Totally completely off topic- paint colors

modgrl

I'm finally getting rid of my 80's wallpaper in my dining room. Hurrah!! But the color I thought I'd put in there (cold steel gray) looks awful! The style of the house is traditional but the furniture in that room is modern, with vintage 50's modern chairs and a glass ligne roset table. Any help appreciated!!!

Photo of old wallpaper attached!

This post has 1 photo. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

14 years ago

General

8 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

ironkurtin

Veteran

Grays are painfully hard to get right (my husband is a color expert and it took us three tries and much agony to get our kitchen right). So kudos to you, you tackled it head on!

I love sunlight colors in dinng rooms, try yellow. Not sure who makes the color called "ambiance" but its a very, very useful color, like sunlight on a beautiful day. It went really well with our midcentury modern stuff, because it worked with the wood.

14 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

The cool color with the modern furniture is probably making the space feel cold and impersonal -- try some warmer tones. What colors are in the adjacent rooms?

I know how exciting it is to get rid of old wallpaper!

14 years ago

Jonesy

Veteran

What other colors do you have in your house? We have lots of different, muted colors in ours, and our dining room is painted a gray-blue. We have modern furniture, but it's in warm wood tones so that brings some warmth to the room (pic below, ignore me standing there!).

This post has 1 photo. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

14 years ago

Lynne

Veteran

Hi, Rita, I loved this post on choosing grey from Maria Killam's blog; you might find it interesting:
http://www.mariakillam.com/201.....perts.html

Have fun!

14 years ago

modgrl

(website)

Veteran

Janet, I'm trying to move away from the "warm" colors, I feel like my house has too much of that warm charm all by itself.

Jonesy, that's the look I should be going for. In my head I was thinking a medium charcoal gray but it just doesn't work at all!

Lynne, great article! thanks for sharing. I wish I had those paint decks at home!

14 years ago

Anonymous

Hi there, I just wanted to pipe up and say how hard greys have been for me to choose. I staged houses for a while and chose a lot of neutral colors. I've had the most success with warm greys. Compared to all the other greys, they appear warm, but next to regualr "builder beige" they will look cooler and more grey. Something that looks taupe in the store might give you the grey you are after at home.

So many factors come into play, your woodtones in furniture and woodwork, the type of light you get through the windows, and your exposure (nothern or southern). If your room does not get direct sunlight, you might have to pick a shade that looks really light on the chip, but it will look medium like you want it once you get it on the walls. Of course in winter, the color needs to look good with your lighting after the sun goes down.

Good luck and know that I feel your pain. If might be worth it to get the premium samples that Home Depot carries. They're 8oz I think.

14 years ago

sarah

Veteran

Rita - since you don't want warm colors, you might try a Benjamin Moore color called Richmond Gray - it's a greenish-greyish-beigeish color that I currently have in our bedroom. I love it, but of course it all depends on the light, etc, in your room. BM paints sells small samples, and they also have a new line of low VOC paint that doesn't smell at all, if that matters to you.

14 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Perhaps you should contact Maria from Colour Me Happy?

14 years ago

Category