Today at noon we met the builder and his tile guy at the house to make selections to replace the out-of-budget tile we had originally selected. Both the builder and the tile guy apologized profusely for the earlier mix up. And in a show of good faith the tile guy is going to allow us to have the dark green tile we liked so much for the hall bath upstairs at a cost that keeps it in the budget.
We looked at several tiles and accent tiles and were able to select a combination that will look good in the master bathroom. We are deferring the selection of the kitchen back splash tile and accent until after Friday, as there may be a source of the granite we had originally selected in Kansas City and we’ll know then if we have pick a new color or not.
We also got to ask the builder about a number plate built-in to the masonry on the front of the house. He said that is doable. It’ll be on the side of the two-bay door closest to the main entrance of the house.
While we were there the exterior of the house was being painted. As the color appeared to be white we both assumed that this was primer to cover the taupe color of the siding material. This afternoon after work I stopped by the house again and had a short, upsetting, conversation with the painter. Turns out that the blinding white color of the paint is the final color of the house.
The pale blue we had selected isn’t really blue at all.
We had been asked by the builder to find house with the color we wanted so he could see it in person. As luck would have it there was a house just a street over from our that was painted in a lovely pale blue that worked extremely well with the limestone masonry. We viewed that house with Lon and later selected paint swatch that seemed to be that color. All of the paint swatches have multiple hues on them and we were talking about the second one down on the card. It was much more obviously blue. The builder cautioned us that it would be really blue on the house, so we picked the lightest shade on the card for the exterior.
In person, and in direct sunlight, it is white. There is just a hint of a not-white hue at the edge of your perception when you look at it, but it is not blue.
We are very upset and dismayed about the color. As soon as I got home and explained the coloring to Sibylle we called the realtor and left her a voice mail message, and Sibylle wrote her an email. While I know the house can be repainted my fear is that the cost will be prohibitive.
Worst of all we are now wondering about the interior colors we’ve selected. What if their hue in person is as profoundly different from the swatch as the “Radiant Blue” one was?
I love the house, its location, its features, everything. But I am weary of the process of getting it completed. Everyday there is a new decision to be made, and a new worry about a choice we’ll live with or pay to correct later. I know this will be good, but I now realize it isn’t going to be easy.
