Me v.s. the Bathroom

[Willa]

It's been months, but the bathroom ceiling and walls are now as done as I am going make them. Between the calcimine/distemper paint nightmare, the bad fixes done by the PO, the failing scratch coat under everything and who knows what else, it took 10x as long as I ever thought this would take. I got the primer tinted a color I couldn't tolerate, then I chose a paint color that looked just wrong in the room. It was a vintage coral pink but on the walls it was much more blue and looked like Barbie's reno mistake. I toned it down to a light beige-pink. I had leftover BM paint in "Lancaster Whitewash" - sort of a light clay color. The ceiling was painted with that, and this provided the base for the improvised wall color. The room is so much brighter than the gloomy tan. I am still looking for a better light fixture but will make do with what is there until I do.

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I hoped that there would be intact wood floors under the cheap vinyl. I peeled up a few panels and there was a crazy quilt of subfloor - many small pieces, painted and unpainted nailed and screwed together. I pulled some of that up last night. There are some dubious boards patched in. I haven't pulled up the subfloor where the sink plumbing is, as I can see there are some new boards with bar code stickers. I suspect there are some crazy plumbing surprises under there. The location of the sink is about 12 - 18" away from where I want it. I was going to call a plumber to get some quotes about the upcoming kitchen reno, but since this is opened up, I may as well get some professional input. There's some stupid stuff here - like no shut off valves on the kitchen sink, and the valves for the tub are on exposed pipes the floor below. It seems that I will need to get the tub and toilet removed for 24-48 hrs, so a new floor can be laid. It's hard not to keep tearing up the subfloor - hoping that I uncovered the worst and the rest is fine - but I strongly doubt this.

One thing I did uncover is what seems like the original location of the sink (under the attic opening). There are three holes in the floor that seem consistent with previous plumbing ? This would suggest this was always the bathroom (see previous discussion in my introduction thread).

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[Lily left the valley]

I am wildly curious about the blue lean of the original coral. I'm wondering if somehow the tint below made the shift.

Did it look that way regardless of lighting? (Window or overhead at night?) Mixing light uses different primaries for their base than pigment. I'm also wondering if the window has a privacy film on it, and if that might have contributed as well.

I remember dealing with the mix of light and pigment gone wrong on one set for a historical play we did in college. All the paints we used on the flats (backdrops) looked fine under the lights save one. (We were low budgeting as most of the budget was going towards costuming, so using cheap house paint and not theatrical.) We had used tromp l'oeil, also to keep the budget down set dressing wise. What was supposed to be a deep red for the main color of the drapes went positively screaming fuschia under even the most basic "light up the stage" wash. Of course, the windows for that time period were floor to almost ceiling--hard to miss. We had to repaint all of the draperies with another base because it simply looked that bad and distracting--the color was also completely out of period to boot.

So it also could be a combo of the under tint and/or coral plus lighting too.

Did you leave the one wall view/angle coral as an accent, or had you simply not yet toned it down when that picture was taken?

You weren't kidding about the patch job on the floor. I hope the conversation with the plumber is more positive than sigh inducing.

Having seen various stages along the way, your improvements may be "done enough for now" in your mind, but you should also take pride looking between the before and afters.

[Willa]

Even the NAME of the color was confusing : "Lusty Orange". It was pink - much pinker than expected, though it was very close to the sample card.

The window faces east. I have two incandescent and one compact fluorescent bulb in the fixture. There are big trees in the back, so maybe the direction plus the filtered light = just looked too pink ? The window has old wavy glass - cracked by a BB shot, that is very cloudy. I doubt the PO ever cleaned the windows inside or out. The roof is really steep by that window, so I am unsure how to manage getting the cracked glass replaced as I don't think I can do this from inside (ie how to putty ?).

I've had other painting trials where a color seems like a good fit, but then is just wrong or unpleasant in the room. Choosing a color that is a good fit just seems like trial and error for me. I was ready to like the chartreuse primer but then felt really uncomfortable with it. How colors work together is really important, too, as well as things like reflective floors, adjoining walls that can affect a color's appearance, too.

Why did the coral look so pink in that room ? Good question.

Also - the pics above were all taken today - so it is the lighting (no flash, v.s. flash v.s. no flash but overhead light on) that make the colors read so differently. In real life it is a a pale beige-pink, with dark charcoal grey trim.

[Gothichome]

In spite of your colour delema I think you are most definitely winning in the great Willa vs the bathroom fight.

[Lily left the valley]

Samples really can be deceiving when brought to a fuller scale. You're right in that there are so many factors that also skew what seemed to be accurate versus the final.

I saw the color inspirations you had, and they are lovely pieces. With my idea "scrapbook" for the bungalow, there are some color combos I'm worried won't work well, but will still try them anyhoo.

This reminds me of when I used to take my light gel sampler and shine my mini maglight through it towards a white wall from a distance to get an idea of how a certain color choice might work paint wise. It's not an exact science, but it has steered me clear of some choices when I also found the result not to my liking.

This also reminds me of one stairwell in a building that had that infamous soothing pink that I cannot recall the technical name for it (think Pepto Bismol). It's true that it was a positive for many who used that stairwell, but I think it was also due to how the color would make us laugh/giggle because it was just so pink!

Have you ever read the book "House Thinking"? She talks about color use and emotional/environmental links and responses in that book. I really like that book. It's vastly changed the way I look at and decorate living spaces.

[Willa]

Gothichome: this has been a mighty battle, but I feel like the hacked up floor has me in a headlock. I don't know who will win, yet ? I'm winded but stubborn. What the floor is hiding under the new patches is a surprise. Booby prize or dirty trick ? Who will triumph ?

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Lily: I haven't read "House Thinking" but will have a look at my local library. I had a used copy of Home Psych by Joan Kron which was pretty interesting about the psychology and social science aspect of decor:

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Psych-Socia ... psych+kron

I can sit and stare at paint swatches taped to the wall for hours, days, weeks. Since the bathroom was pretty small, buying a litre to test a color seemed fruitless. I used to live close to a large paint store that always had great mistints which often made the decision for me. I could hum and haw about a $ 70.00 gallon of paint but that mistint in an unexpected color for $ 20.00 always helped my decision right along.

[Lily left the valley]

Oh, super! Thanks for the suggestion, Willa. I've added that title to my "books to find" folder. Hopefully if all goes well next week, I'll have some time to check our local library for it sometime next month.

I know about the swatch stare. I was so indecisive about one room in our old studio I walked out with almost a ¹/₂" thick stack of the samplers. Spouse just rolled his eyes. I actually found a few of them the other day when resorting one of the boxes. They really are nice colors, though. I guess that's why I held onto them.

Hmm. I wonder if I still have my little box set of pantone papers still squirreled away in one of these boxes.

[Kashka-Kat]

OMG I can so relate to the frustration of paint color selection - for me its gotten to the point of total paralysis. I was only half joking the other day when I was trying to tell a friend that my leaving my drywall patches and plaster repairs visible for quite a few yrs now was a decorating choice LOL. It's a new style called "post-apocalyptic," if you haven't heard of it you just arent in the know!

So frustrating when you put up a color and it looks NOTHING like the sample, either the paper paint chip or the little test paints you can buy.

One thing I did learn though which helped. As paint dries, the pigments dry at different rates so you wont get the exact true color until sometimes days later - wonder if that might be part of your "blue" experience?

Anyway the pink is lovely - what color will the wood be or will it be left as wood?

[Willa]

Kashka-Kat - I just lost my whole long winded explanation/reply to you !

The floor has been hacked up in multiple locations, from what I have uncovered, so I will go no further. I suspect the toilet and possibly tub are not in the original locations either, so there will be other hacked up areas. While the wood floor "could" be patched in and repaired, finding old t&g boards that match seems like a big headache. I visited the local salvage place about a month ago and it was a grab bag of whatever they had on hand at the moment, with much more newish than oldish. If I chanced upon some in the next 10 days or so that were a perfect fit, then I would do this. Plan B is to repair the bad boards that were patched in, then put the subfloor back on top, then choose a solid color of VC Tiles for the floor. I have been looking at these:

https://www.armstrongflooring.com/comme ... .%20Square

A friend had a floor that was a solid color (no checkerboard) and the pop of color was pretty great. VC Tile is inexpensive, resilient and can be treated to have a high gloss shine. No doubt at some point in the history of the house, there were similar tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. Many of their colors are quite retro. Luckily there is only a finite amount of color selections so I have to choose what they have v.s. endless paint rumination.

While I really like ceramic tile, the last time I priced unglazed porcelain hex tile it was about $ 10.00 per square foot, before taxes and installation. The room is about 10 x 10' so that adds up quickly. My house is modest, in a modest neighborhood, so a more upscale finish would be an anomaly and wouldn't improve the resale value like say, a garage or vinyl siding would. (Disclaimer: I HATE vinyl siding and think its a terrible product. However, looking out my window more of my neighbors have it than not, put right over the turn of century detailing and brick !)

Here's a pic from online somewhere with a bathroom with VCT flooring. Decor is kind of absent in that particular room, but the floor looks great:

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[Willa]

* That said, I have now searched online to see if there might be anyone local who does have salvaged pine floorboards I could buy to patch in. No luck yet. *