The Tale of the Purple Picture

The majority of my house has purple walls.  I love them.  I'm pretty lucky my husband agreed to it.  The purple is actually a pale lavender but still counts as purple.  Going into it I knew exactly what I wanted.  It needed to be noticeable while not assaulting the senses.  Again, I'm lucky my husband trusted me enough to agree to having purple walls.  Most everyone else I talked to about it seemed...politely doubtful of the wisdom in my choice.  No one said outright they thought it was a bad idea.  Everyone I talk to is way too nice and way too tactful for that.  The message came through, though, especially from the men.  My very sweet mother in law also gave me the impression that she thought we might not be happy with purple, though she never said anything of the sort.  That was what I read into it.  Actually, I started to feel like the misunderstood genius who later becomes the villain in a kid movie.  You doubt the brilliance of my purple walls?  Well, I'll show you!  I'll show you all! Ahahahaha!  Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad.  I did, however, harbor pleasant thoughts of peoples' reactions after seeing how I could make it work.  Take that, doubters!

The purple really is pretty subdued.

Choosing the final paint color was a bit more tricky, as I wanted something that wouldn't be too pink or too white once it was on the wall.  You really do have to either paint a sample on the wall or on a board to see what the paint does with the light in the room.  We were in the process of choosing the final color (including having purchased five samples and painted the boards) when my husband got a call from his mom.  When he got off the phone he said, "Mom bought us a picture for the new house.  She said there's a purple flower in the corner and we can take it to the paint store to have them match the color."  I was floored.  And pretty upset.  She chose art for our home that will ALSO dictate the color of the walls?!?  How...how...how... What if I hate the color?  What if I hate the picture?  These were all things I was screaming inside my head.  I didn't think it the best of ideas to voice my thoughts aloud until I had a chance to calm down a little bit.  I just went ahead and chose the wall color and figured that if it didn't go with the picture (or if I simply didn't like it) I just wouldn't hang the picture.  Ever.

When my in-laws brought it over the next day I was nervous to see what it was.  Especially to see what the colors were.  I opened it after they left.  There have been few times in my life where I've felt the kind of relief that washed over me when I opened the box.  It was a picture of the Mt. Timpanogos temple, where my hubby and I were married.  I love that building.  And the "purple flower in the corner"?  Well, you can the picture below.  Between the sky and the flowers the picture was almost certain to go with any purple I might have chosen.  After I found that I totally loved the picture I talked to my mother in law about what I had understood from what I'd been told.  Both my husband and I had completely misunderstood her.  All three of us had a good laugh.  I had to wonder what I was so worried about.  I've seen how her house is decorated and I like her choice in color and art.

Now the picture hangs beautifully in our front room.  I really do love it.  It looks fabulous with my purple walls.

Now I just have to wait until we can afford the living room set I want to go in here.  It will look stunning.  Our current couch is in the post-relative style (given to us for free by our relatives and not really my style, but in good repair) and makes for comfy seating until the budget opens up a little more.  Donations are gladly accepted. ;)  Did I mention that I love my purple walls?  They'll look great with crown molding and more pictures.