Grad school, Baking and Paint Chips.....Oh My!

  The last few days have been a little busy.  The hubs is enrolling for his masters degree and we have been having all sorts of fun learning to navigate the new world of college online, it been complicated, but we're figuring it out as we go.  I also agreed to provide some baked goods for our church's holiday bake sale on Saturday, so your's truly shall be baking tomorrow!
  We also decided that it is time to give our master bedroom a face lift.  We bought our home knowing that it needed some cosmetic work done.  The dining room was peach with dark green trim (now pale blue with white trim), the living room was harvest gold (now a soft khaki/putty color), the master bedroom is currently an awful shade of peach/pink/yellowish color that I can't begin to describe, the guest bedroom is a dark shade of blue and the final bedroom is yellow with light green trim.  The kitchen isn't a terrible color, but it needs a renovation to function well.  The bathroom is the only room that really looks good.  So yesterday I picked up some paint chips and we got down to business.
  Picking a paint color can be either nerve wracking or fun, it all depends on how you go about it.  I've learned that advance planning is key:  collect pictures of rooms that you like for inspiration, find the common thread between them (mine is soft/pale colors on the walls and brighter colors in textiles) and then pick out your top three or four.  Then look at your space.  Is it small, large, has really high ceilings?  Does it get plenty of daylight or is it in shade most of the day?  Do you want the space to feel vibrant or soothing?  Is the existing furniture dark or light?  Now that you know these answers it's time to go to the store.  Pick out paint chips, lots of them, of colors you like and fit your ideas for the room.  Use painters tape to stick them to your walls and look at them.  Look at them in daylight and artificial light, hold them up to your furniture and textiles  ( you can also use your existing textiles to find a color you like).  Discard the colors that just don't quite work.  Keep narrowing it down to two.  Be ruthless, you will probably like lots of colors, but not all of them will work with your room.  Now go get samples, they usually run about two-three dollars.  Paint large squares on every wall in your room, let them dry completely.  At this point you will either have found the perfect color.......or will need to start back at chips again.  Paint is a tricky thing, but I find that going with my gut and trusting my instincts will usually yield a result I am happy with.
  In the case of our master bedroom the winner(we are still waiting to see it daylight) is currently a soft pale greige that complements our furniture and gives our cottage-sized bedroom a light, airy spa-like feel.  The best part was that the hubs was an active, even enthusiastic participant in the whole endeavor !  He has even volunteered to help paint!!  This is remarkable since he is usually a "whatever you think is best" kind of guy when it comes to home decor......I'm not sure, but I think I may be starting to rub off on him a little bit.  And the whole process has been fun with him involved, as projects usually are when you have someone to share them with.  And that is simply lovely.