We have a combined kitchen and family room. The couches are medium blue with a floral print and the window coverings are yellow. The kitchen has cherry and white accents. The furniture in the family room is cherry.  Currently the wall color is a medium sage green.  Katherine

Kate suggests:

To update without many changes to your furniture and accessories a new wall color is always a great option.

I think your existing scheme sounds lovely and your color combination made me immediately think of the sun-drenched colors of Provence.  There are the colors often associated with French Country style.  Even if this isn’t the style in your home the colors still bring to mind that same warm and comfortable feeling.

Shown above is a print from Pierre Deux that shows color similar to the ones you describe in your own scheme.  Depending on where and how you use the colors the scheme can be sophisticated, traditional or lively.

Another picture from Pierre Deux shows a more sophisticated yet comfortable look with blue print sofa.  Depending on your style I like the idea of replacing the sage green walls with a combination of beautiful neutrals.  The three colors on the bottom would be a place to begin thinking about going with a neutral or combination of neutrals.  Keep in mind that every home’s style and lightening is different it will be important for you to sample and study the colors in the room to make sure they are pleasing to you.

The blue is to show a color close to that in your coach, along with colors from Sherwin-Williams Pennywise SW6681, Gleeful 6709, Brentwood SW8146, Shore SW8115, Antique White SW6119

Shown above is a green that I think is probably a bit brighter and clear than the current green.  Just updating the green to a fresher version of the color is another option that could work to give you a whole new feeling.  As could going with yellow on the walls and not just the window treatments.

This is a Sherwin-Williams ad showing a brighter green with blue and yellow. In this case the blue and yellow they have chosen make it perfect for a nursery but with deeper blue, yellow and red a green that is a bit more vibrant and less grayed than sage green could work in your Family Room and adjoining kitchen.

I recommend the following paint colors from Sherwin-Williams.

Living Space:
Bagel SW 6114
Samovar Silver SW6233

Kitchen:
Heart of Palm SW 6415
Viva Gold SW6367

You can hear why I suggested these paint colors here:

The color scheme includes:

SW 6400 Lucent Yellow for the walls
SW 6399 Chamomile for the trim
SW 6163 Grassland for the ceiling

Besides just having a color scheme that works this room shows several things that can be used to make a space appear larger:

• The neutral scheme with hues that blend beautifully in a low contrast palette.
• Careful placement of the black to move the eye around the room.
• Smooth rather than rough textured fabrics and surfaces.
• The mirrored coffee table “disappears” rather than stopping your eye.
• They also used a fine black pinstripe on the molding that draws the eye up and around the space.

Picture from House Beautiful

Today’s decorating dilemma: I need a little guidance, I am renovating a Katrina damaged home,. It is taking a long time and I want everything perfect, or as much as it can be.

I have a town home, living room, and kitchen run together, maple cabinets with a mocha stain, so the cabinets are basically almond with a little color, I am using teak, hand scraped floors throughout, not much light, just a large set of french doors leading to patio, and a small garden window in kitchen, I was thinking black galaxy granite, little spec of bronze, its beautiful, and oil rubbed chandeliers and faucets. Soooo, what color do I paint, or should I change something? please help! –Sharon

Bethany’s suggests:

It sounds like what you have is generally dark so I am envisioning a scheme with lots of contrast. Something light and airy, since you don’t have much natural light coming in.

Since you indicate you are going with some deeper, dramatic shades of wood and incorporating black (which makes a strong statement) I would suggest a light tan/beige color for the walls, such as Sherwin Williams 6092 Lightweight Beige.

Really study the nuances of the colors that you already have…what direction are they going in?  More towards yellow or warmer tones or more towards blue and cooler tones?

It is the consistency with the undertones of the colors in your room that will give you a unified look.

Illustrious Bronze #40013 from Valspar,  can be used as a reference color or to splash on an accent wall in one of the adjoining rooms to carry out the bronze theme.

Because this palette is neutral you may want to incorporate one other bold, fun accent color you are drawn to such as a Rose, or Lime Green to add interest.

Embellish the bronze in the granite by repeating it with canisters, salt & pepper shakers, or some other dazzling, decorative centerpiece for the dining room table.

Resources:  The tile sample was found at www.stonetilesupply.com

• It is on the water with a spectacular water view!  Thanks to some smart folks with the foresight to buy the land across the river and turn it into a park it will always remain that way.

• The grounds are gorgeous and expansive.  Keep in mind that in my dream life I can well afford to have someone else maintain the many acres of grass, flowers and trees.

• The home has incredible architectural details both inside.

Yesterday my son and I went on the ‘National Treasure’ tour.   We got the inside scoop on when, where and how the scenes from the movie were set up and shot at Mount Vernon.

It was great fun and on this particular tour you get access to parts of the estate that you wouldn’t ordinarily get to see.  I especially liked being able to walk along the water directly below the house since this is usually off limits to visitors.

At the end of the tour our guide dropped us off at the mansion and since I haven’t gone through the home in a long time we decided to tag along on the tour.

Okay well I try to keep Sunday as a non-work day but I couldn’t help but get absorbed by the room colors.  As was the fashion of the day some of the rooms are painted in deep, bright colors, which were considered a status symbol during that period.

Two rooms that especially drew me in were the dining areas.  The large dining room is painted in a hue that on the Mount Vernon website is described as– “the stunning green color was a favorite of Washington’s”.

I had actually forgotten that George Washington’s loved the color green and that he had used it in both the large and small dining rooms in the home.

The color in the smaller dining room is much more vibrant –”In 1785, the striking verdigris green paint was added.”

The guide shared that President Washington was not only fond of this color but believed it was easy on the eye and the best color to aid in digestion.  I’ll let you be the judge of that but how interesting to learn that our founding father thought about the psychological and physiological effects of color.

Here’s how they describe the color on the website –”Washington believed the color to be ‘grateful to the eye’ and less likely than other colors to fade. He added an overcoat of glaze, which further intensified the color.”

If you want to recreate these historic colors in your own home you are in luck.

In 2003, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association granted the exclusive rights to manufacture paint in the historic colors of Mount Vernon to Duron Paints a division of Shewin-Williams.

The palette named Estate of Colours™ includes nearly 30 colors exactly as they appear in the mansion and 90 more inspired by the 500-acre plantation and period artifacts.

Are you a fan of historic homes?  Do you have any favorites that have inspired the color schemes in your own home?

Resources:

• Take a virtual tour of the mansion at Mount Vernon…
• Article  about the restoration that gives some interesting details about the process to uncovering the original colors is in Architecture Week… 
• ‘New look for historic houses: Accuracy replaces idealism’ in the New York Times…
• See the color of Mount Vernon at Duron…
  

Thanks for finally addressing the bricks…The front of my home has partial red brick and the rest is stucco. I am in Florida on a small lake.

The house was painted beige with the mauve trim, plenty of trim includes the garage. The house next to me had the mauve color shot and painted their house in it. The color is ok but not fantastic. It is midtone. What color can I use. Should I color shot the mauve ( from the 70s) and tweek it a little?

I like colorful; One house on the lake is a violet periwinkle and is pretty. Also 2 yellow houses on the lake. The house on my other side is white with lt. blue trim. Can you please show your color chip selections I just love that! — Criztina

Kate suggests…

I’m imagining that your mauve tends towards red if it goes well with your brick and if you are happy with that color than certainly tweaking it a bit is an option but it seems that you might be ready for a change.

Yellow and creamy tan are colors often used on homes that have red brick combined with stucco but with two other homes close by already using yellow I don’t think it would be best to have your home in this range of colors.

I like the idea of going with a blue but something that will give you a different look than the periwinkle main color or blue trim of either of your neighbor’s homes.

A blue gray could work well especially if your bricks have a gray cast and your roof has cool undertones. An example of this scheme would be Sherwin-Williams Portal Blue for the main color and Scottish Loch as the accent color.

Since you are in Florida I might use a color that has more blue than gray. Shown here are Benjamin Moore Blue Bay Marina for the body of the house and Lakeside Cabin for the trim.

If your brick and roof tend to have a warmer cast than you could use a blue green hue. I’m showing three colors here not because I’m recommending three but to show you how you can think about your color scheme once you have decided on the color in general.

For example with these three colors from Valspar you could consider a few options. You could use the Aquatic Edge for the main color and either Lake Country or Belle Grove Spruce for the trim.

Going with a darker accent color will focus more attention on the trim while going with the mid-value will highlight the trim but integrate it more with the main color.

Another option would be to paint the body in the mid or darker value and the trim in the lightest value. It really depends on the look you prefer.

As general rule for painting architectural elements I usually first consider the deepest colors for accenting recesses and lighter colors for highlighting details that stand out from the structure but since most stucco homes have traditionally been painted with the trim in a darker color this may seem like the most natural way to place the colors.

When selecting the actual colors keep in mind that colors will look darker if your home is in the shade and lighter if it gets full sun. Also the rougher the surface, the darker the color will appear.

I hope that helps.

***Readers if you have other ideas or suggestions I welcome you to add them in the comments. I’m sure Criztina would love to hear your thoughts too!***

Resources:

• Type in your zip code for a list of Sherwin-Williams dealers near you.
• Type in your zip code for a list of Valspar dealers near you.
• Type in your zip code for a list of Benjamin Moore dealers near you.
• Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.

**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.

Picture of lake from artist Linda Blenheim’s blog. Check out her art and items for sale.

Newell selected the colors some time ago but I hadn’t gone back and read many of his older posts until now which is why I am just now taking a closer look as his color palette.

Here’s what he selected for his Living Room–

Living Room
Walls – SW 6519 Hinting Blue (satin)
Trim – SW 6219 Rain (semi-gloss)
Ceiling – SW 7007 Ceiling Bright White (semi-gloss)
Window Sashes – SW 7623 Cascades (gloss)
Doors – SW 7074 Software (semi-gloss) with SW 7074 with 1/2 pigment for door panels
Exterior Doors (inside) – SW 7074 Software (semi-gloss) with SW 7074 1/2 pigment for door panels
Exterior Doors (outside) – SW 7623 Cascades (gloss)

This palette is continues throughout the first floor and you can see the details of where else Newell used these colors here…

I can’t wait to see pictures of the final rooms using this atmospheric palette.

Resources:

• Type in your zip code to find your local Sherwin-Williams
• Visit Newell’s blog Twilight Field Journal

**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.

What color do I paint the walls? –Azsa

Kate suggests…

I would pick out the light color from the background of your sofa and go with that or a step darker. This would allow the sofa to visually blend into the space. I would use the same color on the walls and ceiling, which would help to expand the feeling of the room. If you want to add a bit more color I would do that by adding artwork or and area rug.

From the picture it looks like this may be close to what you have although the walls look like they are a bit more yellow than the sofa so it may just be a matter of finding the right hue and depth of color you want.

This may not be different enough from what you have already so if you are looking for a more noticeable change you could go in a completely different direction and select a color not currently in the room. Since I don’t know what you have in the surrounding rooms it’s difficult to say what color would work in your home.

An example of what I’m thinking would be Benjamin Moore Covington Blue HC-138. This is one of their historic colors and it works beautifully with reds and tans. Or maybe Sherwin-Williams SW2395 Rainy Day.

You can see how nicely this type of color works with beige in this Glidden palette, which includes their color Still Waters. Add in the red from your chair and you’ll have a beautiful color scheme to work with.

Resources:

• Type in your zip code for a list of Sherwin-Williams dealers near you.
• Type in your zip code for a list of Glidden dealers near you.
• Type in your zip code for a list of Benjamin Moore dealers near you.
• Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.

**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.

We are having our dream house built and the builder asked us to choose our exterior paint colors. We love the older home look and would like to have forest green shutters but can’t decide between “vintage cream” siding, which has a hint of soft butter yellow in it or “linen” off white.

We selected the Rocky Springs model from Poole and are having it built on a three-acre lot. Which would give the older home look? We appreciate any advice you could give. Thank you, Dana

Kate suggests…

I can see why this is your dream home. I’m already envisioning you all settled in with enough time to sip ice tea and browse through a magazine on your inviting front porch.

In looking at your builders design options I think the choices you have made so far are perfect. The forest green is a classic color for the shutters and the green will keep the house tied to the surroundings.

The weatherwood color shingles for the roof would go with either of the exterior colors you are considering.

The good news is that whichever color you choose your home will have the look you are after so you can’t make a wrong decision.

Both cream and off-white have always been popular choices and it would be unfair of me to say that one is going to make the home look older than the other and leave it at that.

My first instinct was to say that you might find the Vintage Cream makes it appear older however because I can never help but to think of the entire scheme rather than individual elements I started to think about what color might work for your front door.

Linen Off-White or Vintage Cream??

In considering the style of the home, the choices you have already made, and the knowledge that you wanted it to look older the color that kept coming to mind was a red but not a bright red but rather a more muted coppery red.

This is an intrguing red by Sherwin-Williams. The color is reminiscent of the Roycroft pottery glazes that was inspired by the hammered copper of early Roycroft metalwork. It is very warm and welcoming which is perfect for a front door.

Because I place such importance on the front door I want it to stand out. If I was to go with Roycroft Cooper Red for the door and the forest green shutters so the linen white would set the red off nicely but the vintage cream with this color would also be lovely just a slightly different look.

So think about your door color. If you were to lean toward a cooler hue such as a historic blue or dusty eggplant the vintage cream would surround it beautifully but if you want to set off a warmer color you might lean towards the vintage cream.

I hope that help by giving you some things to consider as you make your decision but based on what you have told me already I feel confident that whichever you choose the end result is going to be stunning.

Enjoy your new home!

Resources:

• See William Poole home designs
• Learn more about Roycroft Pottery
• Type in your zip code to find your local Sherwin-Williams

**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint or material color. Please refer to an actual sample for an accurate rendition of the color.

Which color do you prefer: Linen Off-White or Vintage Cream? Please share it with us in the comments.

From Courgeaous With Color–

As the Earth sleeps, blanketed by the travails of icy weather, we alternately bundle up and hunker down — awakening to shivers and daily doses of brittle air, blustering winds, brutal temperatures and barren landscapes. Dark skies and hard rains also dampen spirits, causing mudrooms to fill with wet boots and overcoats as gloves and hats sporadically adorn every part of the house.

Rather than waiting for the clouds to part, ward off bleak, colorless days and the sense of “blah” that gloomy weather inspires with interiors awash in vibrant hues, taking refuge in bright spaces designed to lift moods faster than a warm, spring day.

Psychologists and color designers say color is one of the biggest influences on the human state of mind and our language regularly references the emotive connection. After all, we “see red,” we’re “green with envy” and we feel “peachy.”

Read the rest of the article…

Disregarding color trends and surrounding yourself with favorite, feel-good shades creates rooms guaranteed to lift your spirits. Pictured: walls painted in Sherwin-Williams’ “Blackberry.”

Resources:

• See Solutions At Home Magazine Online…
• Find your local Sherwin-Williams retailer

**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.