Oh Loribee- I forgot you have that wonderful white home too! Thanks for the encouragement : ) Although I loved the red, after 8 years it was time for a change. I started priming the living room yesterday. It looks better already. It looks like I'll be priming for a few days at best,ugh.
I love to paint, I love to paint, I love to paint.............

Wow, magnaverde, bronwynsmom, et al, I love how you did that! You completely disected what she wants, what she has, the why's and why nots and made such a vivid explanation of how to get there from here. I am very impressed.

homebodymom, you have some great ideas to work with. Good luck!

magnaverde, I always tell someone if they have lipstick on their teeth, buttons unbuttoned, missed belt loops, etc. so I would have told you about your button. :)

Imo, white is BORING unless you have beautiful floors (preferably wood), gorgeous woodwork and architecture, and at least a few lovely pieces of furniture.

I don't do white, because I don't have the above! :(

Why thank you....
CAN'T wait to see! Whistle while you work.... :)

I've been visiting and re-viviting this post and I'm glad I did! It's been a few days since I've been back to this one.

Sometimes when I open a thread and see such a large project I think that I don't have nearly enough time to go through all that needs to be done.

I'll hang my head in shame now.

When I see a project like this I can identify all the things that I would do and can see the finished project but once I start writing I don't have nearly enough time to go through everything that I would do to get from point A to point Z and I erase everything and close.

Kind of like that saying 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all thing' but my saying would be 'If I can't say everything that I would do, then don't say anything at all - don't waste their time'. There gets to be SO much that I have to say that I don't have enough time to write it all (and I lose track about what I say!).

BTW - you have a lovely home and I DO have lots of nice things to say about it!

Then I erase everything that I've just written.

Anyway - the one thing that I would say is just like so many others: Clear it out, store it away un an unused room or garage, paint it white and judiciously edit back in. It will come to you as you go but you can't see through all of that stuff now to get a clear picture in YOUR head as to how to make that happen.

PS: Laurainlincoln - loving your room! If you have more pics would you start a new thread of your pplace? I'm not familiar w/ your sign on name. Are you fairly new here?

Jane - thanks for posting those pics! I was looking for one of them recently!

And BTW Homebodymom - wish you were closer to me - I have this awesome set of 6 fern and grass prints that just don't 'fit' in muy house but am sure I will regret getting rid of to just someone random.

Still painting..... doing a little procrastinating this morning and thought I would post some pics showing how different the room looks already. No matter what happens with the white paint idea, this room will never be dark again. It gets so much natural light ( eastern exposure) it now just shines in the morning! Excuse the big red box on the wall- my DH finally took the mirror down for me last night! Now I am thinking about not putting back up on the wall, but maybe leaning it againt a wall instead....

sundownr- thanks for the encouraging words!

birdlover- I have avoided white paint since I bought my first home a millions years ago. Still can't believe I want them now, but I do!!! I like to try new ideas, and push my comfort zone once in a while. If it doesn't work, at least it will be easy to paint over right?

ttodd- thanks for joining in on my new project. I would love if you would share some of those wonderful ideas you have. The pics I have seen of your home are always fabulous! The fern pics sound great. If you ever come to Florida................

Wow!! A big change -- the room is going to look amazing!! Can't wait to see photos of the next stage!

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

If you do walls in a creamy white, the bright white woodwork will make the walls look dingy in comparison.

You have to paint the woodwork too.

"Then take an interim step. Paint the upper walls a soft rich neutral in the gray/taupe family, which will keep the background strong, but feel much calmer and less assertive."

I'm a little late to the party, and I'm actually waiting for the driver to take us to the airport to leave for vacation, I only got as far as the quote above....just wanted to say that I have 29 cans of gray samples in case I can help!

Good luck, can't wait to see what you do!

It looks amazing already! I don't think you will need to paint the woodwork - we have a creamy white (SW Honied White) walls and whiter white trim (SW Dover White) and they look nice together, the lack of contrast really opens up the room. I think your space is going to be so nice and airy, especially with all of the nice architectural features that you going on - I cannot wait to see the final pics!!

ttodd - thanks for your sweet welcome! I am usually on the Kitchen forum (and Baths and plumbing...) just got thru a major remodel and addition to a 1920's home and all the blood, sweat and tears (lots of tears...) that goes with all that - now I get to do more of the fun stuff! :-)

I love your style regardless! I've always had white
walls, and can't wait to see your room when it's
finished.

I think you have what it takes to look good!

Please post your finished room. I can't wait to see it.

This has been a great thread for me to read. I am up in the air about white walls. We are still renovating...and my DH thinks we should keep the walls the creamy white that they are, so the wood floors (in the kitchen/family room) and the flagstone floors (in the dining/living room) will "pop" but I am not so sure about that.

I love all the tips about clearing out a room and then add stuff back in, but my problem is the opposite...my house is empty and I need stuff on the walls and I am paralyzed with fear to purchase anything...I just don't know where to start!

Anyway, OP, you have a lovely home (I am in FL, too, BTW). Are you the one with the black lab?? You posted a pic of your daughters artwork? Or maybe that was someone else.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Almost done priming- just one more coat where the mirror was. Boy that red was hard to cover!! I am going to get the LR done first, and then paint the DR after a color has been decided. Right now the DR is the storage area!

Teacats- thanks! Now the fun really begins....which white/cream to put on the wall. I have a few in mind
BM Moonlight White
Swiss Cream
China White
Soft Chamois
Ballet White
Natural Cream
and 50 others are on the short list!!!!!

Lazygardens-
I am not sure about painting the mouldings the same color...thought about making it a seamless look, but I REALLY like just enough difference in the paint to make the mouldings stand out, but not scream white......
Beekeeperswife-
I remeber reading about your 24 gray samples!!!!! I kept checking in to see if you chose one. I just LOVE your rooms. Absolutely beautiful. Please let us know what you decided. I am not sure if I am going to try the greige first. Painting is so hard (wish I could hire someone) and I really want the white. I am pretty sure I am going to try and make the white work, and then go greige as a second choice if it doesn't work out.
Laura-
thanks for sharing your color choices. Your room is great. Picking paint-that's the next step.
Enailes-
Thanks for the positive feedback.I would love to see pics of your rooms!
birdlover-
Will post pics of color choices, and am hoping to get some feedback on just how "white" to go!!
Dirtymartini-
Big Black lab ( a 96lb baby) and my daughter's paintings in the hallway- that's me. I remember your post about artwork/portraits and your beautiful floors!

Thank you! Isn't this forum great? Can you imagine obsessing like this with family and friends in real life? They would think you were nuts. I cannot believe how knowledgeable the folks on this board are. They don't just give opinions, they tell you WHY they think that way.

Good luck on your painting! Can't wait to see it all done! :)

just painted the woodwork in my master bed and bath ballet white...i love it. doesn't have the yellowish cast that alot of the whites have(more of a brown cast)...but it is a pretty white-white....don't know if it would have enough or the right contrast with your woodwork...

I wish there were a place where certain threads could be filed for people to read later - they are so educational. This would be one of them.

From Funcolors' link, to Magnaverde's opus number (?) to bronwynsmom's LOL lines ("Maybe if I add just the right hoo-ha, I will get the feeling I want." Usually wrong."), and everyone else who has a keen eye and great comment to make, this one is a keeper.

You can certainly leave your trim white...the dingy factor comes when you combine it with something that has a dull, dusty tone. (One of those colors that looks like you bleached a paper bag...what one of my friends calls "Soviet apparatchik apartment beige.") A light-reflective creamy buttery color will look wonderful contrasted with white. And you have to test the contenders in your room with your light to know which one is right. You are very smart to prime first, because looking at a pale color in a red room, where the reflected light is colored by those walls, dramatically affects what you see.

Sneaking on while I'm at work!

I have to say that I agree w/ lazygardens about pairing off-whites w/ white-white. My opinion is also that white-white will make off-white just look dingey.

I would either go the same color as the trim or like beekeeperswife suggested a soft and'or pale grey on the walls.

Now I originally was posting to ask you this:

I am saying this tongue in cheek but honestly there's a portion of me hoping that you do it.

Only put back the bare bones of what you need to sit on.

Put everything else in an empty room w/ a printed number on it and take a picture.

Post the picture and then let us play w/ what goes back and where.

Are ya going w/ it yet? Huh, huh? :O)

oooh what a fun idea!! Come on homebody...you GOTTA do it! :)

Busybee-
thanks for sharing! One less on the short list- now just 49 beautiful colors to pick from ;)

graywings-
It is an amazing learning experience isn't it? I am so thankful for everyone here!

bronwynsmom-
Thanks for checking back in with this! You have been a huge help. You are so right- I can't believe how different the antique white ( bottom color) looks without the red above. It is just a nice warm white! Amazing how much color the red was throwing out in the room. Without it, I am hoping picking a white will be easier- hahah !

Ttodd- You have me smiling big time!!!! I'm game for the game ;o) but there is a catch........
Since you have such a great eye for color you gotta help me narrow down all of the beautiful whites out there! If you can help me get it down to a reasonable #( maybe 5 samples, LOL) you have got yourself a deal!!!!!
I'm in if you're in !!!
Wait till my DH sees all the stuff numbered- he will surely think I'vv lost in now!

What a fun thread. I was browsing before going to bed, and got caught up reading the entire thing!

Good luck. Will have to check back to see how things turn out.

Mari

Hullo, dear...me again.

Click on the link below for about eleventy-seven zillion photos of rooms by Michael S. Smith...before you say, "But I don't have 15,000 square feet and three million to spend on this room!", just scroll through and look at all the ways in which he combines various pale off-whites, creams, grays with whiter white trim. I think his simpler work is an object lesson in this kind of combination.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michael S. Smith for color

A vote for BM "decorators white"

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

I'm sorry, but I have my doubts about two different whites working in that room. If this was my space, I would pick a soft gray and use it in both rooms since the spaces are barely separated by the foyer. I would then use different but coordinating accent colors for art, accessories etc. I think gray would be a much easier color to work with the furnishings you have without getting rid of almost everything, although I do encourage editing your spaces. I think you either need to use the same color as the white you already have or go with something different, of which my preference would be gray. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Ingrid

Mari- thanks for joining in ! Its been fun for me too :)

Bronwynsmom- oooh those pics are amazing! Lots to look at tonight, and tomorrow while DH watches football. Funny because I almost bought Edgecomb Gray and Revere Pewter samples along with the 7 white/off white samples I brought home today. I did get a sample of Classic Gray!

Teacats- oh no! Should have looked here earlier! I got a few samples today to get on the walls tomorrow and that was not one of them. If these don't work out ( oh goodness I hope one of them does because my DH thinks I am nuts!)I will look at that one too!

Ingrid- Both rooms will be painted the same. Just doing one at a time and using the other as storage!!!

Here is the list of samples I brought home today:

BM Mountain Peak White- a match to P&L Silver Lining

SW Cottonwood- a match to F&B Pointing

BM Moonlight White

BM Swiss Coffee

BM Soft Chamois

BM China White

BM Cloud Cover

BM Classis Gray- just thought I would throw a wild card in the mix!

You have Behr Antique White in the foyer and under the DR window. Analyze your reaction to that color with your trim. I've gone the beaucuoup $ on samples route, so before going on that merry-go-round, it may be helpful to figure out what, if anything, you don't like about the existing combo. I love creamy white combos as long as the undertones don't fight. Pointing and BM Bone White is fabulous, but perhaps a tad darker than you prefer, although I think you may need a bit of color to balance your furniture. I don't see grayed tones working as well with what you already own, although it is trendy.

One relatively inexpensive suggestion to consider is changing the round rug for a long runner. I'd also replace the LR lamp shades with ones with fewer seams. I like your chairs and think the red print can provide just enough pop to make a tone on tone room interesting if you reintroduce the color in small doses elsewhere. Try a textured cream pillow on your cream chair, but add a gorgeous two-toned red fringe. I know you want to keep your sofa. Would you consider slip-covering it with a tone on tone neutral that would provide the airiness of your "ahhh" photos? Before committing one way or the other, try draping a creamy sheet over the sofa to see if that helps provide the airiness and seamlessness that appeals to you. You may want to try just an orchid or a crystal vignette on your coffee table. You may also consider draping the end tables to reduce the legginess, but that may not be a good idea if your dog would want to next in the fabric like mine does when I drop my comforter on the floor when changing our bed linen.

Have fun re-inventing your space.

Everyone's light is different, so this isn't a caution exactly, but we painted our previous bedroom Swiss Coffee, thinking to get exactly that sophisticated cream and white thing, and hated it. In our room (which had north and west exposures), it looked like dingy pinkish beige...I kept thinking about worn-out nylon underwear....

WOW that a wonderful thread. I just finished painting our kitchen dinning room Walmart Crisp and Clean.. It is almost exactly the Greige in the link above from Funcolors. I looked at it with an all white=bright white love seat as I was planning on doing my trim in bright white. I loved the look and will see if I can make the link here.

I do not think it will link right. It is living room 4 with the Greige wall white love seat. I do not have a gray base board.

Would love to play the take away put back picture game some day. Not right now I am too done in from painting and I have heavy work load the next two weeks. After that if any one is game I am in serious hurt here because some how I have to cram in a pellet stove into an already crowded room.

Chris

Here is a link that might be useful: White on white

abundantblessings-Thanks I am thinking a lot about the trim/wall combinations! I may just paint out the walls -floor to ceiling and make all the mouldings the same color as the walls. Taking it one step at a time! Thanks for all the dec suggestions- you have some great ideas. None of the lamps will be returning. I have been thinking a lot about the sofa, but didn;t want to mention it to my DH yet.....while he was painting today he mentioned about how maybe we should replace/reupolster it !!!!!!!!! I knew he was a smart man ;0)

Bronwynsmom- Oh I hear ya about lighting and paint colors. It was an interesting experience. I brought home samples of these beautiful colors and here is what happened-

BM Mountain Peak White/ Silver Lining turned into hospital white
SW Cottonwood/Pointing turned peachy
BM Swiss Coffee- looked beige here too!
BM Soft Chamois- pretty but grey and a little dingy
BM China White - was ok.... didn;t make me smile
BM Cloud Cover- a little pink
BM Classic Gray- BEAUTIFUL color, but not the look I want in these rooms- maybe the bedroom?
BM Moonlight White looked wonderful!! White enough, but warm and creamy too. My DH started painting the room tonight and I will post pics tomorrow. I am still debating what to do with all of the trim and mouldings...either paint it all out in the Moonlight White, or paint the trim and mouldings Simply White?

Shades of Idaho-
Sorry I missed your post- Would LOVE to see pics of your room!

Edgecomb gray is awful, at least to my eyes! It has to be the most uninspirational colour I have ever seen.

You have my support! I have been putting off painting my room for years now, LOL

[IMG]http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w208/healinhands/015-1.jpg[/IMG]

OK Homebodymom, I just took some pictures for you. I started this painting job Friday afternoon and finished at 6 tonight. Still putting things back together and waiting on paint to cure before curtains and pictures.

The pictures start at #94 and end at 98 of the new paint job. I had painted it green to begin with . Sigh. Loved the green the green and tiles did not play nice together.

So please excuse some messes shown and I will be working the next few days AND the neighbor brought me a huge cart load of plants to get in the ground, so it might be awhile before this is totally done.

Loving your transition. AND also I really like your entry door area colors.

Chris

Mari- sorry the edgecomb gray didn't work for you- I never did get a sample of it!

Shades- where did you post ur pics?!

Maureen- cant get into your link- sorry

Hope to have pics for everyone tomorrow- too tired to upload any. The Moonlight White looks great :) I am thrilled- so far!!

Very interesting thread and now I am anxious to see the end results.

Sorry thought I put the link up last night. Trying it again. I was really tired.

Pictures 94 through 98.

Chris

Here is a link that might be useful: White on white

You're going to get a lot of opinions on the various whites and off-whites and grieges. I happen to adore Edgecomb Gray. Just painted a room with it and it changes beautifully with the light during the day. So that's my opinion, others have another opinion.

I really like BM Natural Wicker for a creamy off-white.

At the risk of beating that old dead horse...when working with whites, above all, it's entirely dependent on the light, the light, the light, the light.....

Like real estate...location, location,location....

Homebody,

In the opposite white wall situation from you. Just moved in to an empty, all white walled townhouse/apartment. It has lovely wood floors and architectural details (like yours), and I hope to keep the light bright feel by decorating with pops of color. Different style than what you are going for, as I am going eclectic furnishings from flea markets and Mexico. But I think the color combos and other concepts might be similar. I only have a camera on my phone, so the pictures are a bit grainy.

The dining area is complete, but there is a photo of my bedroom & living room that need help if any one has any suggestions.

Here is a link that might be useful: My house

Totally agreeing on the light in the room making a big difference. The first and second day I was painting it was cloudy. This morning bright sun. This afternoon the blinds are drawn and the white is so different. The good thing is it is not a harsh or cold feeling white. I am glad I chose to make the change from the green back to the white. I am enjoying the color changing. Wondering how it will be with snow outside reflecting. Gonna find out come winter.

Chris

what makes them work is having shades darker or lighter than your walls in the room. For instance - if you paint your walls linen white, have something else in the room (bed linens, couch, chairs, pillows, etc) either a lighter white or a darker white. And textures. You have to have different textures in a room.

This thread is getting boring.

We need more pictures.

hehe

Thanks everyone for checking back with this post. It has been a crazy week for me and I haven't got as much done as I wished. I did get the trim paint today and planned on painting.....

birdlover- Ok, ok,ok here are some new pics! Your guilt worked ( did my mother call you?). The walls in the LR are done, but the trim has not beem repainted yet. The walls are BM Moonlight White, and the trim paint is going to be BM Simply White. I love the color, and hope is comes across well in the pics. I was hoping to wait and post pics when the trim was painted :( I am moving slow this week. Must be all the rain.

Wow!!! Just a WONDERFUL transformation -- cool and serene and fresh!!!

Very well chosen and done indeed!!! :)

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Turning out gorgeous!! Such a difference.Understand the moving slow. After painting the kitchen I feel like I have taken a beating. STILL and it is three days since I finished the painting. You take care and keep the pictures coming. Loving it!!!! Hope you are too.

Chris

I LOVE IT. :)

Well no painting got done last night. The painter is soo slow- maybe I should fire her........
I spent forever and almost 2 rolls of tape, just taping off all of the mouldings that need to be painted. With it all taped off, it should be much easier to get the mouldings and the trim done today. Then the fun begins- where to put everything, and what makes its way back into the room.
Thanks again to everyone for sharing pics, ideas, and encouragement. I already love how the room feels. You are all great!!!

It looks so pretty, I love the light it brings into the room.