Fresh Coat

We're getting ready to paint our hallway, which will ultimately lead to our living room.  This is a huge step in Mandyland.  I've tried to convince Chad to paint our "perfectly fine white walls" for seven years now.  Those "perfectly fine white walls" were covered with a thin, primer-like coat of watery paint by the contractors.  They're matte finished and have annoyed me almost as much as our carpet.

But that's all behind me.  We're painting.

I took a trip to Lowe's to find a color and buy a couple gallons.  After searching through their overwhelming selection, I decided on a nice neutral called "Burnt Stone" and a coordinating white called "Snowtop".  I walked to the rows of paint and grabbed three gallons of white semi gloss for $19.99 each. I met the paint mixer at the counter.

"I'm sorry, but we can't mix these colors with this paint."

"Really?"

"Yes.  These colors go with our Premium paint line."

"And how much is that a gallon?"

"Well, the satin is $38 and the semi-gloss is $42."

"Are you kidding?!"

"Yeah...I'm sorry."

"So what colors go with this paint?"

"You can choose from that section over there."  She pointed to a tiny wall of basic colors.  I started to see the method to their madness.  They lure you in with beautiful colors.  They overwhelm you with choices and then, after you decide, you're too numb to buy the less expensive paint.

"And what about those colors there?"  I motioned towards a half wall of paint chips.

"They're $25 a gallon."

"Fine.  I'll go find new colors."  I chose "Dove" and "Cincinnatian Hotel Nichols Taupe".  Seriously.  That's the name.

It's been a while since I've bought paint, but at both OSH and Home Depot, I simply picked up a can of paint - usually a middle-of-the-road base - and then they mix whatever color I want.  It's not that I don't understand that a higher quality of paint lasts longer, but, despite Chad's feelings to the contrary, I'm notorious for re-painting.  The bedrooms have all be two different colors and the front bathroom went from white to yellow to green over the course of a week.  I don't need premium paint.

Lesson learned:  Don't buy paint at Lowe's.

Now for the fun part.  I've taped off the six doors and all the molding I can reach.  Chad and I are going to attempt to paint while Joseph bounces around and Elizabeth...sleeps?  Wish us luck!