“I’m fortunate that I can document all the progress on Luxe & Lucid for posterity.”
Did I write that just last week? Oh well. One step forward, one step back. We had a
major hiccup this week at chez Huntley. Remember all those beautiful neutrals I taped
to my walls? Remember that I selected Benjamin Moore’s Vanilla Milkshake as one of
my colors? That turned out to be a bit of a problem. Upon the completion of 1 – and
in many areas 2 – coats of this color, I noticed that it seemed a little off. The rooms
appeared to be a lot more white than ecru. I thought perhaps it was all the light that
pours into my house. Or maybe my new downlights were brightening the space more
than before. Alas, when I taped the paint chip back up on the wall, it just wasn’t right.
To make a long story short, Benjamin Moore’s formula for Vanilla Milkshake #OC-59 is
simply wrong. The real color doesn’t match the paint decks. Moreover, Monarch Paint
and BM corporate don’t really care. Umm, excuse me? As someone who has spec’d
countless Benjamin Moore colors in her career, this is more than a little alarming. As a
designer you can’t always be on site (or in-state or in the country) to review a test sample.
I can understand a slight difference in value or undertone, but this so-called vanilla is just
plain white. That means my entire first floor has to be painted again and that Tricia has
to roll up her shirtsleeves and do some of the work herself. Because I may have been
comp’d freshly mixed (and corrected) gallons of paint for my troubles, but my painter and
his crew don’t exactly work for free. So add to my loaded schedule and to my resume …
Tricia Huntley: Professional Interior Designer, Blogger & House Painter
Thanks Ben!
Vanilla should be, well, vanilla. Right?!
The sample that says it all.
Vanilla Milkshake as sample (on left) and in reality (on right).
The paint store’s work product.
A little GRRRR to go with your morning coffee today.
Hoping for a little more “progress” in next week’s progress report.
Tricia : [
Hi Tricia,
Thank you for sharing your personal story with us! Color is such a challenge to begin with so I can just imagine how stressful this must have been for you! Keep smiling!
Have a wonderful weekend!
best,
Danielle
Posted by: danielle boudrot | July 22, 2011 at 12:06 PM
I've noticed that Ben Moore has been having problems lately (even to the point of my ordering five one-gallon cans of a greige, and them delivering four of that plus one of a sage green). I do prefer Sherwin, who thankfully is more readily available where I currently live than any other paint company. And being the actual finisher, I no longer trust anyone to deliver paint... Instead I camp out in the store and make sure it's a perfect match to the swatch before thinking about leaving. It definitely adds time to your day, but I'd rather that than having to do the work over.
Posted by: Jen | July 22, 2011 at 10:35 AM