OPPOSITES ATTRACT...

Too much of anything, no matter how much you love it, is not a good thing.

So if you have a very warm wall color,

toss in some cooler tones - 

whites

some beige-y greens

If you have cooler walls, accent with some warm tones,

so as not to become too frosty...

Accents here are gold, brown, peachy beige - 

against the cool blue/green walls and white trim

warm against cool..

It will show off those opposites and bring them to life.

Too much of the same, and they all blend in instead of  standing out.

QUESTION FROM A READER:

I stumbled upon your blog looking at paint colors.  I feel my BM (concord ivory I think) is fighting with the cabinets and floors.  

I have a lot of wood in my kitchen and as the cherry cabinets age, they will darken. would love any ideas you may have.  Thanks. Tina

Hello Tina,
Sometimes we get a little too warm in our decorating.   We need a place to cool off.  Your warm walls and the warm wood tones have your rooms a little too heated - and I believe a nice cool neutral for the walls would really show off the beautiful warm tones in your woods.  Try some of these on the wall as samples  ( the best way is to paint on poster board with a good white margin all around).  These will create a cool oasis and also the needed contrast between warm and cool that will show each off to its best advantage.  Taking a cue from the rug on the floor, I've chosen some cool gray greens and soft beige-y grays.

Sherwin Williams BALANCED BEIGE

Sherwin Williams PAVILION BEIGE

Benjamin Moore GUILFORD GREEN

Benjamin Moore TAPESTRY BEIGE

 Try some samples on poster board and hold them near your wood -

Benjamin Moore URBAN PUTTY

you will see how lovely your woods appear next to them!  
Good luck!