vaulted ceilings, brick fireplace, oak floors oh my

12 years ago

I need help!

Recently purchased a home with vaulted ceilings, a brick fireplace and oak floors. Normally I do not shy away from color but because of the high ceilings I am afraid. I never thought it would happen but lately I find myself attracted to greys! With so many greys, I am lost. I am starting to think I just cant do grey in this room and need to gravitate more towards colors like BM Lenox tan

Please excuse house as we moved in right before christmas and barely had time to unpack

http://photobucket.com/paintatnewhouse

Things that must stay

couches, piano, and floors, wood trim (husband does not want painted)

Things that are leaving are the woodburning stove, carpet on stairs,dining room set could go, and blinds.

colors I have tried

Sag harbor Gray - great on some walls, but walls with eastern or southern light turns it into army green

(Not that I am against green altogether)

Revere Pewter - Turned blue on my wall!

Bennington Gray - Best of the bunch so far

Grant beige - nice on some walls, but turns into pale green putty on some

Monroe Bisque (at advice of paint store- turns Super Yellow)

Glacial till and Hush - Pinkish

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Comments (13)

gmp3
12 years ago
I have Beninngton gray in most of my house and I love it. it reads greige, not gray, but is very neutral.
Kristie W
Original Author
12 years ago
FYI
I have included in photo album pictures of old owners furnishings
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I guess it's my turn to ask for wallcolor advice. Red oak floors?
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Stacey, you have such an interesting house! Your furniture looks modern, yet somehow traditional. I don't know how to say what I want to say... And I love the lamp with the blue base. I just bought one similar and am totally in love with it. Who knew? I really like the Edgecomb Gray on the monitor, as well as the Revere Pewter. I think both of these colors contribute to an eclectic yet contemporary feel that is warmed up by the old school type fireplace. I do have a suggestion. Instead of white built-ins, why not consider having the bookcases painted in the wall color you choose? With the black slate as a centerpiece, I think it may be too choppy with the white. Particularly if you go with a gray, this might be appropriate. I love all the muted grays and gray whites that Holly does on her furniture (Life in the Fun Lane Blog) as well as Anne Turner's Mouses' Back (Farrow & Ball paint shade a browned gray) kitchen cabinets. That's the kind of thing I'm thinking for you, although maybe lighter, like the Rev. Pewter or the Edgecomb instead of the depth of Mouse's Back. Even doing the wall in a gray with a little darker shade on your built-ins could be great. Red Here is a link that might be useful: Mouse's Back Cabinets from Blueprint Bliss Blogspot
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I think a different material would be even better. Polished concrete?? If you have your heart set on laminate, I'd suggest an oak color floor to contrast and complement the ceiling colors and work with the brick. Here is a wood ceiling with polished concrete floors... Here is a sample of a light oak color floor with a darker ceiling. I think you need contrast.
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My husband and I purchased a 1971 ranch that we're renovating a year ago, and we have the same problem with the lack of natural light. Even though we do have what would seem to be plenty of windows in the main living areas, they all open up onto covered porches or patios, a garage (used to be a carport) and a patio converted into a sunroom that isn't all that sunny, lol. So I pulled out my bag of tricks that I use when staging to visually brighten my rooms. Lighter furniture/accessories, white drum shades on my table lamps, light natural linen drapes, etc., all make a difference. You will find that removing the popcorn and painting the ceilings white will make a HUGE difference in how much lighter/brighter the rooms feel. Even though we didn't have popcorn in this house (we've removed it in the past) we did have a flat, swirly texture that we removed because we know how much flat white ceilings can brighten a room. While I often advise clients to wrap the wall color onto their ceilings in their cavernous two-story living rooms, yours will probably benefit most from just keeping the ceiling white as your slant doesn't appear to be huge. Accessible Beige is a lovely color, I used it in my mother's home. Good luck, from one ranch lover to another! :)
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I think the reason you can't find a decent color is your lighting (and your choices. you're picking cool grays when you should be picking warm grays) but your lighting is very warm and yellow, so it alters the hue that you see. Given that you have north light, that brings in a cooler light, but not enough to really brighten up the room. as suggested, get some bulbs over 3500K. 4000K is natural day light. I'd start w/some of these Honestly? the red brick isn't all that. I'd paint it. white, black, gray, and bring in a large wood beam for the mantle. Paint the bookcases white too. I love this one. same floors as yours. do a matte black on the brick, paint the walls a nice, bight white (BM Simply White is neutral that leans just a tad warmer. I used it on my own walls. You can leave your ceilings as is, paint the beams, or paint the whole thing little diff as they kept the mortar joints a pale gray/white. you could choose to redo the shelving and do some built ins or, just paint them white and the brick either white or gray. ignore the fireplace, but these built ins are Ikea. It's an Ikea billy bookcase hack. super easy and looks great White brick, white walls, and bring in some cool furniture. I also love this mcm redo White brick, white walls, white ceiling. I don't like this color brick, just showing your the cabs on the sides. Romabio. look into Romabio (home depot has it) I'd do the masonry paint and not the lime wash. lime wash is too 'farm-y'. you want more mid century This stuff is super easy to use. Look it up and you'll find a ton of tutorials unless you want more of a country look: The masonry paint gives more of a solid coverage and can be tinted to any color
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gmp3
12 years ago
Here is her house now:

That's some paint color combo!
Kristie W
Original Author
12 years ago
Yeah this is some paint combo....trying sitting down for dinner with that green!

this is the old owners furnishings in the bottom pic...the carpet on the steps matches the 80s sea foam green on the walls.....

Honestly, I dont know if there is color I could choose that wouldnt be an improvement :)
jane__ny
12 years ago
Similar set up in our past home. Used BM Smokey Taupe on the walls. No pinkish tint and went well with all the oak.

Jane
Kristie W
Original Author
12 years ago
some more pics from the album...for link to entire album see link in first post
gmp3
12 years ago
it's like an ice cream cone, you are right any of the colors you picked will look great!
User
12 years ago
I rarely comment on these posts, because I am horribly color-challenged myself....

But I have to say, I agree that you could pick almost ANYTHING and it will look better than the colors the PO had there. :)
Kristie W
Original Author
12 years ago
Right now Bennington Gray is in the lead, but I feel like it is a little to tan in some light, and a little to green in other light. I would prefer almost a silvery light beige. I thought grant beige would be the answer but it is has a very pale green undertone.
User
12 years ago
I agree, just about anything you pick is going to be a big big improvement.

jane_ny - I don't think I've seen your house before. Beautiful!
Kristie W
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks Jane! I have been scouring the internet for pics of my favorite bm colors in actual homes...and most links were to these forums. So I just decided to take the plunge and post my pics.
busybee3
12 years ago
i agree, most anything will be an improvement...

you probably are having a hard time seeing the colors accurately since there's so much pink and aqua on the walls---the colors you're trying might look entirely different once the walls are painted...color plays off of color...
it might be worth it to neutralize a couple of walls (or more) before you select!
Kristie W
Original Author
12 years ago
I think you were right. After much thought, I chose bleeker beige and neutralized the entire room. Amazing....I was a little scared when it first went up because while it was still wet it looked greenish. However, now that it is dry, I can say it is really nice. In some light it looks a little gray and in other light it looks a little tan. This color is the answer to the "what grey can you do with golden oak floors or wood molding" question.

The painter is 75 percent done. I will post pics when he is done. Then perhaps everyone here can help me choose an accent color for the room!

vaulted ceilings, brick fireplace, oak floors oh my

Comments (13)

gmp3

Kristie W
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vaulted ceilings, brick fireplace, oak floors oh my

Comments (13)

gmp3

Kristie WOriginal Author

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gmp3

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jane__ny

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gmp3

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Kristie W
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