You will get better responses if you post the photos here in the comments, lots of people are leery of clicking external links.

You also need to indicate what in the photo is yours and what is just stuff that came with the sale, and is any of that precious to you.

Thank you. I was worried about posting too many photos, but I've now included some of them below. Nothing is sacred. Won't hurt my feelings. If it does, I'll man up and lie. :) I'm primarily looking for color ideas to paint as that seems the biggest impact for the cost, and cost is an issue. But I am very grateful to receive any suggestions.

One more question in addition to those posed in my original post: In the 5th photo below, the bedroom/office, would SW Sea Salt look okay with that Oak furniture?

Thanks,

Randy.

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I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is there a more appropriate place to ask for help? I really need help. What can I do?

As Connie says editing is key. Remove the things that came with the house that aren’t your taste. Remove the curtains. Remove wallpaper and prime the walls white. Then you will have a neutral palette to start adding things back into

I was struggling withe same issue. colours have a lot to do with lighting. I am using classic grey as my main colour and just decided to use agreeable grey as well Was going to use balboa mist and watching it throughout the day it is turning a little too purple. I like a little purple to add character however prefer the agreeable grey. What exposure of sunlight are you contemplating the agreeable grey? Mine is a north facing room with barely any light and it works on three of the walls. I may be using classic grey on the one wall only going into the kitchen. The agreeable grey will be in the north facing dining room and south facing living room. The rest of the house will be classic grey. The red brick is going. Not that great of a shot however it looks good. I like warmth as well. I tried 7 paint samples. you need to get a white Bristol board or prime some drywall and paint it Move it around and watch throughout the day. I feel your pain and hope this helps!

The green tile in the bathroom is assertive, and is bringing out the pink tones in that beige. If you want to stick with a neutral, you could go for something in the yellow hue family (I looked at Benjamin Moore Collingwood). Or you could embrace the green and go for a lighter or darker version of the same green.

BM Collingwood

BM Pacific Sea Teal

BM Emerald Vapor

I agree with the above to remove anything removable lol.
Remove shades. Wallpaper. Paneling ...
In the bathroom I’d paint the tiles white. Yes. Paint. Tiles. Search YouTube for tips and tricks.
I would not paint the trim dark. Definitely not iron ore lol
Oh can have rustic. And modern. Start with removal and decluttering. It’ll look great really soon.

yeah, Randy, I'm sure you don't want that floral wallpaper, do you? why not start with some slight demo first? remove all the paper, (all of it. on every wall) , remove decorative items, any furniture you aren't keeping, lights, wall art, dishes, knick knacks, etc.

once your purge, and then strip the walls, now you can prepare them for paint.

You're putting the cart before the horse on this one.

will you be changing any flooring? I see some original wood floors in the hallway and other rooms. I bet they're under all that carpet. Score! I'd have all of them refinished. you'll be amazed at how good they turn out.

if you want to paint, do the bathrooms. I don't mind your vintage Green. if you want ideas, go to Retro Renovation and take a look at the bathrooms from the 40s and 50's

I'd probably remove that current vanity and get a new one. (what's there isn't original to the house). you'd prob want something a little taller for you anyway, so look into replacing that.

as for the other rooms, wait until things are cleared out and your walls are prepped. do everything at once. How are the ceilings? can they be painted? (again, everything out of the rooms unless you want to cover everything and have an obstacle course while painting)

are you planning on bring in any of your own furniture? colors usually play off of that. it's easier to match paint colors to furniture than the other way around.

Great house, lucky you! Your grandparents has STYLE. 😍 But as pointed out above, their style may not be yours. I like Sherwin Williams Bittersweet Stem for a nice neutral if you don't want to go grey and I personally, don't want to go grey https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7536-bittersweet-stem

For the bath, I like @cawaps suggestions or if you want complimentary colors, learn about the color wheel https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/ and see if you like complimentary colors rather than shades of green.

BTW, why is there a chandelier in the family room? That may need to go.

Wow! Thank you to everyone for the suggestions. Sorry for delayed response: yesterday was eventful and I didn't get time to sit down.

A lot to explore. From @cawaps post, I realized that Sherwin Williams has a similar tool to paint photos, so that's helpful. I love those color ideas but haven't quite figured out how to convert those colors to similar on Sherwin Williams. Is there a conversion chart somewhere for color-challenged people like me? (Or is BM that much better?)

One common suggestion that I don't want to dismiss but is difficult is culling everything now. Wallpaper, curtains, etc. This is going to be a long process over a couple of years because of time & money availability, and I've already killed my back just stripping the wallpaper in the hall. I'd to focus on the public rooms first, hallway, bathroom, living & family rooms. And even that will be scattered about through this year.

@jet, you've got me wondering about my choice of Agreeable Gray for the hallway & possibly living & family rooms. Is it going to be too dark? I wanted something neutral but distant from white. Does it go too far? The hallway is the darkest place in the house. Both it and the living room are without windows, though it does spill in from adjoining rooms. The family is the brightest room in the house with east and west-facing windows. Will Agreeable Gray work throughout these rooms?

@HU-187528210, you mention not painting the trim dark. Is dark trim bad? What about light trim & dark doors? Is SW Iron Ore too dark for this? The hallway is a relatively dark area, so maybe it's too much? From pics I've seen browsing around, I did like the contrast of the darker doors. If I go light with the trim, can I move to something a little less white like SW Dover White or SW Alabaster? Does that work with SW Agreeable Gray?

@HU-187528210, on the paneling. I read that sheetrock mud can be used to remove those grooves and smooth the wall. Is this an acceptable way to clean that up? Or use wallcovering which can be painted over? I don't think I want to go as far as replacing it if I can avoid it.

@Beth H. : The floors are in pretty good shape. All the wood floors have been uncovered and redone about 10-15 yrs ago. They will need to be redone eventually, especially a few problem spots, but they are good for now. The vanity in the bathrooms is a definite sore spot. It definitely does not fit in and will be tackled at some point. And the ceilings: ugh. They have been kept nice and have been painted several times. But they are stippled and I hate that. I've seen popcorn removed, but not sure about removing stipple, especially with a few coats of paint on it. There are also a couple of areas (kitchen & family room of all places) where the tape is dropping off. I've no idea how to fix that short of replacing it.

Thanks again for all the posts. It's very helpful. Apologize for all the verbose questions. There's a lot I don't know. FInding colors for a quick touch-up is a lot more complicated than I expected.

Please clarify: are the photos current or from before you moved in? Did you inherit the house full of furniture or was it emptied before you moved in? The photos don't look like "one thing with the current scheme (inside and out) is too much white. Everything is painted white and I'm a bit burned out on it."

A popular method for choosing paint colors is to find an inspiration piece such as a colorful bowl or a printed pillow. Its colors are repeated throughout the house. Lighter or darker variations on the same shade give flexibility. There is no need to change woodwork trim colors in each room. A recipe for colors in a room is 60% main color, 30% secondary color, and 10% accent color. https://www.thespruce.com/timeless-color-rule-797859

In the basement of my house, the previous owners applied paintable wallpaper over the paneling. It's done so well, I didn't realize it was paneling until I nailed a picture hanger into it. I have no idea what they used but here's blog on a person who did it.

https://supernovaadventures.com/2017/02/using-paintable-wallpaper-to-cover-wood-paneling/

Hi Randy
The original picture I sent is agreeable grey southern exposure on north wall. There is very little light in that room. I took a few more shots for for you. The first one is agreeable grey with western exposure. The next two are in the bathroom with no natural light only warm artificial light. The second one is balboa mist and the third one is agreeable grey.

@apple_pie_order, The photos are current. I've been living here for years, actually, with my grandparents. My grandmother had Alzheimers and required a lot of assistance. I'm not completely trying to redo everything. My family spent many Christmas & thanksgiving dinners here over the years. I don't want it to be completely foreign when family happens by to see it. In some ways, I want to retain their spirit but freshen it up. Most of what you see there belonged to them.

The everything white is referring to white cabinets, white trim in & out, white walls in the dining room, living room, family room, the shop/garage built out back. To me, it's a lot of white.

I’d paint all the open/public rooms the same color. There are creamy whites that don’t feel stark and with a neutral, these rooms will feel brighter and larger. Will save money and time as well in doing all the same. Will also provide an easier transition if wanting different colors in bedrooms.

Wait for other color decisions until you have rooms down to bare bones (good luck removing wallpaper), then consider what will work with what you will be adding, your style, amount of light room receives, carpeting, etc.

Look at lots of inspiration pictures to help with decision. Pinterest is a wonderful resource, as you can search bedrooms, home office, green bathrooms... and even narrow down by including more specifics, like vintage green tiled bathroom, see below. Including black accents could be a good choice. Paint cabinet, eventually lay some black /white tile, new lighting, a great shower curtain and black towels. Best of luck, and take your time.

I compared the two last ones to chantilly lace. There is definitely more depth with no natural light. Any designer would shaking their head at me right now and raising their eyes lol. What I do know is I wanted to make sure I chose colours that go well with chantilly lace because my kitchen cabinets will be that colour and so all my trim will be the same. As Apple pie order mentioned you need to pick something specific and work off that. I see you have honey oak flooring that is definitely something you have to take into consideration. Now that I looked back at your pics you definitely do not want balboa mist or anything with violet or blue undertones. Greys would be a good look agreeable has a tiny bit of blue, I can’t see it at all and may work well. I also think classic grey may be a good choice.

How special to inherit your grandparents home and belongings. And what a big project! I was thinking along the same lines as Maureen on the bathroom. Black and white accents added to the green wall tiles would make for a nicely updated retro bathroom. I like the idea of painting the walls in the connecting spaces a light neutral with dark interior doors to give a modern feel. It would be a catalyst in helping you define your next steps. I like darker paint colors and accent walls, too. You could certainly paint a bedroom or two in a darker color if you like, and explore ways to make the fireplace wall a focal point. Is the white carpet staying?

Please keep us posted along the way. Who doesn't love a good before and after? Honoring your grandparents during the process is a must.

The house appears dark, and you mentioned a very dark hallway. I noticed the light bulbs for your hallway at least, are very yellow type. They will distort the colors on the wall, so it will be hard to even tell what color you do put there. Before picking a color for the hall walls, change out your light bulbs, to led daylight type bulbs. 3000 or better. Also be aware, once you get the wallpaper off the walls, you need to scrub them good, to get all or most of the stuck on wallpaper paste. Once you have them cleaned, put on a coat of gardz primer on the walls. It will seal in any paste that has not come off, so you will get a decent adhesion with your paint.

I am going to disagree with others.

I moved into my home with the intent that I would get everything renovated in a year or two. I was diagnosed with Cancer while in escrow. 1 year later I fractured 4 vertebra and a year later I had a heart attack. Renovations are going much slower than planned, but I do know my overall plan and am working as fast as I can, but a full time job doesn't leave a lot of time and health issues have reduced my energy levels.

You say you like nature and warm colors better than cool, greens/browns. Why agreeable gray?

The first thing I want you to do is go out and buy a few other lightbulbs. I think you have 2700k lightbulbs. These bulbs throw a lot of yellow.

I prefer daylight lightbulbs, but some people find them too bright.

You have to be comfortable with your choice and the lighting should give your home a feeling that makes you comfortable.

Before you pick paint colors you have to choose the lighting that you will have. The lighting does change the appearance of the color on your walls.

Test a couple of lights with each temperature and decide what you like best.

The next step is to decide on a color palette for your home.

First thing to think about is if there are any colors in the home that must stay. Either things you like or things you can't afford to change. A few things I see that I would want to keep and work around are the wood floors and the brick fireplace (especially if the brick fireplace matches the brick on the outside of the home). What is the kitchen like? Do you have decent cabinets that will stay? What is the flooring in the kitchen?

Do you have a favorite color? Do you have wall art that you own that you love and want to display in your home? The wall colors you pick should be a backdrop for things that are the colors you love.

Once you have a list of the colors that must stay and the colors that you love we can start working on a palette that works with all of the colors on your list. I always start with the actual colors and then pick a neutral that works with the colors and then I pick a white that works with the neutral.

I usually end up with colors on bedroom and bathroom walls, sometimes kitchen and laundry, foyer walls and a neutral color for the main living spaces and hallways.

I will repeat the neutral in the bedrooms and bathrooms through art and upholstery, decor, linens . . .

I will repeat the colors I love in the neutral spaces through art, upholstery, decor . . .

Usually I end up with 5-7 colors for my home.

For someone who has never tried to pick a whole home color palette it may be helpful to limit the number of colors you are looking at.

Sherwin Williams has "Designer Color Collections" for their Emerald paint line. There are 5 color collections.

Go to the SW store and pick up all 5 brochures. See if any of the brochures have a look and feel that appeals to you.

I am also removing wallpaper that has been in place for 50 years. I have stripped wallpaper in the past and wiped down the walls and was ready to paint. I couldn't seem to get to a place where I couldn't feel a slimy film over the walls. I couldn't get all the paste off the walls because it had become one with the non-primed plaster after 50 years. Solution was a can of Gardz primer. It goes on milky white and dries clear, but it seals in wallpaper paste, which if not completely removed can cause yellow staining.

Looking back at the other posts, everyone has great ideas for sure. If you are not in a rush in order to sell just take your time. Remove all the wallpaper. You should go very neutral and airy. I personally would remove the tile on the walls and the floor in the washroom. If it’s not doable just leave it for now and go as Maureen mentioned neutral. The cabinets in the kitchen are a nice white. I personally would go light on the walls. There is not a lot of light throughout the rooms so you should keep it neutral for sure. You add personality and colour with stuff lol. You are a good person for caring for them. The spirit will always be there. It’s beyond a house already a home they are probably loving all the attention that the house is getting :)