TOO WARM

CRAVING COOL....

via

Looking through Traditional Home and House Beautiful magazines this weekend, I was struck by the 'cool' palette nearly all the rooms were sporting on their walls.  From the barest hint of cool beige to light grays and deeper hues of blue gray, all were in the cooler palette.  That is not to say that the rooms were cold, or even
 cool.  Grays pair beautifully with so many warm colors that the rooms were warm and inviting even though their walls were cool toned.  I think it is the perfect combination.


Hi Claudine!

I just found your blog via pinterest, and I had to laugh at what you wrote.  I too, am tired of all the "warmth" in my house, and the hubs thinks I'm a nutcase.  I find myself staring longingly at Houzz.com looking at all the beautiful grey, cream and white rooms.

I wanted to ask your advice, because I am having a terrible time making a room for myself like that.  I have two-story great room that has a full wall of windows that face west.  In short, I get a LOT of
afternoon light.  When I look at photos of grey rooms, I always love the Revere Pewter, Coastal Fog, etc. rooms. In fact, the 1st photo on your blog is of one of my favorite rooms in Shale - LOVE it!   But when I put swatches up on my wall, they look very washed out.  I have bought a zillion samples and now I've got the painter coming in a few days and I'm in a panic! Help!

I have tried: Northern Cliffs (too pale); Briarwood (too pink); Flint (too dark); Storm (bleh, and a little purple); Thunder (washed out); Whale Gray (I liked this one, kind of a slate blue, but I'm worried that 15 feet hight walls of it might be a bit dark); Dolphin (also liked it, also too dark); Revere Pewter (love it in photos, looks sad on the wall); Berkshire Beige (too beige)

The best one, so far, is Rockport Gray HC-105.  It pulls a little bit green, but at least its not too light or too dark.

I am enclosing some photos of the room - I have taken out the oriental rug on the floor, its in the dining room now.  The color on the walls currently is Chesterton Buff, I'm worried that all the yellow splashing around is causing some of these other colors too look strange.  So I put huge swatches up everywhere, and now the room looks crazy. You can see some of the swatches in the photos.  I also included a photo of the dining room which I just painted Northern Cliffs, and I LOVE.

This photo makes it look green, but its really more of a silver grey

Any suggestions?

You are right that one of the reasons color is looking a little off at your house is the existing wall color.  It will influence the swatches, which is why I generally recommend painting your swatches onto foam core board or poster board - two coats - just like you would a wall.  Leave a good 2-3 inch white border around the edge so that your warm walls don't bleed their color glow onto the samples.

Benjamin Moore REVERE PEWTER

I think colors like Revere Pewter and Northern Cliffs will look a lot fresher, so try them again.

Benjamin Moore NORTHERN CLIFFS

You should also try Benjamin Moore's Silver Fox, Greige  and Gray Owl.

Benjamin Moore GREIGE

Benjamin Moore GRAY OWL

 Silver Fox has a blue undertone, and Gray Owl is light but not too white - a perfect all around color.

Benjamin Moore SILVER FOX

And dont forget to retry Shale, the color you originally loved.