Color help please

egreg · 09-21-2009, 11:48 AM

I am getting ready to paint in our entry way and formal living room. We have a long narrow room with an east facing view that gets a ton of light all day long. I like strong earthy colors and am searching for a nice (bold) neutral for the walls. The trim throughout is a dark brown. Here is the thing though, I stink at picking colors. Seriously, if there is a bad choice out of 100's of good ones I'll pick the bad color every time. So can you give me a hint about a nice rich taupe or another more "on trend" neutral to use? Looking for a warm rather than a cool vibe. Thanks

gma2rjc · 09-21-2009, 03:59 PM

For those of us who are severely 'paint color challenged', some of the paint stores sell small cans (pint or quart?) of paint in a color of your choice. You take it home and paint a section of the wall with it. It might be more helpful than those tiny paint cards.

If you post a couple pictures of the wall and surrounding area, someone here might be able to help. But opinions on color vary so widely from person-to-person that a lot of people don't like to comment.

Good luck with this and please keep us posted on what you decide. In 12 years of living here, I haven't painted my entryway because I'm not sure what color would look good. So instead of picking a color and taking a chance on it looking bad, I've left it off-white, which looks bad.

saggdevil · 09-21-2009, 05:09 PM

I just painted a formal dining room, living room and in process of painting the foyer in my home.

I am using Sherwin Williams "Biltmore Buff". It's light enough to still be a neutral but has yellow undertones. The color varies throughout the day when the east, north and west light hits it. It's kinda like the color of butternut squash (little more pale yellow) and seems to change throughout the day when light hits it. Seems to go from very pale yellow (butter) to very soft pale gold at night with a lamp. Sometimes it even looks about the color of butternut squash or almond. Very versatile color and light enough to fall in the neutral range.

By the way, this color was the 5th sample I bought and put on the wall. The color chip just didn't didn't look so great, but is beautiful on the walls with two coats.

I also have dark wood throughout my home with 9" base boards, two sets of french doors, bay windows and many large regular windows (1913 home). The color seems to bring out the best in all fabrics. My neighbor likes it so well she is doing her entire home in this color as well as her rental home.

Sherwin Williams sells samples for about $4.50 per quart. It's so much easier to check the color in your environment before buying the gallons.

Not sure of the age of your home buy I sampled the taupes, kakhi, etc prior to selecting the Biltmore Buff. Seems as though the other colors (and they are cool colors) just looked too drab in a 1913 house with all the dark wood.

Good luck with your selection.

egreg · 09-22-2009, 11:55 AM

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I did go to my local Sherwin Williams store and what do you know, they had a color specialist right there to help me. I had brought my "swatches" with me and I came out with three different samples to try. So I will spend the morning painting the colors on the test walls and let you all know how it goes. I'm grateful for the help.

E.

sdsester · 09-23-2009, 09:17 PM

Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and others have virtual painting programs that let you explore color combinations in actual rooms before you even go to the store. Check there websites. I think the new version of the Ben Moore online program lets you import and mask your own photos. Only their disc loaded on to your own machine had this option in the past.

housepaintingny · 09-23-2009, 11:48 PM

We have a very informative web site about color selectioin and also have a virtual paint tool you can use. Please click the link below

09-21-2009, 11:48 AM	#1
egreg Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Western Washington Posts: 2	Color help please I am getting ready to paint in our entry way and formal living room. We have a long narrow room with an east facing view that gets a ton of light all day long. I like strong earthy colors and am searching for a nice (bold) neutral for the walls. The trim throughout is a dark brown. Here is the thing though, I stink at picking colors. Seriously, if there is a bad choice out of 100's of good ones I'll pick the bad color every time. So can you give me a hint about a nice rich taupe or another more "on trend" neutral to use? Looking for a warm rather than a cool vibe. Thanks

09-21-2009, 03:59 PM	#2
gma2rjc Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: West Michigan Posts: 3,568	Color help please For those of us who are severely 'paint color challenged', some of the paint stores sell small cans (pint or quart?) of paint in a color of your choice. You take it home and paint a section of the wall with it. It might be more helpful than those tiny paint cards. If you post a couple pictures of the wall and surrounding area, someone here might be able to help. But opinions on color vary so widely from person-to-person that a lot of people don't like to comment. Good luck with this and please keep us posted on what you decide. In 12 years of living here, I haven't painted my entryway because I'm not sure what color would look good. So instead of picking a color and taking a chance on it looking bad, I've left it off-white, which looks bad.

09-21-2009, 05:09 PM	#3
saggdevil Haste Makes Waste Join Date: May 2009 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 292	Color help please I just painted a formal dining room, living room and in process of painting the foyer in my home. I am using Sherwin Williams "Biltmore Buff". It's light enough to still be a neutral but has yellow undertones. The color varies throughout the day when the east, north and west light hits it. It's kinda like the color of butternut squash (little more pale yellow) and seems to change throughout the day when light hits it. Seems to go from very pale yellow (butter) to very soft pale gold at night with a lamp. Sometimes it even looks about the color of butternut squash or almond. Very versatile color and light enough to fall in the neutral range. By the way, this color was the 5th sample I bought and put on the wall. The color chip just didn't didn't look so great, but is beautiful on the walls with two coats. I also have dark wood throughout my home with 9" base boards, two sets of french doors, bay windows and many large regular windows (1913 home). The color seems to bring out the best in all fabrics. My neighbor likes it so well she is doing her entire home in this color as well as her rental home. Sherwin Williams sells samples for about $4.50 per quart. It's so much easier to check the color in your environment before buying the gallons. Not sure of the age of your home buy I sampled the taupes, kakhi, etc prior to selecting the Biltmore Buff. Seems as though the other colors (and they are cool colors) just looked too drab in a 1913 house with all the dark wood. Good luck with your selection. Last edited by saggdevil; 09-21-2009 at 05:21 PM.

09-22-2009, 11:55 AM	#4
egreg Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Western Washington Posts: 2	Color help please Thank you so much for your suggestions! I did go to my local Sherwin Williams store and what do you know, they had a color specialist right there to help me. I had brought my "swatches" with me and I came out with three different samples to try. So I will spend the morning painting the colors on the test walls and let you all know how it goes. I'm grateful for the help. E.

09-23-2009, 09:17 PM	#5
sdsester Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 8,923	Color help please Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and others have virtual painting programs that let you explore color combinations in actual rooms before you even go to the store. Check there websites. I think the new version of the Ben Moore online program lets you import and mask your own photos. Only their disc loaded on to your own machine had this option in the past.

Color help please