Color My World

Dad moved into an apartment at a continuing care retirement community late last fall. I really liked the apartment he selected. In many ways I like it better than his previous place and it's only slightly smaller.

The apartment has tile floors in the halls, living area, bathrooms and kitchen. The bedrooms and an office are carpeted in beige. The kitchen is small, but for Dad, that's not an issue. The previous tenant had upgraded to cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless appliances by Frigidaire. Dad was pleased. Most of the apartments we toured have GE appliances and for whatever reason, Dad thinks GE appliances 'stink'. The walls throughout the apartment were white. Stark white. I suggested painting. Dad said no. He said he likes the white walls. Along comes Barbara. She is the resident move-in assistant and decorator. She is young and cute. Barbara suggests picking out some colors for the walls. Dad readily agrees! So, now you know where my opinion ranks next to that of others cute girls!

We met Barbara at the apartment. I've brought some pillows from couches and chairs that Dad plans to move. We pick out a soft, light moss green for the walls in the living area. The color is the same as his sofa, just toned down a few notches. We pick out a light beige for his office. Most of the time Dad has been saying the colors Barbara or I suggest are too strong. Too bright. Too much. We walk into the kitchen. Dad flips though the color wheel book and points to a red. "How about this?" he asks. Had you been there you would have heard two thuds as both my jaw and Barbara's hit the floor. We settle on a brick red, sort of paprika, to go on the two walls with the cabinets. Dad agreed that the two other walls would look nice in the same beige as his office. On to the bedrooms. Again, Dad surprises us with his choices. He picks a bright spring green for his bedroom. He selects a 'Pepto-Bismal' pink for the guest room. I suggest that he may want to think of something more along the melon side of the spectrum as his rugs and furniture are all soft green, beige, gold and/or peach. So, he picks out a shade of pumpkin orange. I thought it looked great on the color chip...

Dad's apartment was painted before he moved in. What an improvement over white! Unbelievably, every one of his rugs fits somewhere in the apartment. The rugs and his upholstered furniture coordinate well with the wall colors - how uncanny! One of his rugs has designs that exactly match the bright, spring green of his bedroom. Another rug has features that actually mimic the orange in the guest room.

So, Dad has settled in. I've had the opportunity to spend the night a few times. The only question that remains is just where do I purchase eye shades so that the neon bright, glowing orange of the bedroom doesn't keep me awake by pulsing through my closed eyelids?!! The guest room is wild! It glows! I joke with Dad that he will effectively cut his electric light bill in half, as the bright color lights up the rest of the apartment.

Color Dad happy!