Painting

What have we gotten ourselves into? We often ask this question.

Funny, my girlfriend wrote me about great paint colors offered by Restoration Hardware, how the colors are carefully selected by designers. I know that Pottery Barn has some great colors selected as well -- fool proof, essentially. My sister and I have had recent discussions about paint colors. It seems to be a bit of a science and art combined.

Today the painter started. This guy mixed the colors on the spot -- just how you like it! No rhyme or reason or recipe -- just a squirt of this with a squirt of that. (Really, just how he likes it. He did not approve of my golden yellow.) Deep breath.

Label Translation: Transparent Water Paint for Inside
Paint Tint
I wanted a golden color for the piano primo, not yellow, golden. He insisted that the color in the middle would be better. I finally got him to add enough gold to get to the third color (not exactly the color on the computer). He told me that if I wanted a darker color that I would need to order special paint for that. He did not appreciate my insistence, but reluctantly added the tint.

Who knows how it will turn out? I have a Italian girlfriend whose father has taken on painting jobs in his retirement; she once told me that she has no color in her house because he refused to paint in color. I feel like I have hired her father.