Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Color my World--Please!

I've tried all of these colors and so far have not found the one that is right for the room.

Lots of you have written to ask how the floor refinishing came out. It came out great. I had just forgotten to write about it because as soon as I could walk into the room I started trying to figure out what color to paint the walls. Perhaps there is a reason the word "pain" makes up so much of the word "paint." Working with color is difficult.

The red oak floor, in contrast, was a snap. The first day was the longest with the crew here to sand and repair any damage they could find. After that it was about an hour a day for three more days. The results are superior.



None of the boards in the floor had to be replaced. This is one of the original 1951 floors in the house and (if the creek don't rise) it should be good for at least another sixty years.



Wall color, on the other hand, is much easier to change and much more difficult to settle on. I started with the idea that this sunny room would look good with soft gray walls and white trim. But all the grays looked too blue and cold to me and now the entire thing has begun to get out of hand.





I'll probably have to start again with warmer, lighter colors. I have learned that in a room with lots of sunlight--and this room is one of those--you have to go softer and subtler on the color because the sunlight, instead of washing out the color in a room, actually makes it pop.

I'm sure I should hope this is the worst problem I ever come up against. But at this moment I am tired of seeing those guys at the paint store and asking for yet another quart to add to my growing collection.

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5 comments:

Jon said...

Sometimes a dramatic color is better. I suggest a cappucino, deep forest green, or merlot. Leave the trim off white.

A friend has all the house in colors of nature, brick, avocado, butternut, etc. It is very inviting.

The floors look great!!!

Anonymous said...

pale yellow with a white ceiling, stunning!

Robin Chapman said...

Off I go to Home Depot for more color samples. I've been trying colors at Benj Moore paints and I need to try something new. Keep the suggestions coming!

Laura said...

I'm sure you already know this, but when I painted my house I bought a bunch of posterboards and painted them with the different colors, then propped them up on different walls during the different hours of the day to see how they looked in bright light, shade, and lamp light.

This really helped eliminate some colors I thought were perfect and I'm really happy with the results.

Robin Chapman said...

All your comments are helpful. I'm painting parts of the walls and looking at them in all lights. I usually have a good color sense, but I haven't quite found it here. It will come around eventually ...