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Your advice: Paint Color Mistake (painting in progress)

12 years ago

Hi, I have been working on my front bathroom and have some serious doubts about the paint I am putting up there! Took a break to post these pix and ask your advice. Make it lighter? Change it entirely?? Your thoughts.

Specs: Small room 6x10, no natural light. Bought cherry/kona colored cabinet and will use same granite from my kitchen. Large mirror.

Primed room. Selected Behr Sonata blue 530E-3 and thought it would be light enough. Seemed the best match with other finishes going in. However, it is going on much darker. You'd think I'd know better by now, I usually don't make these mistakes. On the other hand, I'm quite talented at second guessing myself.

My idea: Paint the whole room (now that I'm in) and then go get the same color in a much lighter amount of tint. How do I tell HD?

My bathroom before we gutted it:

New cabinet. Sorry, photo is a little grainy w/out flash, when I use flash it makes the cab look orange and really it's more a cherry undertone.

My granite. IRL, Sonata Blue paint I picked is very close to light blue in it)

Here is a link that might be useful: Behr Sonata Blue Paint

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Comments (6)

User
12 years ago
It will lighten a bit as it dries. Give it a couple of hours and I think it will be perfect with your granite. I wouldn't want too much lighter at all.
jessicaml
12 years ago
Generally paint dries a shade or two darker from how it looks wet (haven't run into any exceptions yet, though the effect on the whole wall may seem lighter than it seems on a tiny chip).

However, I think perhaps right now you're reacting to the dramatic switch from white to blue. I bet it will look more like your vision once you finish painting. If not, and you still think it's too dark...at least it's a small room! If you stay in the same family and just go a bit lighter it shouldn't be hard to cover, either. Another option if you feel it's too dark it to paint the ceiling back to white.
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Thank you, Bonita! I wanted a different look than the kitchen and also was thinking of the "spa" trend in bathrooms. The granite photos I showed you are of the same granite in the kitchen.... I had part of a slab left which is what led me into a bathroom remodel. It was hard to let something so pretty go. We are putting the cabinet back in the room and having a look at it. I do have a 6x6 square sample of the granite I made them cut for me when I had the kitchen remodeled. I can bring that in too. Two of the three kids like the paint color. The third thinks it's a little too dark but doesn't think it merits repainting. We'll see.
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I think the wall color and cabinets look fine together. Much nicer than the previous oak look. I also think adding the glass doors to those two cabinets was a very good decision. If it were my kitchen I would do the dark grey on the pantry and desk area and then instead of doing white subways, I would the darker grey into the kitchen area by using dark grey subway (the same or similar grey as the dark grey cabinets) for the backsplash. It looks like your granite has some wine colored specks in it. I would try to add some of that color in an accent piece or two. I think you are probably overwhelmed and frustrated with your reno. Painting the cabinets yourself was a huge undertaking. I think your should finish the cabinets, then take a break and after you have lived with it for a while then reassess the wall color.
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colorfast
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you for your thoughts. It is drying a little darker, but it is also shinier than the sample since we did semi-enamel.

I think it will be okay and we will definitely wait until it dries and take down the tape and covers to get better feel.
My husband pointed out that one of our light fixtures is not in the room right now, and the lamp I have instead does weird things with the light. I will check in with the kids for their opinions...in the end it's their bathroom primarily.
CEFreeman
12 years ago
I think it will be like walking into a soft blue cloud!

I hope it's coming out as you'd planned! :)
colorfast
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for posting Christine. We are really mixed on it, now that it has dried and set for a couple of days. Oldest son feels it is too baby-boy nursery blue, and daughter said "well it was the best of the 3 colors you offered me." I see what they are saying. I was hoping for a spa-like feel and well, you all know. You're more up on the trends than me.

Husband had to install the cabinet for granite templating tomorrow. I could still paint but if I do repaint, he has requested I get it done before the granite itself is in, which gives me until Friday AM.

Am going to go to the guy who's good at Benajamin Moore tomorrow. It is a longer commute to go there than some of the other paint companies.

I will try to get a pix up early tomorrow AM. Hosted houseguests and Easter dinner. All good stuff and my kids got a chance to hang out with some close family friends but I'm a little tired.
jessicaml
12 years ago
I'm so sorry it's not quite what you/they had in mind! That's so frustrating after you go through the hassle of painting.

One trick I've heard to avoid picking a "baby boy blue" is to pick a gray that leans blue. My coworker used Ace Dover Gray in her bathroom and said it looks like a waterfall. My brother used Ace Silverton and it looks like a silvery blue (with dark wood vanity, wish I had a pic to share). Clark + Kensington Lucky charm might work, too, unless it's too dark.

I bookmarked the following link because it helped me decide to use BM Sailcloth color in my living room, but you can scroll down further to see BM "Pale Smoke" in the bathroom, another gray leaning blue.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pale Smoke bathroom

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