Monday, January 9, 2012

Changing colors

bright verde
When we first laid eyes on the house we would end up purchasing, it had just been repainted by the previous owners. We thought the color unusual, though not unpleasant, for a home in the Centro. They said that the original color was not bright enough, thus the change. Our property manager, Ruben, now jokingly says that he puts on his sunglasses before coming over to our house. Honestly, it is a little too bright for our tastes as well. Once, in Los Camellos (our neighborhood tlapaleria), I was explaining to the owners that we were neighbors and when asked which house, I made a gesture trying to indicate "bright" as I said "verde." They shook their heads indicating that they knew which house we were describing. 

the new color & accents
We have been tossing around the idea of changing colors for a while, but on our last visit found a color we both liked very much. We spotted a house on calle 68, just around the corner from Parque Santiago, that was the perfect color. The only problem is that it is not easy to determine the brand of paint, much less the color. Ruben accompanied me to the Comex paint store around the corner, but there were no color chips to compare. The owner of the paint store grabbed his only binder of color chips and we scoured the binder searching for a similar color.  He then motioned to follow him and we walked over to the house to try to match the color. What we found was very close if not exact - softer, a little faded and more traditional. Kind of like us.

Now to find a good painter, as the one Ruben uses is evidently quite busy. He can't seem to get him to come over to give an estimate. If anyone out there has a recommendation, please let us know. We would like to have the painting done while still in the dry season.




7 comments:

  1. I had assumed the sun would wash out the color by now. If your facade were facing south, perhaps it would be a gentle olive green by now. Oh well, adios verde brillante.

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  2. Nope. The facade of the studio at the back of the house is the same (still) brilliant verde.

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  3. The house you like may have been painted another color entirely and been washed out. Our house which was painted "pistache" is now shades of green and yellow, predominately green but with interesting variations of color. If the front has mellowed why not just paint the rear a different color, they don't have to match, they aren't seen together. I do think that painting huge sample squares and viewing them over time helps quite a bit. The color we wanted over the pool looked orange midday (when painted in a 1 meter by 1 meter square)(it's hacienda Red) rather than a nice terracotta.
    regards,
    Theresa

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  4. I actually like the green and have admired the facade when I've walked past your home. However, that said I do understand wanting to make it your own. We use a painter we like quite a bit. His name is Fausto Polanco. He can be reached by cell 999-234-2162. He has done a fine job for us, uses drop cloths which is a major plus and is fairly punctual... after all this is Mexico! He does not speak English. Tell him we referred you and let us know what you think. Nancy & Barry

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  5. Thanks for the comments everyone.

    Lee: The sun has not washed out the brightness, which is possibly why the previous owners selected such a light color in the first place.

    Theresa: Painting the studio in back first, to see how the color will look in different lights is not a bad idea. It is a fairly small surface and would be easy to paint. Thanks for the suggestion.

    Nancy: We've really tried to like the color, but have kept looking for different colors that we like. It probably is just a matter of making it our own choice.

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  6. Nancy, thanks for the contact. I'm passing on to Ruben right now.

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  7. I do like the verde though! Your target-color house, Casa Yolanda, is right next door to the house we rented the last time we were in Merida. We're looking forward to seeing your choice.

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