The mirror project sort of took on a life of its own. It put me in a bad mood for about 24 hours. Let me recap the mishap for you. Initially I thought it would be fun to add some of that brilliant cerulean blue color from the inspiration photograph I used last week. In that post, I even cautioned that a color that strong and tropical might just look a little out-of-place in Seattle. I thought using it in small doses would be more appropriate. I may have been wrong. This is the color I tried first on each of the mirrors:
The bright teal simply looks out-of-place in my white-walled apartment.
Yamahama! What was I thinking? This might have worked with textured deep khaki grass cloth as a backdrop, but not against white.
So, the teal thing didn’t pan out… it added a pop of color, sure, but I also felt suddenly transported into a Technicolor dream. So, back to the store I went, and I bought a light blue paint and a burnt umber, just in case. Here is a photo of what the second attempt at color looked like:
I mixed the light blue with the teal... bad idea. What, do I live in a Miami beach house or something? Geeze. Strike two!
I painted the round mirror with one coat of this Jamaican turquoise, and this is when I started pulling out my hair. After considering painting the things just plain old brown, I finally decided to temper the light blue with the burnt umber, and got a much better effect. The blue is grayed down and easy on the eyes, but still punctuates the otherwise boring walls. At last, I am pleased!
A big improvement over the former dull faux pewter finish. And way, way better than the crazy teal. This mirror looks as if it belongs here.
Before: I might as well have left the wall empty. After: The soft blue pops the mirror just enough.
The light blue complements my current decor, and my kitty Max.
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