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Danilo_G
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Discussion » Questions » Home and Garden » A serious question for once.. what would you do about my lilac dilemma?

A serious question for once.. what would you do about my lilac dilemma?

OK so older son moved out some time ago, daughter moved out of the little bedroom, into the middle bedroom...  I so want one room that will just stay TIDY... my kids are the messiest on the planet.. SO I want the room to be as tidy as possible, a sea of tranquillity but still has to look like it could be a bedroom if needed.. I might use it for crafts etc. I have a futon which cost me £20
Daughter had the room painted lilac on top and blue in the lower half with a Scooby Doo border and stencilled butterflies - the theme was Scooby Doo in a butterfly garden  :P 

I have a very tiny budget and since I already had another can of the lilac paint I repainted it all lilac... and it doesn't help that the woodwork and the radiator are also lilac.. that worked fine with the bottom half of the room blue... but now it just looks well... overwhelmingly lilac!  I could repaint just the bottom half... but I am hoping to avoid doing so.. partly because I am running out of time before I have to go back to work after summer break... 

What can I do to make it less lilac but which doesn't cost much money?  

Posted - August 11, 2018

Responses


  • 44173
    I am trying to picture it in my mind. We all have different tastes. Men don't generally care about what colours walls are unless it is something ridiculous. I hate painting and when I picture your lilac/blue scheme, I personally would leave it the way it is. I think it would be pretty.
      August 11, 2018 6:20 AM MDT
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  • 6477
    That's very kind of you.. Lilac was daughter's choice wayyyyyy back and I was going to just re-do the lilac for her as her room needed redecorating anyway.. Blue and lilac looked better...

    I think you are generally right that men don't mind... I, on the other hand am a bit obsessive about the exact shade... I'd buy paint and not like it so would mix my own..that's how fussy I am.. 

    So perhaps I need to get over my obsession... What really counts is that it's clean and tidy and well decorated so that when I come to sell the house when I retire - it looks relatively appealing to buyers. 
      August 11, 2018 6:30 AM MDT
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  • 44173
    Your not being fussy...You're being a woman.
      August 11, 2018 6:39 AM MDT
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  • 6477
    Well they do say women are like that.. Reminds me of the Shania Twain song, If I change my mind, a million times, I wanna hear you say, I like it that way :P  
      August 11, 2018 6:52 AM MDT
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  • 16197
    A stencil applied at half-height in a dark colour might do the trick - say a swirl pattern in navy blue or purple.
      August 11, 2018 6:41 AM MDT
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  • 6477
    Good thinking.. that might work... I have loads of stencils... but perhaps a stick on border in blue with swirlies would do it. 
      August 11, 2018 6:45 AM MDT
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  • 7919
    Like Slarti said, stencils work well. You could also do sponge painting or similar. There are lots of techniques online to create a ton of different patterns. 

    That said, I realize time is a concern, but it sounds like you're the type who likes things a certain way, meaning if you don't do it "right," you'll be looking at it unhappily and feeling it's unfinished until you do more with it. 

    If budget is a concern, try checking in with Craigslist and Freecycle to see if anyone is giving away paint they didn't use. If your neighborhood is on Facebook, you might find someone there with some too. Since you like to mix your own anyway, it really doesn't matter what colors you collect. My city actually gives away unused paint as well, and a neighboring city has a residential paint recycling program. I've gotten some through both sources. Perhaps your area has something similar as well? 

    For me... you're talking about woodwork being painted and that breaks my heart a little bit... unless you only mean trim. If it's wood paneling, I'd be in there removing off all the old paint to get to the wood. Natural wood is so gorgeous. In a pinch, I might paint it white or brown, but I'd always be eyeballing it thinking about how I want the wood to show. 

    But, yeah, I think, even though your time is limited, this is a project you should do in stages regardless. Do what you can when you can, so you have something you feel good about when you're done. 
      August 11, 2018 3:51 PM MDT
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  • 9777
    Use large amounts of neutrals to tone down the lilac - futon cover, curtains, etc. Depending on your taste you could use beige or black. You can break up the expanse of lilac walls by using removable, re-positionable wall stickers. They are quite inexpensive and available many places. I know that Ikea has them. When you're tired of them, they just peel off.  As an example, my hair salon has lilac walls and black stickers of branch silhouettes and black furniture. It gives a very different vibe than a lilac room with white net curtains and a fluffy rug.

      August 11, 2018 4:42 PM MDT
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