Painting J’s Room

Years ago we painted J’s room a deep, deep turquoise because that’s what she wanted, even after we gently advised her that it was awfully dark. Honestly, I think that she had second thoughts pretty quickly, but it took a long time for her to actually say, yes, she wishes she’d chosen a lighter color for her room. It was a pretty color in small doses, but for years, hanging out in her room felt a bit like being in an aquarium. I couldn’t find a handy picture of the whole room looking tidy and lovely, but here’s a little snippet of how it looked:

 

When she finally started talking about repainting, I said we’d be happy to do it.  But then she’d tidy up her room in preparation for a big paint job, and suddenly she’d be so pleased with how clean and organized it looked that she couldn’t bear to empty it out and throw a tarp over everything.

This weekend we finally got to the job. Hooray! Here’s J repainting that same corner:

First we coated with primer, and the difference was huge. J came running into my room and reported that when she walked into her room it was so bright that she felt a little bit blinded. I reminded her that of course the white would be brighter than the new blue she’d chosen. “Well, that’s good, because I don’t actually want to feel blinded by light in my room.” Excellent point.

The room is still all torn apart, of course, but I’m excited for her to have a lovely, brighter room again. I’m also excited to move all the junk that’s currently all over our hallway and master bedroom back into her lovely, brighter room.