Plum paint, or "The Art of Compromise in Marriage"

My favorite color for interior ceilings, trim, and walls is white. Plain, stark white. Not beige. Not antique white. Not eggshell white. White.

Steve's favorite color for interior walls (he doesn't care about the ceilings, but he has been known to slap color on trim before) is green, but he will accept any other color as long as it is definitely color, and not just a tint or a shade of color.

For several months Steve has been saying he'd like to see the dining room painted. When the movers took out all of Mrs. Tucker's furniture, they goudged some of the walls and left black streaks on the flat, off-white, contractor-special paint that covers all the walls downstairs.

We've been here four years now and I keep saying that I want to paint the walls with white semi-gloss to brighten up the rooms and make the walls easier to clean.

But several nights ago, while watching HGTV Steve mentioned that he really liked the plum color that a couple had painted a room.

So I bought some plum semi-gloss and last week while Steve was on a business trip the children and I moved furniture and painted the dining room plum. It made him happy and I don't need white walls so much.