A MILLION COLORS, A MILLION TESTER POTS...

The Gorgeous Neutrals

Palettes you can live with...

The forecast is for neutral rooms with fresh pops of color...

but I'm fine with these soothing

far less exciting sweet slumber rooms...

the color stories are soft...

neutral ..

soothing...

with some contrasting accents

just so things don't get boring...

no bright pops in these rooms

but they still feel modern

crisp

clean

sleep inducing

this is not your mother's room...

When using these soothing colors in a bedroom, 

remember to bring in some contrast - in darker fabric

in reflective shine

and you can deepen that soothing color for a little drama

okay, maybe not a bedroom - but I love this color!

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Please can you help!! I have been through a million tester pots and nothing seems quite right to go with our carpet. The carpet is called 'Cameo'. It's a pain because it seems to change color every time you look at it! Cameo carpet seems to have pinky, beige, tan  and cream in it.

I am looking for a warm gray. We have already painted everything in Ben Moore natural linen and Ben Moore Finnie but  both look really green against the carpet so has to be repainted. Please help as I don't want to make another expensive mistake...the painter is waiting on me to decide!!!

I'm afraid I've kept you waiting - but the nature of my business is such that I can't always get to the reader's questions as quickly as I would like.  Gotta pay the bills ... I take care of my clients first - both long distance e-clients and local clients.  Sometimes that makes you wait a while for an answer - especially when life sits up and smacks you a couple of times to add to the drama - so I hope that this information is still useful to you.

You need a gray without the green undertone.  Undertones are sneaky little beasts that are often hard to see, especially in the paint store's fluorescent lighting.  With the peachy, pinky, beige of your cameo colored rug, you need a good cool toned gray on your walls.  

You should also put your sample color on a poster board with a good 2-inch white margin around the edge to stop the influence of the current wall color from effecting your sample.  It will also allow you to move it to your carpet to see how it reacts.  

Here are a couple of colors for you to try that don't have a green undertone...  but try a sample first - colors react to too many factors to rely on a photograph..

Martha Stewart - Newsprint

Very light

(great with peaches and pinks and beige)

Benjamin Moore Belmont Gray

 

Benjamin Moore - Arctic Gray

Ashwood - Benjamin Moore

Classic Gray - Benjamin Moore

Hello,

My living room is gray owl which I love, and I am trying to decide what color to paint the adjacent dining room, which is visible from the living room. I noticed your suggestions of sea haze and another gray color on your blog, but wanted to know if you had any other suggestions that weren't gray? I do want to keep it neutral and airy though.

Thanks!

Angela

So when you say 'not gray' - do you mean real gray as in white added to black.... or one of these shades...

because nearly every color has a gray

and the grayed down tones of these colors are 100% more livable, less saturated, more soothing

more enduring over the course of the years...

hard to believe these are all grays... right?

Here are a few colors I think may look good next to Gray Owl (only a swatch on your wall in your own room and light will tell)...  I will try to avoid any color that says 'gray' too strongly, but these colors are all grayed down a bit.

Benjamin Moore GRANT BEIGE

Benjamin Moore GUILFORD GREEN

Benjamin Moore PALLADIUM BLUE

Benjamin Moore TRANQUILITY

 Good Luck!

GREAT IDEAS FOR PATIOS AND DECKS ( AND JESSICAS HOUSE COLORS)

A GIRL CAN DREAM

Lately, I have completely ignored the outside areas of my home

and it really needs some attention...

but while curb appeal is important, there are other outdoor areas to consider...

I think it is just as important to have a little private spot

COLOR OR NEUTRAL?

There's been a lot of talk about color for 2014.
When I hear colors thrown about, like Radiant Orchid, I have to remind myself that these are 'trends' 
they are talking about.  I'm not 'trendy' per se.  
I like something that will stand the test of time - 

which is why I like a nice neutral background so that when you get tired of that trendy color - and you will - it will take only a few changes to go on to the next trendy color or a more lasting look...

KITCHEN CABINETS - PAINT PAINT PAINT

I love warm wood tones, but for some reason

in a kitchen

I prefer them on the floor

I love a painted kitchen!

A KITCHEN WITH DETAILS

That is what we desire.

Oft times we just get a 'kitchen'.  

Without adequate storage.  

Without enough food prep areas.

 Without adequate lighting. 

 Without details. 

When we are able to make some upgrades,
in light of the inadequacies, the details are often the last things we pursue.

A GOOD WARM NEUTRAL GRAY

HELP WITH A NON GROSS COLOR

When you buy a previously owned home, you buy that owner's taste in color and surface materials.

Sometimes you are lucky, and its a neutral you can live with for a while

but sometimes, you can't wait to make changes...

COASTAL COLORS

• WHEN THE BEACH IS A STATE OF MIND
  
  
  
  Coastal decor is one of my all time favorites.  
  I live on the West Coast, but any coast would do.  
  Its a casual, easy living, non-fussy way of decorating.  
  A nod to the seashore in a 'not in your face' sort of way... 
  not contrived ... 
  a lifestyle not a trend.

WHICH WHITE?

• 

  via

  Sometimes subtlety is the order of the day.  When white is wanted, it doesn't have to be boring, or even very 'white'.  White, like gray or beige or blue, comes in many varieties.  

THE COLOR YOU CRAVE: BEIGE

NEUTRAL OR NOT

via

For some of my readers, beige is a nice safe color

it is neutral and it stands the test of time

but neutral doesn't have to also be boring...

GRAY AREA

A LIGHTER SHADE OF PALE

Sage Atelier

a lighter shade for a wall color will make a room feel more spacious

a darker shade - more cozy or dramatic

CURB APPEAL: What is it?

What constitutes curb appeal?  

SPEAKING OF COLOR

and a fireplace

source

Contrasts are important in design.

New and old.

Hard and soft.

Dull and shiny.

Dark and light.

It is what makes a room unforgettable.

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

DRIFTWOOD

GRAY AND BEIGE ARE FRIENDS

Skagway, Alaska
Driftwood store front

I took this photo while cruising the beautiful waters of Alaska.  I could blog on and on about the colors of the water, the mountains, the glaciers, the sky....and I probably will, one day.  Alaska - incredible scenery and fun little towns like Ketchikan and Skagway, where I couldn't resist this little building completely covered in lovely, soft gray driftwood.... charming, isn't it?

MANLY COLOR ADVICE

A MASCULINE PAINT THEME...

Juneau, Alaska.  Look at all those lovely shades of blue and gray. 
Just returned from the cruise, and the colors were heavenly.  And very - manly.

WHAT ARE MASCULINE COLORS?

COLOR CHALLENGED

PERSONAL COLOR PALETTES



Source

Are you a green person or a blue person? 
 Do you like neutrals or whites? 
Do reds make you happy? 
Do you love pink?

Color is personal -  It is individual
A look in your closet will reveal colors
 you know you look your best in
and colors that make you feel good.

Why should decorating your home be any different?

OPEN FLOOR PLANS

COOL NORTHWEST LIGHT

Hi Claudine,  I recently bought a house with some interesting light variations, which I thought would be fun to repaint. I didn't notice that there is no mill work between the living, dining, kitchen, and foyer rooms, so color from one area has no barrier from the adjacent area.

CHOOSING A COLOR PALETTE

MEOWWW 

I've always loved the color palette of a Siamese Cat.  Creamy beiges,

deep browns, dark charcoal, and those calm blue eyes.

There is a reason they are so beautiful.  Nature knows the perfect

color palette!

THE PERFECT NEUTRALS

COLOR FOR THE BAMBINO

Sometimes the best way to choose color for a child or a baby's room is to start with the bedding.
You can't always guarantee that you will find fabric to match your paint color - but you can almost plan on finding paint to match your fabric.  Most home improvement stores carry color matching tech.  Just remember you never want to choose an exact color from a fabric for your walls - it will be too strong - always select a grayed or dirtied down version of your color.  It will be more livable and more sophisticated in the long run.

REMOVING THE MYSTERY

NON-MYSTERIOUS COLOR

Cactus and Tropicals

As you know by now, I have been spending a lot of time in the Great Salt Lake Valley.  My sisters and I visited this wonderful nursery, Cactus and Tropicals, looking for a Mother's Day gift while I was there.  It is essentially a very large tropical greenhouse (like a tent) and although it does have an outside area with bedding plants, most of this nursery is devoted to tropicals and cacti and indoor houseplants.