Mixing Your Own Paint Colors

Excuse the mess around here.  Hubby is off for a week and being very spontaneous, he starts peeling the wallpaper off of one of the bathrooms.  I am given the challenge of redecorating this bathroom with mostly the supplies we have on hand because, being an unplanned remodel we will buy only what has to be replaced.  We discovered if you buy a new vanity cabinet they are at least 4 inches taller than what we already have.  Well right away that means a plumber to redo the plumbing and that won't do, so we are going to paint the vanity cabinet.

That means starting with the paint I already have.  The color scheme for the house is set.  We have paint for the walls and trim, so, we are good there.  But, the vanity, that should be an accent color, something different.  I start with the paint I already have.  This is Benjamin Moore's Georgian Green.  I saw it on Kim's blog Savvy Southern Style.  Not being at a Benjamin Moore paint dealer the day I purchased this, they matched it on the computer and mixed it at the Pittsburgh Paint counter.

Here is a trick I saw on Pintrest.  Isn't that smart.  You don't get such a messy paint can when you wipe your paint brush on this.

So , my sample of Georgian Green matches the swatch I painted really well.  I just sanded my oak cabinets lightly and went to painting.  This color was just too yellow. 

So, using what I have on hand I pull out some cans and bottles.  To the left is a standard Valspar Hunter Green they stock on the shelves.  The Georgian Green, center.  I am still not done with it.  And, on the right a bottle of Gesso.   Rosemary at Villabarnes introduced me to using Gesso beyond the canvas.  Visit her and learn all kinds of uses with Gesso.

So, finally, I am mixing paint.  The one on the left is hunter green with gesso.  Gesso has a chalky texture and it mixes and looks beautiful with any paint.  The next is the Georgian green.  Then I mixed the first color (in this sample board)  with the second, this is the third color.  The last color is the third mixed with a yellowish white (Brandied Pear by Pittsburgh Paint) that will be on the wall.  *Note: The first sample on left is very blue based by mixing it with the very yellow Georgian Green we get more warm tones in the sea green I am creating that will work well with the golden hues that will be on the wall and the trim.

So, since hubby threw this project on me I have done everything backwards. Ha.  Now that I have a color I like on the left here (it was the third sample above), I have found an inspiration picture to take me in the direction of how I would like to see the colors turn out.  I have a mocha Valspar glaze and a dark wood paste wax to finish the cabinets.  It should look pretty similar to the cabinet in this picture.  I'll let you be the judge.  The bathroom will look nothing like this picture, I am just using the color inspiration.  Stay tuned to see more of the spontaneous bathroom remodel.  You should get a really good laugh out of the before pictures, remember I have raised three boys!

Sherry

I will link this to:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style