A bit of fun with metallic paint

I thought the existing hallway was too bland

Augh! What have I done? I painted an accent wall in my hall today and I can't decide if I like it or hate it. Also, since I had some leftover paint I painted some trees on the other walls. 

Why did I do this, you ask? Well, maybe days and days of icy rain and cold has finally driven me mad. After waking up to another yucky gray day here in Wisconsin, I was looking for something to do that would shake away the blah's and anxiety I've been feeling the last couple of days. Voila! A trip to Menard's to pick up basement remodeling supplies and what do I see? Funky metallic paint on sale with a rebate too! Just the kind of fun, small project I needed.

We have a long, narrow hallway leading from the main living area to the bedrooms. The walls were painted a lovely cream color. Although I love the color, there's a boring element to the whole space that I just can't put a finger on. Sure, putting up some pictures or artwork is one way to make a space more interesting but the hall is such a tight squeeze that I'd rather keep it streamlined.

I read in one of my home decorating books that painting a darker color (or a vibrant interesting color) on the end wall of a long narrow space helps visually shorten and broaden the area. On our end wall, we had a nice mirror that I had bought a long time ago at one of those strange liquidator stores.  It looked good but didn't do enough to liven up the hall.

I recently moved the mirror to our garage entryway to help lighten up that dark corner and then looked for months for a similar mirror to put back in the hall but couldn't find one. I ended up buying a simple, unframed, beveled mirror that just looks too plain for such a plain space.

When I saw the Rustoleum Metallic Accents at the store, I figured that I could kill several birds at the same time by painting the hallway's end wall with some nice metallic paint: "framing" the new mirror, visually modifying the space and giving the area a bit of interest in one fell swoop!

Even with light from the bedrooms the hall is always dark
 and if all the doors are shut it's a cave

But what color? There were several that I really liked. It had to be a color that wasn't too dark, which was too bad because the color my husband and I liked the best was reddish brown "Warm Copper."

I first chose a light green but when I got it home I noticed the silvery hints in the color weren't what I wanted. I then chose "Soft Gold" which seemed like the right choice until I got it on the walls.

I don't usually tape off walls I'm painting but it was such a narrow space I ended up taping it all off. The instructions recommended rollers instead of brushes and they are right, it looks best rolled. The paint doesn't have very good coverage and so two coats were needed. In some spots I did three.

You can see how the metallic paint
shows every inconsistency in the wall's texture

Well, I don't know if I grabbed the wrong can of paint at the store but the color is not what I was expecting. "Soft Gold" is way darker and golder than I thought it would be (I guess that's why they sell those samples) and it's so metallic. I thought I'd like that effect but up close I noticed that it shows every flaw and texture variation in the wall, which isn't good because the hall's end wall has plenty of flaws.

I should have stopped there but then I painted some trees along the length of the two side walls.  I used painting tape and a level to make sure the trunks would be straight and that they would all be approx. the same height and width. 

The metallic paint catches the light giving them an interesting ombre' effect.  Still, I should have worked out what kind of tree I wanted to paint before I started.  Instead of beautiful airy saplings, I got something that looked stenciled and stiff (and suspiciously like something that would be stitched on a colonial embroidery sampler.)

So, the lessons I learned include the following: One, buy the paint sample first and try it before you buy the big can. Second, paint is always darker and more intense when massed on a wall versus the little paint chip. Thirdly, if your wall is flawed, metallic paint is probably not a good choice.  Oh and the last lesson, the little quart jars of paint are really tippy. (I knocked over the open jar twice and spilled at least half the paint on the tarp before I had even started painting.)

The one thing I thought turned out well was painting the light switch to match the accent wall. I spray-painted the switch and then I lightly sanded, brush-painted and textured the switchplate. Oh, and I should tell you that painting the end wall in a long room really does make the room seem wider and shorter. 

I guess I'll try to live with it for a while until my husband doesn't remember me buying the paint anymore.  Then, I'll either love the new look or I'll repaint the end wall with a cream color (non-metallic) a shade or two darker than the side walls, and either paint over the trees leaving the walls bare or try another image. Something more organic in form, like willows, grass, a swirling line of leaves or maybe just a wavy line.

Feel free to let me know what you think of the wall and trees and if I should undo what I did or keep it.