Paint, Textured Walls and OCD Don’t Mix

For those of you who are trying to figure out what has inspired the hurricane spotlight on my blog this week, I’ll grant you a peak inside my mind.  The purchase of our very first home is on the horizon and it has me taking a closer look at the homes I run by in our neighboring areas and thinking back to what changed the landscape in Central Florida eight years ago.  We’ve been very fortunate thus far to not have endured another season as memorable as the one in 2004 and I’m hoping it stays that way for the rest of this year.

In an effort to appreciate all that we’ve learned from the past and pay tribute to those who are still living each day with blatant reminders of the 2004 hurricane season you’ll be seeing a few posts each week about what led us to where we are today.  Of course, that won’t keep me from my standard “through my eyes” posts completely.  Just think of it as two hurricane history lessons each week in addition to the quirky rants you normally flock to indulge in.

An in an effort to not delay your weekly glimpse into my brain any longer, today’s topic is paint selection.  I’m not sure if it has been my exposure to other’s decorating choices, or if in another life I was a khaki wearing desert explorer who’s suddenly had enough, but I seem to have a problem with all things beige.  It’s to the point that I’m declaring anything that is anywhere near the realm of tan or light brown as beige and I can’t stand the sight of it.  Why does everyone seem to feel that beige is the new black?  Or in the case of house paint I should say the new white.  I can’t take it any more people.  Stop being so afraid of color!  I know it sounds nuts coming from the girl who used to only wear black, grey and white, but those days are over and now I proudly wear my obnoxiously loud shade of red with pride.

Since we picked out our furniture we had to head back to the drawing board when it comes to paint choices and it’s been dreadfully painful finding colors that are uplifting, but not too bright.  They need to be colorful, but not too distracting.  Colors that looks good with the furniture, but don’t match it and turn our rooms into a bomb shelter of darkness.  This is enough to drive a person mad.  Who knew picking paint would be so difficult.  I think we are almost to the point that we have a palate picked out for the downstairs and the master bedroom, but don’t be surprised if the rest of the house takes a little longer to spruce up.  However, since those rooms are the only ones that will have any furniture, I don’t think it will be a problem if the remaining walls stay white for a while.

While I continue boycotting all things beige, maybe someone can fill me in on the best way to have a paint party if you have extreme edging OCD.  My poor boyfriend pointed out to me earlier this week that the only way we can continue having a healthy and joyful relationship is if I edge the whole house, since last time he ever so sweetly surprised me by painting a wall I redid all the edging myself.  He had good intentions, but my OCD kicked in and started a war with the textured wars in our townhouse.  While I look ahead at how many hours it will take to complete this task, I’m wondering how to be able to have a paint party and get assistance from my friends without going over everything they just did because I have a serious trust issue where edging is concerned.  Anyone have any suggestions on how to get the project done without making my eye twitch?