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May 19, 2009
Posted by: Deb at 7:00 pm
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I have noticed as I’ve looked around HG Openhouse, that I am not the only person who struggles with making a decision about what color to paint my walls. That’s why when I received an email containing a link to HGTV’s Color Central, I couldn’t wait to share it with all of you.
Not only will you find photos of beautiful rooms, but there is a color personality quiz - how fun is that? You will also find, Top Ten Color Tips, Your Best Color Ideas, and four great videos where you can watch their designer completely makeover different rooms. I especially appreciated her tips on which accent colors to use. Selecting ones that will compliment your wall color and really make a room pop!
Another tip: sign up for HGTV emails, and you will get some of their great ideas and links to their sites sent directly to your inbox.
For some additional HG Openhouse posts that relate to wall color check out:
Wall Color Idea, Make Wall Color Samples With Craft Paint,
10 “NoFail” Beige Paint Colors You’ll Love – by Cathy
I hope you found these links as helpful as I did. The next time I need to select a new color for my walls, I plan to feel much less anxious as I make my choice. Let us know what helps you’ve used when making your decisions on wall color.
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1. Hey Deb,
Great post and good color ideas at HGTV site. Yes, picking paint color always seems to be a hot topic. It makes such a huge statement in a room, people want to get it right. It’s great to get good information from many sources so you can to come away feeling confident in making color choices.
Paint has the power to transform, use it to your advantage.
See ya!
by Cathy — 5/20/09 at 11:01 am #
2. Thanks Cathy, I loved the HGTV site. I know picking paint always makes me a bit nervous, so I tend to stay make neutral choices. When I look around at photos on the www, I can see how a well chosen color can make all the difference in the world. Anything that makes our decisiion making easier is great by me. Thanks for your great posts that got us thinking and sharing in the first place.
Enjoy a wonderful weekend!!
by Deb — 5/21/09 at 12:33 pm #
3. My daughter just bought black and white bedding, and wants to accent it with green. What color should I paint the walls?
Thank you,
Jana
by Jana — 5/21/09 at 6:44 pm #
4. Hi Jana, What a great question! I am a huge fan of adding lime great to black and whie. If you go over to the HGTV link in my post, the first video shows their designer adding yellow to a black and white kitchen. I think a bright yellow/green looks wonderful with black and white. Cathy has done some beutiful rooms in her home, using similar color combinations. You may want to check out a few of her early posts. One thing to remember is that whatever accent color she chooses, you only want it to be an accent.
As far as the walls go, I would probably paint them white and either paint a black stripe near the ceiling, or a black stencil that matches the bedding. You could paint one wall green, but I think I would stick to the basics on the walls and add green with things that could be changed if she decided she wanted to choose another color a little bit later.
Thanks for your question. We love to hear from our readers!!
by Deb — 5/25/09 at 2:57 pm #
5. Hi Deb,
I have a split level house. Two of the walls in my family room jut out from the bottom up to window height giving me a ledge around the outside walls. Currently they are painted a deep burgundy. The upper wall is barely an off-white (Baer Paint – Pillow Talk). I’m currently choosing a slipcover for the sofa and have narrowed it down to gold or merlot. I’m also replacing a love seat with an Ikea Poang chair. The carpeting is a light tan color with flecks of burgundy and some greenish/blue flecks. I know the gold slipcover would go and I’d probably get the Poang chair with a black cushion. However, I’m partial to the merlot slipcover but am at a loss as to what color to paint the half wall. Any suggestions? Thanks much, Beth
by Beth — 7/13/09 at 11:00 am #
6. Hi Beth,
I grew up in a split level home, so I have a pretty good mental picture of your family room. My suggestion is to go with what you love. If merlot is the color to which you are attracted that is the one you should get. As for the lower wall, I think that a rich muted green would pick up the green in the carpet and go very nicely with the slipcover. The shade I’m thinking of is something close to the green on the first page of Poang chairs on the Ikea site.
I think a black cover would work well for the chair, but you might want to consider the possibility of dark brown. As I glanced at the choices the rich dark brown jumped out at me, and I think it would compliment the other colors very well.
Please let us know about the finished project. We always love pictures!!
Enjoy!!! Deb
by Deb — 7/14/09 at 11:19 am #
7. Hi Deb,
I am having a hard time choosing a paint color for my living room. I bought these pictures (4) that features a different purse, I like the paintings because they feature colors I like (browns, blacks, greens, yellows, oranges, reds, blues) . I was going towards a darker aqua with an almost sea blue tint (greyish) for the wall color with dark brown furniture… and a bit of chrome/glass (in the coffee talbes etc)… do you have any olther wall color suggestions… (FYI there is a lot of outside lighting from the windows…
Here is a pic of the painting…
Thanks,
Brittany
by Brittany — 7/20/09 at 2:56 pm #
8. Hi Brittany,
The pic of your painting didn’t come through. I would love to see it. If you can find it and describe it among the customer finds photos, that would be great!
As far as wall color, this would be my suggestion . . . go to the paint department and select all of the paint chips that you like and think they would go with your artwork. Then bring them home and hold them up next to your painting until you find your favorite. I did that with a loveseat in my great room and came up with a perfect match. I love it! I really like pastels with brown, so the blue sounds great and greens might work, too.
I’m hoping you will send us a pic of the room when you are finished. It sounds fabulous!!!!!
by Deb — 7/22/09 at 4:38 pm #
9. My kitchen cabinets are knotty alder (peach and yellow undertones) and flows into my dining room. Since I live in the desert I am bored with south west colors . I would like a taupe or beige to complement the knottly alder cabinets and a punch of color for the dining room .
Theresa
by Theresa — 8/11/09 at 5:49 pm #
10. Hi Theresa, A great question. I didn’t have an answer off the top of my head, so I did a little digging to give you some ideas. I found these web sites that might be able to give you some direction.
http://www.click2decorate.com/colorkit.html – offers a great chart with ideas for complememtary colors.
http://valspar.com/project-ideas/design-gallery/val_co_kit1.html – this is my favorite. You can choose your main color, click over for suggestions and they will add accent colors. How cool is that?!
I hope these sites provide some ideas for you. Let us know how it turns out.
Deb
by Deb — 8/13/09 at 11:41 am #
11. when we bought our home the paint color on all the walls in the home were stone beige. Which I loved because it went with everyting however my couches iin our family room our almost the same color as our wall color so I was thinking of putting a warm orange on two of the walls in that room and wanted to try and take away from all the beige in my home. I love warm colors our theme is native american and modern. What do you think of orange?
by tigger13 — 8/16/09 at 1:23 pm #
12. Hi Tigger, I think the orange would work well, but I am a person who loves to be able to change things up regularly. So, I think I would leave the walls beige and go for pops of color in the accessories. I received an email recently from BHG and I think this photo is a good example of a way to bring color into a room without having to change your wall color. http://www.bhg.com/decorating/makeovers/room-makeovers/3-step-makeover-add-color-with-accents/?page=8
The whole article is great at giving ideas of decorating with neutral colors. Let us know what you decide, and you KNOW we love pictures. Happy decorating!!
by Deb — 8/17/09 at 1:08 pm #
13. Hi. I am having a real hard time trying to pick a color for my livingroom-dinningroom combo. I have hazelnut or light beige couches and the color i have on my walls matches my couches and looks a little pink at certain times of the day. I need to find a color that is not too dark that it makes the rooms really small but not too light that its boring. I was considering maybe a light green in the living room and a beige in the dinning room or keeping it all the same. not sure. I need help. Please. Thank you for any imput you may have. Adrienne
by Adrienne — 11/17/09 at 5:13 pm #
14. Hi Adrienne, Thanks for your comment! The first thought that came to mind was a rich cocoa color. Something like coffee with cream – from there you could use almost any color as an accent. You could even change seasonally if you liked. After that, a couple of suggestions would be to look at the accent pieces you currently have in the room and select one of those colors. I matched a color in my plaid love seat to come up with the color in my great room.
If you are still uncertain, go to your closet and look for the color you choose most often. Chances are it is your favorite and it looks great on you. From there you can work with shades within that color family.
I am usually a fan of keeping my walls somewhat neutral because it makes it easier to change things up to go with my moods and the seasons, and it also seems to help if and when you go to sell your home.
I hope those suggestions help a little. If not give me another shout – we’ll keep gabbing.
Enjoy!
by Deb — 11/19/09 at 6:47 pm #
15. Hi
I have a purple counter in my kitchen and honey oak cupboards. My house is an open plan. The majority of my walls are mocha and presently the walls in my L.R/D.R/Kitchen are two different shades of mauve.Do you have any ideas of neutral colors I could use in those 3 rooms? (And be able to keep my counters)
Thank you so much!
by jennifer — 1/27/10 at 12:28 pm #
16. Hi Jennifer, My kid’s home has a mauve colored tub in the Master Bath, so I understand trying to decorate around a unique color. It sounds like you have made great choices already. I love mocha and purple/lavender together. I did a little online checking and found this color combo at Pantone’s site. http://www.pantone.com/pages/MYP_myPantone/mypPaletteDetail.aspx?p_id=734&p_type=p_detail
I also did a Bing image search using the words: decorating 101 purple. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=decorating+101+purple&FORM=BIFD#
Take a look at the photos and see if there are any pictures that appeal to you. Look closely at the complimentary colors and those will be the ones you will love if you add them to your own decor.
What a great question! I’m sure you are on the right track and will be thrilled with the outcome.
by Deb — 1/28/10 at 1:08 pm #
17. Cathy,
I love Benjamin Moore Paints and have used them extensively. We just moved into a large, open floor plan, ranch home with 10 foot ceilings.
I was thinking about painting the kitchen walls HC-122 Great Barrington Green because I love the way green looks with any wood but know it looks great with Cherry cabinets.
I painted an accent wall HC 72 Branchport Brown but would change it in a heartbeat to create a look like the home of Leeann Toughy in the movie the Blind Side. She had rich beiges and browns. I’d love to replicate that look as shown at this website:
http://silverscreensurroundings.blogspot.com/2009/11/blind-side-2009.html
I am looking for a great, dramatic beige to pull the green and brown together and give a sophisticated look.
My carpet blends nicely with HC-79 Greenbrier Beige. I really like the look of HC 77 Alexandria Beige.
I read through your comments on all of the beiges. Now that I am over 50 I’d like to have my home flow beautifully with rich dynamic colors.
Can you help me create the look shown in the movie, The Blind Side?
Thanks for your help. I need it!
Cheri
by Cheri — 2/7/10 at 11:54 pm #
18. Cathy
One more thing, I want to paint the ceilings a white or off white color to complement the beiges and browns. Which Benjamin Moore color do you recommend?
Cheri
by Cheri — 2/7/10 at 11:55 pm #
19. Hi Cheri, This is Deb, although you are right in thinking it is Cathy that can help you best in your efforts to copy the colors from the movie. I have not seen The Blind Side yet, but the link you provided was great for showing me the beauty of the home. I think I want to redo my home also!
The Benjamin Moore colors you mentioned are beautiful colors. I love rich colors that add to a historical look. I am pretty sure that if you printed off the photos of the movie sets you are trying to copy and took it to a Benjamin Moore store they would be able to help you in matching those colors.
Hopefully, we will get some suggestions here from Cathy, too. Don’t forget to show us pictures of the finished product.
by Deb — 2/8/10 at 4:07 pm #
20. Hello Cheri,
This is Cathy, Deb asked me to comment on your question on her post. I did look at The Blind Side link you provided. The wall colors were rich and warm, but of course I do not know the exact color they used. You gave a me a few you are looking at and have used, and the feel you are wanting in your lovely home. I like your direction with the B.M. Greenbrier Beige and Alexandria Beige. Both are rich, warm and sound like they could work nicely with your other elements. The Alexandria is darker and a little grayer, fine, if you want it that dark. The Greenbrier is quite nice and a little lighter.
A few others you might consider are Ben Moore…North Hampton Putty or Danville Tan. Both have a slight green undertone that might blend well with your Great Barrington Green. You’ll have to sample them all to find the right one in your light. You also can get the wall color you pick in a deeper shade to paint over the dark brown accent wall ( Branchport) so all will blend nicely.
I think any of those will give you the look and feel you wanted in your request.
As for whites for the ceiling. I wouldn’t paint the ceiling a pure white. It’s just too stark for the rich deep beige palette you’re working with. Many times I will take the deeper beige color I’ve used on the walls and have the paint dealer lighten it 3-4 shades. Then you’ll have the same undertones of the wall color but much lighter shade on the ceiling. Your paint dealer can do this for you. But, a few nice off whites that might go well with your warm beige/browns are…
Ben Moore… Elephant Tusk, Seashell, Grand Teton White, Misty Air.
If you can, lighten your wall color, that would be the best bet.
I hope this gave you a little direction to take your vision in. It all sounds so warm and welcoming.
Try to stay with one color and introduce shades lighter and darker of the one color. This is easy with a 7 color paint chip. But with single colors, have your paint dealer mix them to your liking.
Much success with your project, it will be movie -worthy and ready for it’s close up.
by Cathy — 2/8/10 at 7:52 pm #
21. Thanks so much Cathy for your help and input! I knew you would had more paint experience than I have. Great suggestions!!
by Deb — 2/11/10 at 11:13 am #