I was a fairly young married guy in 1997 when we moved into our first house on Wandle Avenue in Bedford and decided to paint the place the way we liked.
(Old married guys will notice the funny word "we" in the preceding sentence.)
We brought home a couple gallons of Behr's Arapaho White the same day our pastor came over to check things out. I had a sample on the wall and was moaning about how peachy-pink it was. And moaning. And complaining.
(Old married guys will see where this is going.)
The pastor pulls me off to the side and educates me. "Listen," he said, "she's going to be here all day long and you'll be lucky if you see these walls illuminated a couple of times a week. Paint the walls whatever she wants."
So I did. (He later educated me further on the some of the finer points of servant leadership.)
Fast-forward eleven years. This past week our house was finished being painted what Behr calls Madras Blue, number 560D-4. I think the only thing I like about it is its close approximation to a Buckeye Trail blue blaze. (Well, that and the fact that the house is completely painted and I didn't do anything harder than write a couple checks.)
Turns out we had shutters up there. Five years, living in this house and I didn't know we had shutters. Can't leave them black, we've got to find a complementary color.
Leaning on my fourteen years of marriage experience, I not only painted them Phantom Hue (110F-5), but I also got a quart each of Purplestone (110F-6) and Deep Garnet (110F-7) in case Phantom Hue turns out to be too light.
I may draw the line at the front door, though. I do occasionally see the front door and I just can't imagine Deep Garnet on my front door.
Then again, I have been married for over fourteen years. (Does that qualify me as an "old married guy" yet? Ask me after the door gets painted.)
