Eff what anyone says and paint your walls pink

I'm so glad I took this creative risk

My friend (also my landlord) recently asked us what color we should paint the back patio wall, a towering enclosure that is the side of our neighbor’s house. It was a Friday, the sun in a clear sky without the usual whip of summertime fog. She caught me in a mood: cheery, bright. The owner of the house – or, to us, the wall – graciously said we could choose whatever color we wanted, since we’re the ones who see it every day.

“Match the flowers out front,” I said. I used my Home Depot color match app (not a paid sponsorship, but also, it’s a great app) to match it to the bougainvillea, a bright purple-pink crawling up the side of the front door. We all agreed to give it a shot.

the boug

I wasn’t here when the painters first rolled it onto the wall, but I’m told that they gasped.

The man whose house it is, Sean, is in his 70s and has lived on our block for decades. He maintains the gardens in the front that so many tourists visit, that so many camera phones capture. Open the windows to the front and you can hear people gasp as they turn the corner and see the garden. (Granted, they could be struggling to catch their breath from the staircase, but still.)

I quite literally will stop and smell the roses on my commute. Brad and I have made it a tradition on our way home from dinner to pick a flower and smell it before we go into the house. It has surrounded our daily life and comings-and-goings, and I’m so grateful to Sean and the people on our block that make it so beautiful and special. It’s such a San Francisco experience.

The front garden always brings me delight, a joy that is shared with the world and the occasional raccoon. The backyard, though, feels like a secret. Now, when I wake up in the morning, there’s a few moments where the sun hits the wall and pink splashes into our kitchen, down the hall.

A morning selfie, splashed in pink

I can’t tell you how delighted I am to see the entire apartment flooded with pink. It’s a wall as bright and vibrant as a garden, singing to me in the morning.

From all of this, I suppose I’ve learned that it’s worth it to take the risk. Go for the bold color. If it brings you joy, run to it. Make it yours. Worst case scenario, there’s another coat of paint. Best case scenario, you begin every day with delight. I never would have guessed.

Here she is