Today I began the process of fulfilling goal #1 of my Summer Goals. I decided that since, at least in my mind, the kitchen is the hardest room to paint, I’d tackle that first. The kitchen has been kind of an off-white for many years, kind of boring, and desperately in need of new life. The kitchen is kind of a metaphor for a lot of things.

Anyway, I was still in bed this morning but half awake around 6am, which wasn’t necessary, but just was the reality. So I was kind of thinking about painting the kitchen, in my half-conscious state. It was in that half-conscious state that the idea of using a cool, beachy turquoise seemed like a good idea.

Turquoise is a very cool color. It looks good in certain situations, particularly where a cool, vintage California vibe is what you’re after. The Fender guitar company made a strat in that color in the 50’s and 60’s, known as “seafoam green.” The photo on the right is a little more green and a little less blue than what I was thinking for the kitchen, but it’s kind of the same vibe.

(For the non-guitar initiated, “strat” is short for “stratocaster,” an amazing guitar, if you get a good American-made one. Stay away from the Mexican strats and the Japanese strats. And please don’t call me a racist; I just know a little something about guitars).

Turquoise is also one of those colors where a little goes a long way, and it’s a color that isn’t going to be right in every situation. One of those situations, it turns out, is my kitchen. I picked up a little $2.00 sample of it at Home Depot, and put some of it on my kitchen wall. Let’s just say that it’s not going to stay long. Based on my best color judgment (which may not be all that good), and the judgment of the Lovely Miss Courtney, it’s the most ridiculous thing we’ve seen in a long time.

So learn from my brief error in color judgment – turquoise is probably best used in small amounts, and maybe only on guitars and certain articles of clothing, or possibly vintage cars. It may also be best left to professionals. It should not, under any circumstances, be the primary color wall color in a small kitchen.