Finding the right pro for you is a process and you need to find one that LISTENS to you. Do you have any friends whose homes you admire that can give you a lead? Builder Showcase homes cam also be a source. Also, I have a friend who has had a lot of luck with a designer at Ethan Allen. My friend isn’t the type to run around town looking for a less expensive pillow and prefers one stop shopping. Her EA designer handles rugs to furniture to custom drapes. My point is that you need to figure out what is best for you.

I’d start with painting the whole house a neutral that will go with anything...say a creamy white. Down the road, you can always repaint a room or two. It’s much easier to paint an empty space. Another option is to come up with a color pallet (could use a color consultant), but your furniture, rugs etc will have to be selected appropriately, which is harder. Thought link might be helpful and see app references, which may be worth trying out.

https://thegempicker.com/how-to-pick-the-right-color-palette-for-your-interior/

When you say calling in the pros, ie: electrician, get them in sooner than later, if their work is not dependant on your style choices and furniture placement. For example, hold off on installing a dining room chandelier.

Furnishing and accessorizing is going to be a huge undertaking especially under Covid conditions. Narrow down inspiration pictures and concentrate on one room/open area. (Only the open areas have to work together and bedrooms can be vastly different). There will be lots of decisions: sizes, placement, flow, style, color, fabrics, quality, budgeting, etc. Lots of misses/returns, etc. If you have the confidence and time, start with one room and see how it goes. As highly suggested by others, this is where a pro would be so beneficial.

- Prepare a list of important questions and ask to see examples of their work. Pick someone who has the style you are drawn to; ask for references and call one or two previous clients.

- Based on the fee structure, you may be able to only get help with the bigger, important items and decisions; ie: you deal with lamps, cushions, art, curtains, etc. which are easy to experiment with and return if necessary. It’s also safer for you during Covid as these items can be ordered as you don’t have to test out.

- He/she will want to view the space and show them your inspiration pictures. They should come back with choices/options, recommended furniture, layout, fabrics, etc. By now, the designer should have had a good feel of what you like, so it should be fairly easy decisions.

Good luck!

I really appreciate Jan and the other pros here. They are awesome.

I'm not a pro. But, I was in lavender's shoes, knew I needed help... and I hired someone who seemed reasonable to start helping me with one room. I won't go into it all, but I had just about the same result as lavender did. Money out the window; no actual designing took place, the things they offered me ("mood boards" and fabric samples...) were fine but they weren't "me." So,back to the drawing board.

And that's how I came to find Gardenweb, now Houzz. To me, it was more important that I LOVE every purchase, every room, and I wanted to choose things myself, after exhaustive shopping. We are all different. And I realize now, we never could have afforded to purchase all furniture, paint, electrical, molding that I wanted, drapes, etc., all at once. It wasn't going to happen!!!

It's not necessarily the cost of the designer, but the big cost of doing that all at once that really wasn't in the cards for me.

If you have the budget for all the rooms you want to do, then I totally agree with Jan, you should get yourself a good designer. Why don't you share your budget here with us?

For me, I enjoy the process so much, that I would drive a designer crazy. So, (I have and continue to) become a DIY'er, obsessing over photos and design blogs, and I come here to learn from others, like the pros. First, you gotta reveal what your style is... then provide the room dimensions and function.... and there IS help here. If you're not in a big hurry to do the whole house at once.

I'm here to say, yes you can start one room at a time. Take a photo of the room and tell us how the room is going to be used. Then give us your preferences, casual, transitional, modern, traditional, etc. Then give us some idea of what you like for colors and accessories. One step at a time, it can be done, and then move on to the next project. You need to help us understand your needs. Maybe you can look at a few photos on Houzz and show us an idea of how you would like to live.

If you already get great comments about your home, but you're not completely satisfied with it, why not start with the room you're most happy with and let us help you tweak it? Once that is behind you, and you feel you've accomplished something, pick another room to tackle. Your own confidence will grow as you move room to room. By the time the last room is finished, you may decide to come back to the first room and dig in a little more with a bigger project. Start in that one room and make a list. Furniture you love and will keep goes on one side of the list. The pieces you don't like and want to remove or replace go on the other side. Then, remove what you don't think you want any more and start to get a new vision of the room without those items. That will help you have a clear eye about the direction you want to take the room.

OP, the place to start with an interior designer is through referrals. Ask around to your friend group to see who they may have hired and had a good experience with. Did you like the job that was done on their house? 90% of my jobs come from referrals from previous clients or from general contractors who had a good experience working with me. Calling someone at random even though they may have good reviews, doesn't usually bode well.

And if you don't have any local friends who have used a designer, look up options on this site in your geography on the Find Professionals tab and get two or three of them to do an initial consultation so you can see if you click with any of them. Even if you have to do an outlay of $250-$300 each up front to pay for their initial consultations, it will be money well spent to get a better sense of who they are and how you'll work together. Then each of them should be able to do a proposal for design time after that initial meeting. Furniture costs would be separate, but most should be able to give you a range per room.

If I were you, I would not hire a designer at this time. After your prior experience, you do not need more anxiety. There is so much information here on Houzz and other sites and blogs that you can tap into when you have questions. Choose one room to start with and use it to build your own confidence.

The OP has a ton ofposts all over the map with no plan whatsoever . She nneds a designer or she will never have the house done. I agree there is one out there just for you but it might take a wahile to find THE one. If you get all pissy about the help yu get here there will be no help for free. IMO I stick with what I said start by having all the walls painted one color. It all starts with one decision.

Jan and Patricia are correct!! Anyone who gets this overwhelmed needs professional help. Do you have any friends who’s homes you love? Ever pic up a magazine? Even Pottery Barn will come to your home. Alabaster and accessible beige are both beautiful soothing colors by sherwin Williams. You can totally go room by room, but if you can afford it, would be nice to have a plan and buy as you can. What town are you in? There are a million ID in most towns. Find a good one. I would never put up with a man who barely spoke! Ridiculous. You should’ve figured that out in your first meeting. Personalities matter.

Here is the catch:

The single biggest "skill" a good designer will posses is not the most obvious. It's actually a sense of his/her client. A good pro is a bit of a chameleon.

I can enter a house, and within five minutes, know who I "have" . Welcoming, not so welcoming, a talker, a listener. Someone timid, or boldly outgoing and anxious to GET going. Someone who has to ask the "boss" for permission to spend a nickel, or someone in charge. On It goes : )

Whether room by room, or the entire shebang, the process is still rather room by room. By the time a project is finished? A designer is one of two things: Nearly a part of the family, or the "help".........dying to finish and be gone. The middle ground often seems not to exist. Why is that? Maybe it's because people tend not to tell you who they are, more often, they show you.

Communication: A designer afraid to tell you "No.......don't think you will love that, or nice, but too big, or nice....not the feel we're going for, is it?" .........is not really your "friend". A designer with a skin so thin that a "No, HATE IT" from you elicits pouting and some huffy huffy ? Nope.

it's never JUST about the talent or skill. ( designer ability ) or the lack of same in a client, or even a shared passion and great eye in a client.

Five years ago I looked at a project. Lovely/charming client, lovely home, resources to accomplish all she wanted and blah blah blah SUPER!. When I left, her cheerful wave in my rear view mirror.......I GRIMLY muttered to myself.: "You don't have her, she didn't get it.......did not" I came home, did an hour of click drag on the Mac for two bedrooms - wrote a nice little "thank you blah blah . but I feel you may have missed my drift - here's the "feel"........................crossed two fingers and hit send.

This client hasn't been out of my files in five years. Multiple hones in three locales, and one project leads to another. The trust goes both ways, extends even to hubby "What'd Jan say?" and she has an "annoying" habit of mailing checks before I invoice after begging PLEASE WAIT FOR AN INVOICE......

The point is that two way street, in an abstract process that can seem exactly that. Abstract.!! Until some wonderful,/ dance on the ceiling happy, happens to YOU and your home : )

This isn't to convince you or anyone else to get help. It's simply the truth of "doctors and their patients " , many times.

Happy Holidays.

There is truth to all of this. I am not a professional and never had a desire to decorate. Then I found myself in a position to update a home. I was able to visualize all the spaces until now - - the living room and a dining room turned glorified mud room.

It was a grueling process to find a kitchen designer willing to carry-out our needs and wants. The fifth was an older gentleman who was flexible from years of experience.

I just let go of a second professional for the living room project and meeting with the third tomorrow.

There are different ways to approach a project. Unless I have a visual to work with from the start, I don't want to shop for furniture until I spend some time in the room after the floor is refinished.

I'd be thrilled to have one person to work with the rest of my life.

Thank you for all the answers. Based on many answers and varying opinions, I have listed the options I have.

1. find a good designer who can take over and do my entire home.
2. Decorate on my own with help from houzz
3. Get an in-store designer ( pottery barn, etc)
4. Continue on with the design on my current dining as presented by the online designer, and see how it looks when done. It might drive me one way or the other.
5. Paint the entire house one color and then do one of the above.

The first option is very attractive. When I look at some of the gorgeously designed interiors, I believe those designers do have a magic touch with all their expertise. That’s why I have been running after this option and trying different avenues. Maybe I did it wrong, but I started by having designers come over for an initial consultation ( I had a total of 3) but when it didn’t click I didn’t hire them. One of them was a designer who only charged a small deposit, but no designer fee , she said she would make money off of what I would buy from her that she would put in her design. She put together a proposal which went twice over our agreed upon budget and wasn’t looking any good either.

The other one was too expensive and was asking for half the money upfront. The third was too quiet .

Then I stopped having more people over, but just went by reviews and media and hired someone for only one room, who asked for payment before we would meet. That I did. when we met, it was a brief meeting and design process with very few answer questions or discussions. The rest I have told.

My perception of a good designer is something like this: ( something like Jan Moyer mentioned)

-Someone who can :

-understand what I want and if I am confused, to gently steer me in the right direction.

-communicate a lot, ask me lot of questions and answer my questions too.

-be able to guide me what is a realistic budget for what I want.

-tell me What I should splurge on and what I can save money on.

-find me items of good value for money

-also decorate not just with furniture and accessories but also lighting, different kinds of lighting which creates different moods.

Maybe this is too much to ask for. I have realized they may be out of my budget and /or they will require a very heavy budget for the project. ( especially since I have already spent some money on this and my husband is now getting annoyed why my designers cannot come up with a good plan/decor/layout... he wouldn’t be very happy if I decided to keep looking and throwing in more money with unreliable results. He also thinks I don’t value my own opinion enough and always looking to have some validation from a designer before I like something. That used to be partly true. if something looked good to me before, I ll be influenced and stop liking it if a designer discarded it . now I am trying to get out of this mindset, as I have seen there are many widely different opinions on what is good even among designers)

I am not sure how much I should expect to pay for the designer fees, and what kind of a budget a good designer can work with. In the past, when I contacted the ones Whose project pictures I really liked , they said they don’t take on a project where the budget is less than $100,000.

Reconciling to this fact, I decided to go inexpensive route and bought the online design package for dining room. Simultaneously I thought I could get help from houzz, therefore my other posts on foyer etc.

The online package had various very nice project pictures and reviews were also excellent. They are the ones who just now designed my dining room. I became excited because it was looking good. The lamp pic I posted was in their design. ( I did think she had spent frivolous money on accessories like candlesticks for $700) and I was planning on executing the final plan with some small changes in accessories. I was hoping to post pics of the final design here and get some opinions too.

For my bedroom , I needed only smaller items like drapes, nightstands etc, and I was thinking of looking at items online from RH, Ethan Allen , pottery barn, Mitchel gold etc and then having their designer suggest .

For the living room, I was thinking of either of the two. Online design package , or store designer.

However, after I started this post on houzz, my confidence and excitement waned, After hearing I should dump the online design and that I should stop posting questions on houzz and it will be useless since I m not going anywhere, and I have a ton of posts... I am kind of back on square one.

Now I am thinking what if I do all the above ( online, store designer, on my own etc) and after that there really is no flow in the house, it looks horrendous, and all the money gone into buying things is wasted.

Now which option do I pick from here?

To find a designer again, I have no close friends who have used a designer. My friend and neighbour decorated her house herself and she has a flair for it, and I say that because her house looks nicely decorated. She mixes and matches good and inexpensive stuff, and can pull it off. Her sectional is from Ethan Allen but bought a complementing coffee table from target!! Her dining table is from Ethan Allen and she bought matching chairs for $100 each on wayfair!

Personally, I am not even sure what is the right and reasonable budget to spend on house decor. Everything has to be in perspective looking at our future needs , with 4 kids etc.

Maybe that’s what’s I should figure out first. Not just affordability right now, but also if it’s the right thing to do. I really like and appreciate good decor, and love browsing houzz pictures, but I don’t necessarily have to have that great of a decor to be content or happy.

I think I should think this through more , discuss with my husband, and then decide.

And yes, the decision to paint one color is a good one and I like uniformity. But then I am not sure which color to pick. What would go with my beige marble? Or with the cream and black cabinets in the kitchen? That’s when the other option of having someone over just for color coordination seemed good and affordable. Or questions on houzz.

Also I know many designers hate wall to wall flooring, and our bedroom and living ( that we have now switched to family room) is wall to wall, wool carpet. Each time I think of replacing it with stone or hardwood, my heart sinks because I would lose all the comfort it provides me. I can sit anywhere on my bedroom floor, lay my prayer rug to pray, and some days when I am tired after night shift at work, and my daughter wants to do her work in my room, she can lay her stuff on the floor and do it comfortably. My kids can pop in my room and want to play or want me to give them a fast whirring spin , I don’t have to tell them NO because the floor is hard or the rug laid on the floor is not big enough for that. For me these are priceless moments. I am sure I don’t want to give them up for design and decor as I know childhood passes quickly and before I know it, the kids will be grown and gone.

Thank you for all the answers, appreciate the time you took to reply. I would discuss with my husband and maybe settle on a decision soon.

It's true that hiring a designer is not an inexpensive proposition. My minimum retainer is $10K, and that's not including the cost of furniture.

Be realistic about how much you're willing to spend. The in-store designers at Pottery Barn, Room & Board, Restoration Hardware, etc. are actually a great option, if furniture and color decisions are all you really need.

The downside to that option is that your home starts to look like a showroom, filled with pieces only from that one retail store. In that case, doing the e-decorating thing is actually an interesting idea. My company does this (for anyone, anywhere): you provide the measurements and photos of the spaces, tell us how much you're willing to spend per room on furniture, and we do a flat feel per room. You get a space plan, a "look and feel", paint colors, and a curated shopping list for you to do the purchasing yourself in your own time. ETA: for decorating, only. Not kitchen or bath remodeling.

For the love of swiss cheese....what do you need done! Post some photos.

It's NOT" too much to ask for" IF:

You agree to the number of options you will be shown,

Agree to stay OFF the internet comparing pricing etc....and substituting. This means TRUST, and you allow that person to make a living. stay out of the discount joints too.

Do not be obsessed with "she made ______$$$ !! .WHAT YOU WANT IS QUALITY/SPLURGE WHERE IT MATTERS, Most importantly you want to love the result.

The reason designers don't want extremely restricted budgets? It is much harder, much more time consuming to deliver great ........repeat time consuming. We'd find ourselves better off at Burger King : )

It all should only hurt once, When you pay. It should not hurt every time you enter a room. So its actually a lot like having a BABY. AND GOOD DOCTORS ARE OUT THERE. TRUST ME ON THAT LOL

I am at a loss to understand why you're being scolded and lectured in some of these responses. If you've had previous threads asking for help, I'm not aware of it, but in this thread you want to know whether you can work on one room at a time. All I can say is of course you can! It's your home, you're in control.

For the designers: what is the range of budget you have worked with , say for the whole house or for a room? I mean what number you tell them they should be willing to spend, below which you will not take up a project because it won’t turn out to be good.

@lavender12145 Here's what I tell my clients who have never worked with a designer: go to Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware's web site and price out all the furniture you think you need. Then at least double that cost if you're working with a designer who has access to trade-only goods, assuming you're customizing the fabrics. You'd then have to add probably another 10 to 15% for rugs, accessories, lighting, and window treatments.

If you're remodeling, it's a different story. Designer fees will run roughly 10 to 15% of the cost of construction. Rule of thumb for budgeting: 60% construction, 30% materials, 10% design fees. (Usually, the smaller the project, the higher the designer fees. It costs the same in terms of time to design a 150 sf kitchen as it would a kitchen twice that size.)

Thank you for your input! Good way to measure the cost . I am thinking it would come to be upwards of $30,000 per room.

WHOA NELLIE.!!!

I love a generous budget. ..........but I can honestly say that unless this is a totally new home, empty rooms, ( ie a new location, second home ) .........

Are you telling us there is nothing in these rooms you like enough to keep? Nothing to recover........nothing sentimental, collected NADA/

I recently had a client downsize. She said " I am married to NOTHING!, " But having done her larger home 15 years ago? Knowing she was still married to the same man? I did not take that comment seriously.

Long story short? We kept a great deal of the former furnishings and art. We splurged on a few fabulous fabrics,,,re framing, re upholstery. We bought a new luxurious sofa, recovered one. A new leather Wing chair, new rugs.

Bottom line, including QUITE a bit of my design time ( the tighter the budget, the more it goes up ) ...................we did the entire master bedroom, great room, dining room , den, kitchen decor, enclosed porch on roughly 70 k.

Why did I do that? Because a totally UN familiar home is not as great as you think. It looks.........canned, a bit all off the truck at once if you will for lack of a better explanation. . The best is almost always a blend of new into existing. A room NEEDS the does it go....something a bit "off to make it come alive. I call that the perfect accident versus the studied creation of some tension.

You may say I am insane, Yes, I could profit more highly perhaps and often willing do just that, when it is appropriate. But the most exciting, comforting space comes from leaving some you in the new.

PS........she is in love with her new space as is the hubby who did his usual panic on even REFRESH lo.

hello all, I am starting back on this post. I was overwhelmed for sometime as it seemed I really was going nowhere and not able to handle all the decisions . I considered hiring a designer as per the strong suggestions here. But after thinking over it, the final conclusion is that the path to finding the right one will be expensive and out of my budget. ( I know Jan Moyer and Patricia among others have told me I can bring nothing to fruition without the help of an in-house designer but seriously that’s my budget constraint.

With a little bit more strength and resolve to actually get something done this time, I am back here. Please answer or critique as able if you’d like.

1. I decided to have the whole main floor painted one new color as the first step. I looked at the various color options and scheduled a color consultation with sherwin Williams ( which is in 2 days) I arranged for a few painting companies guys to come in for an estimate. The first one who came told me that because of the Venetian plaster that I have on the main floor, I can choose to have the paint on top of it, or have it sanded down for a cleaner look. The second option would be double the price . He gave me a quote for around $15,000 (and he is the cheaper one) He also gave me his opinion to leave the walls as they are and not to do anything to them!

I am suspecting the original painters who have been doing this house for previous owners would be charging upwards of $20,000. (they r coming tomorrow for an estimate) Now I am really not going to spend this much money on just the first step.

Here are the questions running in my mind:

1. How would a clean white paint look on top of Venetian plaster? ( to cut costs).

I have read one must stay away from that as white doesn’t look good on textured wall.

2. Maybe a fresh paint color isn’t even going to make a difference. The floor marble is beige. The pillars, and the fireplace all beige. And the existing paint color ( not sure what is the name of the color ) starts off lighter and then becomes darker. Sometimes it seems that it’s going well and looks cohesive. I looked up houzz and saved some pictures in home interior idea book, and it seemed many houses with beige floor had similar color on walls rather than white and looked nice. But true that in my home, it’s not uniform in whole of main floor.

I also tried the Visualize paint app. White didn’t look that good with the marble .

Posting pics. ( this is my third time posting so I ll be posting them in next few messages in more than one go, as my message keeps disappearing with all the pictures)

( pics are only meant for showing interior color, so please don’t get put off by the furniture etc, as I will work on that later. Also they were taken in various points in time , while rearranging furniture and also before we swapped out our living room for family room, just FYI in case you get confused with same furniture in different spots)

Entrance:

Hallway: in different lights

More of Hallway :

family room:

Closeup of wall texture

Houzz is not letting me post more than 3 pics in one message:

living room:

Closeup of wall:

I am not disliking my house interior color that much now. But it’s not one color Though I think the color family is the same. I am surprised though because the previous owner had a designer and worked with selected vendors for years. I do think the living room is too dark with dark hardwood , and dark paint. What do you all think? If I can lighten the living room up with furniture and drapes , I d be happy. I know as much as I want to, I can’t just change the wall color in living room to white because even though it’s not fully open concept , the adjoining areas can be seen and with darker paint there , it would be a design blunder (I think)

Also because I am in Chicago, I read for winter climates white is not the best choice. I am not sure how much significant this point is As I have seen so many Chicago homes done in white.

So this was about the paint.

(I did not post formal dining or my bedroom

Pic as I do want to change the paint in dining ( possibly bedroom) to a white. I hate the existing mango color there ! I will come to that after this is resolved, as step by step decision making,)

Hello. It's beautiful, amethyst and deep green -- gem colors fine with your walls? Even a rug in the purple.

Here's similar to yours: Go for a second jewel tone. In this living room, a purple velvet sofa joins the green velvet chair. Using the same kind of fabric twice helps the room feel coordinated without reducing the power of the punchier shade. A plant to complement the green.

Bergsgatan 27 · More Info

Searching for pro help doesn't preclude talking on houzz, gathering as you did, photos with your typed comments to view later....

so I wonder if you lack office space - what room is on the other side of the computer area?

A good article, and more, on houzz:

Those photos you’ve collected can convey that information for you. Look at the characteristics that pop up again and again: the style of furnishings, the color palettes, the patterns, the materials, the quantity of furniture in each room. Let those characteristics guide you. Most people have a basic comfort level, Homesley says. They know what kinds of rooms they like to be in and what kinds they don’t like to be in. Although it’s good to venture outside your comfort zone every now and then, it’s unlikely that you’ll enjoy living in a minimalist contemporary space if your natural predilection is for farmhouse style. So trust your instincts. If you love a piece of upholstered furniture but hate its fabric, it can be reupholstered. Wood pieces can be painted or stained. Objects can be repurposed.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/decorating-101-how-to-start-a-decorating-project-stsetivw-vs~26609229

I wish a houzzer could talk/ post with you for 10 minutes at a time.

Palette no. 2 --

Seeing this room's natural color walls, like yours? the hunter green is nice, and could for some mix of style, include hot turquoise, done carefully, if you love the colors together however.

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Chinese Semi Gloss Green Wood Plain 4 Drawers Side Table Hcs5811 · More Info

Olive Green Linen 12"x16" Lumbar Cushion Covers Feather - Peacock Masquerade · More Info

Chinese Oriental Distressed Flower Black Low TV Console Cabinet Hcs5771 · More Info

Your leather -- adding red?

Barly Arm Chair 02 · More Info

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Chinese Distressed Olive Green Red Graphic Low TV Console Table Cabinet · More Info

Thank you so much for all your comments. I read all of them and will answer.

I read the houzz post too! thanks for sharing. But i am taking it a step at a time so first want to decide the paint color of the house. ( maybe I should have started a new post titled “interior paint” but wanted continuity so reposted in same post. sorry if I confused you!

I am inclined to keeping the paint as is except the living room , dining and bedroom. but wanted to see what others would say. And whether it’s acceptable as how it is right now.

behind the desk ( not sure if I posted a pic) is the powder room.

I used to love purple and had my eye on this mgbw couch. but now I am thinking if it wouldn’t flow with the new decor that I want I will move it in the basement . Also, I don’t like a lot of color. In retrospect I should have purchased a neutral couch with pillows on color to accessorize. I guess the purple would Be ok if there was a lot of whites everywhere else in the room. But I am not focusing on the living room right now.

I like my green chairs too, but side by side with purple I don’t like them at all!

I do want a rug but I m

thinking neutral Solid color.

after I finalize if I m doing anything to interior paint or keeping as is, ( i want to decide in a couple to few days) will work on my dining room. That I have a better idea of what I want. I will post pics here too.

Why not bring in the cooler neutral too - whether greys, pewter, soft black?

close-up of a green chair, wall, floor -- wall might blend with these pretty colors, and not nec. florals -

New Classic Designer Arm Chair · More Info

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Thank you. Yes I will think about all the options for furniture once my paint color is decided upon. I am not good at all with getting stuff done and with analysis to paralysis but this time I just want to move forward quickly and without aiming for perfection.

yes the drapes are custom (silk? I think) drapes but I don’t like color .. orange with brown and more brown ..

my plan :

1. Decide paint color On main floor.

2. Start dining room ( need paint, chandeliers, drapes and accessories-already have table and buffet. Not changing chairs for now either)

if it turns out to my liking, will move on to my bedroom.

family room and living room after that.

I post color ideas so the paint can be chosen better...! For instance [and you're allowed to dislike mango room]... but if you want a Casablanca or tropical room -- idea of mine is to add greens... and so, would that make mango ok...

Junnell Leaf Arm Chair · More Info

I use to love rich colors and I still do but now more so in accessories only. I have noticed that the designs I like have more neutral furniture , and some color elsewhere . At one point I loved mgbw catalogues , I think I m kind of growing out of it.

Windows' many white 'frames' --- how about soft white curtains to blend? maybe then soft white rug even? might make wall color seem better...

you're on to DR, but I'll try to recall yours: "I guess the purple would Be ok if there was a lot of whites everywhere else in the room. But I am not focusing on the living room right now...."

Or -- Annie Sloan: "Wall Paint contains ingredients that make it very durable. It doesn’t have the same breathability as Chalk Paint®.

If you are painting over lime plaster or other finishes that require a breathable paint, we recommend you use Chalk Paint... It gives a wonderful texture and matt look. A brush will add depth and texture to the final finish. You can then wax the wall or leave it – bedroom walls look great with a soft, matte unwaxed finish."

... create endless possibilities. Most of Annie’s colours do not contain black pigment which can muddy colours when mixing; so you can combine hues without worry of dirtying your final colour.

If you want to make a colour paler, add Old White or Pure.

https://www.anniesloan.com/faqs/#wall-paint-faqs

I sometimes see to pull the lightest color from a countertop (your floor) for a backsplash color. (your painted walls).

One of the issues in the living room is the mismatched trim. There's white baseboard and the ceiling trim is in a dark hue. I am assuming that you're painting the ceiling trim - white.

You probably need to go with some kind of off white or cream for the living room. I think you can upload pics to BM or SW and play around.

Thank you everdebz. Didn’t know about anniesloan. I ll ask the two paint guys who r coming today about it.

I can have the trim painted white. There’s a little bit of detailing with kind of gold beading. i tried to play around with a paint app though it wasn’t bm or sw. I ll try them today.

Her company isn't a small one, I think. Did they know of it? They say it's 'forgiving' and easy to use.

Yes so the two different paint guys came. Seriously it was such a long meeting as we had to show them the whole main floor and basement as well. I forgot to ask them about Annie Sloan. But i sent them a message later on and they will get back to me about it when they are ready to give estimate. There was a long discussion about the various options and basically they told me that if I Want to get rid of the Venetian plaster , they will do a “skim coat” on it. like dry wall , as sanding would be too laborious .

so now I have some homework to do to figure out what I want done. I m looking for more pictures and opinions on how white or off white interior looks with beige marble .

both said that crisp white won’t look good but off white or cream would. One of them left a color palette book with me to go over.

I need professional help with choosing paint color. SW is doing free online consultation. I don’t know how good they are. I have tried to buy “kyle m interiors” online color consultation package but they r only available certain days a week and I keep missing them!

But basically I will hire someone for color consultation and go from there.

it’s been really helpful at houzz as I got direction from here where to go and how to approach. even though I have really procrastinated long enough but

At least now it looks like I m going somewhere!

That's great ! Yes the stark white we might associate with home appliances... doesn't seem warm enough, especially for the amount of tan/beige you have.

My progress with whole house : today’s updates :

1. in the middle of choosing one paint color for entire main floor . got virtual

color consultation from sherwin Williams , went to their store and picked up samples and tried them on the wall. Didn’t look good so now looking for a color design consultant as I know I can’t go far without doing that!

2. did the basement layout. lined things up in order to be done. Planned for relocating the gym equipment to another area in the basement. Making space for kids play area/ craft/ my daughters art wall / kids tv / gaming area. etc.

3. called the plumber to replace the 3 toilets on the main floor.

4. purchased 3 Toto drakes.

5. Went to home depot to choose carpet for kids area. Measurements already done by them.

6. painters to give quotes on paint. Once color decided, will have the main floor done.

7. also added girls room inspiration pics to my ideabooks and showed to my daughters.

Then next line of steps.

ok... one step...or bunch of steps at a time.

What are the names of the color samples from SW?

Yes these are all the prelim steps before the actual design etc. the colors are heron plume on right and and pure white on left. Pure white is equivalent to chantilly lace by BM. It seems to be a v popular color but looks like doesn’t go well with brownish /beige marble.