Thursday, July 18, 2013

Choosing a paint color takes a village

So as a blogger who loves the DIY blogging niche I love getting inspired by all of you. 

I love the little "village" we have where we speak the same lingo and know what "patina" and "grieg" and "anthro knock-off" mean. :) 

So I am calling on all you villagers to HELP ME PLEASE settle on a paint color for this room!

And not to be overly dramatic, but I don't know if our marriage can handle too many more times of busting out the rollers and painters tape.

Jake's the best paint partner, but everyone has a limit.  

So below is our front room. 

It acts as our foyer/formal living/dining room.

Whew, talk about multi tasking!


When we moved in, it was a light gray. 


Terrible picture I know. 

But it really was a terrible room.

Isn't it amazing what hardwood and 7in white baseboards can make?!

Anyway, the room is far from complete. 

We're planning on adding some heavy duty crown molding in the next few months and buying furniture one day. (Who needs furniture right?)

But right now the easiest and cheapest update is to paint it. Again. 

Like I said, it was light gray when we moved in and I hated it. 

The gray looked dirty and dingy. 

So we painted it in SW City Scape



It's a great color, I actually really like it. 

But I don't really LOVE it for the room.

It the picture above, the color looks more gray and charcoal-ish, but most of the time it looks more blue and that's the problem I have with it. 

The two window above are the only natural light the room gets. The larger window actually just looks out at a cement wall and the smaller window has a medium size bush in front of it, that blocks the lower third of the window. 

So the room doesn't get a ton of natural light, which is my dilemma.

Do I keep the room in a darker tone, but something with less blue in it?

Or do I switch it up entirely with a warmer neutral?

I'm picturing some thing like this, this, this or this.

A Grieg with a little tan and maybe a hint of green in it...?

What do you think? 

Any suggestions for a good charcoal color?

What are your favorite warm neutrals?

Come on villagers! I know you all know your paint colors. :)





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5 comments:

  1. I think beige might be a mistake. The darkest one you suggested could work, though. I have a similarly dark room, and when we moved in, it was warm beige--I felt it looked like a grody motel room color, prone to shadows. I painted it a dark blue, and the drama created by it is lovely. Since you don't like blue, I'd go for something gray, but definitely saturated and on the darker side.

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  2. The first one is my pick, but it's so important to examine that swatch in that room before you paint the whole thing. I have a color that looks GREAT in my front room, but AWFUL in my bedroom. And I have.to.redo.it.too. Poop.

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  3. i am a huge fan of white walls to let all your amazing furniture shine! if not that then a charcoal gray (zinc from martha stewart is great and not bluish).

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  4. My daughter and 3 of my girlfriends have used Benjamin Moore Stampede with white trim and it looks incredible...I also have 2 girlfriends that painted every room BM Raccoon Hollow.there are no yellow or blue tones in either color, more of the green you mentioned you were looking for . I would recommend painting one wall and living with it for several days before doing the whole room. Good luck. Carol

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  5. I have a whole pinboard of grays because I've been waffling back and forth about doing a charcoal or navy or lighter color in our master. Feel free to peruse...I have most of the paint colors listed with the link or the posts say what they are: http://pinterest.com/dearemmeline/gray-love/

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I really appreciate all of your thoughts and comments! They bring a smile to my face!