Denise,

I'm headed out to Sam's Club and the grocery store but I'll be back later on tonight to answer you.

Hi Denise - you had posted some of these pics on the thread I posted on here in which I was asking for help with picking neutral colors. I just want to say that I feel your pain..I really do! You seem a lot like me, you want things to look close to perfect and for all the thought and time you put into decorating your home you want to feel like you are living in a magazine! Believe me I know the feeling because I am the same way! I am obviously no design expert and in the learning process with all of this working on my home but I just wanted to tell you that I think your home looks amazing to me! I love the way the raspberry truffle came out in your dining room and I like the neutral color you have in your living room area. To me, it IS like looking in a magazine when I look at your pictures so I think you are being too critical...lol.

I wanted to make a suggestion though, for the greenish couch that you felt clashed with the tobacco road, did you ever consider getting a slipcover for the couch?

Also, I have to agree with you that painting the moulding and trim in the sunroom white would be really nice and would be keeping consistent with the other rooms that do have white trim. Maybe you can convince hubby of this...I know if it was me I would be wanting to paint it white. Not that it looks bad at all...it still looks nice, but I am all for consistency and not liking to make things look choppy and I think it would look less cluttered to the eye if the trim were white in there since it is so open to the other rooms.

Also, I like the rugs, in your photos it all looks good to me!

Nutmegxo,

Thanks for the vote of confidence and compliments. I do appreciate it. I was so afraid to post because so many people's homes are gorgeous. Everything looks perfect in those photos of their homes and I try so hard to do what I can with what I already have, and on a budget. The funny thing is when we made an apartment downstairs for my mom, I picked out the colors so quickly and it came out beautiful. It all flows with warm colors of a nice gold, yellow and an accent wall of Georgian Brick by BM. But the difference is everything was pretty much new except for her white sofa and two chairs from which I picked the colors. So simple there, but so hard for me where I have years of furniture..some which I like and some not so much anymore. Some things I would change but my husband cherishes his antique oak Morris chairs. Believe me I am still working on having the molding painted in the front room, at least the crown molding! When people come over they love the house and feel it gives off such a warm, cozy, homey feel. It is a house filled with love...of food and family so maybe that is more important and I am just getting myself crazy. But I still would love to have someone like Candace olson of Devine Design or even Martha Stewart come over!! I swear I am still thinking of a color that would work for you too!

"I know the rug in living room doesn't really go anymore, but again, he won't replace it cause it was expensive."

I think it looks good.

I think you've done beautifully!

LMAO!!!! If you get Candace Olsen to come over, send her over to me when she is done with you! Seriously I think we all are critical of our own spaces because we live there every day but when fresh eyes see your home they are probably amazed by it. My hubby walked by my computer while I was viewing your pics and said "Wow that house looks gorgeous!"

ummm....what is the problem bc i love all your rooms and colors!!!!

don't mix yellow beige's with pinkish beige's
Those two kinds of beiges when placed together can create an odd, unnatural color harmony. In general, those two kinds of colors can benefit and look their best when used with other colors -- they don't make the easiest color partnership to work with. The yellow beige, pinky beige situation is not an impossible circumstance. I believe -- I know -- that there are color solutions for every color challenge. The yellow beige/pinky beige is one of the tougher challenges and sometimes just might be beyond the grasp of DIY colorists.

white in a low light room will not make the room look brighter, just more dim.
Not necessarily "more dim" because the quality of light will still be the quality of light. Dim is dim. If the room receives an amount of natural light that is best described as "dim", it's still going to be dim even if you paint the walls white. The quality of natural light didn't change. Only the wall color changed to white. Intuitively it would seem that white would be the antidote to cure dim. But that's not how it works because color and light are partners. White is comprised of many wavelengths of light and it needs a light source that is robust and full to look pretty . Dim light doesn't give white paint much in the way of wavelengths to reflect back into the space -- and that's what white does, reflect.

The problem is this. The sunroom, which is really part of the house and we just call it that since it has 7 windows and gets alot of south and western light, is still casting a greenish cast to the Latte. It literally looks like a different color than what is in the living room. I will live with it but for the future could you tell me where I went wrong and what I should do for the future

It's that color and light partnership thing again. One color isn't going to look the same in every room due to varying qualities of inherent light -- like you've discovered. Assuming that one color is going to work in every room probably isn't the best thing to assume. You still have to sample and evaluate each paint color in each room.

Determining a color's undertone is just one small step. Rules about what kinds of undertones are suppose to go with -- or not go with -- other kinds of undertones do not deal with the reality of color in three-dimensional spaces. Remember how I said that once you establish a sense of undertone for a color, you still have to evaluate it carefully in the room, in the context that it will reside? We need to do that because we cannot look at colors in isolation, the appearance of any color is affected by what surrounds it.

For the next time you have to make some color choices, I'd say don't get so wrapped around the rules and what everyone says is suppose to work or not work. Relax your expectations for paint colors; they don't have to be so tight and so high. Stay organized and trust your instincts and what you *see* and go with your gut more.

Focus on your core paint color knowledge. You now understand undertones a whole lot better than you did before. You may have made a few mistakes in your opinion, but don't focus on the mistakes. Instead focus on what you learned. Use that experience to *see* color better next time. When the time comes to buy a new sofa, focus on how the fabric samples look in the room and do your best to make a decision. When the time comes to get a new stair runner, then deal with the stair runner.

Don't look too far ahead. You can only effectively color for your now. Make the best color decisions that you can one at a time and any future color decisions will fall easier into place -- that's actually one way to interpret "building a color scheme".

Thanks everyone. I guess we do focus on the negative and don't see it through objective eyes.
I do tend to think far ahead...what will I do when I get a new sofa, instead of just picking what goes with it now.
Does it make a difference Funcolors, or what does one do, when a color looks so different in two adjoining rooms? Particularly when you like it in one better than the other? Do you judge the color in the room that tends to "green" everything? It's almost like I need two colors but the rooms are basically one. It's almost like that room wants to be green!

I do the same thing...trying to color my house for the future instead of the here and now...it is a really tricky thing! Especially when you know you want to change things! For instance, our kitchen has pinkish cabinets (that awful pickled look) and a rose color countertop and a pink sink - yes the previous homeowner liked pink! We KNOW we want to change that down the line - we will paint the cabinets white and replace the countertop and sink - so I refuse to paint my house something that matches the kitchen NOW...instead I am decorating for what I want the space to look like in the FUTURE.

Funcolors, that was awesome explanation. I'm glad that I read it. I'm currently also dealing with couple of mistakes that I made in picking colors and this helped a lot. Thanks.

Does it make a difference Funcolors, or what does one do, when a color looks so different in two adjoining rooms? Particularly when you like it in one better than the other?

This is where expectations come into play. Many people don't know that the same paint color will look very different room to room because of the inherent light. They expect the color to be the same, constant, on every wall and in every room. Sometimes the color shifts due to the light are fun and works out to be a positive. Other times it's disappointing.

So to answer you as far as what do you do, it all depends. You either have to adjust expectations or adjust color. Adjusting expectations can simply mean explaining to someone how light and color work so they know -- and expect -- that the color will look different. Adjusting the color means - IMO - having the paint colors mixed full spectrum. Dramatic shifts of lighting qualities met full-on with paint colors that shift and change too and then sit back and enjoy the show.

And, I agree, it is really difficult to decide whether to color for now or color for down the road. How do you decide?

If you have definite plans with budget and dates all set, the wait to paint till you're done or almost done. Patience will pay off in the way of better cohesiveness.

If all the plans are up in the air in a maybe-some-day kinda way, then paint for what you have to work with now. Reconcile with the fact when that some day comes and that new stuff you've wanted finally manifests, you just might have to recolor and repaint for your new situation.

I absolutely detest the phrase "it's just paint" because it's not just paint. It's time, money, and effort too. However, at the end of all this one fact still remains and that is paint and color is by far the easiest and most economical thing you can do to give your space a new look.

Paint doesn't last forever either. Many times people choose paint color like they're going to have to live with it until they die or something. Believing something along those lines puts a lot of pressure on picking out a paint color!

Recoloring happens and repaints are necessary. It's just a fact of life when you choose to live in a colorful world.

You're welcome, vcheethi. :)

Funcolors,

Thank you so much for everything you said. I can look at the house as I leave or enter and say "it looks really nice", rather than dissect every aspect of it. As I am living with it, I have come to accept that the front room may be lighter than I hoped, but the living room is great. AS I move on in my projects (hallway) I leave behind my doubts and perseveration of the mistakes. I think what you said about the future is so true and I have to realize that I may decide to change the color in the future if I do ever get a new sofa. But for now enjoy it and stop looking for perfection. And I think I need to add that not only does the furniture change, but so does our preference for color and taste. I am into the deeper colors these days but who knows if that will change. After all, paints fill emotional needs. I am into red because it makes me happy and chocolate browns, lattes and cappuccino's ..remind me of comfort food! I loved green 7 years ago and maybe some people would say wait to repaint. But as you said paint is the cheapest way to change the look of your home. I do so much agree that painting takes alot of hard work when you do it yourself. I started off full of energy and motivation and now that I am in the middle of the hallway, I can't wait till I am done. My plans to repaint my bedroom is definitely on hold...It looks rather good the way it is. Thanks so much Funcolors and everyone else who posted.

scanmike, your home is beautiful and I think you've made very nice color choices. I agree, enjoy your sofa and don't worry about what choice you may make in years to come. : )

Funcolors, wonderful post! As someone who formally taught color theory as it relates to fabric art, I always enjoy reading another color devotee's take on the subject, especially where natural light is concerned. Living in sunny So.Cal at a mile high elevation and a home with loads of windows, I can definitely attest to the powers of natural light to change a paint color from room to room. Always a challenge but always fun. : )

"I absolutely detest the phrase "it's just paint" because it's not just paint. It's time, money, and effort too."

Amen to that! I just finished primering and painting my MB and Mbath. Not sure I need to go to the gym this week. Do you know how many calories are burned per hour of painting? ; )