A Striped Risk

Well, my hope had been to have the kids' play room finished by the middle of March, and we are getting closer and closer to the end of the month.

I wish I could tell you that I'm done, but I'm not.

But I sort of have a good excuse, and I'm really happy with the progress I've made.

You see, back in mid-January, I was right on track, having made the curtains:

And then, at the end of January, I continued to be on schedule with paint.

In the shadowy mid-day, the green was beautiful. 

 

But at night, when the florescent lights burned bright, the paint was electric!  I mean, every time I walked upstairs at night, my eyes were on fire!

I hated it.

I had wanted bright and cheerful, not neon.

So I knew I could either repaint everything a different shade of green or take a major risk and try my other idea:  Stripes!

Using this room as an inspiration...

2009 Texas Idea House

I decided to take the plunge.

I pulled some colors from the curtains and bought some sample-sized containers of paint at Lowe's.  Then, I started taping off stripes with no real plan in mind.  (That is some real risk, my friends.)

I did a few stripes each day, partly because the paint needed to dry between stripes, and partly because it was time consuming, and I'm too busy to spend all day in my kids' play room!

When I was about halfway done with the stripes, I started to get really nervous.  The walls still looked pretty neon, and I wasn't sure I was loving the stripes.  And the bad thing about stripes is, once you've painted them, you're semi-committed.  I mean, it is only paint, but because of multiple layers of paint on each stripe, the wall gets uneven, so you can't just paint over them without sanding drywall.

I decided to trust my gut and keep going.  (I was just glad it was my house and not someone else's!)

Well, I am so glad I trusted my instincts!  When all was said and done, it was so worth it!!

Now that the paint is complete, the curtains are in place, the pillows are done, and the new lamps are on the shelves, I'm in LOVE!

It all ties together, it is bright, colorful, and cheerful without being neon, and it looks clean and contemporary.

I love the way the white furniture pops against the walls, and I love that the hints of red tie in subtly without making the room look Christmas-y.  I can just see a large white frame of some kind between those windows!

Sometimes it is important to trust your intuition, even when it's scary.  And sometimes it is okay to get a little behind schedule.  I'm glad I did, because the risk paid off.

I still need to figure out the lighting, find just the right pieces to hang on the walls (that may take a while!), and finish accessorizing.  But we're getting there, and I couldn't be happier.

What risks have you taken lately?

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(I'm linking up to National (Not Really) Take a Risk Day on The Nesting Place.  Go check out some risks that others have taken, too!)