My insane happy place? Painting!

Those who know me know that I love to paint! I'm a little sick like that, but I am an instant satisfaction kinda gal and I think that painting a room {or a piece of furniture} is the fastest and most impactful change to a room {or piece of furnitur}. There is no way I could count how many rooms I have painted or helped paint. How many stripes or treatments I have put on walls...I just LOVE PAINT!!

These pants are my fave...they tell a story of most rooms I have painted in the past 7 years. However, today is the day they went in the trash because, well, there is a new hole that I can't show you that turned into an even bigger hole in the wrong place. Let's just say, I have only one set of cheeks I would like to show off...even when I'm painting.

I will miss you paint pants. You've been good to me.

However, this is not about these pants, but I did have to give them a shout out really quick. OK, on to the topic at hand...

Paint and my office/craft room

Usually I'm pretty good at picking a paint in the store. I have chosen a paint color without even looking at it in the room and surprisingly had great luck after getting it home and slapping it on the walls...loving it!! One of those Lucky color choices was the color of the pantry...which is also going to be the color splash in the newly remodeled kitchen {we are working on that right now}.

However, when picking out the color for my office/craft room I failed MISERABLY this time! Ugh...makes me want to poke my eye out with a dull spoon {yes, I'm dramatic!}. I thought I wanted to switch it up and have a cool, earthy, hip color. I need to remember that I'm not that cool, earthy, hip chick so why would I like that color? Here is what I started with...

Gross, right? Trust me, it's gross. It's also a Matte finish...even worse! If you think this grayish purple looks cool and is trendy right now, it's not in this room. Looks like depressed Barney exploded on the walls! I did NOT paint this color. This was the color of the room when we moved in 3 months ago. NOT creative or inspiring =( So, I decided to repaint, finally!

I couldn't stand it anymore and wanted creative serenity in my little space.

So, I chose Martha Stewart's "Lemon Balm". Looked amazing, cool and very different than anything I would usually pick so I went with it. Bought the gallon of paint right then and there without even taking paint chips home first. And here is what I have...

Again, it's a little tough to see how horrible it is, but it has a neon green hue to it. Martha Stewart's "lemon balm" sucks balm! haha...once again, dramatic and maybe a bit too graphic, but let's just say, it's not good in my craft room.

So, back to the drawing board. Remember, my craft room inspiration picture? No? Well, here is a reminder...

Ahhh, now THAT is creative serenity. So, back to Lowe's to pick out more color chips. This time all the colors that caught my eye, came home with me.

I wasn't taking any chances this time...Pretty sure there are like 500 colors here

{once again, a little dramatic}

Seriously, though...don't you love paint chips? I would wall paper a room in them if I had the patience

So, here is my strategy when I am choosing a color...I tape them up next to the trim and start by the process of elimination...too Green, too gray, too blue, too yellow...

"Morning Fog" Just right!
{just in case it's hard to read, it's the top color}

Here are the accent colors that I will have going through the room. Inspiration was this cool giant clothes pin that my sweet friend Melinda covered for me in this FAB scrapbook paper. You LOVE??? I do!!!

So, tomorrow I'm off to Lowes to get this new color and stay tuned for the new room transformation!