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Erin
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 1:59pm | IP Logged
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It appears that within the fortnight I'll be ready to paint the bedrooms in our extensions!!
I went to the paint shop to pick up charts yesterday and the owner was extolling the virtues of white. White!! Seriously with 8 children?? Anyhow Dh and I aren't keen on white.
My question is, would you paint the same colour throughout the entire house (which is huge) and change rooms with accessories. Our would you paint some rooms (such as bedrooms) differently, keeping living areas the same colour?
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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JennGM
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 2:18pm | IP Logged
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My ideas of color will be extremely conservative and probably differ from many people. The first and foremost thing would be picking paints that are wipeable. Absolutely no flat paint, not matter what decorator says it's the best thing. Here we have "eggshell" which is wipable and semi-gloss, which is very durable. Sometimes paints are marked for "children's bedrooms" and "kitchen and bathrooms". They are worth it!
I'm very affected by color. I prefer light, cheery colors, nothing really intense or dark. Only the colors I pick are very soft pale shades. I tend to shy away from anything with hints of orange or brown. I do like soft yellows, but not very bright.
It depends on what your budget is. It can be costly picking paints just for one room -- if you overbuy, the paint is wasted.
But we pick a few colors throughout the house. We have shades of blues and yellows in the bedrooms upstairs. Downstairs we have plans for a soft green blue in the living room/dining room and a cream/pale yellow in the family room/kitchen combo.
We do use the same primer throughout, and the same ceiling and door and trim paint colors throughout so we don't have to mess with various colors. And we just paint the ceilings a shade of white.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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CrunchyMom
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Well, as we prepare to move, I've been trying to work out our color scheme for the new house since it really needs paint!
Right now, my plan is to paint the entry and hallway/stairways all the same color throughout. I'm picking a nice, taupey gray that will work with other colors I like but also appears to me as one of the prettier shades of toddler hand grime I could find that wasn't too dark. I figure these are the places that also get the most abuse, and the big swatches of dirt trailing down stairs drives me crazy.
I plan on using this same shade throughout the boys bedroom and playroom as well. Our new home (barring the unforeseen) is a split level and they have the uppermost level (2 beds and a bath) to themselves, so, on that level, I am switching to dark colored trim to hide dings and such.
It depends on your floor plan, but you can still paint different living areas different colors or even shades, but you might limit your color scheme to particular colors you like that coordinate so your home feels cohesive rather than like a bad patchwork quilt.
I know I used to look at rooms individually, but I think it is better to think of the big picture. It takes a lot more thought, but the end product will be a home that "flows" more gracefully.
A lot of the really cute cottage style decorating books/mags/blogs have all white walls. It IS cute, but one reason it works is that it is a backdrop for very restrained and intentional decorating. I don't get the impression your style is for the "decorator's look" and I think that some color would work better for your family a feel more relaxed while still finished.
I think that these two links are good:
Picking the PErfect Paint Color
Our Home's Recently Expanded Color Palette
Their style isn't quite my own, but their advice is good.
I also really, really love the Farrow and Ball book Living Witih Color that I got for my birthday. They only have 132 colors in a really restrained palette. I won't be able to afford to use their paints and plan to do some color matching with the chip card (absolute HERESY among F&B purists!!!), but there are some good free brochures on their site for choosing color and their inspiration gallery is nice, too.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Servant2theKing
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 2:54pm | IP Logged
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Our family endured white walls for the first few years we've lived been here. It was utterly impossible to keep light colored walls clean. This past Summer we were blessed to be able to paint our main living areas, which are all open to one another, in complementary medium tones (golden taupe in living room and kitchen and dining area, rosey terra cotta on one dining area wall and our command center area, sagey green in halls leading to bedrooms and bathrooms)...the bedrooms and bathrooms we painted in slightly lighter shades that complement the main rooms, with one exception. Our boys wanted dark blue in their bedroom, to complement LOTR maps they have long treasured, and to serve as a background for silver and gold enhancements which they have slowly been drawing about the room...runes and pictures of various LOTR images.
Before we tackled the first room, I felt totally crippled by fear and dread of choosing the wrong paint colors. In previous homes we always had a foundation to work from, since we lived in older homes that had the mark of previous owners. The newer home we now live in was like a blank canvas...I was at a complete loss over how to even begin filling it with colors that would create a pleasing, harmonious environment. We were actually quite blessed to find mismatched paints, for a fraction of the normal price. I am certain St. Anthony had a big hand in making sure the colors were ones that blend well with our furnishings and religious images! I have been delighted at how color enhances and brings out the beauty in the various religious pictures we cherish...I was always under the mistaken notion that white walls made a better backdrop for pictures...it's actually quite amazing how much color enhances, rather than competing with, our beloved artwork.
We couldn't be happier with the change it has made in our home. Everything seems cozier and warmer...in hindsight I realize now that the white made our home feel more sterile and impersonal. We just arrived home from a four week stay with our daughter's family...I had actually forgotten that we had painted! I walked in expecting the white walls we had grown so accustomed to and was pleasantly surprised and delighted at the difference, after being away for so long!
Look about you...consider those things your family truly cherishes...let those things be your guide, along with St. Anthony, in choosing colors that will truly bless your family and your home! It may be colors in the land, trees, plants and sky around you...or perhaps family heirlooms, well-loved objects or books whose colors bring your family joy and delight! With all the devastation surrounding you, your family will need the blessing of the haven God has blessed you with in the days to come.
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Betsy
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FWIW, when we brough our first home when it was only 1.5 years old and the origional owners never painted a single room. We thught that was wonderful and planned on leaving it white untill we were ready to paint/decorate.
We were in the home only a few months before the stark, white color grated on both of our nerves. We moved painting to the top of our list!!!
Also, we have hired an interior decorator in each our homes to help pick out paint. We never paid more than a gallon or two of paint to have it done, and felt like it was a steal in the long run picking out colors we didn't like.
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Mimip
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 3:56pm | IP Logged
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Erin,
We have been dealing with paint colors for MONTHS!!! Both my husband and I love color so be forewarned but there is no way I would go with white in our house because it really is impossible for me to keep the walls spotless which is how I would, in my OCD self, want them  And I really like color anyways 
The rule we go for is a neutral color in the hallways and living spaces. We are actually go for a very light tan, Latte. Then we are going for an accent color wall in each room.
We have a very dark red for our Dining room ( We are actually going to create an icon wall on it so its a perfect red. Here it is
Then we chose a blue that would contrast the red in the other room on an opposite wall. We were covering a LIME green wall (used 3 coats of primer!) Here it is
Our kids chose their room colors so I have boys with a light blue top half and deeper blue bottom and the girls have blue, yellow and green stripes!
Ours will be the same Latte, when we get around to it!
I think I am the opposite of Jen in that I really want a very strong palate. I would say though that no matter what you do make sure the colors match in depth. For example, don't go really pastel in the same room or set of spaces where you are seeing deeper colors. It makes for very hard decorating and choosing other colors for your fabrics.
HTH!
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In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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JennGM
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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Mimip wrote:
I think I am the opposite of Jen in that I really want a very strong palate. I would say though that no matter what you do make sure the colors match in depth. For example, don't go really pastel in the same room or set of spaces where you are seeing deeper colors. It makes for very hard decorating and choosing other colors for your fabrics.
HTH! |
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That's interesting. I love strong palettes, but not for my backdrop. I know it's in to have the dark strong colors on the walls, but it's not restful to me.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 5:34pm | IP Logged
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First of all I would pick the color of white I'd want.. I like using strong colors but not on all the walls of a room..
But the change in my house going from the stark plain white that isn't colored.. to a white with a hint of peach in it.. dh looked in the container and said.. that's pink.. well no not really.. and sure enough once it was on the walls and dry.. it just looks white but with a warmth that it had been lacking..
AND I'd do the ceilings and walls in the same white all through the house.. so that I only needed that one color of white for touch ups.. and then I'd use different colors.. because I love having color in my house..
rooms open to each other should look nice together but don't need to be all the same.
So I would use white even if I wanted the walls other colors.. for trim, for the tops of walls.. (darker color under a white can look nice)..
in my house..
my bedroom has two walls (closet in one wall with white doors) that are a dark green, and 2 walls white (one with window) and dark green curtains on the window.
boys room is a sandy color on all 4 walls.. but white ceiling an trim.
girls room is a pale green (with bright pink accents) but again white ceiling and trim
hallway is white
bathroom is white with off white sponged on top so both colors show.. with an evergreen trim up high on one wall.. sage towels etc.
living room white.. except the wall that the dining table sits against.. and that is an antique blue.. kitchen is all white.. but I want to do something with it.. just not sure what yet.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Erin
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 7:57pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for all the comments, lots of food for thought, keep them coming. 
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Erin
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Jan 11 2011 at 9:11pm | IP Logged
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We just painted in our house. The walls were all white when we bought it (except the study, which was fuchsia). White shows dirt too easily IMO. Plus I hate dusting, which means that I don't want to have lots of "things" in my house to have to dust... so I try to use wall color to decorate so that I doesn't have to hang as many pictures.
I like color but didn't want that patchwork look. What we ended up with was one color (a golden yellow) for all of the hallways, one color (a slightly deeper golden yellow) for the main living areas and kitchen, one color for all of the boys rooms/bathrooms (denim blue), and two very similar shades of green (sort of a sage, but not quite) for everything else (laundry, our room and bath, study). That's almost patchwork but the two yellows are very similar and the two greens are too. Our floors are wood and golden brown tile, so I wanted colors that had brown/warm undertones (not greys) so that they match the floor. The colors are similar in depth to each other (like Mimi suggests).
One thing that helped me pick colors was to think of what kind of energy I wanted in the room. (Not meaning anything new-agey here!) I wanted the main living areas to be places that made me happy. Yellow is a happy color (for me). I wanted something more relaxing in the other rooms, so I chose more subdued shades of blue and green.
We've also discovered the hard way that what something looks like in the can or on a small board may not be what it looks like on the wall! And lighting makes a big difference. Under the fluorescent light my golden hallway is a weird shade of melon. 
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Becky Parker
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Well, I have very little knowledge and should not even be replying here because interior decor and color matching are not my forte. But, one thing I remember hearing is that when you choose colors, make sure they go with your furniture. (Or, I would think the art work you have, as Servant said.) Sounds basic, but the point was that people will have the same furniture for years, but paint colors can easily be changed.
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Becky
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 12 2011 at 8:34am | IP Logged
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cathhomeschool wrote:
| Under the fluorescent light my golden hallway is a weird shade of melon. |
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My SIL used to do house staging, and she said that they would work and work to pick a great color, and then the owner would go out and buy compact fluorescents to replace their incandescent bulbs, and then would complain that the color was bad. She was like, no, its a great color! You just changed to a bad bulb!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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Becky Parker wrote:
| Well, I have very little knowledge and should not even be replying here because interior decor and color matching are not my forte. But, one thing I remember hearing is that when you choose colors, make sure they go with your furniture. (Or, I would think the art work you have, as Servant said.) Sounds basic, but the point was that people will have the same furniture for years, but paint colors can easily be changed. |
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Another tip I've heard in the same vein is to look in your closets at the colors you consistently choose. This will likely be the colors you will be comfortable living with long term.
However, like Jenn, I love bold colors, but not on my walls. I've tried dark, and while I like it at first, it wears on me and I get tired of it more quickly than more neutral colors (which don't have to be beige). I prefer to use bolder colors to accent.
But, like Janette, I don't like a lot of clutter and my husband hates curtains. So, its tricky but satisfying to me finding balance between the two.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Angel
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| Posted: Jan 13 2011 at 8:19pm | IP Logged
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Hmmm... we still have rooms to paint. Many of the rooms were a kind of greeny brown that immediately made me think of dirty diapers. I'm sure that's not what occurred to the former owners...
I pick paint colors based on how they make me feel. I can't stand white walls. Yellows, reds, and terra cotta are warm and bright and cheerful, which is what I need most around me. They also work well with wood, which I love. I notice that people gravitate to certain colors based on their personalities. My mother, who is organized, sequential, and rather nervous and high strung, surrounds herself with blues and greens. I like a little blue myself, but too much makes me feel cold. I happen to be disorganized, somewhat laid back, non-sequential, and in need of energizing on a daily basis. Therefore, I have a lot of yellow in my house.
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Angela
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JodieLyn
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oh the psychology of colors is fascinating..
for istance.. people that find blue relaxing may find purple depressing.. but people that find purple relaxing may find blue depressing.
I personally can't stand PINK as a major color.. when my girls wanted pink in their room we painted the walls a soft green and added bright pink highlights with the curtains and such.
I like yellow.. it's so cheerful an cozy.. but I also like blues and greens.. I would love to do my bedroom in burgandy but dh was less than thrilled so we ended up with a green.
Also, colors can effect your health.. for instance red raises blood pressure. and orange stimulates appetite I think it was.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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juststartn
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When we moved in, our house had been "neutralized"--an otherwise nice, sandy brown color. Kind of a very light latte color.
However, being a person who likes color, I decided to paint it the same color we had had in our old house--an older color from Valspar called Ivory Castle. It looks light yellow at some times, parchment at others. Here's a link: Ivory Castle (the second row down, far right) It almost functions as a neutral, to be honest... It goes really well with the red, blue, greens, and blacks I have in the rest of the furniture. I used that color down the halls, in the public areas of most of the house (dining room is open to the family room, so they needed to be the same color). I used complementary colors in the kitchen--red and white, and a dark blue in the mudroom/mudroom bathroom. The bedrooms have not been done yet, but the boys room is going to be the same color it is--a cafe latte--we're going with a cowboy theme in there. The girls room is going to be a pale pink (I got an "oops" paint at Walmart, and will be lightening it up a bit with some white)...DHs and my bedroom will be in a blue.
See, for me, I prefer to start with the fabric I am intending to use in a room, and then find a color that works with it. Here's the fabric I got for the family room: fabric
I actually bought the fabric before we arrived in our new home (yes, I was that sure). Got it on clearance, AND with a coupon, lol.
If you already have colors that you have in your furniture (I am assuming you are not planning to get brand new furniture to), or have your window treatments, then wall colors will be easy (sorry, this is a hobby for me, lol).
Maybe give us a little idea of what the colors in your furniture/window treatments are, so we can go from there? (There is *no* way I would put white on there. NO WAY. My children are all ten and under. Handprints, crayon, marker, more handprints. UGH. If I just *had* to use a white, I'd have to do it in a semi or high gloss (although those show ANY defects in the walls), just for clean-ability. And definitely not in "pure" white, in something just off of that...
HTH...although I somewhat doubt it. LOL
Rachel
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JodieLyn
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oh and if you do use white.. btw.. you'll have the same color which means you can touch up.. or in my case.. paint whole sections of wall to make them clean
I'm just working with a very small space and even a beige color would start to make it feel smaller.. the boys room is a sandy color and while it's not bad it does feel smaller.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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cathhomeschool
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JodieLyn wrote:
| I'm just working with a very small space and even a beige color would start to make it feel smaller.. the boys room is a sandy color and while it's not bad it does feel smaller. |
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Yes, it's amazing how color -- even smaller changes -- can make a room feel big or small! It also amazes me how a color can "change" just because it's next to another color. I just "knew" that our bathroom ceiling was white until we tore out the dark green wallpaper. Then I realized that it was a light tan, just like all of the other ceilings in the house.
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Servant2theKing
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Erin, I've been contemplating your question further, while I've also been appreciating anew the colors in our own home, especially after being away for awhile! It occurred to me today that the colors in our homes can effect us very much like the colors in a church, a painting or the colors of nature.
In our case, putting our own special touches on our home has made it seem even more "ours" and has given us a more settled feeling than when we were living with the newer-house-neutral-whites-pallete. Even though our home is relatively small by today's standards, it feels cozier, even more sacred, with the deeper tones, than it did with starker whites. Since we have oak trim, cabinets and doors throughout, somewhat darker shades make the color and grain of the oak stand out and look richer...in hindsight I realize that whites made the oak look cheaper.
Amazingly, God has also provided furniture and other enhancements for our home over the past couple years (before we painted) that all blend quite well with St. Anthony's choice of colors! Items that once belonged to my mother and other family members, an altar rail gate that we converted to a kneeler, and so many blessings that we've accumulated over 35 years of married life seem to have been made for the pallette God provided for us this past Summer!
I'm praying you'll be guided toward colors that bring your family similar grace and peace in the home you've poured so much labor and love into. The progress you've made is incredible! Looking at your BLOG, it's evident you have a gift for blending colors together...enjoy the process of feathering your blessed nest! May God watch over you and your family, and all your fellow Australians, in the days ahead!
ETA: I just revisited your BLOG...you have so many great projects going on! One thought...perhaps some of the wood or cabinets you've salvaged could be used to create a reading loft in your library or learning room. I love the concept of going verticle and utilizing space that would otherwise go to waste. When our oldest children were still in school there were reading lofts in the kindergarten rooms...I always wanted to climb up and pretend we were reading in a tree house!!! I'd probably want to paint a tree on the walls, complete with a bird house and feathered friends. Insomnia is making me a little goofy...I'd better sign off.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Jan 14 2011 at 7:07am | IP Logged
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There are also lots of different whites. Brighter, cooler white can actually make a room feel smaller than a color would because it is a bold color, not pale. Warmer creamier whites are usually easier to live with long term.
One tip I keep meaning to mention is buy sample pots of whatever you are considering. Then, you can paint a piece of poster board and move it around the room, and this will give you a much better idea for whether the color will work and what it will look like in the lights and shadows of your space than the little chip.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Interior Painting, Would you...?
