September 11, 2007
Red!
There are a couple of points in a reno project which I find satisfying. One is starting – usually this follows a long period of dithering and planning, and has a pleasing clarity.
Another is the stage when a new paint colour actually goes on the wall, which of course follows much fussy repair and sanding, and at least one unforseen problem.
The point of this project wasn't really the repainting, but putting in a ceiling in the front hallway and installing noise insulation – it's directly below Mr. W's room. Still, the front hall did look scungy, and it was as good a time as any to fix that. I may yet refinish the inside of the front door, but we'll see.
We did a lot of thinking about exactly what red to use, and ended up with a Benjamin Moore red called 'Red' – go figure. The original idea was the intense red of Chinese lacquer, which this shade matches sort of reasonably. I had them mix the colour as an industrial coating, the same kind of paint that institutions use on cinder-block walls.
The hope is that the front hall light will light up the red in such a way that it can be seen dramatically from outside.
