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Picking Perfect Pink Paint

It’s no secret that pink is my favorite color, and I believe that pink can be a beautiful wall color when chosen well. Unfortunately, it’s a difficult color to get right and the results are often more Pepto than pretty. Here are several of my favorite pink shades along with the reasons I love them and a few suggested uses. I’ve also included several examples of the colors in actual rooms.

pink paint
All paint colors are from their respective brands’ websites, but my descriptions are based on the actual paint chips.

  • Wild Aster, Benjamin Moore
    This is my favorite pink, hands down. It’s very subtle with a lot of taupe and lilac, but it still reads as pink. It’s the most sophisticated and adult of all the pinks here, perfect for a living room or master bedroom.
  • Reverie Pink, Behr
    Similar in tone to Wild Aster, but less muted.
  • Powder Blush, Benjamin Moore
    A nice happy pink, this would be nice in a kid’s room.
  • Pink Innocence, Benjamin Moore
    Lovely pink with just a touch of muted lilac.
  • Peony, Benjamin Moore
    This deep pink would be gorgeous in an entryway, powder room, or dining room.
  • Milk Glass Pink, Martha Stewart (Valspar)
    A delicate light pink. I’d love to see this in a feminine kitchen.
  • Bare Pink, Pittsburgh Paints
    Another delicate light pink, but a little bit peachy.
  • Old Fashioned Pink, Behr
    A very pure pink with a little coral in it. It may be a bit bright for an entire room, but it would be perfect on furniture.
  • Ballerina Pink, Benjamin Moore
    This pale pink is one shade lighter than Pink Innocence.
  • Tutu, Martha Stewart (Valspar)
    Glamorous and a bit old-Hollywood, this would be perfect in a dressing room.
  • Blushing Bride, Benjamin Moore
    Some bold pinks can be too magenta, too fuschia, too neon, or too dark. This pink is none of the above. I’d love to see this color in a creative space, like a studio or home office.
  • Sugar Egg Pink, Martha Stewart (Valspar)
    There is a nice lilac tone to this pink. I think it would be gorgeous in a powder room with a vintage tub, nickel fixtures, and a little crystal chandelier.

And as promised, here are a few of these colors (as seen in my home and my old apartment)…

Living Room with Rocker and Cradle
Wild Aster, in my living room

My Studio
Wild Aster, in my studio

foyer looking in (my office)
Ballerina Pink, in my old entryway; Pink Innocence, in my old office

Eleanor's Nursery
Powder Blush, on the dresser in Eleanor’s nursery

Stairway Color

I chose a color for the stairway: Campground from Behr. I’m painting this weekend, so we’ll see how it looks…

Stairway Color

Painting the Stairway

Brandon started priming the knotty pine in the stairway last night.

Painting the Stairway

My dad was horrified when we said we planned to paint it. “That’s nice wood!” Sorry dad.

We actually found out from our neighbor that the previous owners had only recently put it up when they decided to sell! The addition was done sometime in the 50s (we think), so what was there before? Bare studs?

I’m not sure what color to go with now though.

You can see the stairway when you’re sitting in the living room and it opens up to the library, so obviously I want a color that will look good with both of the other rooms. You can also see into Brandon’s office when you’re in the living room (it’s on the same elevation), so there’s another color to consider. Oh, and the carpet is beige.

Surrounding Stairway Colors

The living room has mustard/gold curtains and an orange chair, so I’m looking at those as possible choices. I also like pink (!), but I think the house has a lot of pink already and Brandon’s probably ready for a different color by now.

I’m going to change the curtains in the library, but I don’t know what I want yet. I have a bunch of Laceworks from Amy Butler that I bought for the room:

Amy Butler Lacework Fabric

I’m not so sure about it now, but the fabric would work with the green ceiling in the library (“Flowering Herbs” by Benjamin Moore). I could repaint that if I need to, but I don’t want to. I’ve had enough of painting ceilings! If I go with that fabric, I could use the pink that’s in there… ;)

Oops, Wrong Color.

I painted the bathroom a few days ago. It looks much more blue than I thought it would. Oops.

Here’s what the bathroom looks like so far…

bathroom progress

That’s “Antiguan Sky” from Benjamin Moore. It’s a pretty blue/green color that I pulled from the shower curtain, but it’s much brighter than I was expecting. It doesn’t look so terrible in the photo, but I just took that picture a few minutes ago (it’s midnight). It’s a very *ahem* cheerful color during the day.

I hated it at first and immediately thought I would repaint. Now that I’ve added some towels and a bathmat from IKEA, it looks kinda cute. Kinda.

*addendum*
Here are some new photos, taken at 10:30 a.m. with lots of daylight coming in:

bathroom progress

another progress photo

Painting Walls with Picture Rail?

How do you paint a wall with picture rail? Do you paint the same wall color above and below? Or do you paint the wall color up to the picture rail and then paint the area above the same color as the ceiling?

And what about wallpaper? Only up to the picture rail?

I know… the Photoshopped wallpaper looks ridiculous (also – that’s NOT our dragon on the buffet). Which version looks better though?

picture rail question

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