Yesterday I threw my old ass back out. Not content to just chillax and watch tv (ok, actually I already blew through all of my Project Runway back episodes) I’ve been whiling away the hours supine on the couch, browsing the internets with laser like focus. I need to pick a paint color for our great room. Yes Sanders already picked one for me and I know he’s going to be right, but I just wouldn’t be me if I didn’t hem and haw and try to second guess him.
Thanks in part to your feedback, I’ve finally reconciled myself to the fact that white is going to look barfy in that shady room. I realized that I want white so badly because I have a fear of commitment — white plays well with everyone.
And also because it loves to play with itself. Heh.
Plus I am kind of a colorphobe. This room is actually awesome, but if I had to live here I would wake up with the hives every morning.
So what I’m struggling with is, do I just pick a neutral? I think I have this fear that it’s going to go flat, dingy, or Martha Stewart on me. I really wish I could paper the whole room in gold grasscloth (yes I know the picture above is not grasscloth), but with 18 ft ceilings there is just no freaking way.
Or do I pick a pale color to give the room a little something something?
Here is the room again for reference. I want to wash that suburban band aid right out of my hair.
What color is your living room painted? Do you love it?
[Elle Decor, Wreckorated, Ad Russia x2, Elle Decor]
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While I loved Sanders grey choice, my double height LR is also very shady (except in winter) and I colorphobed my way into a white umber room. Because I didn’t want to invest in scaffolding, it’s the one room we hired out for painting, hence ultra-phobia. 3 years on, I still like the white. Could there be a compromise of your white dreams with an (dirty words alert) *accent wall* gasp! in Sanders choice?
Collyn, this is exactly exactly exactly our problem. Sucker ain’t gonna get repainted for a loooong time. I don’t know if there’s really a wall to paint an accent color…?
So, what’s white umber anyway?
It’s a Porter color that has warm undertones, but not yellow amazingly enough. Not a super bright white, and NOT creamy. online swatch is hard to tell http://www.color-swatches.com/porter-paints/white-umber/7195/swatch.html
I really liked Sanders’ grey pick as well, and I think it’ll get along nicely with all the other colors you tend to gravitate toward.
My current house is painted in Behr’s “Dark as Night”, a really deep navy with just a bit o’ green. Love it. So much so that when we move into our new house in a couple of weeks I’m painting the walls there the same shade. I will be looking for a white(ish) color for my kitchen walls though, and so I’ve been following these recent posts with much interest. Hard to find a white that isn’t stark or too cool but isn’t yellowish. Painting the cabinets black. Do not want a bumblebee kitchen.
I should also note that I’ve never thought ahead when painting anything – as in, I don’t consider whether or not it’ll work long term. I’m happy with “paint (or wallpaper)now, swear at myself later”. As a result, my husband has declared that he will no longer help me paint. Ever.
I have the same issue with my two-story walls and open floorplan. Went through the whole paint debacle (http://myinteriorlife.blogspot.com/search?q=wheeling+neutral), and finally chose Wheeling Neutral from Benjamin Moore (I’m a big BM Aura fan too). Since I’m lacking in architectural details in my house, I didn’t feel like a stark white was really the way to go. I really do like WN – it’s light and airy-feeling. Obviously, it’s more brown than gray, but that’s more in keeping with my colors which tend to lean that direction. You can see the after here (http://myinteriorlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/not-so-big-reveal.html).
Good luck – I know it’s stressful. Hope your back feels better soon!
I think sanders pick will look great in the room but I think your hesitation is that you’ve lived with gray walls for a while and want something new. Totally fair, I would too. Go see him again and work with him to find a nice, non grey neutral that will work in the room and feel new to you.
Are you able to paint any swatches on the wall? To see how a white might look? I recently tried a BM Aura white called Magnolia which was bright, but still warm (and not yellowy, rather almost ever so slightly pink). It sort of has a glow to it. I think Karly is right, you should try with Saunders again to find something fresh to you. But if you were heading toward grey, why not choose a white that reads grey sometimes (like in the shadows), and white other times (like beneath direct light)? I’m not convinced that you can’t have a clean, spare look to your walls to reinforce the amazing volume you’ve got in that room.
Yea, first of all, you need to paint big swatches. Need to.
#2, that big box TV of theirs is cracking me up.
#3, are you white bricking that fireplace?
#4, seeing that pic again makes me dislike Sanders’ choice less, but I do think you should do a swatch of Kathy’s color on your wall just to see.
#5, I like numbering things. Oh and feel better!
Can I just say first out that I would really like you to paint that woodwork?? Not sure if that was your plan anyway, but put your sexy white over that bad honey-glazed oak stuff. All of it. And probably that brick fireplace, too. I’m going to check the “pale color” box because I think an extremely soft and de-saturated color might give you the effect you want without looking dingy.
Also, what about painting the staircase recess an accent color? Maybe making the most out of that weird cutout by treating it like a niche with Sanders’s color on the back, sides, and ceiling of it?
I liked the Sanders gray but that pale greenish-blueish gray is really lovely! Especially with the wood trim and the brick fireplace painted an appropriate neutral. Seems like something like that would play nice with just about anything else you put in the room. . .a color that behaves like a neutral.
My living room/dining room/foyer/hallway are Revere Pewter from BM. I don’t get a lot of light into any of those rooms and they all look great.
we have used behr “ice cube” in our last 3 houses, which means we really love it – we usually change colors every time we move. i live in austin, as well, and it is such a cooling color for the heat. it feels like a neutral and changes colors throughout the day. my living room is pretty dark and it brightens it up without being a white. whenever we start painting the walls with it i get scared and think we made a mistake, but once it’s all over i’m in love! the swatch makes it feel really bright, but it’s not. people always ask me the color. i also, like the color sanders picked. good luck!! it’s so hard to choose!!
I like everything that Matt dude said.
Our living/dining room is painted in Little Greene’s Pearl Colour – which looks a lot like the greenish-grey in the room with the cabbage on the wall. It took me ages to make the decision, but I love it – we don’t have any matchy-matchy furniture and it’s a harmonious, restful background for everything. I also like that it is super-matte.
Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all your comments and advice!!!
To answer a few questions that I actually know the answer to: YES we are painting the vile fireplace and hideous woodwork. The fireplace mantel is also going the way of purple spandex unitards (wait, are those back in style???) Not sure what color we’re using for the fireplace, but the balusters will be trim white and the banister rail may get stained ebony(ish).
I just went to see Sanders and he gave me some more colors to try, but they’re still all in the greige range with one white to try. He suggested we stay away from the greeny colors because the foliage will cast a lot of green shadows on the walls.
As much as I would love to choose a color, I can’t imagine what I would enjoy living with for five years (five years being the time it will take for me to pay $750 to have that room painted again). So unless some brilliant thunderbolt idea slaps me in the face, I’m going neutral in the big room, color elsewhere.
Still, I am super duper enjoying all your comments with color suggestions! Rest assured, I am googling each and every one… because I am obsessed like that.
Greetings from SF! We have Pashmina in our bedroom, and it’s lovely. Works fabulously with a gold moroccan 70s lighting pendant, grey and white bedding, a rainbow/granny/southwestern headboard situation and crazy art. It will absolutely work in your living room. And, it’s so much less boring than I was afraid of! A great neutral, no purple or green tendancies. Go for it.
I like white…but it can be tricky if not the right one. We live BM Classic Grey…looks more white than grey..love it.
My living room is RED, and I love it . . . but, I’m tired of it. Next up, mid-tone, mossy green, which is as neutral as anything you’ll ever find in my home.
There are two white ceilings in the house — but I try *never* to look up at them. The ceiling in the study was white, until I covered it with movie posters.
Hope your back is in gear soon, Erin. I feel your pain, but it was fun reading this sentence -
“Yesterday I threw my old ass back out.”
- to figure out where you might have thrown your ‘old ass’!
As a matter of fact, we just put up gold/silver grasscloth wallpaper on two 18-foot high walls. (See here for pictures.)
Firstly, I am so sorry about your back. These are high stress times and girl, you have to take care of yourself!
Secondly, I like Sanders choice, but understand your reservations. In that vein, I think Karly is offering some smart advice. Try again.
Thirdly, my living room, or keeping room as it’s called here, is orange. Uh huh, orange. No color phobia here. Admittedly, I love it, however, after 11 years I am ready for a change.
What about that color that I painted my bedroom entry and bedroom ceiling. Remember the photos? It’s the ever so slight, that it’s barely discernible, perfectly chalky palest pink. Martha Stewart “Sea Salt.”
You can stay away from color but go a little bolder with a dark color. What about a dark charcoal accent wall behind the fireplace? I’d paint the brick too, someone else mentioned that. You’d get a lot of drama out of a dark wall there contrasted against a white fireplace, and that large room needs a focal point like that. I have no idea what your furniture looks like but maybe you could paint the rest of the room and calm light gray with a hint of blue. That looks good with lots of other things…
I’m with Karly, you’re tired of gray and the Matt dude is right.
Boy do I know what you mean about a neutral going all Martha Stewart…I am so tired of seeing that light sagey greenish bluish blah color people like to accent with white on white frames featuring pictures of ferns.
I love our living room color – if I remember correctly it is sandstone…
http://harinpaints.tradeindia.com/Exporters_Suppliers/Exporter18579.308560/Sandstone-Paint.html
no, it the paint isn’t from india, this link popped up when i typed in sandstone, and this image is the exact color of our walls so I’m sending to you for reference.
I love this color, it is neutral, but interesting and very relaxing.
I also love that color in the second to the last image. I could see that working in that nice big room of yours.
good luck!
So yeah, relieved that the wood is going–I can barely concentrate with their bad furniture and the wood. Anyway, what about a pale pearly gray or…really more of a white with a gray tone. We had everything white and I felt like I was in an apt. The color I used is eider white Sherman Williams. Just throwing that out there. I do like sanders color choice too but…I know the dream of white.
Good luck! Can’t wait to see the transformation!
Ps the last time we moved I messed my back up so bad I couldn’t walk…or pack (decent strategy).
My living room walls are BM’s Pale Oak and I love it. It’s a sunny morning east facing room. Looks almost white during the sunny parts and at night it deepens to a really nice gray-ish taupe. Or taupe-ish gray. Depends what lighting I’m using.
Hey Kate, that was one of Sanders’ picks and it is a lovely color. Unfortunately it looks dingy in my dark, north facing room. We never have direct sunlight, so it’s a tough situation. Glad it worked out for you!
Cas, I know it’s hard to see through that gross poo colored mess, but fingers crossed it will be awesomeish once I get through with it. So, did you think the all white was bad? Or did you like Eider white?
ha ha! I’m glad you told me that. Now I can pretend I had a consultation with Sander myself! I had also really wanted white walls in my living room. In fact, I did originally paint it white and was surprised when it didn’t feel quite right.
As you can see (http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoopmel/6179138709/) I live in a sea of light and dark gray. It never gets boring, and the matte effect is very soothing but takes to many “pops” of assorted color. Im liken the greige sanders picked. I prefer a cooler tone myself, but my lr is tiny in comparison to your new digs.
My MIL has a double-height living room that’s painted terra cotta. It’s not a color I love myself, but it works surprisingly well. It gives the walls depth and functions almost like a neutral. And because it’s opposite green on the color wheel, it really emphasizes the outdoor greenery through the windows. Just a thought.
When we moved in the house was painted SW Alabaster which is a warmer white. I wanted white everywhere with I white hot passion– imagining the gallery/museum effect. It really didn’t happen, it felt more like an apt. Blah blah walls were painted and repainted, I just used the eider white in some areas because I am not about to repaint my whole house myself (haha). Any who, the eider white is a white with a cool tone. I like it because it seems like it adds some depth and there is a slight diff from the moldings so there is a slight variation but super subtle. It seems a little more modern and polished to me but still white. Im going on here and if you saw you’d be like thats a white wall but I’m in the powers of OCD when it comes to paint color. Also, I used the satin finish and it reflects the light more. You can come over and look at my wall if you want. Haha! This swatch looks much darker than the actual color I would say it is completely inaccurate actually. I’m a ton of help aren’t I?
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/ideas/color/SW7014/
It is helpful! I’m afraid of the white box look that my Mom (hi, Mom!) cautioned me against. But I can see that a creamier white made all the difference in livability to you.
At least that’s what I’m telling myself because I really don’t want to think I’m about to make a $750 whitewashed mistake…
Hello! I may be a bit late to offer up my cliche two cents, however, it occurs to me that you have a rather architecturally busy room, what with the odd angles, numerous windows, staircase, etc. Perhaps the Sanders color would provide the best neutral backdrop to showcase beautiful drapes, sleek upholstered furniture, and a fabulous rug? The oaky wood is leaving? Are you interested in refinishing or painting the fireplace? Lighting? I love color and am unafraid to experiment, but have made mistakes along the way. I once painted our very large living area, then repainted it the next week! Good luck! I’m sure it will be lovely!
My co-worker is obsessed with a color by glidden called scroll beige… its slightly gray slightly beige slightly taupe and it changes color throughout the day. its gorgeous…. see here :http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=31545
I think you need something that connects the upstairs with the down. Like a few silk banners hanging all the way down the wall. Against grey the movement would be beautiful. Then at the base, a circular arrangement with lots of variation in color. So that you are called to come into the space. I might also paint or replace the trim. It’s very blocky and separates the space in a not-so-good way. Whatever the case, I would accentuate the movement in the room and not just the space. Right now the wall space looks vacant.