Help please! Anyone used this interior paint color?

[Ellen]

Hi all,

I am getting ready to repaint my livingroom, along with new carpet, furniture and window treatments. Complete overhaul. And, I am totally stepping out of my super conservative paint box. This house has never had anything other than off white, yellow, and pale pink. But I am wanting color now (we are actually repainting every room), and I "thought" I had decided on the paint for the LR.

I will give links to the paint colors, sorry I can't post them directly. (if someone else wants to I wouldn't mind, would be easier to visualize)

This will go on 3 walls.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6129/



and this on 1 wall.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6227/



And here is a group of pics someone posted of their house in the RG. In some, it does look "different" than others...Scroll down a bit.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0313232926426.html



And the first pic here is the RG, and I think it looks great there.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/gal0908462822421.html

These samples are pretty close to true color, but prettier in real life. What I'm wanting help with is the gold. I found some reviews/pics, and one or two commentors said it can take on a green tint. I do NOT want or need that. So I'm wondering if anyone has used this or seen it in real life. For perspective, the carpet will be rich dark chocolate brown. The couch and loveseat are from Flexsteel, and I picked a fabric called Driftwood. It's basically a light soft brownish/tanish color, but with "flecks" of what looks like the gold paint. Hard to describe, but pretty. Then the chair and ottoman is in a Paisley print containing deep chocolate brown, a medium light brown/tan (that matches the couches), a color that looks very much like the gold paint, and slight bit of blue that matches blue paint, and small hints of white. Gorgeous! And I am waiting til all is up for curtain color.... Oh, and my EC and end tables are a medium? cherry wood. Not real dark.

So, any thoughts/help on this? This is really important to get right. It's expensive (as hubby hired a painter for the first time) and I don't have a hubs who easily says do it over!

And, I would love to hear what others would do (without seeing of course) on curtain color.

Thanks in advance!

 

[AprilBaby]

I have used similar to the first color and loved it. Right now I'm into earth tones/greens and taupes. It will look stunning.

 

[Dee*Jay]

If possible I would get the smallest possible quantity of the paint and put in on a ***LARGE*** posterboard or paint board (they may even give you those for free at the paint store) and move it around the space you want to paint at different times of day. I love gold toned paint but if you are going from neutral to this you maybe shocked at how YELLOW everything suddenly is. Yes, I know that's the *point*, but once you see this you may move one notch toward neutral. (Can you tell this is the voice of experience talking? Golden Wheat... that's all I'm sayin'!)

 

[Ellen]

Hi April, and thanks!


Hey Miss DeeJay, your post made me laugh. And yes, I "hear" what you're saying. I have a like 3x3 inch square that I've been doing that with, but you do make a great point. Bigger would be better in this case. I may just check into that.... And I had looked at SW Blonde sample, which is one lighter shade from the RG, but it really didn't seem much difference.

 

[yennyfire]

If possible I would get the smallest possible quantity of the paint and put in on a ***LARGE*** posterboard or paint board (they may even give you those for free at the paint store) and move it around the space you want to paint at different times of day. I love gold toned paint but if you are going from neutral to this you maybe shocked at how YELLOW everything suddenly is. Yes, I know that's the *point*, but once you see this you may move one notch toward neutral. (Can you tell this is the voice of experience talking? Golden Wheat... that's all I'm sayin'!)

I always do test spots on different sections of the wall (that may get different light exposure) and make sure to look at the sample both in daylight and at night time. I've been amazed a how colors can change from one wall to another! Happy painting!

 

[Ellen]

Yenny. Yes, different times of day do get different results. Thank you!


Ok, I called SW and talked to a really nice guy, explained the situation, and voila! an answer. They sell test quarts for 6 bucks. They also sell adhesive backed (non-residue) pieces of cardboard? (I forget now) that you can paint, move and stick around the room. There are 5 or 6 to a pack for 5-7 bucks. He wasn't totally sure. But this is a totally cheap way to test this out.

I asked him if it could take on a green tint and he said yes, depending on what is in the room, size of room, etc. But when I told him what color the couch and love seat were, he agreed that it "should" pull the true color out. So hopefully I can get to that in the next couple days. I am also going to have the painter come over and give me his opinion, I have all the fabric and carpet samples here to help him.

Thanks again all, I'm feeling less apprehensive!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I looked at the two pictures of the color. I liked the first one that showed high ceilings with white trim. The room had volume and with the white around the prints and trim it looked good. However I don't think it looked very colorful. I would still put it in the conservative category. But I liked it.

The second picture I didn't like. That is where, at least on my monitor, it looks greeny.

I like the blue color-not sure I would put it with the gold. I might do it white as I liked the white with the gold. Its really not so gold.

I need new carpeting myself and would love to get brown. I had it once and loved it. I wasn't sure if it was in "style"

I think your paisley chair needs some of the slate blue with more color-maybe it does and I didn't read carefully enough



No Decorator

Annette

 

[Dee*Jay]

Ellen, you're going to paint the blueish color on a big board too, right? Because on my monitor it is more in the cool range so it may not look exactly right with the gold, especially if the gold does end up going toward the green AT ALL.

 

[iLander]

I think a tan (yellow base) with grey (blue base) will clash.

If you want the tan, go for another yellow base color like olive green, red, oranges, etc.

If you want the grey, go for another blue base like blues, whites, minty greens, etc.

Or just go for a lighter or darker version of the same tan.

We did a room in a golden tan with a green accent wall. It does make the room look smaller and pulls in the walls. Cozy, but not enlarging.

I did another room in a very light, goldenish white, that seems to reflect a lot of light, but it also contrasts nicely with white trim. It made the room look huge.

Over the years, I've learned this about paint;

If it looks good on the tiny swatch, it's WAYYYY too dark.

If it looks too light on the swatch, it's perfect. Color has a weird cumulative effect.

I try my swatches is different parts of the room during different times of day. They change a LOT, and a dark color could result in a cave in the evenings.

 

[Ellen]

Annette,

The blue is in the chair along with the "gold" color and other shades of brown and a bit of white. These colors are definitely in the chair. The ladies at the furniture store helped with the blue color. I personally think it all works, but they were so excited, they want to come to the house and see it when it's done. So, I dunno.... I have a call in to the painter to come over this weekend and I'll definitely listen to whatever he has to say.

And I don't know if chocolate brown carpeting is "in" or not, but then I have never let someone dictate what I liked/wore/used, etc. I like it, it goes, I'm getting it. Thank you!


DeeJay, no, I had not planned on doing the blue on a board, but I will contemplate that, after I talk to painter. Thankies.


iLander,

I know exactly what you mean about the paint being darker/more/etc. I'm gonna talk to painter, maybe I will have to go lighter, I will see. Thanks!

 

[JewelFreak]

Put a big swath of it directly on the wall. Your wall material will affect color, so you will need to see it there, rather than on a board. Since you're going to paint anyway, it won't wreck anything. I've been burned a few times till I learned to do that.

Check it out at various times of day. Do you have a lot of natural light in the room? You have 2 very strong colors there & I suspect they'll look even stronger painted in large areas, so be sure they don't darken the room too much. With a brown rug & brown-ish-tannish upholstery, it could be kind of overwhelming. Or maybe it'll be just what you want!

I usually try a few colors, or shades of the same color, to be sure what looks best, in big patches on the wall.

Sounds like a lot of work! Fun once finished -- good luck!

--- Laurie

 

[Dee*Jay]

Ellen, I think I may have told you this story when we had lunch, but when Bill and I moved into the townhouse I had him paint seven *different* shades of beige on the wall in the dinning room before making a choice. AND THEN the color I ultimately chose was mis-mixed at the paint store. The painters, of course, didn't know because they were just going off of a number. When I walked into my FOUR STORY FRESHLY PAINTED house after work that day I about p!ssed myself. Instead of a nice soothing cool taup-y beige I had a lemon yellow. Four floors... eight rooms, three staircases, and many hallways of lemon yellow. Fortunately they had only put one coat on at that point. Funny in retrospect. At the time... NOT SO MUCH!

 

[Ellen]

Ok, I have decided to hold off on any and everything until I talk to the painter. There's no sense in spending any money at all, if he's going to tell me something that makes me rethink. So I am just waiting, and looking at different shades....

Here is 2 shades up from RG. But who knows, I may end up in an entirely different family. lol

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6127/


JewelFreak, Thanks for all your suggestions/help. The couches are light actually, but I hear ya on getting too dark. The room faces North, and does not get a ton of light. However, all the walls are broken up with furniture. In fact, one end barely "exists" because the EC takes up almost all wall space, and there's stuff on top of it.

And this WILL be a lot of work, but it will be so worth it in the end. I quit smoking 3 years ago, and I hated that everything was "old and smoky", so now it will be "almost" totally fresh. (new carpet throughout and new mattress too) Plus, my 2 remaining children moved out a couple months ago. So it will all STAY fresh and clean! (can we say yeehaw)


DeeJay, oh my gosh, I died reading this! If you told me that story, I forgot it. But I can't believe I'd forget that. lol Wow. What did your hubby say? Mine would have been like, Get used to it!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I too started painting with 'color' a few years ago! I could not second and third enough to paint swatches and watch the light change over them. It's amazing how much it can change from day to night. I worked with Benjamin Moore and even found that if I had a color I liked but didn't necessarily like the hue, I could whiten it down a bit - 25%, 50%, whatever until I had it just right.

Gold, as others have said, is a difficult color depending on the undertones. So is beige! It can have purple, pink, brown and other undertones. The paint I used in my kitchen I even got the guy to tell me all the colors that went into making it - just to see what the main undertones were. It does make a difference and I hear you on not wanting to make a costly mistake.

One other tidbit - this is a diamond forum after all - is that gold walls will make your gorgeous diamond yellow! Sorry - I couldn't resist - ha!!

 

[Ellen]

I too started painting with 'color' a few years ago! I could not second and third enough to paint swatches and watch the light change over them. It's amazing how much it can change from day to night. I worked with Benjamin Moore and even found that if I had a color I liked but didn't necessarily like the hue, I could whiten it down a bit - 25%, 50%, whatever until I had it just right.

Gold, as others have said, is a difficult color depending on the undertones. So is beige! It can have purple, pink, brown and other undertones. The paint I used in my kitchen I even got the guy to tell me all the colors that went into making it - just to see what the main undertones were. It does make a difference and I hear you on not wanting to make a costly mistake.

One other tidbit - this is a diamond forum after all - is that gold walls will make your gorgeous diamond yellow! Sorry - I couldn't resist - ha!!

You do make a point. I know, I will only sit in my paisley chair, which will be against the blue accent wall!

And thank you for chiming in with helpful hints, it's good to see you!!


Ok, I was going to be running around today so I took all my samples in to SW. I told the gal to pick out what would go, then I showed her what I had picked. What I picked wasn't "bad", and the gold does go with the couch and chair, but it was too bold, on both colors. So, I will post what I "think" will end up on the 3 walls. I actually have 3 samples, and what I get for the carpet decides which color. But I know I am going really dark chocolate brown (picked up one sample today after SW, am having another one sent in), so I know she is going to go with the lightest choice, which is this.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7723/

And this is the "blue". I know, it looks green. Believe me, I was highly skeptical, highly. But, she does this for a living and I don't, so I brought it home. lol I put it on the floor with all the fabric samples and the one carpet sample, and it looked greenish. I picked it up and it turned more blue. I turned to the wall it will go on, and it was literally like a magic trick. Before my very eyes, I watched it turn not only true blue, but several shades darker. I literally busted out laughing. So, she's right, it will work.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7621/

And in this link are several rooms with this color, it is quite changeable. In the second pic down, mine looks like the blue at the very bottom of the corner where the walls meet.

http://www.houzz.com/Sherwin-Williams-Silvermist

 

[canuk-gal]

Hi all,

I am getting ready to repaint my livingroom, along with new carpet, furniture and window treatments.


By all means repaint the living room but don't paint the carpet, furniture and window treatments!



HI Ellen!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Ellen]

Hi all,

I am getting ready to repaint my livingroom, along with new carpet, furniture and window treatments.


By all means repaint the living room but don't paint the carpet, furniture and window treatments!



HI Ellen!

cheers--Sharon

x2

Good one.

Good to see ya miss!

 

[MissGotRocks]

I really like the new colors! I think the room will look very nice with those two colors - a bit more subdued than the first choices but in this case, I think that's a good thing!

 

[VRBeauty]

Ooh - I really like the subtleties in that Silver Mist!

 

[House Cat]

We had an issue with blue in my living room. I bought the lightest blue you could ever find, it was almost white, and we put it on the walls. Once we did, it turned baby nursery blue on us. We were devastated. We did what everyone told us to do, sampled and tested the color, but once it was fully on the walls, it turned on us.


We were told by a painter that blues are very tricky and to go on the green side if you want blue. I ended up with Sherwin Williams' Sea Salt mixed at 50%. The true color is actually olive, but in my room it is blue and lovely. So be cautious with your blues and I would recommend getting Sherwin Williams' samples (they are big) and actually painting an entire wall to see what happens to your color.

Also, if you really want to see the various moods of your colors, you can always see how people are using them on Pinterest.

 

[Ellen]

We had an issue with blue in my living room. I bought the lightest blue you could ever find, it was almost white, and we put it on the walls. Once we did, it turned baby nursery blue on us. We were devastated. We did what everyone told us to do, sampled and tested the color, but once it was fully on the walls, it turned on us.


We were told by a painter that blues are very tricky and to go on the green side if you want blue. I ended up with Sherwin Williams' Sea Salt mixed at 50%. The true color is actually olive, but in my room it is blue and lovely. So be cautious with your blues and I would recommend getting Sherwin Williams' samples (they are big) and actually painting an entire wall to see what happens to your color.

Also, if you really want to see the various moods of your colors, you can always see how people are using them on Pinterest.

Well, that would make this choice possibly the "correct" one. I agree with testing, and had decided that even though it looks like it will work, I'm going to buy a test quart and paint a large swath. I have been looking online, and have seen this and other considerations, but the problem ultimately with that is, monitors are different, I don't know their lighting usually (sometimes they will verify conditions), etc. So the only true test is in my own LR. But thanks for suggesting Pinterest, and especially for passing on the painters recommendation!


I also had a confirmation yesterday at the carpet store I want to pass on. It had been my experience that carpet is the opposite of paint. The larger it gets, the lighter. The clincher, for me anyway, was when I redid my breezeway. I picked (from the rediculously small 2x3 samples which should be outlawed) what I thought was an earthy brownish green. When it was put down, it was so light I was certain it was the wrong carpet. I promptly called the manager, who assured me it was correct. Indeed, it was. And by providence, worked out to my favor.

So, I had been looking at a chocolate brown, and had a larger sample sent to my home. It was too light, and when I took it to the carpet store yesterday, the guy compared it to the sample which should be outlawed, and remarked how it didn't even look like the same carpet. So, I am going really dark, to get the desired shade I really want. Just a FYI.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I very much like these selections more than the previous ones. The silver mist is really interesting. I am following this thread because I need a paint job as well and always paint white, but also have a north facing LR and Kitchen. You toned down the colors and now you should have a stunning look. Go Brown carpet Go!


Annette

 

[aljdewey]

I'm afraid I don't have much to add in the way of help, but just wanted to say that I do feel your pain on this one!

I just went through the paint thing for my dining room, and wanted a warm Tuscan gold. WHO KNEW how hard it would be to find the 'right' shade of gold??!! The first one I picked felt too drab - it's from the historical series, so it had this drab olive/brownish undertone that just killed it for me. I literally had to try 4 test cans of paint, none of which were right when we painted large sections on the wall.

It wasn't until after this that I said to my friend, "I like that first color when it's wet, but I dislike it when it dries - that's when it seems to pick up the undertone." So, we daubed wet paint onto several other samples and finally realized which gold we needed to go with, and it was a rich Beverly Hills gold. Nothing but sheer gold, and I'm delighted, but MAN I cannot believe how hard it was to pick a paint.

Can't wait to see your finished room pics!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Very pretty, Ellen! My house is painted in SW and I am very familiar with those paint swatches. My big mistake was my dining room, but everyone talked me into living with it awhile, and once the china cabinet was put against the wall and filled with stuff, I decided it was too much trouble to repaint! So do paint walls with those sample quarts. I did posterboard and just didn't get that one color right.

 

[Ellen]

Before I forget (again), I totally left out the description of another accent pillow that helps tie all this together. It's dark chocolate brown background, with a cross cross design (my sister said it looks like fencing, actually it does look like chain link for a visual, lol), in a lighter color from the paisley, and then where each x is, there is a small rectangle in either the light blue or the color from the paisley that's close to the couch.


Annette, I like them better also (really love the blue too), but am still undecided/struggling. Will post more at the end on this.... I hope I end up being of help to you! And I am really excited to see the carpet sample being sent. It's called dark chocolate.



Alj!!! What a surprise my friend, it is really good to hear from you. Hope all is well with you.

Thank you SO much for chiming in, I need lots of opinions/lamentings. lol The color of the couch -to my eyes- has a slight gold tint. She has gotten me from a gold sample to basically tans (with just whispers of gold undertone), and I am just not happy. And of the 3 choices she gave me, I like the darkest one, and I know it's too much for the room. I really don't know what to do, except go back and try again, even though I know she thinks I should not go in a truer gold direction. *sigh* It will all have to wait though, we leave for a wedding/trip to WI early Thursday, so I'll pick this all up when I get back.

Thanks again, it really is great to hear from you. And I'm glad your story had a happy ending!


DS, can you pleeeeaaase elaborate on your paint story?? I am unfamiliar with any of it, and I need help!



Ok, hubs does not want to paint the walls with test spots. *sigh* So, I painted the poster board with the blue. I like it, I think it would be fine. It's not the problem, it's the main color I am struggling with. I look at my real choices, and feel like I'm settling. I am not loving any of it. So, as I said a minute ago, I'll just keep trying, and I'll either come up with something I love that works, or I'll have to settle with one of these choices. Which btw, I never posted the darker ones, so here they are:

This is the middle shade, darker than the posted Colony Buff.
http://www.paletteapp.com/Products/Sherwin-Williams/SW_7536/8181

And this is the one I feel goes best, though I don't love it really.
http://www.paletteapp.com/Products/Sherwin-Williams/SW_7539/8184


Now, I would like an opinion from you all. Did you/do you want your livingroom to "blend" as in walls/furniture/floor, or did you/do you want your furniture to stand out. Just curious.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Ellen - about your blend/stand out question, I have a couple of thoughts. (Imagine that -- *I* have thoughts! ) Let me suggest two things: Either make the furniture stand out from the surroundings (e.g., darker walls with lighter furniture, which is a look I LOVE, or vice versa), or you can "blend" the main furniture and surroundings but add contrasting accents. Not just accents in a different tone, but a different *color*).

I can't really give you an opinion on the new color choices because they probably look very different on my monitor than in real life.

And as for your hubs and painting spots on the wall... I went with the suggestion of painting the poster board and moving it around rather than painting spots on the wall because that seems to be the more hubby-friendly option. I've learned this through my own (former) marriage and after being a real estate agent for 9 years. Men... !

 

[Ellen]

DJ, thanks for chiming in. And it's interesting to hear about the paint spot tests, apparently it isn't just my hubby. Who knew.


Well, I was looking at everything and wondering if I was just seeing things. As in, No Ellen, there's not the amount of gold in the furniture fabric you think there is. Get over it. You're seeing things... So my middle son came over and I asked him to tell me what color the couch material was. He said, um, brownish, tanish, *long pause*, and I was just getting ready to exhale and admit I couldn't tell my colors, when he ended with, Goldish. YES! I DO know my colors!

So I just left a message with the painter to see if he can come by tomorrow before I have to return the fabric samples. I am really curious to see what he says.

*stay tuned*

 

[MissGotRocks]

When we were getting ready to paint the master bedroom, I just couldn't resist painting a number 5 on the wall with the chosen paint. For years while my kids watched Sesame Street, there was a man carrying a paint bucket and brush that would just walk up to any surface (like a door or a wall) and paint the number (very large) that they were studying that day. That always looked like something so neat to do so I took my only chance at it - hubby was flabbergasted but I loved it until it all got painted over. Every night as we went to bed I would point at the number and say 'five' very loudly like they did on the show! He thought I had lost my mind - lol!

Sorry for the threadjack - just had to share!

Ellen, my best advice is if you don't love it, don't. Something else - some other color or a whole new scheme will manifest itself. Nothing like settling and having to live unhappily with something for a long time!

 

[Ellen]

I seriously think this is one of the funniest things I've ever read on here, for me personally. I visualized that whole post (as I visualize everything I read and hear pretty much), so I literally saw (and heard) the whole thing, and the look on your hubby's face was priceless. I LOVE it! And I love your sense of humor.


Yes, I agree there should be no settling here, I was mulling it all over last night. And I did even think maybe I should change the whole color scheme, as nothing is written in stone except for the furniture. I am considering asking them to try mixing a paint to match a certain color in the chair. I must admit, I got really frustrated at the whole thing. It's like, there's only a gajillion colors in the world, and I can't find a match? Really? *sigh*

I'm hoping the vaca affords me some contemplation/inspiration/revelation/etc. It's an eight hour drive, lots of "think time".

Thanks for your thoughts, I really do appreciate them. And the story? well, that one won't fade from memory any time soon.

 

[Dee*Jay]

When we were getting ready to paint the master bedroom, I just couldn't resist painting a number 5 on the wall with the chosen paint. For years while my kids watched Sesame Street, there was a man carrying a paint bucket and brush that would just walk up to any surface (like a door or a wall) and paint the number (very large) that they were studying that day. That always looked like something so neat to do so I took my only chance at it - hubby was flabbergasted but I loved it until it all got painted over. Every night as we went to bed I would point at the number and say 'five' very loudly like they did on the show! He thought I had lost my mind - lol!

MGR - you and I may be sisters separated at birth!