Beating Paint Color Doubt

Do you ever get a fabulous idea, start on a project to make that idea happen, and then second guess yourself halfway through?

I do.  And I really wish i didn't.

When we moved into our beloved abode in 2009 the previous owner had obviously had a love affair with Valspar's Sand Storm paint.  Every single wall and ceiling {except for the bedrooms and master bath} were painted this color. 

{from Colorbuzz}

Contrary to how the sample looks on the screen, it's really not a bad shade in person…but in such a large quantity it was extremely overwhelming.  Not to mention that I tend to love cool tones.  Blues, greens, blue-greens, and grays  {generally colors of the Pacific} all speak to me.  When we lived in California I ate lunch at the beach every. single. day. {I know…it was a rough life.}  It didn't matter if I parallel parked off the PCH and just stared at the water below or if I got out and kicked off my hot pink heels {my favorite at the time} to hike down to the sand, having lunch at the beach was like therapy every day.  Free therapy.

So, not surprising, I have spent the last four years trying to bring the Pacific Ocean to the middle of Texas.  And even though this house screamed of the color of sand…I needed a little more "water" in the mix.

So we painted over the sand colored ceilings with Valspar's Seashore Fog.

The study is Valspar's Frappe {a gorgeous gray that reminds me of cloudy skies and "angry" waves}.

The master bedroom is Valspar's Woodrow Wilson Putty…

…and the master bath is Olympic's April Sky.

Our breakfast nook is Valspar's Gossamer Sky.

The laundry room is Valspar's Window Box.

And here's where I started doubting myself.  The entry and main hallway were supposed to be Valspar's Stonecastle.  Then the dining room was supposed to be Valspar's Lyndhurst Duchess Blue and then I would re-evaluate the living room and guest bath and decide what to do there.  So we painted the entry…

And then stopped.  I got nervous.  I started to second guess.

So for the last 3 years I've been living with Sand Storm.  I got busy with work and life and tried not to think about how much I hated how the hallway felt closed in...

...or the guest bath walls blended with the tile or how the living room is hard to live in at night because it absorbs so much light.

Then I got put on bed rest near the end of my pregnancy, got stir-crazy, and my sweet hubby started painting to easy my nesting tendencies.

The guest bath is now Valspar's Cathedral Stone {which was a living room reject color}.

And this week the painting continued.  We finally finished the hallway project and it is now Stonecastle.  And for the life of me I don't know why I doubted the color choice.  I love it!  It's so much more open and airy.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to go ahead with the bold Lyndhurst Duchess Blue in the dining room…or I may decide to go with the more reserved Frappe.

And the living room is still undecided.  I have tried Frappe, Artichoke, Cathedral Stone {all Valspar} and Olympic's Silver Dollar and I still haven't found a gray I like in here.  Maybe the living room is destined to be Sand Storm after all.

We shall see...