Hmmm, you did not like Pittsfield Buff, what about Powell Buff? Stone House is also warm but tends more to gray than gold. A friend did a high ceilinged foyer in Dorset Gold (@50% I believe) and it is stunning.

For gray-blue, Gray Wisp is my favorite. I also really like Stonington Gray, Storm, and Titanium.

Do you have photos? It's hard to imagine the rug, and the light you get. In my old house, I could use stronger colors and the place was so bright, they looked great. In my current house, we're in the woods and have less light, and I'm having to really scale back the strength of the tints.

Clubcracker, thank you for your suggestions!

Stone House is on my "possible" list, so I will move it up since you recommend it. One thing that I am just not clear on is whether I do or do not need gray, yellow, or green-leaning colors to get the effect that I would like. Or will a total absence of these colors work best? I may not even be describing the 9 x 12 rug accurately. Sometimes I would describe all of the colors as grayed. Other times I wonder if the golds & tans are "greened" and if the greens lean to some yellow. Is there some sort of test I could do to figure this out? If I found BM paint chips that seemed to be the same colors as the main colors in the rug, would anyone be able to tell me then if it had gray, green, or yellow in it, and would that help in determining the paint color?

I know that photos would be helpful, but my DH will not let me post any on the internet. Your comment about the amount of light reminded me that when we were trying to decide on the rug, the rug salesman came to our house with the rugs we wanted to try, and he kept commenting on how much light there was. This was during the day in Feb or March. But, of course, at night it is dark and the colors are entirely different anyway.

I need to clarify about the Pittsfield Buff. I had lived with "builders white" for 25 years before we got around to repainting, and the PB was suggested by the decorator (along with Lady Finger & Shelburne Buff) who sold me the sofa and who came to my house. That place had southern exposure in the MBR, DR, and LR (which had an 8 ft wide doorwall), so the change from the white and the yellowness of the PB with the sun coming in were too much of an adjustment! On the paint chips, I love all of the HCs in that color range, but I did a sample of Putnam Ivory because it looks a tad grayer than Powell Buff, and it was still too yellow next to the fireplace. I can see where Dorset Gold would be stunning, but it would not work with my colors, and it is definitely not "me", even at 50%!

I like Gray Wisp and had not noticed that one before, so will put it on my short list, look at it again when it is dark, and also on a sunny day. It seems like a little more green than I wanted, but it would look great when looking into the LR toward the fireplace. One of my problems is that I keep wanting blue, but keep choosing green! Which color will make the pecan look best, a yellow, green, or gray-leaning blue, or _______ ?

The Stonington Gray is pretty, but I do not think I want a true gray in the DR. Actually, it did not look too bad in the LR, but I am not sure if it does what I want it to there. Storm & Titanium are not in my color fan, but I will look for the chips when I get my next samples mixed.

Anne

Hi Anne,

Coming out of lurkdom here because I feel your pain. Just a few thoughts to "maybe" help. I think that the ceiling and trim color Carlisle Cream (1031) does tend to be a little pink and will fight with yellows and golds. Since this will not be changed you need to find a color to work with it. Warm colors are yellows, reds, oranges. That is why a pinker or peachy color may work in the room. I do not think you want to go in that direction. You do not seem to have any blue in the living room, but you have alot of reds and greens. As much as you do not want to use green there, it may be your best bet. I don't think any golden colors will work. Before you cringe, there are alot of beautiful sophisticated greens. To coordinate the two rooms a blue green in the dining room, such as Wythe Blue (HC-143), Palladian Blue (HC-144)or Wedgewood Gray (HC-146) and Woodlawn Blue (HC-147) on the next strip could coordinate with Salisbury Green (HC-139) ,Prescott Green (HC-140) or Hollingsworth Green (HC-141). Gray Wisp (1570) and Quiet Moments (1563) are also nice with a touch of green in them. Just be sure they can stand up to your pink/brown trim in depth. Concentrate on coordinating with the trim color in depth and richness. Only you can tell if these colors go with any of your rugs and fabrics. You could start by picking the dining room color first to match the rug and then the living room to flow and look nice with the upholstery which has deep reds and mauve along with many greens. Just try to remember that all greens seem to go together like a forest of trees in its many hues. I think you are spot on to go with grayed or muted color. Have fun! Just some thoughts.

Thank you, voila, for coming out of lurkdom to help me! This HAS been painful in the sense that I really dislike being in limbo, uncertain, and indecisive, which has also been time-consuming since I have been looking at paint colors off and on for 2 or 3 years, and stewing around about them trying to figure this out.

To clarify regarding the Carlisle Cream with the hint of pink: this is not the trim color. I will try to see if I can find the name somewhere in my files, but the color of the trim for all of the house and most of the ceilings has a yellowish cast. The Carlisle Cream is only on the ceiling in the DR & MBR (and the paint chosen for the DR will also be used in the MBR which faces NW), as well as the walls of the mudroom, laundry, powder room, and MBath. You are correct that it fights with yellow, because the tiles have hints of yellow tones, and it does not look good there. Except for the 2 ceilings, the Carlisle Cream will be changed to something that goes better with all of the tiles and countertops that probably need a color with some yellow, rather than pink, in it. When we painted our former N facing foyer with Pittsfield Buff, it really pulled together the colors of the 2 small rugs and tile, which are almost the same as what we have now. But that is a whole nuther story.

Wythe & Palladian Blues are on my "possible" list, so I will give them further consideration. The HC 139-141 at first glance under kitchen lighting seemed minty, but the lighting in the LR is halogen, so they look different in there. I will need to see them on a sunny day.

Another vote for HC 146, 147, and Gray Wisp is good! And I really like your suggestion of Quiet Moments.

It is interesting that you say, "all greens seem to go together", which I had heard before. The reason I got a new LR rug was that my old one had multiple colors of green and greenish gold on a cream field, and to me it clashed with the fireplace in daylight. I moved it into the kitchen eating area that has the same slate tile on the other side of the 2-way FP where it only gets light from the NW which is not directly on it as it is in the LR, and it looks perfect in the different light! Also, if I turned the LR rug around, it would look much better upon entering the room, but to me the green from that direction looks awful with the FP green. I think it will be a lot easier to choose the DR paint than that for the LR.

I will definitely pursue looking at grayed colors for both rooms, but I would still like to try maybe a rich tan that does not lean to red or yellow and see if that could work in the LR to pull out those colors in the rug, but maybe nothing will do this? I suppose that would only add to the blendy feeling that I am so good at achieving. I had originally imagined having a sort of rich, dark cream, but I guess that would mean yellow, so it is out.

A correction regarding the "drapes." They are actually 4 drapery panels on each side of a 7 ft triple casement that help to set off the piano and a small chest near the creamy beige rug, and at each end of a 4 window bank (each 42" wide) next to the chest and behind the mauve wing-back near the FP. They are not directly next to the 9 x 12 "green" rug. The 2 rugs are separated by the sofa, so you do not see much of the Bokhara when entering the LR.

I know that all the detail causes many people not to read this, but I welcome comments from anyone who has the patience to work through them to give me additional guidance.

Anne

You can find a picture (that does not do it justice) of my LR rug by doing a search for Obeetee Nizam Bakhtiari forest, and my DR rug with Obeetee Nizam Shahabbas blue gold. Nilimarugs, Rugstudio, and a couple of other sites have them (not the knockoffs on Kmart & Sears), and they can be slightly enlarged, although not enough to really see the colors. In their pictures, you almost cannot see the green in the LR rug, which is the background for 8 of the 10 squares in the 2 outer columns with the paisleys, plus some of the others. IRL, the overall color of the rug to me seems to be the greens and tan related colors, and the reds look quite different from the picture. The tannish gold border of the DR rug is reasonably accurate, and is the same as some of the colors in the LR rug. I hope this helps. Anne

I just finished painting my dining room and also seriously considered Brittany Blue (a little bit too blue), Wedgewood Grey and Woodlawn Blue (a little too greenish). Wyeth Blue was definitely too much green. I also really liked Nantucket Fog (but a bit too dark). In the end, I picked Yarmouth Blue and 25% on the ceiling. At first, I thought it was too greenish,too, but now with the carpet and drapes it looks very nice blue/gray. Works very well with Linen White trim and wainscotting.

I tried some more samples:

Clubcracker, Stone House is great with the rug, however it does not seem to be making the rest of the room look better than it does with the present Bar Harbor Beige, so I am sort of stymied here. I also tried the one next to SH, Everlasting 1038; too blah.

I found the color of my trim; Maritime White 963. Would titanium (I can only look at it on the monitor) look ok with it, or would it make the trim look dirty? I also think I am going to try the Stonington Gray. Since Gray Wisp is not dark or green enough, would it make sense to try Imperial Gray 1571 next to it? Or are there better choices?

Voila, you are right that golden colors are not working out as I had hoped in the LR. Can you recommend any neutral other than green (lighter is ok) that would provide some contrast and look good with my 963 trim? See below for my blue results, and please let me know if you have further suggestions.

Nococcermom, this is really helpful information, since I was trying to decide what my next sample attempt should be. I just tried Woodlawn Blue (still too blue for my circumstances), Quiet Moments (too blue), and Gray Wisp (best of the bunch but still too blue). All of these blues are making me realize how much gray there is in the colors of the rug. That, with the transition to gray green in the LR, is making me think that a blue that is heavier on the green and gray side is where I need to head. Not sure if the darker Wythe Blue will do the job, but based on your comments that is what I might try next in the absence of better ideas. I am also looking at Smoke 2122-40, but it looks like it might just be grayer and still be too blue. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Anne

Palladian Blue?

Here is a link that might be useful: blue/green

I didn't read all the suggestions so I apologize if I'm repeating.

I looked on BM's website, and with maritime white, they suggest the color combos:
Taos taupe 2111-40 and Burnt russet 042
and
Brewster gray HC-162 and Mississippi mud 2114-20

Both palettes are gorgeous.

Coincidentally, I have Taos taupe in my living room. It is sophisticated and it makes everything else in the room stand out. BM also suggests Gingerbread Man with Taos Taupe and that may be a similar tone to your pecan. I have a similar color sofa and it looks really nice with the Taos Taipe. The shade lighter, Stone Harbor 2111-50, I have in my adjoining kitchen and it would be worth looking at if Taos taupe is too dark.

Brewster gray is definitely a blue-grey, but it might work.

I like to try BM suggested colors first because I figure they know what they're doing! :)

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: BM Paint Color Suggestions

nosoccermom, I've had Palladian Blue on my list since the beginning, but kept trying other colors. The chip is beautiful and does have more green, so your post is a push to maybe get a sample of it along with the Wythe Blue next to it on the fan. I still am undecided on how dark to go.

geokid, The Burnt Russet is about the color of my LR chairs. The Taos Taupe may be too dark, but Stone Harbor and its similar colors are possibilities that I need to explore. Ditto Brewster Gray with its other shades.

Your link to the thread on so many of the colors I'm considering is VERY helpful! I'm looking at them in the light at various times of the day, and rereading the comments everyone made.

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions which are making me look at these rooms and their colors differently. If anyone else has further suggestions at any time, please post them. I've already bought 18 sample pints, so would like to spend more time looking at the suggested colors day & night in all kinds of light and thinking about them some more before spending any more money. I'm not in a hurry to paint, only want to narrow the colors down to a few that look good on a few pieces of drywall. If there are some that look good in summer light, I will have them ready to look at when the leaves are off of the trees in a few weeks and see what works then.

Anne