Sage, wheat and raspberry color scheme

Today’s color dilemma…

I have more of a question than a comment. I have an open floor plan with all white walls that are making me crazy. I NEED color!

I want the rooms to flow, but be distinct. The front room gets a lot of sun and has oak colored bookcases, and a little darker piano. I would like to do a sage(ish) green, pale yellowish and raspberry-reddish colors. It flows into the kitchen with one wall that connects via a vaulted ceiling. The kitchen has med. wood cabinets, black countertops, and stainless steel appliances.

The current decor is sort of country(ish) with black, red and goldish yellow. The living room shares the same wall as the front room and kitchen, and currently has a reddish leather couch that will have to stay and is sporting and “Americana theme” which could stay or go.

Most Pictures that will stay as part of the decor are framed in black. All rooms receive a good amount of natural light Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance! -Mindi

Barbara suggests…

Your preference is for sage green, pale yellow and raspberry-red colors, although you did not indicate where you would like these colors to be used. However, colors of the type you mention that could do well together, depending on their location, combination and proportion. I’m going to propose a couple of ways to do this:

From Benjamin Moore:

Sage Green: some varieties of ’sage’ that are either toward blue/gray :Benjamin Moore 1579 Grayhound or 1580 Intrigue, or more yellow-based: 459 Woodland Green, 460 Herb Bouquet, 465 Antique Jade, or 466 Garden Path.

Yellow: Benjamin Moore HC-5 Weston Flax, HC-6 Windham Cream or HC-29 Dunmore Cream. These are all different from each other but each would work well with green.

Another suggestion would be HC-26 Monroe Bisque, which is a deeper, toned-down yellow (almost a “tan”) that might work for your Living room that shares a wall with the front room and kitchen.

Raspberry: Several hues that would work with the yellow and sage green are Benjamin Moore 1356 Fashion Rose, 1357 Bottle of Bordeaux, or 1364 Vintage Claret. All the greens above are grayed, soft colors and these vivid raspberry-like hues would create a real punch to the color scheme.

Another approach: the way you described the rooms I think you could benefit from a unique type of paint, “Full-Spectrum” color mixes (from Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paints) . Her Yellows are particularly beautiful and have the extra advantage of being Full-Spectrum, so in the light conditions you describe you will see a changeable kind of color that is a real pleasure to live with. The Yellows I recommend from her palette are Buttercream, Luminaire, and Sand. They range from luminous, to warmer, to almost-tan. The Full-Spectrum nature of these colors will give you the advantage of providing a bridge of sorts to connect the green and red in your color scheme. You’ll have a color-rich environment that is still very liveable.

Sage Green in Ellen’s Full Spectrum line: Clay (more blue-type Sage) and Sage (more yellow-type Sage)

Raspberry: More violet type, but check out Silk Road Plum

These would all be beautiful together.

For your vaulted ceiling try a creamy white like Benjamin Moore 967 Cloud White. This white will work very well with your color scheme.

Basically this is a palette with a lot of flexibility but you have to watch the contrasts and placement so it does not become garish. For example if the walls were painted in the Sage or the Yellow, you could bring the Raspberry in as accents or decorative accessories rather than on the walls.

Your artwork in the black frames will look great in with these colors as will your kitchen counter tops and stainless steel appliances.

Resources:

• Type in your zip code for a list of Benjamin Moore dealers near you.
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**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.