HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT WALL COLOR II

WHY NEUTRAL WORKS...

Benjamin Moore BROXBURN GREIGE

You have only to look at the photos my reader posted below to know that the blues are way too blue in that kitchen.  I would guess that it all looked coordinated and good in the little swatches that the previous owner used to choose the color and the she didn't expect the color to intensify and bounce off the walls at her.   That much pigment may be well and good for a kids room, but it looks a little juvenile for the kitchen.

Paint color intensifies when it is on all four walls, it intensifies in a room with a lower ceiling, it intensifies in smaller rooms, and it intensifies in a southern facing room, and in the evening.  That's a lot to consider when picking a color, and why I always say 'try before you buy'.  Buy the smallest container or tester pot you can and see how it reacts to your light in your own home. I guarantee its going to look a lot different than at the paint store under those flourescent lights.

And then, back off a little from color.  Gray it down.  Make it more livable and more soothing. Neutralize it.  If you crave color - bring it in to the room in accents, fabrics and rugs.  Walls are a backdrop to the beautiful things you put in a room - they shouldn't fight for your attention.

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Hi Claudine
I love reading your blog and the advice you provide to other people and I was hoping you might be able to help provide us with some color advice for our new place.

Hi Evan!  So happy you like the blog - love to help readers!

My fiance and I are purchasing our first home at the end of the month and are in desperate need of a paint color (or colors) to replace the bright blue in our open concept living room/dining room/kitchen.

Thats so exciting!  Your first home.  Congratulations.   That blue is a little overpowering.  Blue is a very tricky color to use.  A little too much pigment and its a kids room, right?

We are thinking we want something more neutral than the blue currently there and we are not at all committed to keeping the two tone walls -- however, we do like the white trim.  We don't love the chair rail, but will likely keep it for now.

I like fresh white trim, too.  I think, though, instead of dividing the wall with a white line or separate colors, you should paint the chair rail the same color as the wall.  Leave the baseboards white and the crown, if you have it.  I would also paint any doors the same color white as the baseboards.  

We don't currently have any furniture picked out for this room, but will likely have a neutral sofa (gray, taupe or beige), a modern walnut coffee table, and a very low profile TV stand with a large black TV.  Its worth noting that there is a large black gas fireplace in the living room that can't be moved (that will likely be part of a future project!).

Oh yes, we love those 'future' projects!

Are there any colors you might recommend?  Have you come across any good examples of a single color above and below a chair rail?

The two color walls with chair rail is a bit of a dated formal look, and you are young and fresh.  There is no wainscot below, just a chair rail, so I think you should paint it out all the same for a more contemporary look - something like this... 

Thank you so much!  We very much look forward to hearing from you.
Evan.

Now, for color.  Here are a few tried and true neutrals.  These are wonderful colors, look great with warm woods and white trim, and will play nicely with almost any color you choose to accent.  

Sherwin Williams COMFORT GRAY

Sherwin Williams MORRIS ROOM GRAY

Sherwin Williams ACCESSIBLE BEIGE

Sherwin Williams ACCESSIBLE BEIGE

Make sure you try before you buy.  Get the tester size and paint a nice sized swatch on some poster board (two coats, don't forget to let it dry in between) and keep a fairly wide white boarder around the swatch so that the blue doesn't affect it too much.

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I painted my dining room Farrow and Ball LULWORTH BLUE.  

I need a color for the foyer and living room. The foyer is in the center and dining room to right living room to left . I painted the stair railings black and am adding dark wide plank floors. We are adding wainscoting in dining room and foyer in Benjamin Moore WHITE DOVE.

Regards,
lizanne 

Sounds lovely, Lizanne   White Dove is my favorite white.  The dark wood and black accents will go nicely with a neutral greige (gray/beige) - which will also look nice next to the blue.  The undertone is warm, but the gray will keep it soothing and keep the walls in the background.  Try Farrow and Ball Purbeck Stone or Pavilion Gray.

Farrow and Ball PAVILION GRAY

Farrow and Ball PURBECK STONE

Hope that helps!  Let us know what you choose!

FAVORITE THINGS - P. ALLEN SMITH

I recently discovered P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain Farm, 

and his show,

and his magazine

and his home, 

and his acreage, 

and his garden,

 and his view... 

and his barn,

and his chickens.  

P. ALLEN SMITH CHICKEN COUP

I love everything.  I want to live there. He's my new favorite thing.   And who knew Arkansas was so gorgeous?

If I were starting out again, and knew what I know now, I would love to have a venue like this for special events - (and the money to go with it to keep it in pristine shape and pay those people who would be taking care of the garden and the barn and the chickens, and the food, 

and the sheep.) 

 Did I mention he has sheep? 

 I'm a little addicted to his show, too. (OK, a lot addicted).  The Hubs has even caught the bug - I made him sit through the 'ghost bubble' episode and he thought it was so cool, he promptly changed the DVR to make sure the recording would be kept until such time as we asked it to be erased. 

I've since done that with nearly every episode.  

You should check him out - we see him on PBS here in Orange County - google his show 
"P. Allen Smith Garden Home'.

Also visit his facebook page, instagram, youtube videos, shop and website.  

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Dear Claudine, I hope you are doing fantastic. I found your blog while searching the net for grey hues to go with maple floors and cabinets. OMG, I was so thrilled to read your blog posts. I got so much inspiration. I hope you do not mind me asking a color related design question. I will try to keep it short to one question (which might be impossible). But if you only answer one, I will understand and still appreciate your input. 

I AM doing fantastic, thank you very much!

We are in the process of purchasing our first home (YAAY!) and while the layout is something I am ok with for now (I have plans to change it in the future), I desperately need help with choosing colors to give a facelift to the inside of the house. We are in a really, really tight budget as the house was 50K higher than our intended budget. So, I will try to do everything myself right after closing. 

Congratulations!  Good luck with making your new home your very own!

Kitchen is where I need the most help. I did my research regarding picking the right colors. I've been looking at tons and tons of photos. Here is what I have in mind (even though it feels like I have no idea what I am doing):

Cabinets:

I thought about staining the shelves, but I gave up on the idea because I want to keep the cabinets the same color (but I will change the hardware). The only thing I want to do to these cabinets for this time around, is to install a crown molding on them to make them look longer. 

The cabinets look to be in good condition!  Hopefully they can match the wood when they add the crown molding.  It will give it all a more finished look.

Walls:

While I like bolder warm colors, this not me at all. 

Since I decided to keep the cabinets the maple color they are (plus I like maple floors for now), I thought it would be imperative for me to change the color of the wall from burnt orange to either Sherwin Willams - Anonymous or Dovetail grey. The kitchen does get fair amount of light. But I don't want it to be too dark or to washed out. What do you think? One of these colors will also be present throughout dining area. 

Yes, definitely bring in a gray tone.  It will really bring the beauty of your cabinets out.

I like the Dovetail 

cnb homes

and the Anonymous Gray (which has a bit of a green undertone).

Pinterest

Here is a kitchen done in Anonymous by Sherwin Williams, and you can see it really looks nice with the wood toned cabinets.  I think you have adequate light to handle these colors.

All Things G&D

 From here I really want the color to transition into something softer for the family living room area. I am thinking Sherwin Williams Comfort Grey. 

Here I may disagree with you.  Comfort Grey, while being a perfectly lovely color, does not really compliment either Anonymous or Dovetail.

Comfort Gray

Anonymous

Dovetail

 Instead, I would go softer by going up the paint strip a couple of notches.  That will be a color in the same family, and will allow the color story to flow from room to room.  Too big a contrast and your eye will stop and start and rooms will feel smaller.

Decorpad

Anonymous will pair beautifully with Amazing Gray - a soft and serene color just a couple of notches up on the paint strip from Anonymous, and one of my favorite colors.

Mindful Gray

Mindful Gray is a good companion for Dovetail and will flow nicely as it is just a couple of colors up the strip from Dovetail.

 The ceiling here is not very high. Along with using Comfort Grey here, I am also thinking of adding crown molding. I just don't know what size to chose so that it is not overwhelming but at the same time gives nice visual length to the walls. I also do not have any idea of what to do with the open area/windows on top of the would be TV stand. Another reason why I think Comfort Grey might work well is that my family room furniture is vintage white color. What do you think? Can also bring in an oriental looking area rugs (reddish and dark brown hues) to pull together everything? 

Crown molding will actually raise the eye and make your ceilings feel taller.  I wouldn't go less than 5" on a crown molding on an 8 foot ceiling.

As soon as you step in to the house, you are in a guest living area ?

Few homes these days have a proper entry, and we have to try to create one.  

Houzz

I don't know what furniture you have, but two chairs with a higher round occasional table in-between can create a mini entry, even though the guest may see the backs of the chairs. 

Houzz

You can do the same thing with a sofa table if your sofa backs to the door, or create a division with a folding screen or a console.

Martha Moments

Room-Decorating Ideas

You can see the kitchen from here and any color I will paint the kitchen and surrounding areas, will impact the color of this place, too. 

I am thinking painting this area Sherwin Williams Driftwood. I just don't know if I should paint the whole area, including the staircase or if I should combo with different colors, creating certain visual blocks (?) 

Unfortunately I think that Sherwin Williams Driftwood is an exterior stain color.  I think it is also a little dark for this area. But a similar color would be nice - and I would stay on the cool side of the spectrum for this room.  Try Accessible Beige (a cool neutral beige) or Agreeable Gray, both by Sherwin Williams.  These have a lighter feel, with Agreeable Gray being a little grayer and cooler.  Both look great with nearly any color.    

Zillow
SW Accessible Beige

Restyling Home by Kelly
SW Agreeable Gray

Pinterest
SW Agreeable Gray

I would do all the walls and the stairwalls the same.  There are no particular architectural features that I would highlight.  Colors you bring into the room with your furnishings and accessories will stand out and the walls will be a soothing background.  Trim should be in a fresh but not stark white.

I also have no idea with what to do with the windows, lol. I love curtains, but what type of curtains would I chose? I am not very design savvy. But I am so, so eager to learn and make a great nest for my family. I really hope you can help me out. I guess once I get done with the paint and some sort of a crown molding (?) around the living area. I can start thinking about pulling the design pieces together. 

Yes to crown molding!  I like a simple curtain, and I would suggest a simple tailored curtain - something like this...

Memorable Decor

SP Townhome

For the windows that flank the fireplace, I would use shutters or blinds.
That's all I can answer now.  I know you have more questions and I will email you with information on my e-design services.

Best of luck!