justme824 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I am tired of living in a brown house. Everything is brown, brown, brown. The couch, the walls, the cabinets. I need some color! Right now I am getting ready to paint my photo wall a color called 'It's Raining, It's Pouring' - I've seen it on a wall and it is a bit brighter than it looks here, but I love it and think it will make things pop a bit. if you scroll down you will find it here: http://www.mythicpaint.com/landOfNodDetail.aspx?ID=47 I am thinking of spray painting all my current black frames white and using more color photos than my usual b&w that I have always framed for years. I'd also like to add a few fun, colorful prints to the photo wall. I toyed with the idea of completely changing it up and tossing the photo ledges that line the wall, but I am not sure I am up for hanging a bazillions frames and trying to make them perfect (the wall is LONG - maybe 20 feet. It is the most commented on wall in our home, but it needs a major facelift. I am hoping changing wall color, frame color, and adding lots of bright colored photos will do just that and make me happy. Now...I'd like to change the wall color everywhere else downstairs too. But I am not sure what. Any ideas??? Part of me, honestly, is seriously considering going with just white, but then I think I'd have to paint the stairwell & hallway upstairs too (which I can do, but not sure?). Would you paint all the rooms the same - family room, living room, dining room, kitchen - the same color? The floor plan is pretty open where one room runs into the next. I really don't like making these kind of decisions. But I need to make some happy changes around here. I've been living with this color scheme that I don't really love at all for almost 10-years and it is just really bugging me. Now that I have some budget room to make the changes I'd like to. Upcoming later this year will be new wood floors downstairs, so I can toss in some fun color with a new rug. And I am seriously considering refacing our kitchen cabinets white just to brighten the house up. But I am not sure how much that will run me and whether I can make it work or not. I'd love ideas!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerenityNow Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Uh-oh! You've got the redecorating bug! :001_smile: I love your paint color.... I used a similar color in a past house, and it looked beautiful with white baseboards and trim. Are your black frames paired with white mats? I love that combo! Is your style a bit modern or minimalist? I usually think that white paint looks great with those styles, but can look a bit stark with more traditional styles. There's a blog that I love called "my scandinavian home"..... sorry I don't know how to link!..... that shows lots of homes with white walls. You might google it and see how you like that look. It looks like your blue has some grey in it. Would a very pale, pearly grey work? As for the kitchen, my cabinets are white..... just white painted 70's cabinets..... and I love it! My walls are a light periwinkle blue and it's very happy and fresh. I think blue and white are always perfect together. Have fun with it! You should love your home, and 10 years is long enough to wait! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I love the It's Raining, It's pouring! Reminds me very much of either the color I have in my bedroom and master bath, or in my sunroom (too hard to tell via a computer screen). The color I ended up painting most of my "non-colored" walls in my house is called "blonde", by Sherwin-Williams. It's gorgeous! Plus, it goes great with the blues and with the very, very deep chocolate brown that I have a very small amount of in my dining room. The picture in this link shows it on a far wall. It isn't my house, but I just googled the color and this shot came up. A couple of the others look much more yellow than it actually is on the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I love Sherwin-Williams paint. They have a no-voc paint; I think it's called harmony. It was recommend by a fellow boardie. We painted our bedroom in the morning and I slept in there that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateincali Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 i have sometimes picked one wall in a room to paint and I loved the effect. This way you can have the burst of color without drowning in it! Or if you have soffit in the house, paint them all one color. This again gives you some color without the whole house being painted. Or you could just paint the walls a light grey or light blue or light whatever-you-want and paint the door jams white. Just ideas! Sometimes a little goes a long way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolley Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I love blue with black and white! We used a similar blue on 2 walls. Other 2 are concrete, painted white and added black and white accents. Our room is bright and cheery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm not sure it's ethical to let you switch from brown to gray when you want COLOR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 After a decade of loving brown, I got sick of it as well. When we moved in we painted the walls blue to go with the brown furniture we still had but I ended up not liking it. The walls are grey now and I've added colour with furniture and art. I highly recommend scanning through Houzz and noting what attracts and repels you about the different design styles. My pics are here. littlehomesteadinthevalley.blogspot.ca/2012/11/living-room-mostly-done.html?m=1. And the newest painting is here. http://littlehomesteadinthevalley.blogspot.ca/2012/12/abstract.html?m=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Check these color theory blogs. Boss has a "best of Bossy" section with some paint color recommendations http://www.bossycolor.com/ This woman is all into teaching color theory, and sometimes drives me a little nuts with her tone at times, but I've learned a lot from her site. White can be tough to work with unless you have really good light. She does a good job of explaining how to work with the fixed elements in your home, like tile, carpet, stone or brick on a fireplace, and other fixed elements that can't be changed. She also has good info on "muddy" vs. "clean" colors, undertones in beige (like if you have a stone fireplace with pinky beige in it, and you choose a beige with different undertones, it can all look really bad. To many people beige is "neutral" but she explains why sometimes the undertones can really change how it reads. It can really help narrow down choices. Lots to think about. She teaches color theory to designers and consults in the industry a lot. http://www.mariakillam.com/ Houzz and pinterest are good resources. I'd paint a big section of drywall or some sort of board before tackling a whole wall. Sometimes paint just reads totally different when it is on your walls with the light coming in your own house, or when the paint color is up against your carpet and other fixed elements. Some that I've seen and liked or sampled that I can think of: Palladian Blue and Wythe Blue from BM-if you like blues, I highly recommend checking these out if you haven't Rainwashed and Blue Hubbard (SW I believe) Sycamore Green and Silver Sage and others from Restoration Hardware I just painted my basement BM Croquet (a pretty green but in my house it looks nothing like the pics I see online since I used it in a basement) For a brighter green, Shagreen and Hearts of Palm (SW)-DS1 has this in his room BM Softened Green, Quietude Halcyon Green Gardenweb has lots of threads like this that show a lot of colors on people's walls in their homes: http://ths.gardenweb...1313100.html?83 http://ths.gardenweb...1252513996.html http://ths.gardenweb...6412728916.html http://ths.gardenweb...9531222103.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Thanks everyone! You pointed me in great directions :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm not sure it's ethical to let you switch from brown to gray when you want COLOR. True! But the taupe colored walls have got to go, but at the same time I just don't think I could splash a bunch of color on the walls and be satisfied. My thought is to still be in a neutral zone, but something new. Then I'll add color with accents, furniture (we are getting a new table with six different colored chairs - I love it and it will add a big bunch of colors right there!), and of course bright colored photos and wall art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I'm not so wild about It's Raining, It's Pouring. It looks very 80s Kountry Blue to me. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Rooms with blue undertones look dark. Yellow undertones look lighter. Something to keep in mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I am tired of living in a brown house. Everything is brown, brown, brown. The couch, the walls, the cabinets. I need some color! Right now I am getting ready to paint my photo wall a color called 'It's Raining, It's Pouring' - I've seen it on a wall and it is a bit brighter than it looks here, but I love it and think it will make things pop a bit. if you scroll down you will find it here: http://www.mythicpaint.com/landOfNodDetail.aspx?ID=47 I am thinking of spray painting all my current black frames white and using more color photos than my usual b&w that I have always framed for years. OK, is It's Raining It's Pouring a grey, a blue, or a muted teal? It looks like more of a muted teal on my iPad, but I can't tell for sure. It looks a little dull to me. I was thinking that you wanted something more cheerful. About painting your black frames white -- be careful they don't turn out looking like cheap plastic when you're finished with them. Sometimes white frames can look pretty and beachy, but other times they just look like they came from the dollar store. Personally, I would probably stick with the black frames and maybe even the same pictures, but add new mats inside the frames in a color that coordinates with your new wall color. It's so hard to pick new paint colors. My parents were both geniuses at it, but apparently the gift skips a generation or something because I don't have a clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 OK, is It's Raining It's Pouring a grey, a blue, or a muted teal? It looks like more of a muted teal on my iPad, but I can't tell for sure. It looks a little dull to me. I was thinking that you wanted something more cheerful. About painting your black frames white -- be careful they don't turn out looking like cheap plastic when you're finished with them. Sometimes white frames can look pretty and beachy, but other times they just look like they came from the dollar store. Personally, I would probably stick with the black frames and maybe even the same pictures, but add new mats inside the frames in a color that coordinates with your new wall color. It's so hard to pick new paint colors. My parents were both geniuses at it, but apparently the gift skips a generation or something because I don't have a clue. It is a muted teal, at least on the wall I saw it on. It was a bright, sunny room like I have (we have TONS of windows downstairs so there is lots of sunlight). I think I am going to head to the paint store this morning for some other paint chips. I really want something bright and cheerful. Thanks for this tip on the frames. My husband really wants me to leave them black, just change the photos, which I really need to do since they are over 3-years old and my toddler doesn't even make an appearance ;) I think I will give the black frames a try, and in some frameless photos as well so I don't feel like I am overrun with black frames. My MIL is really good with paint colors, but she has been no help here because she wouldn't change a thing so why even look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 Rooms with blue undertones look dark. Yellow undertones look lighter. Something to keep in mind! Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Once you've narrowed your choices do get samples and paint test swatches. We've painted an entire house with some pretty limited base color ranges due to strong colors in flooring. So I was narrowed to just a few color selections that would work with floors. Still, I've been amazed at how different some colors look in various light or rooms here. I was glad I took the advice to paint test areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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