How to Choose the Wrong Paint Color

So happy to have my sister Andrea Ahedo and our Visual Media Producer/Head Photographer share her recent paint color debacle with us!

One of my toxic traits is buying a gallon of paint without sampling it on the wall and thinking that it’s a flex to do so. I confidently strut into the house with a bucket of paint in each arm, swing them onto the kitchen island, and happily gaze down at that little dab of paint they put on your lid without a worry in the world that it’ll be the perfect match for the room. I love the adrenaline of prying open the lid and seeing if my immediate reaction is regret, which I will surely disguise as curiosity or pure excitement.

Step one of choosing the wrong paint color: buy paint blindly

This is a story about how I painted my dining room on a whim, ended up hating the paint color, and eventually faced the hard truth that the only way to fix it was to repaint. Here's a look at the room in question.

Before

After

Dining Chairs | Rug | Pedant

When I opened Sherwin William’s “Grays Harbour” this past January, I felt excited and sure. After all, I had scrolled and scoured Pinterest for a total of two days, trying to land on a moody, stormy paint color for our formal dining room. It was a toss-up between the green-gray and blue-gray families.

Ultimately, the cabinet color in this photo had me sold.

Image Source: Studio McGee

Step two: pick a paint color based on an internet picture

Read, "Why paint colors you see online might look different in person."

The dining room plans were as follows: paint the room ourselves, install picture frame molding, then paint the trim. We outsourced the picture frame molding installation, and our contractor said it would be easier in that order, which I'm still questioning. The first night, I eagerly put on paint-splatted leggings, popped in my AirPods to begin Prince Harry’s Spare, and tackled the never-ending uphill climb of “cutting in.” The entire painting process took two weeks when I thought it may take a weekend. It was meticulous and tiring. I would switch back and forth from roller to brush night after night, getting into every crevice of trim, striving for three even coats of paint on dark walls in a dark room.

Once the picture frame molding was installed and I started painting all the trim, the closer I felt to the point of no return. It took so much time to do just one coat of paint on the freshly installed trim, and it’s definitely going to need two. I think that’s when the first sting of disappointment really started to sink in. My love for the color dwindled as I painted, and I realized that I didn’t love the paint color two-weeks-of-painting worth. Ouch. I carried on, and with every last stroke, I justified my doubts.

Jules Merlot Multi Runner

“I’ll like it more once art is on the wall.”
“Once I choose curtains, the room won’t feel like a cave.”
“It’s okay to have this much blue on our main floor; it’s kind of an unplanned theme.” 

Step three: ignore your doubts

Alas, I persevered and finished what I started. Days after the room was all painted, I had an overnight stay with a friend in picture-perfect Charleston, South Carolina. We walked its storybook streets for two days, and I consumed muted pastels and mid-tones on every corner. Like bad dejavú, I would remember my dark navy dining room at home and feel that sting of regret again.

To numb the pain, I ordered nine different patterns of drapes from my favorite Amazon storefront, “Maison d' Hermine.” Maybe the answer could be found by mixing in a pattern! It’s really funny now that I think about it. I was so persistent on moving forward because I had already worked so hard on it—not because I liked this dining room paint color. Once I threw in the towel and uttered out loud that the room doesn’t feel the way I hoped it would, I felt immediate relief.

Julie came to drop off Polly for a sleepover, and, knowing she's painted and repainted rooms before, I confided in her my paint color regrets. We paced our eyes around the room, and to my surprise, she didn’t solve my dilemma by suggesting a new paint color. She leveled with me and said, “Andi, you don’t need to repaint right now. You need a mood board.” She encouraged me to go wild and not be skimpy. To really put every dreamy piece of furniture, art, lighting, and curtains I’d want in this room onto a blank canvas. She granted me permission to dream up what I really want the room to be, and I felt excitement start to creep back in.

Step four: don't have a "big-picture" plan for the space

And so I did as she said and dreamed up how I want my dining room to look and feel. Oh, and I tested more than a few paint swatches. Yeah, sure, I mourned the hours lost on Grays Harbour, but the only thing to do is pivot and keep moving forward.

Painting the dusty pink swatches directly onto the blue was not giving me any clarity whatsoever. And so I painted a big square with primer and painted even more swatches! My new hobby became staring at the swatches at all times of the day to see how they change. I guess this is what people normally do before deciding on a paint color...

My new direction for the dining room is inspired by Mérida, Mexico, and Charleston, South Carolina: two places I never wanted to leave after arriving that felt just like home. In giving myself permission to really visualize and dream, I’ve already learned the pattern I’m always drawn to is called “jungle toile” and that, yes—a pinky beige called "Classic Sand" is exactly what my heart wants on these walls ( and I think ceiling too! )

Dining room mood board (with the new paint color)

Shop The Mood Board

I would love to hire painters this time around because I’m still scarred from painting myself into a cave for countless nights. Plus, I’d love to see what a paint-glob-free room feels like. I have to say, it’s liberating to unapologetically change your mind and go for what you really want—even if what you have is “good enough,” why not go for great? 

I'm not saying this won't be my last time buying a gallon of paint before testing any swatches, but I did learn a valuable lesson! There are a million ways to go about choosing a paint color, but there are some ways to avoid choosing the wrong one.

Other posts featuring Andi

Solving Andi's Awkward Living Room Dilemma

Andi's Story: Selling a House for The First Time

Six Budget-Friendly Things That Completely Transformed Andi's Kitchen

Andi's Art Ledges (& Tips For Displaying Family Photos!)