Paint help for family room

[lucyandroger]

Hi there,

We are finally moving into our house in a couple weeks and are now trying to figure out what to do about paint. The family room is currently all WHITE and we want to make it a bit warmer. Hopefully the picture gives you an idea of what the room looks like. It is 20'' X 13'' and has a sloped ceiling that is pretty high in the middle (don''t know exact height). There are multiple sky lights and a wall full of built-ins. Also, it has wood flooring.

So, what color paint would you suggest? We will be buying all new furniture for the room so it''s pretty much a blank slate. The room gets A LOT of light.

Also, we should paint the ceiling the same color as the walls, right?

Thanks for your help!

 

[rhbgirl24]

I love love love your room. What shades of colors do you like? With this I would probably choose a really pale sage green - then warm it up with golds. Just my opinion. Something like this:

 

[Anastasia]

lucy,

I would choose your paint color after (or along with) choosing your furniture. Paint is the easiest thing to match. There are a million colors out there, and you can always go custom color too.

If you pick your paint before choosing fabrics and furniture, you will be limiting yourself severely on what fabrics you can use. There is nothing more frustrating than finding an upholstery or window treatment fabric that you love, but it doesn''t quite go with the paint color.

It is a beautiful room, and you will be able to do great things with it!

 

[steph72276]

I agree on finding the furniture first. For a great neutral, we just painted a room in our house Ralph Lauren Sisal and love it. Since you get so much light, it would be a great choice.

 

[lucyandroger]

rhbgirl -- Sage green would be really pretty. Do you have any specific brands/ paint names that you prefer?

Anastasia -- Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately, we''re going to be buying the furniture piece by piece so we''d like to just go ahead and get the room painted. We''re thinking of doing a neutral that can match most things and bringing in color with the fabrics.

Steph -- Sisal looks like a great color! Thanks.


Does anyone have any other recommendations for beiges or neutrals that you''ve used and liked?

 

[rhbgirl24]

I do like the sisal color as well! I've always been very pleased with Behr paints, they coat well and seem to clean well too.

As for the green I like Aloe Essence and even more Topiary Tint.

Some warm neutrals from Behr could be Oat Straw, Clay Pebble....

You can preview all their colors on the website. Give you a little more of an idea of what you'd like!

I really want to paint our living room when we get the house California Poppy with a darker wash over it.

 

[steph72276]

In a previous home, I did our dining room in the color Plantation from RL. I really loved how it looked. It was green, but not in your face green...it is from their nature or natural line (can''t remember, but it always got compliments from people). I have been very pleased with RL paints that I have used.

 

[steph72276]

Here''s the link to the whole naturals line: http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/products/paint/items.asp?haid=50. They do have paint sample packs that I would recommend since they don''t look exactly the same as the swatch.

 

[lucyandroger]

Thank you again ladies!!

I''ll have to play around on those sites. I''m so nervous to pick a color for this room because we''re hiring painters and it''s going to be a difficult room to paint -- can''t just slap on a new one if I don''t like it.

I think the only option is to get in there and put samples on the walls. Thanks again for the recs!

 

[April20]

My all time favorite neutral is Sherwin Williams "Wool Skein". I''ve painted it in two different houses. It''s doesn''t go green, yellow or pink as some can. If you want something slightly darker, universal khaki is on the same swatch, just a couple shades darker. I don''t know how well it will translate, but I''m attaching a pic of the wool skein in my living room. We don''t get a ton of light in this room. If you get a ton of light, you might one to consider one shade darker than what you think you want so that when the light washes it out, it''ll be closer to what you really intended.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

My two favorites are Valspar Frappe and Taupe Stone they are both grayish-tans. Most of our downstairs are those two colors and our ceilings are antique white. Trim is a bright, glossy white.

 

[swingirl]

Oh my goodness. What a fabulous room!! Get a few quarts of the colors you are considering and put some on a wall. Paint always looks different once you get it in the actual room.

 

[steph72276]

April, that color looks great in your room!

 

[April20]

Date: 12/16/2009 6:57:25 AM
Author: steph72276
April, that color looks great in your room!

Thanks. It really is my favorite neutral.

L & R- I second the advice to go buy a whole bunch of the little tester paint things they sell these days and paint largish sections of it on the wall. See how it looks at different times of the day and especially at night. It''s the best way to figure out what you like. I don''t know that I''d automatically paint the ceiling the same colors as the walls unless there really isn''t a good transition point or it will look stripey, but that''s just my opinion. I think sometimes when the walls and ceiling are the same color it ends up looking like a big tent.

 

[janinegirly]

april, nice shade!! It doesn''t go yellow? it''s hard to tell in the photo. I love the subtletly!

I spent alot of time going near mad trying to find the perfect beige. Samples are the way to go but be prepared to have a whole collection of samples when you are done! Colors look so different in each house not to mention from room to room...
let us know what you decide!

 

[lucyandroger]

Thank you all for the replies! I''m going to check out each of the recommended colors!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 12/16/2009 8:50:14 AM
Author: April20

Date: 12/16/2009 6:57:25 AM
Author: steph72276
April, that color looks great in your room!

Thanks. It really is my favorite neutral.

L & R- I second the advice to go buy a whole bunch of the little tester paint things they sell these days and paint largish sections of it on the wall. See how it looks at different times of the day and especially at night. It''s the best way to figure out what you like. I don''t know that I''d automatically paint the ceiling the same colors as the walls unless there really isn''t a good transition point or it will look stripey, but that''s just my opinion. I think sometimes when the walls and ceiling are the same color it ends up looking like a big tent.

April, Thanks for posting that picture! The color really does look great in your room!

Re painting the ceiling -- I get what you''re saying about the "big tent" look. My concern with the other way is it''ll look too broken up since the ceiling is most of the room and then the built-ins will still be white. hmmm....

Any other thoughts on painting the ceiling??? Does anyone have a similar ceiling in their house?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

lucy, I HATE white ceilings. Usually we paint them either antique white or two shades lighter than the wall color. We have similar built-ins in our family room and I love the contrast. Our''s had that huge hole too (for the older big screen TVs) and we had a carpenter build a stand with cuby holes. I have baskets for DD''s toys and our LCD fits perfectly. Just an idea if you have a newer TV. Our sunroom has similar ceilings and the walls are chocolate brown, all trim bright white and the ceiling antique white. We have crown which breaks it up as well.

 

[April20]

Date: 12/16/2009 9:36:50 AM
Author: janinegirly
april, nice shade!! It doesn''t go yellow? it''s hard to tell in the photo. I love the subtletly!

I spent alot of time going near mad trying to find the perfect beige. Samples are the way to go but be prepared to have a whole collection of samples when you are done! Colors look so different in each house not to mention from room to room...
let us know what you decide!

It really doesn''t. I painted it in my bathroom, hallway and the guest room and did the kitchen two shades darker on the paint swatch. It''s a really great neutral.

Here''s a shot of the color two shades darker.

 

[Hera]

paint the ceiling!

 

[gardengloves]

Date: 12/15/2009 3:36:19 PM
Author: steph72276
Here''s the link to the whole naturals line: http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/products/paint/items.asp?haid=50. They do have paint sample packs that I would recommend since they don''t look exactly the same as the swatch.

Lovely family room- you have wonderful light and the built ins are great. I so agree with the recommendation of Ralph Lauren paint colors. My entire house is Ralph Lauren colors. I''ve used the sisal in rooms and a color called parchment in family room. These shades, more like tints or tones are great, very neutral but subtle color just envelopes a room, so you scarcely notice the color, just feel the sense of warmth- they shift and change with the light throughout the day and evening. Its also a good quality paint.

 

[partyjewels]

I haven''t read all the responses yet, but I FULLY agree with def. picking our furniture before/or with new paint colors. We recently did an addition and when it time came for me to paint I hesitated... I really wanted to wait till we got our new furniture - or at least picked out what we definitely would get later.... but hubby insisted I paint before the floors got put in. Big PITA. Now that we are looking at furniture and ready to buy, we are definitely limited in what we can pick - our dining room wasn''t so much an issue..... but our living room... ugh! I painted it a very pale yellow/green called "Slight Yellow" Very pretty color, and close enough to a neutral that I thought I''d be ok..... however, surprisingly several of the couches/chairs that we like, well, they''re only available in one color, and while we like the color, it would look awful with the paint on the walls! Since the paint is fresh, I dont want to have to repaint already, but that''s my only choice if I want to be able to get whatever couches/chairs/etc I want for that room and not be limited by fabric colors

So it''s either repaint (even though the paint has only been up for about a month) or settle for furniture I don''t LOVE, just because the color I can get it in will work in the room.

Blah!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 12/16/2009 11:36:53 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
lucy, I HATE white ceilings. Usually we paint them either antique white or two shades lighter than the wall color. We have similar built-ins in our family room and I love the contrast. Our''s had that huge hole too (for the older big screen TVs) and we had a carpenter build a stand with cuby holes. I have baskets for DD''s toys and our LCD fits perfectly. Just an idea if you have a newer TV. Our sunroom has similar ceilings and the walls are chocolate brown, all trim bright white and the ceiling antique white. We have crown which breaks it up as well.

Tacori- I LOVE this idea of adding to the built-ins instead of doing a TV stand. Thank you for suggesting this! TV stands are so expensive anyway. I can''t imagine it would be that much more expensive to go this route and I think it''ll look great!

ETA - Valspar Frappe is on my short list of colors and thank you for your thoughts on the ceiling.

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 12/16/2009 2:53:38 PM
Author: April20

Date: 12/16/2009 9:36:50 AM

Author: janinegirly

april, nice shade!! It doesn''t go yellow? it''s hard to tell in the photo. I love the subtletly!


I spent alot of time going near mad trying to find the perfect beige. Samples are the way to go but be prepared to have a whole collection of samples when you are done! Colors look so different in each house not to mention from room to room...

let us know what you decide!

It really doesn''t. I painted it in my bathroom, hallway and the guest room and did the kitchen two shades darker on the paint swatch. It''s a really great neutral.


Here''s a shot of the color two shades darker.

April - I''m definitely going to try a sample of this color. I LOVE your black cabinets!!! Thank you for sharing pics of your home!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 12/16/2009 7:27:00 PM
Author: gardengloves

Date: 12/15/2009 3:36:19 PM

Author: steph72276

Here's the link to the whole naturals line: http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/products/paint/items.asp?haid=50. They do have paint sample packs that I would recommend since they don't look exactly the same as the swatch.

Lovely family room- you have wonderful light and the built ins are great. I so agree with the recommendation of Ralph Lauren paint colors. My entire house is Ralph Lauren colors. I've used the sisal in rooms and a color called parchment in family room. These shades, more like tints or tones are great, very neutral but subtle color just envelopes a room, so you scarcely notice the color, just feel the sense of warmth- they shift and change with the light throughout the day and evening. Its also a good quality paint.

gardengloves -- I LOVE that description!!! That is exactly the feeling that I want. Thanks so much for your thoughts on the RL line.

 

[lucyandroger]

Janinegirly, heraanderson, and partyjewels thanks for your input!


As far as furniture goes - We really want to get our "grown up" furniture for this place so that means shopping piece by piece because we really can''t afford to buy everything all at once.

We will be getting a new sofa pretty soon after we move in. The color we like now for that is the Grade B Sierra Red here: http://www.potterybarn.com/pages/popups/fab_leather_popup.html

 

[pennquaker09]

Benjamin Moore Wheeling Neutral. I think it has a universal appeal.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

lucy, frappe would look AMAZING in that room and would be my vote. We have that in our entry which also gets a TON of light. People always compliment the color. One of these days I will take a photo but our handy man charged us $300 to make a stand and people would NEVER know it wasn''t part of the original built-ins. Also it was the cost of ready made stands. I bought totes at Target and we use it for extra toy storage.