What color for my living room?

[SamanthaCarter]

Can I get some feedback on this room? It’s hard to tell in the photos, but this room is chipped discolored and badly in need of paint. It is more ivory than it appears in the picture. My problem is, I can’t figure out what color to paint it. The room is small, relatively dark, amber floors. The stairwell in the back is painted in a sunny yellow with slight green undertones. You can see it from the living room. I was thinking sort of an apricot color, but now I’ve convinced myself it’s too monotone with my floors. Thoughts? 

Edited December 17, 2019 by SamanthaCarter

[mom@shiloh]

Apricot would scare me. I think it would be a difficult color to get right since it could go too orange or too pink. I have Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles in my living room. It's a soft, true gray and doesn't go purplish like some grays do. I really love it!  

[Chris in VA]

I would do a pretty, warm cream. But I live with bright coral walls, so that is probably just my own desires talking!

With those floors I would probably go warm in tone no matter the color. An accent wall is also an option, especially if you want a darker color that might be too dark if all the walls were the same. 

[Familia]

I would renew the ivory, or maybe a very pale apricot, like you are thinking.  I am partial to warm colors,  In my experience with apricot, it had to be very pale so that the walls did not appear to be closing in on me.  So, if you want to reflect the natural light and open up the room, choose pale ivory or very pale apricot.  If you want a vibrant WOW, go with the apricot - it will add a contemporary feel to your traditional furnishings.  BTW, I have the same lyre table!

[SamanthaCarter]

11 minutes ago, Familia said:

I would renew the ivory, or maybe a very pale apricot, like you are thinking.  I am partial to warm colors,  In my experience with apricot, it had to be very pale so that the walls did not appear to be closing in on me.  So, if you want to reflect the natural light and open up the room, choose pale ivory or very pale apricot.  If you want a vibrant WOW, go with the apricot - it will add a contemporary feel to your traditional furnishings.  BTW, I have the same lyre table!

Whatever I do, it will be very pale. I feel like I can’t do cream after my choice on the stairwell walls. It was chosen on purpose to combat the illusion of walls closing in. Steep, narrow stairs, solid walls on both sides. The cream on these walls currently looks terrible against the yellow of the stairwell. 

That table was my grandmother’s! 

[SamanthaCarter]

23 minutes ago, mom@shiloh said:

Apricot would scare me. I think it would be a difficult color to get right since it could go too orange or too pink. I have Sherwin Williams Knitting Needles in my living room. It's a soft, true gray and doesn't go purplish like some grays do. I really love it!  

Oh wow! I do think that could work. 

[Chris in VA]

Will the stairwell need painting , too? (You know, how once you paint one room, the others seem to need it! lol)

[Familia]

30 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

Whatever I do, it will be very pale. I feel like I can’t do cream after my choice on the stairwell walls. It was chosen on purpose to combat the illusion of walls closing in. Steep, narrow stairs, solid walls on both sides. The cream on these walls currently looks terrible against the yellow of the stairwell. 

That table was my grandmother’s! 

I thought I had chosen a pale apricot in a former living room.  I stumbled in the LR as DH was working on it through the night (we were much younger=), and was shocked by its vibrancy - he had to cut it by half, adding the trim color to it and repainting.

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, SamanthaCarter said:

Can I get some feedback on this room? It’s hard to tell in the photos, but this room is chipped discolored and badly in need of paint. It is more ivory than it appears in the picture. My problem is, I can’t figure out what color. The room is small, relatively dark, amber floors. The stairwell in the back is painted in a sunny yellow with slight green undertones. You can see it from the living room. I was thinking sort of an apricot color, but now I’ve convinced myself it’s too monotone with my floors. Thoughts? 

Naturally finished hardwood floors are neutral, so you don't have to take them into consideration when choosing wall colors.

The wall colors that you can see while standing in one place are better if they complement each other.

What color is your furniture? curtains? any area rugs? All of those colors should complement each other.

[sassenach]

I wouldn't go with gray or apricot. Apricot probably because I'm scarred by a childhood filled with pastels (peach, pink, blue) so it all feels very dates. Gray is on its way out. I actually like the current color and would probably stick with a warm neutral. Personal fav is Edgecomb Gray from Benjamin Moore, which isn't actually gray. I also love Linen White from BM.

[sassenach]

https://www.housebeautiful.com/room-decorating/colors/g378/paint-color-calm-0808/

Is this first color what you're thinking of when you say apricot? Or is it too pink?

[Scarlett]

I just used SW accessible beige in most of my house.   I really like it.  

That is a pretty room.  Love the floors. 

[SamanthaCarter]

8 minutes ago, sassenach said:

https://www.housebeautiful.com/room-decorating/colors/g378/paint-color-calm-0808/

Is this first color what you're thinking of when you say apricot? Or is it too pink?

I don’t see what you mention, but that Durango Dust is along the lines of what I’m thinking. Also, the color called Celery Salt is similar to what we painted the stairwelll, upstairs hall, more pale yellow though. 

[sassenach]

3 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I don’t see what you mention, but that Durango Dust is along the lines of what I’m thinking. Also, the color called Celery Salt is similar to what we painted the stairwelll, upstairs hall, more pale yellow though. 

Got it.

I like Butter Pecan. It is a shade lighter than Durango Dust. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/2165-70/butter-pecan?color=2165-70&source=%2Fen-us%2Fcolor-overview%2Ffind-your-color%2Fcolor%2F2165-60%2Fdurango-dust

 

Whatever you do, get samples!

[Clemsondana]

We use a lot of color in my house so I may be thinking a bit bold, but would a green that looked good with the undertone in the yellow stairway work?  My bedroom is a bottle-glass green that I love, but maybe a pale spring or grass green would look good beside the yellow?  

[prairiewindmomma]

Whatever you choose, definitely choose a warm color.

I've used accessible beige, which a pp mentioned--it does great in rooms with little natural light. Worldly grey is a color close to accessible beige if the undertones in accessible beige are a bit off. 

I'd personally lean towards a warm sage green mid-tone, but I liked the Opal that ArcticMama posted above....it would just probably lean a touch more pink than that.

For a dark tone, I'd pick Naval by Sherwin Williams. It would make those floors pop & be gorgeous with the furniture that you have. I'm not afraid of dark colors, though.

[KungFuPanda]

I disagree that all naturally finished floors are neutral.  Lots of wood colors are really warm or have too much interest to fade into the background.  It seems that everyone is putting grey with them, but not everyone is doing it in a way that doesn't clash.  I like the idea of the cream that the OP used, but it was a bit too buttery/bright for that space.  Maybe something like this would keep the room light and still show a bit of contrast with the trim?  Is it possible you went with 'cream' when what you really wanted was 'ivory?'

 

ETA: this photo is the accessible beige that everyone mentioned.

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by KungFuPanda

[MercyA]

I am in awe of your knowledge of paint colors, guys. I need to remember to come here if I'm ever ready for new colors and just let you all pick them. Seriously!

Rachel, I just wanted to say that I would happily eat in your house. 😉 

[SamanthaCarter]

Adding a couple of picture of things that we HAVE painted. I’m not afraid of color, but I might be for the living room, the very first thing people see when opening the front door. 

Master bedroom is a grayish blue. 

Tiny upstairs room is a greyish green. 

Upstairs bathroom ceiling is aqua blue. 

You can see the upstairs hall and stairwell that has me baffled about the living room. You can barely see it from the living room, but I still want something somewhat complementary. This color selection is not my finest moment, but the men weren’t interested in hearing me panic about it being TOO MUCH! This area will not be repainted for at least a decade, so I’ve made peace with it. 

Everything else in the house is various mismatched beige and some dark red, the legacy colors we are slowly replacing. 

ETA: my phone really doesn’t pick up color well. The only one that really looks true is the Bathroom ceiling and the yellow reflection in the mirror. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by SamanthaCarter

[Lawyer&Mom]

I think a sage green would look great with both your floors and your piano. Lots of red undertones in the wood, and red and green like each other. 
 

I have BM Lichen Stone in my dining room. It’s a lovely midtone grey green that loves warm wood.  BM Gray Mirage would a little less saturated, but still a lovely green. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by Lawyer&Mom

[catz]

I think sage green would be great.  But if it is a dark space and you want to brighten I might go to a yellow to gold tone.  We have a sage green sun room next to a gold living room.  Gold sounds so bold but it's reads on the warm side of a neutral tone next to dark wood work.  

Kind of along these lines ...

https://www.houzz.com/photos/grey-and-gold-living-room-remodel-and-new-furnishings-contemporary-living-room-raleigh-phvw-vp~476923

It's always been helpful for me to get samples and do small spots to see how they look through a day and in winter lighting, etc.  

[caedmyn]

I think that accessible beige would look nice.  Or if you want an off-white, there are so many different undertones for off-whites that it wouldn’t have to be a yellowy one.  Maybe choose one with a peach undertone since you like apricot?

[prairiewindmomma]

Ok, based on the new photos, here’s how I would rank:

1. Naval or another deep navy

2. Accessible beige—though swatch this, and pick a similar. That stairway color is going to throw some overtones.

3. Sage green—again, swatch this carefully. I would look for a sage green that has some grey or brown in it to make it muted because you have pretty strong pigments going on upstairs....like maybe escape grey (which is green) or the like over something like SW Clary Sage.

[PeterPan]

So just your tip of the day, Pottery Barn has paint colors by season. You used to be able to ask them for the chips, not sure if you still can. Looks like they've now paired with Sherwin Williams, so you could get chips there too probably. Last I knew, SW sold paint samples ($5 a can) that they tint to your color. Then you can paint the color on poster board and try it around the room.

The reason your colors look distorted in the pics is because the light levels are low. And you have two colors (natural and lamp, different kelvin temps). So if you want the pics more accurate, turn off the lamps, open the curtains, and focus with the natural light. You'll know when you get it close because the white of your painted trim will look more white. 

Yes, the floor tones matter, partly because oak has kind of a pink/red undertone to it. So if you put a red undertoned wall color in (which I did in my basement), it starts to feel like there's not enough contrast. 

https://www.potterybarn.com/tips-and-ideas/paint-landing/

I think any of those 2nd row SW colors (natural choice, passive, network gray, rice grain, camelback) would probably look lovely in your room. Just play with them. Maybe bring in one darker accent wall, like where the fireplace is, maybe with that Sierra Redwood.

Edited December 17, 2019 by PeterPan

[SamanthaCarter]

I’m liking SW Incredible White right now. I’m going to sit with it for a while. 

[PeterPan]

45 minutes ago, SamanthaCarter said:

I’m liking SW Incredible White right now. I’m going to sit with it for a while. 

That's a nice color!! You can either get 4 chips of it at the store and tape them together, hehe, or get that trial can for $5 and try it on posterboard. Doing the trial can is the best way to get it right, HIGHLY recommend.

[Shoeless]

I'd just paint the hallway and stairwell too, so you don't have to worry about colours clashing. 

[Sallie Mae]

7 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

Oh if you want really pale and gorgeous check out Opal OC-73

Here is part of a wall done with it:

https://themotherboards.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-02-07_010.jpg?w=620
 

 

I think this is a lovely color. I am old enough to remember pastel colors from days of old, but this one doesn't feel dated to me, but elegant and light. I'm not known for having an eye for colors, but I think the Opal OC-73 would show off your furniture nicely.

Whatever you choose, I hope it makes your heart happy when you walk into your room. 

[J-rap]

I'm kind of traditional, so I'd probably go with a light tan or ivory.  I'd avoid gray, personally, because I think it's dated.  (Though it does look nice!)

I love your home!

[mom@shiloh]

17 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I just used SW accessible beige in most of my house.   I really like it.  

That is a pretty room.  Love the floors. 

I have that color in my back entry and I like it too.

[Acadie]

That accessible beige is beautiful! In your living room I might go one shade lighter. But whatever you do, buy a sample quart, paint large swaths of different walls (one that gets sun, a corner that's always in shadow, etc) and live with it for a while. At different times of day and weather you'll see it in different lights, and will have much more confidence painting the whole room. Take your time deciding, if you can, and don't be afraid to try a couple colors.

Amy

[sassenach]

10 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

NOOOOO! It’s not a good idea to swatch directly on the wall. The existing wall color and undertones influence the appearance of the paint.  Better move is taking a big 3 foot poster board and painting swatches on there, so you have a nice big sample to move around and see in different lights but that doesn’t change the priming situation of the existing wall 🙂

I was set straight on this by an interior designer.  Wall swatching, especially multiple swatches, is totally the wrong way to do it even though it is very common.  Poster board is cheap, mobile, and doesn’t require painting over.

Yeah, but I've found that there ends up being a difference between how the paint looks on the poster board vs the actual wall. 

To each his own, but I like painting big swatches in corners and edges of walls (up against the baseboard, etc) and seeing it with the texture of the wall. 

[KungFuPanda]

2 hours ago, sassenach said:

Yeah, but I've found that there ends up being a difference between how the paint looks on the poster board vs the actual wall. 

To each his own, but I like painting big swatches in corners and edges of walls (up against the baseboard, etc) and seeing it with the texture of the wall. 

I've done the swatch wall.  A big patch of primer, then several paint colors over it.  If you tape it off and do it in squares the occasional visitor will mistake it for art.  The odds of this happening go up if you leave it that way for months.  🙂