Color Calibration

Image from Home Makeover Diva

We’ve read enough about other people’s home-building adventures to know that we don’t want to end up rushing the choices – at least not any more than we have to. With so many decisions to make, some will have to be made in the moment, if only because we didn’t anticipate needing to choose between features like concealed, skirted, and exposed trapways (nope, we haven’t made that choice yet). However, we want to avoid too many snap decisions.

Both Carl and I are pretty good at anticipating. I do particularly well with things like scheduling and finances, but Carl is the real professional. Literally. His job pays him (in part) to anticipate trouble spots, plan ahead, and avoid as many problems as possible. And he’s really good at it.

So even though we don’t yet have an offer in hand, let alone a purchase-and-sale agreement, we’re getting started on the choices, particularly since once I’m back in the classroom in September, spending any significant time on choices will become much harder for me.

Yesterday, we headed for Lowe’s just to start the calibration process. We’re not buying anything yet, just looking. We looked at kitchen cabinets and countertops, flooring, and lighting fixtures. We agree in general on most things. We both like lighter stains on the woods and a defined wood grain – probably hickory, oak, or maple for the cabinets and wood floors.  We both like square tiles of different sizes to make up an interesting not-quite-random pattern for the bathroom and mudroom floors, and we’ll pick the color to complement the wood floors that will be adjacent. And we both like dark metal for lighting in the dining room, with a preference for simple geometric lines that aren’t too contemporary.

Countertops are a little more challenging. I need to do some more research, but I have a heavy leaning toward granite. We have granite counters in our current house, and I love being able to set hot pans and cut pizza directly on them. Carl is fine with stone, and we’ll consider quartz, too, but neither of us like soapstone much.

So we looked at color. I don’t want the countertops to be washed out since we’re already looking at light finish on the cabinets, so I want a little color or a slightly darker shade. Carl was pointing out some that were too light for my tastes, but we found a couple that might work for us both.

And then Carl said, “These two are almost the same color. This one is just a little busier.”

Um…no. Each had different reds and browns. Not miles apart, but they were clearly distinct.

Carl studied the samples for a moment, shrugged, and then pointed to one of the reddish blots. “Ok, these are a bit bigger and a little different, right?”

We have just provided additional support for the research that finds women see color better, while men see movement better. Since our countertops will not be moving, I need to be there when we make that choice. Carl agrees, and we hope we can meet with the kitchen designer before summer is out.