First, I hope your father is fine and applaud you for realizing the importance of time. It's a commodity that most of us take for granted.

There are lots of color experts here and I won't pretend to be one of them ;) I can tell you though, as a consumer, what I'd look for... clean, clean, clean. If it sparkles, I'll come back the following week. Then, I'd like fun colors and a happy atmosphere.

We have a terracotta dining room and I love it, but it can lean towards a cave-like feeling. How much overhead light do you have? Is the garage for single or double cars? A double lets in more light when the doors are up. Will your stands be near the front and in more direct sunlight?

Sorry I'm not help on color since I'm color-challenged and one of reasons I'm glad to have found this site. I just hope by asking these questions, I might be able to help the "experts" in giving you some great advice.

Best of luck to you this summer.

I want to say a shade of lemongrass green with jute like indoor/outdoor rugs. :) I am no expert though. What a great idea and I too applaud you for the big step! I hope your Father is on his way to feeling better!

Hope your Father is doing better...and I applaud you too for making a positive change in your life.

Keep the colors simple and friendly. A pastel green or blue or coral would be great with white trim to open the space up and just keep the fridges white...ceiling white and storage shelves the colors of the wall.

Keeping the look clean by not having anything on the shelves and a neutral rug will be a minimal investment with a good return. The great thing is that your garage is finished on the inside which is a good selling point.

I could definitely see a coral color in there. I spied the pretty black wire basket on the top shelf and it gave me an idea. Why not go with coral, black and white. Your veggies are going to be primarily reds, yellow, and greens right? I'd think that combo would look lively and crisp.

Since the space is so tall, I'd divide the room visually. Mask off the lower section at about the level of your light switches and paint it your dark coral (like BM Tuscon Coral) in the lower portion. Then I'd paint the upper portion and the ceiling a lighter shade of the same color. I suppose you could add trim (chair railing) but I don't think you have to. Darker bottom colors will help disguise dirt and scuff marks, while the lighter upper section will help it remain bright and non-caveish.

I could see the shelving painted black, and the addition of a large black chalk board on the wall to the left of the refrigerators where you could do prices, messages, etc.

I'd leave the friges white, but possibly attach black chalkboards to their surfaces somehow. Perhaps just black poster board (or foam core boards) would work just as well.

You could then have your tables/stands/benches painted black or covered with black denim-type covers. Easy to wash and won't show dirt!

What a great thing to do! I hope your dad is on the mend!

Time is so precious! Enjoy every relaxing loving moment of it! Prayers w/ your father.

I really like SummieBees suggestion of a lemongrass green. It sounds so refreshing and relaxing.

I think many of tomorrowisanotherday suggestions are perfect too. Loving the blackboard idea so much!

I agree w/ you that Terracotta can start to feel cave like HOWEVER, there is a fabulous picture in one of my Jocasta Innes books that has stuck w/ me for almost 15yrs now. It is of a bedroom w/ crusty looking (faux painted) walls in terracotta. The floor is glossy black as well as the furniture w/ breezy white curtains and bedding. It is so airy looking and French like.

Book: The New Paint Magic
Author: Jocasta Innes

Awe Summer, there is nothing like a produce stand that screams SUMMER more than vegetables.

I'm not going to get into the decorating part of the storefront.

But isn't this a sweet picture in front of your stand. You wouldn't happen to have an old truck for effect, would you?

Here's sending best wishes to your daddy!

....Jane

Note: I would say make it look clean with good prices and throw in a country look.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

If you go to a craft store you could get wooden crates and paint hem bright colors that contrast witht eh fruit and veggis and then get chalk boards for above them and paint them(frames) with colors that contrast them with pics and pricing of the items....I always see some great chalkwork on the boards at various places doen in color....(I could take a pic of a local farmer's market that just had some done) and do the garage a pale lemongrass or if you like the idea of terracotta the bright colors may help out with the cave effect and make it look more costal like?
I'm excited to see what you come up with! I wish you were in Ohio! I love a great farm market!!!

P.S. That old wagon newdawn posted is amazing!!!

As a consumer, I want to see CLEAN rather than stylish

1 - Prime the walls with drywall primer (it's white, but you can tint it a pastel if you want) and paint a light clear color or white.

2 - Clear out the clutter, or put it in containers, or hide it behind a screen.

3 - Consider moving the refrigerators forward so the "shop" area" isn't at the back of a garage. Make screens of salvage doors hinged together to block off the area, control access and hide clutter. You can have your prep area back there, and keep refill baskets or boxes or bulk orders.

4 - Cheap sheets in bright colors for tablecloths unify the look.

5 - Encourage pre-ordering and "subscriptions" ("X" a week gets them a variety of stuff - X pounds of whatever is in season).

http://www.localharvest.org/ has some ways to connect with customers over the internet.
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ explains CSA's (community supported agriculture)

It might be profitable to offer home delivery or a central pick-up location for large orders once a week.

I like the pastel idea too, but as long as it looks clean, you're golden. I'd keep the refrigerators white and use black chalkboards on them for listing items and prices of what's on the inside. Like summiebee said, use mini chalkboards for the price signs on baskets of produce, etc. to coordinate. I think Farmer's Market shoppers love that look - see that big ole chalkboard next to the wagon? Also use flour sack material and lots of raffia for decorative effect. Good luck!

Keep it light (they even have colored chalkboard paint now), move the fridges to the front if the customers are serving themselves (eggs, etc?). If the fridges are just for bulk storage, leave them in the back and put screens up as mentioned to keep customers out of "employee only" area. Set up tables with boxes or benches for tiers, cover with burlap (cheap at Walmart) and use clementine crates (lined with washable fabric?) for the produce.

I'd also look into the CSA thing - we're thinking of it for cattle (X dollars goes toward Y cuts of a steer when it's ready to butcher). I think it's easier with produce but our farm doesn't produce anything but rocks (some blueberries and blackberries) yet!

Hope your dad is doing well and you enjoy running the farm stand better than the market. Are you in a highly visible location?

Great idea! My vote is for clean and light. I think terra cotta would be too dark and like you said create more of a cave-like appearance.

If the fridges are rusty then paint might be the way to go. And definitely an outdoor rug for the floor to hide anything you can't clean.

Catching a moment to grab some lunch and check this thread. My Dad is getting stronger every day. Took him to the doctor's today and he had some xrays. He even began to get a bit ornery which I take as a sign that he is improving! Thank you for your good wishes.

You all are so great!!!! So many great ideas, and with pictures yet!

I love the idea of doing the coral on the bottom with a lighter color on top. I think that will really work against a cave like effect. I stopped by HD on the way home from my Dad's and picked up Behr's Koi for the bottom, pale honey for the top and ceiling, and perhaps lemongrass for the doors.I threw in cinnabark too (?for the shelving or trim).

And I love the idea of a blackboard, either on the wall, or smaller ones on the fridge. And a great idea of taking some wooden crates and painting them, also I think I saw some plastic ones in bright colors at HD, but I like the idea of wood better.

Can't move the frigs as the electric for them is in the back. I do have large coolers tho to do more of a customer area in front if I wanted. The garage also is where I keep my car- I will just move it out on pick up days.

Got to run, first pick up is tomorrow night! And I really hear you on the clean part. I won't have time to accomplish much else, but I want to have at least have it clean.

And Newdawn, thank you for that picture. Lovely. We actually have an old tree down by the main road where an old table would look great. Of course that area is overgrown with brambles and it will be a whole other project to clear. But that pic is certainly an incentive!

Colors I am considering (and Ttodd, you nailed it with that picture. That is the coral I am envisioning.): Of course the lighting right now is not the best.
{{!gwi}}

I love it all!!! Throw in a yellow!! Lazy Gardens has a great point about being clean and I am sure you already know that anyhow. How fun! I think the roll out rugs to cover anything on the floor is a great idea too.

We did this epoxy thing to our garage floor a few years ago that took a few hours (longer to cure though) it is a light tan by rusteoleum that you toss little sprinkles into the floor epoxy. It really made the garage look nice and clean and like a room not a garage floor. VERY clean. Problem was it started to flake and we could not figure out why. Well the builder had SEALED our garage floor and we did not know it. It bonds better and longer to an unsealed concrete. My sister's still looks fab after 4 years. Mine looks great aroiund the edges and in most areas, just not in tire areas. We re going to sand those areas and reapply this spring. It was 50$ I think for the garage.

I LOVE the colors, especially the lemongrass. I was going to suggest lime green too. It will look so fresh next to fresh fruit, veggies and flowers. Love the blackboard idea too. Glad your Dad is doing better. Good luck to you and be sure to post pictures when you are finished.

Great choice of colors!
I would treat this as a guest room and go with neutral colors, and maybe an accent wall. Colors create a certain mood which is not going to be well received by everyone.

Love all of the ideas...please let us know what you decide.
I lost my father last year- miss him terribly.
Sending healthy wishes to you and yours!

Your welcome Barb!

Best wishes with your dad, God love him.

....Jane

"Can't move the frigs as the electric for them is in the back."

Ummmm - extension cords? We have a heavy duty one we use for an air conditioner in our guest room - the appliance is in a closet window and the outlet is about 12' away. We have had no problem operating it.

This is a project that would keep me happy and dreaming for many weeks... looks like a lot of fun, and your color scheme is great!

One thing I appreciated about our CSA was the weekly recipe that used as many of the fresh foods in season as possible so I knew what to do with all of my finds. Maybe that could be written on the chalkboard (with paper versions to take home)?

Do you use the refrigerators for products for sale? Maybe you could paint them with chalkboard paint, and write the contents on the fronts.

I'd put up some shelves and decorate with some pots, garden accessories, canning jars, etc. Maybe burlap tablecloths, baskets, the wooden crates someone else mentioned, etc.

Oh how I wish I had a garden...

Here is a link that might be useful: Idea and instructions for chalkboard paint refrigerator

Loribee, I'm sorry about your Dad. Thank you for your good wishes.

I have been busy today getting orders ready for P/U this evening and haven't had a chance to take a breathe. I'm going to tape the paint chips out in the garage to see how they look. DH has pointed out that I will need to put spackling over the wallboard tape if I am going to get a smooth wall.

I ordered a wire rack system online for beside the frigs. It will have wheels and I will be able to move it out to sweep, and also move it to the basement in the winter for my exploding population of amaryllis. I just don't have time to build shelving. Also bought a cash box (I can be optimistic here, right?)

Summiebee, thanks for the tip on the floor epoxy. At some point I will want to do something with the floor. I'm going to deal with walls and ceiling first, but I'll keep that epoxy in mind.

And Latimore, Thanks for posting the info on the chalkboard. I'm thinking I'd like it on the wall, but painting an area would be easier than trying to locate a chalkboard to buy and then having to hang it. And your link says HD sells this paint in different colors!

My mind has just been racing with all I want to do, and everything I have to do. But it is a happy racing. We may have a lean year this year, until people find out about us, but the food won't go to waste. There is a good food bank in a nearby city and one way or another the bounty of this piece of land will be used and appreciated.

Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement!!

I have been following this thread and along with the well wishes for your dad and the great ideas.

So--it came to mind today when I was at Big Lots because I had wanted to contribute the suggestion of adding "customer friendly" signs. Anyway, Big Lots had a great selection of signs and pictures that might accent your remodel. And of course, they weren't expensive relative to other stores.

Good luck with your project.

Another opinion weighing in! I think what you are doing is wonderful.
I shop at farm stands and farmers' markets all the time, and I would make three recommendations.
First, although the coral and the lemongrass are lovely, remember that what you are selling is flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and that their colors should be the strongest ones in the place. So in the interest of clean and bright, I would give serious consideration to a very pale creamy yellow, or a very light sky blue as a background.
Second, I love the idea of wooden crates, and I would leave them unstained and unpainted. Less work, more earthy, in keeping with your wire rack, and a great background for your wares. You might also consider simple galvanized tubs and buckets for things that sit in water. They age beautifully.
Third, I would look either for vintage oilcloth or a reproduction thereof for your tables. The Vermont Country Store sells a modern version in red or blue gingham checks, a wonderful fruit print, a foliage print, and a flag print, depending on what appeals to you (and no, I have no interest in the company! I bought the toaster and mixer covers for my mother, who loved them). Keeping them clean is a breeze, and you won't spend hours after market day getting fruit and vegetable stains out of your cloths.

I like the colors you are currently considering. I first read your post and thought about the farm stands I frequent and I can't tell you what color the interiors are painted. I can tell you that they are immaculately clean, no carpet at all and have great produce. Actually, one of the farm stands looks a bit like a garage (only a bit bigger).

Best of luck with your new endeavor and hoping your Dad is feeling better!

Bronwynsmom! I read your post before sending the last customer off last night with an amaryllis bouquet that had orange, deep red, and white in it, and thought "Holy cow, she may be right! What if the koi coral color clashes with my bouquets?" Screech went my mental brakes and my brain took a fast turn around!

One of my main crops is peonies with their red and pinks. Not good with coral, right?

So..... this am on my way back from a delivery to a florist (yup got my courage up to call a florist!!!) I stopped to pick up more paint chips at HD. Am now thinking about a "crystal water" blue or "millstream." I love yellow, and my exterior house color is yellow, and so is my LR. I am yellowed out.

I am not a person who really likes blue except on porch ceilings, and I am not a lover of pastels but crystal waters is actually pretty. Not sure what trim and doors should be. Am planning to spend some time before bed going over the Color Me Happy website.

Can I sneak in a warm color for the trim and door?

a few random pics of my little piece of heaven: Some radishes peaking out from behind some spinach:

Early morning view of hoophouse:
{{!gwi}}

Pretty ladies:

So glad you're rethinking colors! A light blue, green, or yellow would be my choice ... anything that mimics the outdoors.

"Crystal Waters" is a lovely color, but I was imagining something much paler, and perhaps with a tiny whssst of green in it, to lose the nursery feeling? I don't have a fan deck for Behr, but you might try Sherwin Willams/Duron colors "Sky High" (SW6504), which is a pale sky blue, or "Glimmer" (SW 6476), which is a blue-green that reads blue, or "Snowdrop" (SW 6511), which is a cooler and even paler blue.
If you match the actual color of the sky, and then paint it inside, it is much too dark to feel like sky. I'm not much of a blue person, either, but as backdrop for what you are doing, I think a really pale one would look great. And it will reinforce the cleanliness of the space.
For trim, I think you'd be happiest with a creamy white. Same cleanliness argument. Same background-vs-feature idea. Chocolate brown and terra cotta look nice with blue, but in the context of a farm stand, I think they would just look like dirt. Good dirt...rich dirt...but dirt just the same!

The garage faces east, so that by the time customers come it is not getting direct light. It does have double doors, so it does have light, and it does have 2 bare light bulbs on the ceiling.

But with its lack of direct light, I keep seeing darker colors. I am afraid that a lighter color will just look all washed out, and thus somewhat dirtyl

Crystal waters looks like it has a touch of lilac in it. I also picked up some lighter blues and will tape them up on the garage walls as well.

There is a SW store not too far away. Next time I am over in that neck of the woods, I'll stop by and pick up the chips of the colors you are suggesting.

Painting is not going to get done until the planting slows down, so I do have time to think about all this.

Thank you Bronwynsmom, and everyone else for your consideration and input on this.

You are most welcome. There isn't much of anything that is more fun than opining about work someone else actually has to do! Your place is lovely, and I know you'll do well.

I notice that there was red on your garage door. I think a bright pretty door is a good place to get your whack of warm color.

You might also consider a couple of those inexpensive, rectangular, two-tube fluorescent fixtures with cords and plugs to hang at your ceiling - there are converters that you screw into the light bulb sockets to make plugs, you screw a couple of heavy hooks into the ceiling wherever you want them; you hang the fixtures from lengths of chain at the proper height, and just plug 'em in. if you use daylight tubes, you get a surprisingly attractive, well-lit space. I've done this in numerous garages where the budget was skimpy. The good tubes are a bit spendy, but they last a long time, and the fixtures are dead cheap.

And that's enough from ME!

I can't wait to see the finished product!

I can see bronwynsmom's point using a soft yellow but I still love the colors you picked. Flowers go with every color so don't worry about that. I would try to use black containers to show off the colors of the flowers. I wish we could all come to your house an help you with the painting. How fun!

I wish you were my neighbor! Your farm is beautiful.
In case you want another idea.......
Does your farm have a name? You could plan the fixtures and paint colors by playing off of it.
Hope your dad is feeling better.

Well hubby wants to watch Bones and I started all this before we met in the city for dinner so it may be a moot point by now
I choose colors as close to what you first said and had the refrigerators spray painted with Krylon stainless steel paint.
{{!gwi}} Click photo to enlarge.

You all are so nice. There is so much to think about. Today I couldn't even get a professional looking invoice going on my computer. It is getting a bit overwhelming.

Bronwynsmom, that is a great idea about the lighting. In fact we already have hooks in the garage ceiling from when we hung a canoe there, and I have some leftover shop light fixtures from when I was growing seedlings in the basement.

Megsy, I can't wait to see the finished product either. I just hope it isn't years from now! Seriously, I will show pics if it comes out alright.

Carminnc, what a great picture. That is my kind of world with all that color and all those flowers! I see what you mean about how it all goes together. i wish you could all come to my house too to help paint. I'd make sure you got the best and freshest food to eat, and I would send you home with a huge bouquet!

Deedee99, thanks for your well wishes. My farm does have a name and actually the color blue would play well with the name.

JGBE, wow, that is a great glimpse of what it could be! Thank you!! And thank you for getting rid of the garbage.

I'm going to have to think carefully about all of this. As I said, I only want to paint once!

You are welcome Barb. I redid it in greens, but like Cam said in nature all colors go well together. Love her photo compared with your color choices.
Didn't scroll down far enough to see them before I did the rendering. It's hard to surf when our grandson is here. He has his own idea what's important at any given moment and I have to agree with him. He's pretty smart for only two. :^D