picked that up at the thrift store for $10. It ain't fancy and it needs something. Paint or stain? I was thinking paint but looking at it right now, I'm thinking about a nice dark walnut stain.

Ignore the broken IKEA chair. Which by the way, is now fixed thanks to hubby!

The next thing on our list for this room is getting the curtains up. I do have curtains, but I forgot some of the hardware when I went to IKEA so they are not up yet. Sad day.

I love our new room! It is relaxing, romantic, and completely us.

Gray Areas

I'm in the middle of a master bedroom makeover.

Up until this point, our bedroom has been a weird mixture of blue, brown, green, and pink. It wasn't amazing but it wasn't as bad as it sounds either. Trust me.

The pink happened because, pre-marriage, my old bedroom was brown and pink. I just brought my pink and flowery pillows with me. The green happened because I had random old green glass bottles lying around. The blue and brown were deliberate and look quite lovely together, in my humble but right opinion.

Before we had the little man, we had a one bedroom apartment with light brown walls so any color worked with it. When we moved in to our bigger place, our bedroom came with light yellow walls. I'm sure I could work the yellow with the blue and brown, but I'm just not a fan of yellow. Even such a nice, creamy, buttery, yellow.

Several months ago, I found these at Target.

And I fell in love. And I was inspired. And I obviously bought them. So much for trying to be thrifty.

Gray.