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how do I make my paint look less blue !

Chi Condo
4 years ago

We just painted our place SW Nebulous White and the trim is SW Snowbound. The floors are a dark walnut/ebony. The whole place looks baby blue! All recessed ceiling lighting is daylight bulbs. We have yet to get furniture.

Comments (22)

  • Chi Condo
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Of course looking for options other than re-painting.

  • Olychick
    4 years ago

    Does the paint match the chip? Any chance it was mis-mixed? It's quite nice, but if not what you want, I'd experiment with lighting. The red floor covering might be affecting the hallway color perception.

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Agree with Lori, it is really pretty, even though you see more blue than you were expecting. But just wait. You will have a change of "vision" when all your other elements are in place. Rugs, lamps, tables, sofa, chairs, art, drapery etc. I think this is a great color and I'm going to make a note of it. Never used it, but I love it.

  • Chi Condo
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    @lori a sawaya so if I incorporate more blue the blue goes away? My lightbulb is daylight, is that a good start ? We have yet to purchase update furniture as of yet so knowing this is a great help with that tip! We are looking at a dark gray couch, is that a no-no ?

  • Chi Condo
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    I also forgot to add. The mantel is painted SW cyberspace and we will also paint under the peninsula of the kitchen bar seating the same cyberspace color. Is this cyberspace color making the walls look blue? I swear I can’t tell colors anymore as i get older, sometimes I see navy blue in the mantel color

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    You will need to bring fabric samples home to check out fabric color with the wall color. There are hundreds of "grays" so get some samples in a variety of different colors and textures. LazyBoy will let you take samples out and they have some pretty good sofas made in USA with a new collection of fabrics that I have found really nice. Get in on their "sales" and that is a good value. I would be tempted to get some caramel, coppery tones and see how those work.

  • Chi Condo
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    @flo mangan good to know!! I was just going to order online without doing samples! Yikes!

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Oh no! Always get samples! I just did a quick search here on Houzz and this photo came up. Not sure what your design style is, but this is a little quirky but really adaptable. Silvers and blues and deep indigos! Could be stunning.

    Manhattan · More Info

    Here's another one.

    Reed St · More Info


  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Most on like suppliers will get you samples if you ask. Ethan Allen is another source. Not sure where you are, but spend some time looking at more than one place.

  • Chi Condo
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Both picture examples are great and up my alley for style and inspiration. The first picture I can definitely see how the wall looks blue and gray pending the shadowing. We have a lot of gold hardware items I’d like to keep so the dark navy rich jewel tones of blue I’m very attracted to and could live with for furniture or accent furniture. Just definitely not our ‘baby blue’ walls :(

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    You can do this. Blues, especially rich blues are very popular right now. Look around on Houzz for photos and create an "ideabook" here to put the ones you like. You can add notes to each photo to say what you like in the photo. When you go back, you will see trends and that really helps identify what you want. Just do key word searches in "photos". It's fun!

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    No Cyberspace is great color. I used it many times. It will be great. I did a family room with navy blue leather sectional and cyberspace accent wall. They had an antique oak-like buffet that looked spectacular with these colors. I see you have set up two ideabooks, so just start loading photos into those. Maybe make one "living room ideas"; one "kitchen ideas", etc.

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    That picture of your fireplace surround says it all. Look at how the natural light makes the right side dark and the left side so much lighter than the true color. Lighting will make a big difference and you don't have the plastic pulled off the windows yet I don't think, so relax, it will all come together! We are here to help!

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Sadly, the strips on the SW paint deck don't necessarily relate to each other. So each color has to be considered on it's own. You can't pick a color from just a "chip". That is just the beginning. You need larger sample (I use samplize.com) and place in your room at all different times of the day. I sometimes even get 4 samples so I have a large look at a color. I never advise to paint sample on existing walls. Big problem. So, you can work with this color and it is quite neutral, or go to the expense of repainting. Your choice. Low E windows also affect how a color looks in a space, so many variables. Nebulous White has an LRV (light reflective value) of 75, (100 most reflective of light) so it is not real reflective. I also note that this color is in the Green/Yellow Hue Family, so another clue about its color. It is in warm segment. So, as you can see, there is a lot about color that is known, but not promoted in most paint stores. More and more of this information is being made available as it is more widely distributed.

  • cawaps
    4 years ago

    I would start with the lighting. It won't help at all times of day, because daylight is still daylight, but warmer lamp temperatures (with a good color rendering index, above 90, as Lori notes) could really tone down the baby blue in the evening under artificial light.


    But definitely, getting furnishings into the room will change how you see the color, so it is too early to panic.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    4 years ago

    I know the numbers. I also know that OP is not wrong because the numbers don't agree with her.

    She is seeing baby blue and it isn't because of lighting. It is because the color is blue. 10 years from now when the OP looks at her walls she will still see blue.


    If I were looking for a blue white which white would you suggest? I can look at the fan deck, know without a lick of analysis that Rhinestone is the bluest white. You won't find a white that measures bluer than Rhinestone, which is just barely over 10GY (144).

    CIE-L*Ch(ab) = 89.015 0.763 146.962°


    So given that none of the whites measure out as a blue white, most don't even get over a 5GY, so they are more yellow than green, does this mean the SW has only one or two cool whites and all the rest are warm whites and that they have no blue whites?


    To understand what is going to be seen by our OPs we have to go beyond the hue and note the Light and Chroma. The lower the Chroma the more neutral gray and the more gray the more people see blue. We perceive gray as blue.


    What I don't want is for this OP to be lulled into a feeling of safe or thinking that she is somehow flawed and unable to perceive color, but seeing blue for the next 10 years until she finally decides to paint again and this time picks a white with more saturation that doesn't look baby blue on her walls.

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    The fact is there are very few blue whites Rhinestone being a great example. Of course, Chroma and Hue are key factors. So, then it boils down to the eyeball perception of the owner and lighting and other elements in the space. I feel badly that you Chi Condo didn’t consult here before you selected paint. My assumption is you don’t have funds to repaint so I am trying to help you make it work. But final choice is up to you. I can make color recommendations for you if you decide to repaint. I have been Certified as Color Specialist from Lori Sawaya’s Four Pillars of Color Course. Hope you can get the look you want and feel great in your new place.

  • mscole88
    2 years ago

    We chose Nebulous White for our home because of what we thought was a gray undertone, however, turns out it has a blue undertone and we had the entire 1st floor done in this color. UGH!!! That's lot of money spent to not be satisfied with the outcome.

  • Jennifer Hogan
    2 years ago

    mscole88 - So sorry this happened. I do wish that there was a better way to help people not make these costly mistakes.

  • Shawna
    2 years ago

    It’s a calming color that will be a good neutral for when you bring in your furniture. I’d live with it and see if it grows on you.

  • PRO
    Mary Signore
    8 months ago

    I’m having the same problem!!! I bought SW ice cube thinking it was a white with soft gray tone. It’s baby blue! HELP. What color furnishings will offset to make the rooms look more white/gray. Is there such a thing?