I have many qualities and some are more endearing than others. One of the least endearing ones is how much I love the thrill of a sale. Yes, I said a thrill. Not much can make me happier than getting an amazing deal on something I need. I will wait and scour and wait and scour for the perfect price. Don't get me wrong, I am not cheap and have no problem paying full price for something. I really do believe there are certain things you should not be looking to get a good deal on and those would include a hair cut and furniture (often times you do get what you pay for!). I also believe that buying fresh local produce is worth every penny. My general mindset is why pay someone for something you could do yourself and why pay full price when you can wait and get it on sale.
Why am I telling you this about myself? Well I took a risk this week that could have gone either way. This risk was taken due to an incredible price on a can of paint. I have needed to paint my final spare room since the day I moved in. It was the only room I didn't paint and the only room that was stuck in a boring, beige funk. When I moved in it was the best colour in the entire house and although I am not really a fan of neutral beige, it won by a long shot over the rusty brown and nicotine yellow that danced upon all of the other walls in the house. My plan had been to paint that room a light, airy grey. I even had the colour picked out and the swatches taped to the wall but the little make-over kept being pushed to the side as one project popped up after another. This week I was at Kent looking for Adirondack chairs and hoping they would be on sale (see it is a disease...) when I wandered through the paint isle and noticed a mis-tint . Now a mis-tint is a can of paint that was tinted wrong by the paint machine. It is never a true colour and therefore can't be replicated and a swatch can not be found to see what it may look like on a wall. Because of all of this they are usually half price. Mis-tints generally go for $20, which is a great deal if you are looking for a very cheap face lift (and let us be honest, paint is cheap to begin with!) but most of the times the colours are hideous. Well this can was $7. Yes, $7. That is the price of a grande' latte at Starbucks. It was what appeared to be a robin's egg blue and it was a paint and primer in one which was a $55 can of paint. Clearly my disease of good deals would not let me leave it there. Even though it was not at all what I wanted I figured it had to beat beige and if I hated it, it was a little time and $7 wasted.
Now I must remind you at this point that it is August. August on the East coast is humid and muggy and there is very little air circulation in older homes (like mine) that have the windows propped up with old books and pieces of dowel. To say I was sweaty and hot after painting my basically free paint on the walls is an understatement. When I left the room 2 hours and two coats of a bright blue later I looked as if I had jumped into the shower fully clothed (and not in the attractive way, if there is an attractive way to do that!). I must confess I waited an entire day to look at the finished room. It was brighter than I anticipated from the the little thumb print of dried paint on the top of the lid. In day light and with the room put together I surprisingly love it. It was the best $7 I have spent in a long time and potentially the cheapest update my house has had to date. The next time you are in the paint section at your favourite hardware store make sure to check out the mis-tints, you may find what you didn`t know you were looking for!
-m
Before....
After...
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