SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
whitdobe

Paint color, pulling my hair out!!!

whitdobe
13 years ago

About a year ago I painted my living room and dining room. They used to be an old SW color called Ivory Tusk. Not white but off white in the yellow family. They looked like this:

{{gwi:1594059}}

{{gwi:1594060}}

Last year I started trying some color in the spare bedrooms and I really liked it so I worked my way through the whole house adding more color. I opted to paint the living and dining rooms SW Blonde.

{{gwi:1594061}}

{{gwi:1594062}}

While I'm very happy with the colors I've used elsewhere in the house, and I have used some very dark colors, I've finally admitted to myself that the Blonde just doesn't work in the living/dining rooms. The front bay window faces south but, sun can only enter so far into the room. No windows on the side and dining room window faces north and is under an overhang of the second floor. It's just too dark.

I've been trying paint colors. I'm so sick of trying paint colors. Anyway, today I saw something that surprised me and that's what I wanted to ask about.

The latest paint color I bought a sample of is SW Sundew. (I only use SW paint, I'm happy with it.) I really thought that might be the one for me but, as I watched the sample boards throughout the day it still seemed a bit "dark". Not as dark as the Blonde but I was worried I'd paint yet again and not like it.

As a comparison I taped up two other sample boards. One is SW Buff and I always figured that would be my "safe" choice. It's what I have in our foyer and I know it won't be too dark....but with Buff I'm concerned it might be too light.

This is SW Buff in our foyer:

{{gwi:1594063}}

The other sample I taped up was SW Concord Buff. I had no real expectation of liking it in the living room, I just wanted a lighter color to compare the Sundew to. I have Concord Buff in the family room, kitchen and one spare bedroom. It's rather "in your face" yellow with a tinge of brown. This is SW Concord Buff.

{{gwi:1594064}}

In dimmer light, this is also Concord Buff:

{{gwi:1594065}}

This is another Concord Buff:

So, after all this I'm sure you're wonder what I'm going on about. Well, here are the three samples taped up above the sofa. Concord Buff is top left, Sundew bottom left and Buff is right. (And none of colors in that photo really show true.)

{{gwi:1594067}}

My problem? I like the Concord Buff best. I just can't believe that I'm thinking about painting the living and dining rooms yellow. It's not something I considered. A color with a tinge of yellow yes, but gee...am I out of my mind????

Comments (7)