Pictures would be very helpful.

I love warm walls with warm wood...but it all depends on the colors and the amount and type of light in the room too...

Well, as you know, my living room is ALL warm - pine floor, pine ceiling..it's an antique, and I just repainted the walls to the very warm BM Lenox Tan, and I"m so in love with it that I never want to leave the room. I've always been a cool-color person, so this was a leap for me, and I landed on the moon! Love it so much, I'm in the process of stripping my FP mantel and surround from the BM White Dove to it's original pine as well.

I had planned to have a large foyer and hallways painted in Ellen Kennon's Mushroom but after painting large sample boards it did not look good with my wood furniture. Currently it's painted a color very similar to BMs Sepia Tan, very peachy tan.

I did hire an online paint consultant and after sending her lots of photos of my space she felt because of my reddish pine floors and furniture that the wall color wasn't doing the furniture any favors. I definitely agree with that. A couple colors that she recommended were Feather Down and Ashwood by BM. I love both colors, particularly the Feather Down. I'm so used to deeper colors that I'm worried it may be too light. Having said that I have somewhat dark colors in my rooms that going light may be what I need to do.

Can you post any pics? It's so hard to give opinions w/o seeing the light, elements, etc.

I will try to post some this evening with the help of my DH. I'm technologically challenged!

Here are my photos of foyer. upstairs landing. and hallways.

Oh wow, beautiful! I LOVE that chest under the painting with the red house.

I would go darker, which will bring out the richness of the furniture and floors. Don't be afraid, esp. with all that gorgeous trim you have in white (painting the banister and balusters white would probably help too!)

I'd look at BM Coriander Seed, BM Raleigh Sorrel, BM Chownings Tan, BM Cafe au Lait

Tibbrix-Thanks so much for your feedback! All of my rooms are pretty dark hues and to be honest , it's beginning to feel oppressive. I have lots of warm colors which I gravitate too so I feel like I need to go lighter in the foyer and upstairs landings. But not sure how light. Can you look up the feather down and tell me what you think?

However I have been thinking of painting my red dining room in some of the colors you have suggested. And to be honest if I suggested painting the heart pine balusters and handrail my husband would toss me from the upstairs, lol.

Sis, I think whites are hard! But yes, white was definitely a wall color in Colonial times, so it would work well with your furniture. AGree, re: the heart pine on the staircase!

I think the whites you chose seem a little drab, too gray or something. I thought, though, of the walls in my broker's house. I asked her just last week what the color is. It's Sherwin Williams Maison Blanche, and it's beautiful. It's a warm neutral. check it out.

I'd also check out Benjamin Moore Prentis Cream from their Williamsburg Collection. I do think that with heart pine you want a warm neutral, which Prentis Cream and Maison Blanche are. The Ashwood has a lot of gray in it and the Featherdown a lot of green.

BM Grant Beige would look good with your floors and furniture. Not too light or too dark.

Mushroom looking "putty-ish" juxtaposed to your furniture sounds about right. I would think the contrast to the wood floors and the furniture would be fab, but that's not the color relationship you anticipated.

Since you've tried so many colors, how would you describe the perfect end result? How would the wall color relate to the floor, the furniture, and how would you describe the overall atmosphere achieved by changing from the current wall color?

Is a relationship to adjoining rooms important, etc?

What do you think you're looking for in a wall color?

If you open two windows and put Prentis Cream and Gentle Cream next to each other, you see that Gentle Cream is a bit darker and more orange than the Prentis Cream.

Another to look at, I think, is BM Natural Cream.

Funcolors- To be perfectly honest, I would like something neutral enough to transition into my other areas of color: Hampshire Gray, Edgewood Green, Rosemary Sprig, Woodlawn Blue and Palladian Blue. At the same time I truly want what is going to look best with my floors and furniture. I don't like the color it is now and I really think I don't want a strong color. It seems to me that with all the other colors, your eye needs some rest if that makes sense.

And honestly what do you think about the Feather Down? I'm not a white wall kind of girl. I want something that does stand out against my trim. Thanks so much.

Funcolors- forgot to mention we are having a spare bedroom being painted in Gentle Cream where I was going to put the Mushroom. Other colors that were suggested were Ashwood by BM, Natural Cream and Manchester Tan. Manchester Tan went very murky!

Sis2two - just wanted to chime in that I am ogling your trimwork, love it!

And honestly what do you think about the Feather Down?

OC-006 Hue 2.55 Y / Value 8.77 / Chroma 1.18 LRV 73.8

It will have yellow-orange-ish overtones. It shouldn't show a green edge.

With its chroma at 1.18 we know it's classified as a color and not a near white or off white.

I think it will align with the color of the floors and furniture. Won't be as strong and bold as the current wall color. The amount of contrast in the space should be lessened quite a bit and the wall/floor/furniture relationship will blend a lot more smoothly; be a lot softer compared to the current wall color and the samples of Mushroom.

Pretty color.

Thank you Funcolors! Can you tell me more about the chroma and what that means?

Chroma is about colorfulness. Literally how much color is in a color.

The chroma part of a color notation represents 'how much color' on a scale that starts at zero and goes up to about 15-ish for architectural color palettes. Altho there is no official end number to the chroma scale.

To classify a color as "near-white" it has to have a certain amount of chroma.

less than 0.5 for colors from the blue hue family
less than 0.8 for colors from the yellow hue family
less than 0.3 for all other hues

Feather Down is yellow hue family and has a chroma of 1.18. Which is more than 0.8.

What that tells me/us is once it's up on all four walls it will very likely read more as a color than a near-white or off white.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nice picture and overview of Chroma

This post was edited by funcolors on Fri, Oct 24, 14 at 16:25

Thank you Funcolors. Boy, it honestly is over my head. Maybe that's why I'm so bad at picking colors, lol.

oldbat2be- I'm so glad you like our trim! Thank you.

Color notations are easy once you get the hang of it.

It's really no different than reading tags at the store. Try to imagine what it would be like trying to buy shoes or clothing with no tags - no sizes, no prices. What if you just had to eyeball it, guess, and keep trying things on until you finally found not only the right fit but also the right price? It would take a while and be incredibly frustrating.

It's the same with color.

Because paint brands don't "tag" their colors with notations, most people have to do exactly what you've been doing trying to find a color that's the right fit.

Learning to read color notations narrows the field of choice and means you can zero in on the colors that are most likely to fit right. Pretty much like finding a nicely organized, full rack of jeans with tags that tell you the size, cut, and fit like tall or petite.

Versus a clearance table full of jeans with no tags, labels or prices. If you think about it, what the paint industry offers as far as organizing and labeling their colors is no better than the clearance table full of unmarked jeans.

Where do you find the color notations? And for the space that I've shown you, what exactly should I be looking for ? Thanks so much.

Color notations are not easily found. I'm trying to change that.

I think what you should be looking at/for is where you've been with color samples.

Sometimes detailing out what it is you don't want can help. For example, categorize all the colors tried in to different groups: too dark, too much color, too much contrast, too yellow, too green, etc.

What didn't work can help guide you to a solution. A sort of process of elimination.

It might not be the "perfect" solution, but it might be a 'the best you can do in that space' kind of solution.

funcolors, you didn't answer the question...now that I know about lrv, I do ask at the ben moore place and they typically can provide that to me...they also list lrv on their color gallery. Where did you get the other info on feather down? And where might we look for such data? Or do we have to ask? Or is it simply not available to us ordinary folks?

It's the beige walls. I have nearly the same color in my LR, and while I loved it for about a year, it did become oppressive. But the other day company was coming over and I turned certain lights on that we usually don't use in the daytime, and I thought how beautiful my room was. lol.

But I'm lousy at picking a different color. I would love to repaint the room but the cost would be enormous.

BM Edgecombe Gray?

funcolors, you didn't answer the question...now that I know about lrv, I do ask at the ben moore place and they typically can provide that to me...they also list lrv on their color gallery. Where did you get the other info on feather down? And where might we look for such data? Or do we have to ask? Or is it simply not available to us ordinary folks?

No, I didn't. Didn't want to veer too far off sis's topic. And at this point it's a long explanation without a clear-cut answer at the end.

You are correct about LRV. LRV is also listed in the index of every major brand's fandeck. Sherwin Williams even puts it on the back of their fan strips and paint chips.

We use certified color measurements and then do the conversion to color notations here at The Land of Color. We apply the same exact method to every single color because consistency of method is crucial in order to make valid comparisons using the notations. I'll tell you why in a second.

Dunn-Edwards is the only brand that currently publishes notations - in the fandeck index right next to LRV. It's part of what makes their "Perfect Palette" pretty much perfect.

Regarding that consistency factor... Even if all brands were to publish notations, it would be difficult to cross brands and compare notations. Because of equipment, method, and algorithm inconsistencies.

It's a lot like gloss levels. The paint industry has no universal standards that they all stick to when it comes to glossiness. Which is why one brand's satin looks like another brand's semi-gloss.

It's the same with color. No universal standards for measuring color. Even LRV measurements are inconsistent brand to brand - but LRV is less of a problem than gloss or notations because it's just one number, and it's simple, CIE Y; a point or two off one way or another isn't a huge deal.

Regarding color notations... As long as you stay within one brand's set of notations, all is fabulous. On average, most people do stay within one brand for their projects. Usually because their painter prefers to use just one brand.

With that said, inconsistent color notations brand to brand won't be big swings. Differences will show up in hue more than value or chroma. The general hue family, R, YR, Y, etc. will likely be consistent but the hue number is where measurement and algorithm inconsistencies will show up.

Hope that helps.

Sis, I just wanted to chime in and tell you how much I love your beautiful home. I think SW Maison Blanche is a lovely color. It's a warm neutral. I also love Wool Skein and Kestrel White. I like the BM Feather Down a lot too.

Funcolors- thanks so much for all of your help. Oh how I wish it came easy to me. Picking colors is just darned hard and I envy you!

nosoccermom- to be honest, I'm not a gray kind of gal but maybe I should give it a shot. Thanks so much for your post!

hollykay- thanks for your kind words! Maison Blanche did not look good and I am thinking the Wool Skein would probably go green as so many have done. I've looked at sooo many colors that I am getting a feel based on colors that I've tried, how some are going to go. I am leaning strongly towards the Feather Down. Am finding that I don't want anything yellowy looking. I want something soft and neutral. I've had dark colors for so long that I'm ready for a fresh change.

What about BM Natural Cream?

Edgecomb Gray isn't really gray but more of a beige. It goes very well with the blues in your other rooms.