It’s been a long time since I have had the opportunity to paint a room for a sophisticated young lady about to graduate from High School. Her room definitely needed a fresh coat of paint. Years of taping and tacking things to the bright yellow and orange color scheme had taken their toll. New furniture was on order and the old furniture given away. With only the bed left to work around, we selected a soft new color for the walls, both above and below the chair rail: (Benjamin Moore 990) Hampshire Taupe. The ceiling and trim were to be Navaho White, the carpet is a light beige, and the new Ikea furniture a darker espresso stain.

Painting over the strong yellow and orange existing paint was a lesson in contrasts. As I rolled the Hampshire Taupe over the yellow, it appeared to be purple tinged, but over the orange it looked blue grey. The yellow cancelled out the warm tones of the taupe, and the orange cancelled out the rosy tones, giving that illusion. Once the second coat was on over both colors, the walls glowed with the beautiful shade we selected.

To add a pretty detail to the room, the young lady discovered a lovely scroll stencil in my samples and fell in love with it. We decided to add it in a bronze shade just above the chair rail.

What a great space for a young woman about to embark on adulthood. She’ll be going to college locally, and still has time to enjoy the more adult space before heading off on life’s adventures, where-ever they might lead her.