Our first painting decision and greatest painting dilemma came in the form of a red room. Jen's favorite color is red, Hawk finds red dining rooms classy yet bold. We knew it had been done in just about everyone's dining room since 1997, and many a mover-friend remarked, "Well, at least you'll fit in," but we still wanted to go ahead with it. Here's an example of the color Hawk had in mind:
Here's more of what I had in mind, minus the stripes---think overall look:
painting lesson #1: Think as a pair and go with what you like as a couple, even if it is unoriginal. We received a lot of friendly criticism (mostly from my home-owner friends), but we forged ahead anyway and are grateful we made that decision. The question for homeowners shouldn't be, "How do we make this totally unique and new?" I believe it should be, "How do we take pride in our work here, what do we want to convey to those who visit, and what do we actually want to see everyday?" We knew we wanted our guests to feel warm and comfortable in our home. We wanted to see life from room to room. And we wanted to do the work ourselves. For us, the decision to go red was a no-brainer.
{the devoted detail} When we first moved in together (after our wedding) Jen thought she would have the say in the majority of decorating, but we soon discovered that Hawk also wanted a say in the look and feel of the house. The male-female territorial stereotypes were clearly not holding ground here. After a little humbling reflection, Jen concluded this: What would I rather have in 20 years: a home that always reflected one person in the union (lets say for argument's sake that Jen is an incredible decorator), or story upon story of the struggle it took to make it our home and the evidence of a family? So even though her shade of red was better (wink wink), we concluded that the unified front made for a better home for us.
{the devoted detail} When we first moved in together (after our wedding) Jen thought she would have the say in the majority of decorating, but we soon discovered that Hawk also wanted a say in the look and feel of the house. The male-female territorial stereotypes were clearly not holding ground here. After a little humbling reflection, Jen concluded this: What would I rather have in 20 years: a home that always reflected one person in the union (lets say for argument's sake that Jen is an incredible decorator), or story upon story of the struggle it took to make it our home and the evidence of a family? So even though her shade of red was better (wink wink), we concluded that the unified front made for a better home for us.
In coming posts, I'll include a photo of the original dining room as well as some of the reds we considered.
upcoming painting lessons: {sneak peek} painting lesson #2: where's waldo?
~j
yeah, the red room thing is done a lot, but it can be really cool. I like that you and your husband are doing this together. A lot of people would die to have their signicant other involved! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteCan you post more pictures of the inside of your house?
Thanks!
Yes, please give some guidance on the reds. I don't think I'd paint a whole room red right now, but I'd like to get an idea of some options in case I do a bookcase or set of chairs or something.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't say whose red you went with. Was it a compromise?