Help Me Select A Paint Color

[Anonymous]

Hi DCUM! I am "decorating challenged". Please help me pick a color to paint my living room/dining room. The room is L shaped, with a large rectangle for the living room and smaller square part for the dining room. Right now the dining room is our play room and we eat in the kitchen.

I have teal/turquoise gray curtains similar to these http://www.potterybarn.com/products/dupioni-silk-pole-pocket-drape/?pkey=call-window-coverings

I have a wood bamboo sliding blind covering the porch door.

Our floors are brazilian tiger wood, light to dark so they really have lots of colors in them ranging from black to blonde.

This is the kicker - everything else is brown. Brown leather sofa (espresso color), light brown lazy boy recliner, dark brown espresso colored book shelf.

The room is white and it's horrible. I am looking for a nice carpet with lots of color (our current carpet is BROWN CHECKS!). What I really need is a paint color to change the mood of the room.

I can't change the curtains so I have to work with the teal/gray color.

What color paint would you go with and what style carpet? I should stay away from browns or beiges but what about a nice gray?

I have Rothko artwork and a Kandinsky on the wall, if that helps at all.

[Anonymous]

"Gray" by benjimin moore.

[Anonymous]

what about a very pale yellow?

I really liked Lemon Ice by BMoore, it's a very pale yellow and it's very neutral.

You don't say how much light there is in the room, but that would lighten up some of the darker colors you have going on.

This site might help you:

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Top-Paint-Color-Schemes-of-2009-Myperfectcolor-com-s/33826.htm

And I like this site a lot--lots of great advice on the cheap:

younghouselove.com

[Anonymous]

Sell the Kandinsky, and you will have all the money in the world to redecorate

[Anonymous]

Try BM Palladin Blue at only 25% - light and very, very yummy, looks fantastic with brown.

[Anonymous]

Benjamin Moore "Stingray".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what about a very pale yellow?

I really liked Lemon Ice by BMoore, it's a very pale yellow and it's very neutral.

You don't say how much light there is in the room, but that would lighten up some of the darker colors you have going on.

This site might help you:

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Top-Paint-Color-Schemes-of-2009-Myperfectcolor-com-s/33826.htm

And I like this site a lot--lots of great advice on the cheap:

younghouselove.com

It's a fairly bright room because of the large french doors going out to the yard. I keep the window coverings pulled shut during the day because the windows are old and let too much heat in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Benjamin Moore "Stingray".

this would look too orange

[Anonymous]

You can't do this online. Go to the paint store and get swatches. The subtleties of tone just cannot be described. You need swatches.

[Anonymous]

Behr (home depot brand) Garden Wall, gorgeous warm gray with terrific depth, we use it in our large kitchen and always get compliments on it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't do this online. Go to the paint store and get swatches. The subtleties of tone just cannot be described. You need swatches.

I agree! For about 20 bucks, you can buy the color swatch fan for Benjamin Moore paints. Try Strosniders, or the Ben. Moore store. That way, you can get swatches of just about all their colors and take them home to figure out the best shade for your room.

[Anonymous]

I just painted my bedroom Behr Ultra Natural Grey. I agree with the pp who said to get color swatches. I played around a lot with the online color programs (all the major companies have them) and the colors look totally different online. Even some of the paint chip colors turned out very different than mixed colors. A sample pint is maybe 3 or 4 bucks, you can throw a small square of it up on the wall and live with a few days to see how you like it in every type of light.

This GardenWeb forum has a different thread for almost every color, you just have to do a search. I think Sherwin Williams Golden Fleece would do you right. Here's a pic of it in a room full of brown that I found in the Favorite Yellows and Golds thread:

[Anonymous]

I love the Gardenweb forum. Those folks will have great answers for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Benjamin Moore "Stingray".

this would look too orange

Stingray is a green gray, so not sure how it would ever look orange.

[Anonymous]

I'm debating over Stingray and the color beneath it one shade darker. They are both awesome and have a green tone to them. In fact, I specifically chose this neutral gray to offset a "straw" colored kitchen which tends to go orange next to certain colors. javascript:emoticon('');