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rowan1099

Help! Paint color paralysis : )

11 years ago


Please excuse the birthday decorations!

I need some ideas for paint color for my entry, 1st floor hallway and second floor hallway. They have been the same blah off-white since we moved in years ago and because of the open flow of our house, I've never been sure what color to paint...so I haven't : ) I've decided that 2015 is the year to stop putting things off, so I need some help to get things rolling....literally!

The biggest issue I have in choosing colors is that the entry connects to a hallway which opens on to the kitchen...yet in that opening there is no natural break (the hallway wall kind of flows right into a kitchen wall without the benefit of a corner to change paint colors). The entryway wall also follows the stairs up to the second floor landing....where we can change paint colors if needed, but it shouldn't clash.

The upstairs bedrooms are SW 6106 Kilim Beige (which I love in my boys' rooms), SW 6176 Liveable Green is in the master bedroom and the boys' bathroom is 6246 North Star. We have a soft khaki/blue/green theme going on upstairs....which is totally different than the first floor.

Most of the first floor is painted with SW warm neutrals from the same paint strip; the living/dining rooms off to the left of the front door are SW 6129 Restrained Gold, the kitchen is 6126 Navajo White with a subtle accent wall done in 6127 Ivoire. The family room (open to the kitchen) is 6127 Ivoire with the fireplace accent wall done in Valspar Posh Red. All trim is SW 6385 Dover White....a creamy white.

The kitchen has large windows and a southern exposure so it gets a lot of natural light. I haven't loved the Navajo White in there as I feel that it is just too light in such a big space and leans too close to white in the middle of the day. That is all to say that the kitchen color can change to coordinate with the entry color, although I had been leaning towards painting the kitchen Ivoire (the color of the accent wall and the adjoining living room) as I think it has better depth. Our cabinets are golden oak (far from my favorite but a big remodel isn't in the cards right now and my husband isn't a fan of white kitchens so I think that painting them white wouldn't fly).

So the question is....what do I paint the entry hall, stairway wall and upstairs hall? I had been thinking of Ivoire in the entry, mainly because I know that it will coordinate with the rest of the house, but if I do that, I don't know what to do about the second floor landing. Ivoire would look really out of place. If I do one shade lighter than Kilim Beige (Divine White), I worry about how that would look transitioning to a yellow-toned neutral in the stairwell. The stairs, 1st floor entry and hall all really need to be the same color. If I redo the kitchen in Ivoire and then do the entry and hall, is that overkill?


Comments (14)

  • 11 years ago

    More pictures could be helpful. What kind of feel are you wanting to shoot toward? Are there any favorite pillows or curtain fabrics that are already in the rooms that you could pull some colors from?


  • 11 years ago


    We gravitate towards warm tones...our color scheme downstairs is warm golds and cream, dark red and a soft green accent. Neither of us really like golden oak, but it came with the house. Our furniture is either a medium tone (like our cherry desk in the living room or the english chestnut hardwood floors in the living/dining room) or espresso, like everything in the family room and our bedroom. I took a few more pictures after tidying up when the kids went to bed!

    Our living and family rooms are probably the most representative of our style. We are also considering putting in some picture frame wainscotting in the entryway to class it up a bit : )

    This kitchen pictures shows the light Navajo white on most of the room; Ivoire is on the far wall with the valence.





  • 11 years ago

    Any thoughts on this? If not Ivoire, what other color for the entry and hall?

  • 11 years ago

    I would need the colors to be slightly darker. I think that it would be much warmer feeling and not so stark compared to your red.

  • 11 years ago

    Why does every room need to be a different color?

  • 11 years ago

    They don't need to be different colors - we aren't trying for a patchwork look : ) The living/dining rooms are smaller and cozier and the darker Restrained Gold works well. I don't think it would work in the large, bright kitchen. The kitchen and family room colors are pretty close so you really can't tell a big difference, even when they are next to each other. I'm not opposed to repainting the kitchen, but wanted to bounce that idea off people with better sense of color than I have! So....use the same Ivoire that is in the family room to do the entry and hall and possibly the kitchen? Thanks for your help!

  • 11 years ago

    I like the warmer colors as well, but don't have much to suggest. I am hoping some more of our very talented folks will comment. I think you have a lovely home and I do think a stronger color than the ivoire would be good.

  • 11 years ago

    Bump

  • 11 years ago

    Looking again at the photos, and re-reading- at first I didn't see the difference between the ivoire and white in the kitchen. I am thinking that the ivoire does look good, but maybe a color a bit more intense or deeper (wondering if ivoire is on a color strip maybe to go down a notch on the color strip?)/ I think it's good because it's light but does complement the cabinetry and the other colors in the house. I still think I would like just a bit more color though which is why I am suggesting ivoire amped up a notch.

  • 11 years ago

    I agree with sheilaaus122 that your house can handle more color. I tried both the Ivoirie and the Restrained Gold with the Kilim Beige in the SW visualizer and they didn't clash on my monitor. I think that you would like your cabinets better with the Restrained Gold on the walls. I also agree with grapefruit that a darker color would be better with your red accent wall. You might also venture off of that paint strip and try a medium toned color that is not so "gold". SW San Antonio Sage might work with all of your colors.

  • 11 years ago

    Thanks, everyone! Like I said, I get paralyzed when it comes to color so I picked a paint strip and fear to venture off of it! Ha : ) Restrained Gold in the whole house would definitely be too much, although I'm intrigued that you all think that the family room should be something other than Ivoire. Blonde is one shade darker than Ivoire (and one lighter than Restrained Gold) but seems awfully yellowy to me. Does anyone have other ideas (San Antonio Sage looks nice) for a family room color and would I have too many colors on the first floor of the house (Restrained Gold in two rooms, Posh Red and something for the family room and Ivoire or something else for the kitchen)?

    What does that mean for the kitchen and hallway color? Should I go with Ivoire (darkened by 50%) or Blonde or Restrained Gold? Thanks again for your advice!

  • 11 years ago

    I have said this many times already, but SW Nomadic Desert is my new favorite neutral. I find that it goes with everything. I have used it with natural pine trim and white trim. It does not have any weird undertones.

    I think that it is one shade darker than Kilim Beige. I have Kilim Beige in a dark entry hall, otherwise it is too light for me. ( and I love light rooms)!

  • 11 years ago

    I really think you would like your cabinets better if they were set off by a darker, less yellow color.

  • 11 years ago

    I never considered using Kilim Beige, Nomadic Desert or Latte downstairs....you all gave me a lot to think about! I would have to talk my husband into repainting the entire first floor but I really love all of the colors on that strip. Thank you for all of your help!