My New Favorite Color

When I repainted my house (I finally ended up using C2's Sea Salt) - I decided to try a color for the front door that wasn't black or deep burgundy... I love the sophistication of black doors, but this house is more "cottage" than "manor" and the black would look a bit too tres elegant.

Burgundy has just been so done. Over and over. I love it, it's attractive, but I was looking for something a little different.

Ah ha. C2's Space.

In some lights it's almost a black, other lights it's deeeeeeep turquoise. You look at it and think, "Is it green, is it blue, or is it black?" Perfect! Painted it in high gloss for that yummy finish that looks like it came from an old door off a 400-yr old house in Europe.

Speaking of gloss finishes... When you are choosing a paint color, you need to factor in the sheen and the way it will reflect the light. The Space color I chose is a perfect example of how sheen can take a color that looked somewhat dull on the chip - but once mixed in a high gloss it came alive. The light reflection created a depth for the dark color. The more matte the finish, the flatter this color would appear. And while this would be great for a media room, for example, in the more matte finish - for the front door it would have looked dead.

My trick for simulating the gloss on my paint chip: I painted a small corner of the chip with clear nail polish. What a difference. So there is your helpful hint of the day, my friends. If you don't have polish handy, you can also try shiny cellophane tape to replicate the sheen (even spit works - in a pinch! But only amongst your friends, please!)