Update:

Remember weeks ago when we were painting our front parlor?

It was a neutral tannish/cream color and I wanted something…..with a little more flair.

Much to my husband’s chagrin I chose….red. I mention his chagrin because in our last house we had a red accent wall in every room. And in every room we cursed red and vowed to never, ever, ever use it again.

Red is a defiant color.
It plays by its own rules.

It separates easily. Dries at its own speed. Has a love/hate relationship with light and shadow.

And….is the color I love most when looking for impact, intrigue, flair and….drama.

So of course, I chose red.

And not just one shade, but two.

Because if you are going to play with fire, you should really go all in.

After much vacillating back and forth, we (I) finally decided on “Timeless Ruby” for the mantel and below the chair rail, and “No More Drama” (both by Behr) for the upper walls.

All that red. What could possibly go wrong?

Well….the air went out the weekend we decided to paint. (Fixed…eventually courtesy of the home warranty.) And because it was so hot in the house, the red paint decided to behave very, very, very badly.

It separated quickly.

Applied unevenly.

Left drag marks, flairs and hot spots all over the walls.

The color (because it had separated) was more orange than red. More cheap than chic. More bordello than Broadway. More freak show than fashion show.

The “No More Drama” was anything but.

Surprisingly….I didn’t mind.

After the yellow/green kitchen debacle (when I decided I HATED the color and insisted we redo the whole thing) I vowed never to complain again and was ready to embrace this unexpected result.

And I didn’t hate this red.

Yes….it looked tacky and unrefined in the daylight but it really claimed its space once the lights went down.

My husband however was not a fan.

Seems he has fallen for this old house of ours and was not happy with the uneven saturation and shoddy daylight look.

So it was back to square one once the air was fixed.

We reprimed the entire room. Bought fresh paint and started over again.

My husband worked alone.

We usually work as a team when we paint but red requires a constant wet edge, leaves little room for error and it was just easier for him to navigate the process himself while I peeked in from time to time and observed his progress through the gaps in my fingers threaded over my eyes.

The result?

Amazing.

“Timeless Ruby” is deep, dignified and refined. It is the perfect palette for the gold stenciling I envision one day gracing the lower wall.

“No More Drama” is rosy in daylight. It lends itself to ladies reclining in fainting couches, indulging in tea and gossip, fanning themselves and bemoaning the heat.

In the evening, it takes on an urgency.
It is the red of intrigue and hushed voices and secrets being told. It is the embrace of a secret lover, notes tucked into bodices. It is the red of a wink. Lipstick one shade shy of scandal.

It is the red of forbidden things.

And despite its name, once the lights go down, this shade is nothing but drama.

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