“Buttercup Yellow” was the name on the little paint chip that I brought home from the store and carefully held up against cabinets and curtains. The paint on the little card was a soft creamy yellow, the color of well…butter. It was a shade that made me feel happy and awake. A perfect color for our kitchen (or so I thought). I began to paint, and right away the yellow seemed much yellower than I’d expected. It was almost brutally yellow. I began to panic a little bit as the dandelion paint covered every wall.... I calmed my nerves by rationalizing that surely the boldness was temporary. Once dry it would definitely match the subtle and cheerful buttercup I’d been promised.
But no. The paint did dry, but that paint chip had clearly lied. No buttercup this bold ever existed in nature.
This yellow was Yellow with a capital Y, followed by an exclamation point! We quickly renamed it “Spongebob Squarepants Yellow” for that seemed far more appropriate than the soft and girly "buttercup".
The first time Dan saw the new wall color, he raised his eyebrows questioningly, but said nothing (probably noting the tears welling in my eyes). This was not at all what I’d envisioned or told my husband to expect. I think that he would have agreed to new paint on the spot, had I asked, but I’m a cheapskate and couldn’t bare to waste that much paint just because of the color. Besides, when I looked on the bright side (of the situation, not the walls) I noted that it did match my 1950’s diner style kitchen table. Also the stark white curtains I’d hung really popped against the French's Mustard colored background.
So I gritted my teeth, and decided that I’d make do. And I have.
Over two years have passed since the paint brushes were put away, and the walls are still yellow.
And you know what? Somewhere along the way, I began to really enjoy our freakishly golden kitchen. I found myself apologizing less and less, even as our visitors' eyes grew larger. I love sitting at my kitchen table, paging through stacks of cookbooks or writing letters to my Grandma. If I'm struggling to get motivated in the morning, a cup of coffee in my little kitchen really perks me up. Well, the caffeine doesn't hurt of course, but the color is a happy one. It's vibrant and it's bold and it's unique.
I'm sure a professional decorator would be able to come up with a hundred reasons to re-paint.
I don't care.
I like that it's different, because truth be told - so am I.
But no. The paint did dry, but that paint chip had clearly lied. No buttercup this bold ever existed in nature.
This yellow was Yellow with a capital Y, followed by an exclamation point! We quickly renamed it “Spongebob Squarepants Yellow” for that seemed far more appropriate than the soft and girly "buttercup".
The first time Dan saw the new wall color, he raised his eyebrows questioningly, but said nothing (probably noting the tears welling in my eyes). This was not at all what I’d envisioned or told my husband to expect. I think that he would have agreed to new paint on the spot, had I asked, but I’m a cheapskate and couldn’t bare to waste that much paint just because of the color. Besides, when I looked on the bright side (of the situation, not the walls) I noted that it did match my 1950’s diner style kitchen table. Also the stark white curtains I’d hung really popped against the French's Mustard colored background.
So I gritted my teeth, and decided that I’d make do. And I have.
Over two years have passed since the paint brushes were put away, and the walls are still yellow.
And you know what? Somewhere along the way, I began to really enjoy our freakishly golden kitchen. I found myself apologizing less and less, even as our visitors' eyes grew larger. I love sitting at my kitchen table, paging through stacks of cookbooks or writing letters to my Grandma. If I'm struggling to get motivated in the morning, a cup of coffee in my little kitchen really perks me up. Well, the caffeine doesn't hurt of course, but the color is a happy one. It's vibrant and it's bold and it's unique.
I'm sure a professional decorator would be able to come up with a hundred reasons to re-paint.
I don't care.
I like that it's different, because truth be told - so am I.
No comments:
Post a Comment