Talking lobster not included

We are tackling our shell of a house one room at a time. There is no money for flooring, so instead, we coat the plywood with red garage paint and call it temporary.

We used to have to climb a ladder that dropped into the middle of the living room to get into our attic bedroom. Peeing in the middle of the night was no joke. So in honor of the unprecedently luxury of being able to drink water with impunity at 1 a.m., we decided to do the upstairs bathroom first.

I had this idea that the bathroom would an antique robin's egg blue with white trim and lots of chocolate brown to match the inexpensive Ikea vanity with a lovely wide sink. I had a perfect palm-sized dish glazed in that exact blue. W. and I took the dish to Lowe's and carefully matched the color.

We pulled everything out of the bathroom, and I spent hours taping and painting. And we have, not antique robin's egg blue, but an aquamarine, a tropical shore turquoise, a sea foam...

The bathroom looks like the Little Mermaid's grotto. We are hoping a white ceiling and tile and molding will cut the oceanic feel.

And for the rest of the house? We are thinking no more fun with color, dreaming of shades of white...