OT: Paint color help

[KrisM]

We are trying to find a paint color for our kitchen and family room. They run together, so we want just 1 color (or 1 main and an accent wall). We've tried 3 cans of sample paint and are getting nowhere. Anyone good at this?

We have in the kitchen: light maple cabinets, dark green countertop, white appliances, a large checkered floor with a blueish-green tile and a greyish-white tile.

In the family room: Berber carpet that is light colored with mulicolored flecks in it (burgendy and tans), a fireplace with red-brown bricks and a redish stained mantle, a couch with sage green and tans in it, another brown chair, and a dark green chair.

We've tried a couple of beiges and they blend too much with the cabinets and are boring. We tried one that was more red and it looks okay with the bricks, but looks pink everywhere else. I'm not sure what direction to go next.

[mommyj_2]

I've been trying to decide on paint colors, and my aunt recommended hiring a colorist. She's done several major remodeling projects, and said that when she chose the colors herself, she ended up having to repaint several of the rooms (she's really good at decorating, too). She said it's hard to figure out how the colors will look at different times of the day. She says colorists don't charge a lot. She also recommends Benjamin Moore paints.
HTH

[newnana]

maybe more of a tan than a beige? I want to say taupe, but am not sure that is right.

[almostmom]

I have a wall in my living room as audubon russet (benjamin moore). it might be too much for the whole place but it goes well with brick and tans...

good luck!
liz

[farleygirl]

We went with Dorset Gold from Benjamin Moore -- looks lovely with woodwork, and should compliment red and green.

Benjamin Moore has those color samples to buy -- a huge help. I've bought at least 10 in trying to come up with 3 colors for various rooms! I highly recommend, as the color never looks like the paint chip.

[Momof3Labs]

I'd go darker than beige - try a camel or even a mustardy gold. We've used those types of colors in both our old and new house (very different houses) with very good results.

[trumansmom]

I've got exactly one paint job under my belt, but we have loved the results. Have you thought about a wheaty yellow? It sounds like you have many of the same colors we have, and this has worked nicely for us. It's neutral enough not clash with anything, but pretty enough not to be boring. We went with the Martha Stewart line at Sherwin Williams. The color is called Oolong. There was also a nice, neutral sagey green in that line that might work for you.

Good luck! I *agonized* over paint colors. Now I want to paint more!!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/01 and Eleanor 4/04
Independent Consultant, Do-Re-Me & You!

[KrisM]

Thanks everyone. I am off to paint stores again to get sample cards. I have the book of colors for Sherwin Williams, but will expand to Benjamin Moore and others to see if something works better.

We're actually trying to pick 3 colors - the family room/kitchen combo, the entry and hallway, and a 3rd color for the dining room and play room. What a pain! We want them to look good together, too. Ugh.

[kedss]

we really liked the benjamin moore paints. How about a burnt orange, or like a PP said, a wheaty yellow/gold, or a deep reddish brown?

good luck! :)

[shilo]

another vote for the yellow/gold family. i have similar colors in our great room (kitchen/dining/family room). i went with a golden vanilla wall color with white trim/mouldings. brings out the honey tones in the maple cabinets, and makes the white appliances pop in the kitchen giving a crisp sunny look. warmed it up in the family room portion with kakhi/tan furniture and deep brick red accent pillows with some harvest gold tones in it as well as the window treatments. i have a little it of a brighter orchid green in there too, but no sagey tones - but in general the as long as your greens have a warm undertone and not a cool/blue undertone, the golden yellows/vanillas should be a fair match.

good luck!
lori

[pixelprincess]

My vote would be for a lime green or something in the green family for the kitchen. It would work well with the light maple cabinets/dark green counters. There are some pretty SW greens and also in the Martha Stewart line. A couple of the SW greens that I have liked are Ryegrass and Gosling.

Since you have a fair amount of green in your family room, it would work well with a khaki and even a brown accent wall (depending on how much light you have in the room) to tie in with the brown chair.

I bought some of the smaller sample cans from SW to test out the colors. You can do the same with Benjamin Moore too.

Have fun!

[KrisM]

DH took photos and used Photoshop to change the colors on the walls. The one we like the best is a blue-gray color. One of our "failed" sample paints for the play room was this color and it seems to look really nice in the family room and kitchen. Nothing else is blue though! Does that sound really weird?

[erosenst]

If you want some incredibly good, but free, advice, take pics of all three rooms. Then sign up for the bulletin boards at http://www.gardenweb.com, and post it on the Home Decorating board under the Home Forums. I've been amazed how good some of the people on there are. There are even a few who will take your pics and "recolor" them for you.

Good luck -

[kedss]

I can see how the blue would work, since you have bluish tile on the floor in the kitchen, just be careful who mixes your paint, my mom tried to get a blue-grey paint and it turned out really blue.

[juliasmom05]

Picking colors is so hard. We have sort of similar colors in our house and went with a carmel color (I can't remember the brand, but for some reason Eddie Bauer from Lowes sticks in my head) for the kitchen and living room walls with a burgandy/wine accent wall in the kitchen. We have natural cherry cabinets, and white trim in the kitchen and in the living room the carmel goes really well with our cherry furniture, white trim, burgandy drapes and dark green couch. Our last house, we used a Gold color (Gold 3 from Laura Ashley) and that looked nice as well.

Good luck.

Marci

Mom to Julia 4/05