It’s time to paint the bedroom, and I am learning how different my tastes can be from my husband’s. We both wanted darker colors, which is a good starting point, but we diverged from there.

Specifically, I wanted burgundy. He wanted a deep orange red color.

It took a while to find the color he meant. He kept talking about something called “rare sienna” but didn’t know who made it. Finally he decided from a sample strip that “chili pepper” would do.

So yesterday I painted a chunk of spare drywall the chosen color. My reaction was as I expected: Of all the colors in the world, I never would have chosen this one, but it is not ugly so I can live with it. I also would not choose white trim like my beloved wants, but I can live with that as well. (Leverage for things I prefer later.)

As it turns out, he can NOT live with chili pepper. Please go online, he asked. Please find the rare sienna he likes in other homes.

He also asked what I thought, and I told him. It’s not a berry color, I said, which I would like and also would match our current quilt, but I can live with it and flip the quilt to the other side.

He pondered this. Get the rare sienna, he said. But get a berry color, too, because he might like it.

I don’t think this is getting decided anytime soon.<P>

<em>This post originally appeared on <a title=”Midland Daily News” href=”http://www.ourmidland.com/”>ourMidland.com</a&gt;, the online home of the Midland (MI) Daily News. Republished with permission.</em>