What is the drakest color in the rug? It looks like a tan? Perhaps that would work. I also like the idea of a darker version of your couch (khaki) on the walls.

I have camouflage in my FR and love it but I have it with other colors.

I like your khaki couch. You will find a nice color.

I hear your frustration but I think it looks good and not muddy. Did you check out BM Bamboo Shoot 1529?. It's a greyish/greenish/beige color that is hard to pinpoint what color it really is. It's from their Serenity Collection. Several friends have it and it looks beautiful. Very neutral. It may look dull on the swatch, but it's really calming and serene. It looks slightly deeper than what you have now, but not dark at all. She had the same color sofa as you also. Another popular color which many decorators recommend is BM Manchester tan HC 81.
Have you considered something with blue in it to pick up the blue in your rug and continue the flow from your kitchen?.

dawnmp-I hope I didn't offend you. I think the camoflouge is pretty. Candice Olson used it in one of her shows in a living and it inspired me. It's just wierd how it varies from home to home. Yes I thought about a tan color but they are all so different. I like richer colors but perhaps in homes with more space or lots of white moulding and millwork.

Camoflouge looks great in my living room just not in the dining room, halway, entryway. The walls connect and I need a color that looks great in all areas.

Scanmike-I will check out Bamboo shoot. Trust me, dull colors on a swatch intensify in my home (well most of them, not camoflouge). I thought about manchester tan but the gal at the paint store said if camoflouge went muddy then it would too. Yes, a grayed down blue (with perhaps a hint of green) was my first choice. I love silver sage by RH but it was a bit too intense for me and turned more blue-in my bedroom it's a nice combo of gray meets blue meets green. Here it is below. I tried vapor trails and it wasn't bad. I was just worried it was too taupe.
silver sage

I don't know if this picture will help you at all, but it kind of reminds me of your room with the similar color sofa and rug.

I'm thinking there's two ways you could go here. You could go with a soft blue, which would look good with your rug and your kitchen paint or you could go with a darker color like I posted in the picture above. I know you said you don't want to go darker, but I'm afraid your sofa would just blend in with the wall if you used a light khaki beige.

Laurie

This picture belongs to DOMESTICEASE and it gives you an idea of how the blue would look.

{{!gwi}}

Laurie

Hi Meg

NO offense taken at all!

I have no advice to give, just wanted to tell you that I have started painting my living room 4 times in the last few months and bought at least 30 samples. Wasted tons of money...I feel your pain.

BTW, BM has a nice cream called natural cream if thats what you decide to go with.

Megpie, I honestly think the problem is there's no color or contrast that stands out in the room and as a result it ALL looks muted and blends in together. Here are some mock ups to show you what I mean. They may not be colors that want, but at least you can see how the room comes to life by just adding contrast. These are all BM colors, I couldn't find the Bamboo color suggested by Scanmike.

Azorez, Azorez, Gray Mirage:

Brookside Moss, Mirage Gray, Tapistry gold:

Eucalyptus Leaves, Gray Mirage, Sea Star:

French Press, Azores, Gray Mirage:

Jojoba, Azorez, Gray Mirage:

Masada, Azorez, Gray Mirage:

Rushing River & Morning Dew:

Turtle Green, Rustique, Sparrow:

I love the Jojoba, Azorez, Gray Mirage picture!

Why not paint the walls the background color in the rug? It works well in the room, works with the color of the sectional, and would be a nice companion to the grey in the kitchen.

Paint the ceiling as well in the same color, so you lift the ceiling visually.

Oh meg, I just can't believe how our tastes are so similar. I have your kitchen in my inspiration folder, Love it. Anyway last week posted on here to get help with a LR color. Was leaning toward manchester tan, but my decision was to purchase 2 gallons of... camouflage, opening up to dining area, wickham gray (almost like pale silver). My paint isn't up yet so I can't help at all, but will be hoping you find a solution. For what it's worth, I think your rooms are beautiful, maybe you just need some contrasts to pull it together.

Oh yeah, my clerk @ BM swore that the camo & wickham would be great together

The sofa has a strong yellowish tone ... it's clashing with the greenish color. And the pure white trim makes everything look muddy. Go for a very faint cream on the trim instead of the white.

Doing an all-beige color scheme gets very tricky.

Read her blog, especially on picking beiges, testing color, and the post on undertones:
http://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/

Lukkiirsh,

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-1530-Ocean-Pebbles-p/mpc0005933.htm
I hate my perfect color website because the colors look nothing like they appear on my monitor.
Also, check out the next one 1530, Ocean Pebbles. A bit deeper, but not too dark either. I have seen these colors in various homes and they look beautiful everywhere. Even my husband who rarely comments, really liked Bamboo Shoot, which is also called Stingray.

On my monitor I don't care for the Camoflauge. It pulls too green on my monitor.

I really like the photo that Msrose posted. The SS does appear to pull more blue on my monitor but I really think that you should consider staying in the grey blue family.

Can you try taking a look at BM Crisp Khaki or some colors on that strip? Tell me what you think.

What lukkiirish said is what I was trying to say. The room looks a little washed out right now and needs more color on the walls. I'm really liking Rushing River & Morning Dew. That's funny how blue silver sage looks in your room. I always thought it was a much softer color than that. That being said, I still think it could work if it matches the blue in your rug.

Laurie

The color that keeps coming to my mind is Ellen Kennon's Buttercream. It would look great with the wood flooring and is a basic creamy yellow color. It's a full spectrum paint line, and best of all, Ellen will give you a phone consultation and could suggest colors of hers to use. She may have another of her neutrals to suggest, such as Mushroom.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ellon Kennon Paint

Good suggestions about EK Buttercream and Mushroom.
ttodd, I have Restoration Hardware's Latte, which is almost identical to Crisp Khaki. I was going to suggest that to her in RH's version because it has less of a green undertone than Crisp Khaki. In my house it pulls green in the sunroom but is a nice warm creamy beige in the living room. I also gave it to my daughter for her apt. and it looks beautiful there..no green undertone (more of a oatmeal color).

Ok, here you go:

Stingray, Wedgewood Blue and Norwich Brown

Looks nothing like Bamboo Shoot/stingray. It looks white here.
thanks anyway!

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. It brought a smile to my face!

Msrose-Thank you for reminding me of those colors. GOsh I wish I knew what color that is with the oat colored couch. Revere Pewter? I tried that as well as Edgecomb gray at the recomendation of a designer at the benjamin moore store and the clerk. Way to gray. But my mom loved it (she's got great taste). Actually I think I'll get those colors back out and put a swatch up.

Liljenster-Thank you. What made me eager to ask for advise was that my husband was really getting on my case about the money I've spent.

lukkiirish-Thank you Sooooo much! I'm surprised that my eye is drawn to the dark color. I also like the rushing river and the jojoba.

fatquarters-Thank you for the compliments!. I'm surprised my kitchen is someone's inspiration. I can't wait to see your colors up. I hope you post pictures. And thanks again. I suppose the camoflouge isn't as bad as I think, just not what I expected.

graywings-The gal at the store suggested a khaki-ish color with a yellow tint to it but I don't think I can go with a cream that is yellow dominant. My pic below should show that the khaki is more of a dead khaki-perhaps more brown and gray and less yellow if any at all. I think the flash and light was giving it a "glow" in the above pics. But I thank you for your suggestion. I did actually contact Brooke Giannetti. I then figured I didn't want to pay someone. I would've saved more had I contacted her! :-(

I think the problem with blue is that it looks VERY blue in my home and if I go lighter it looks as if it glows. I hope yall don't think I'm shooting you down, it's just I've tried so many colors and I'm letting you know what didn't work and why.

Coastal Fog looked good but too drab for me. Revere pewter looked good but a bit dark. Edgecomb gray looked too gray. Mabey the probelem is that I am going from a golden yellow (previous color) to gray and I'm not used to it.

Oh scanmike-I almost forgot. The gal did recomend crisp khaki but we both thought it would blend too much. Then two days ago I bought a sample of Latte by RH. I think it might have too much red in it for my sofa. And unfortunately it isn't coming across on the photo but I'll post it anyway.

Wouldn't you know I almost picked stingray. Mabey I'll go get ANOTHER sample.

Thanks again.
RH latte

I too like the Jojoba, Azorez, Gray Mirage combination--seems serene.

Sample after sample, pint after pint, gallon after gallon, I thought I got it right!

Mabey I'll go get ANOTHER sample.

How's that saying go about the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I don't know who Brooke Giannetti is, but Ellen Kennon creates paint colors and is a paint color genius. Her consultations are free if you buy her paint, which isn't that much more expensive than other paints.

Megpie,

My paint store matched RH latte for me. Crisp Khaki is almost exact. RH Latte would surprise me if it had any red in it. It has a green undertone and I think it looks good with your sofa. I can understand fully what you mean going from a golden color to a greyish one. I just did that in my guest bedroom. It was a nice yellow Butterup by SW that went too bright yellow in morning light. I went in the same direction as you and got Farrow and Ball Stony Ground (a greige color). It took some time to get used to it. About a week ago, I felt like I missed the yellow and almost considered changing it. Then I stopped obsessing and ignored it for a week. My eye just had to adjust to it since it was so different. I really love it now. The stingray/Bamboo Shoot on Serenity Collection Chart is really nice. I tend to like greyed colors whether they are blue or green or brown. You might want to try the deeper color Ocean Pebbles. I think you could do more color than you feel comfortable with. I am sorry I didn't have the courage to go deeper than the Latte. I did RH Cappuccino in my hall and feared it would be too dark. I did it despite my fear and it looks great. It's just a matter of getting used to color. I think the Revere Pewter would look great once it all is painted. Don't judge by a small square. You need a whole wall to really see. If you are unfamiliar with Ellen Kennon paints they are worth looking at. She is such a great person. I sent her photo of my son's attic bedroom and other rooms in my house and she has a great eye. Her paints are wonderful. They go on nice and the colors make the walls come alive. They are full spectrum paints, which mean they have no black in them and they are composed of 7 pigments, not three. Even if you don't consider them now, check into them for a later time. Take your time in deciding what to repaint. It looks pretty as is. Calm down, take a deep breath and don't drive yourself crazy. I did and found I just confused myself even more. Also, make sure you paint on sample boards, not the wall.

Your home and your new sofa, is very pretty. I get the frustration aspect--it begins to feel that there is no color out there for you. I was almost there on my entry painting. And the reason it's so hard, is that you are trying to create a 'feeling' in your home, rather than just a single prettily painted room. And you must work with other rooms nearby. And, in your case, the color needs to flow on down the road into your entry and hallway, do I have that right? So, finding the color that works and makes you feel that all is good, becomes a real exercise.

I have a couple of suggestions.
Even though blues are not usually my thing, I see that you have the soft blue ground on your lovely rug and that you are using silver in the kitchen, which reads silvery, wispy, blue on my monitor. The sofa in the domesticease photo looks very, very, close in color to your last photo of your own sofa. Her wall color looks gorgeous with her sofa and things. Do you like it? If so, this is her wall color information posted:
Glidden, Polished Limestone
GLN30
Master Palette # 90YY 63/044

If that appeals to you, take your Silver Sage Chip, and your Camoflage chip and your RH Silver chip down to Home Depot and find the Polished Limestone. You do that because this is becoming a process of elimination. If the Silver Sage is the same degree of blue or even less blue than Limestone, then, the Limestone will not work, because you already know you don't want to go more blue. And if the Limestone is much muddier than your RH color, then, it again, may not be a good choice. I have the latest Pottery Barn Paint colors flip book here, and a gray that is blued but yet soft, is in their new Affinity Colors, and it's called Eternity. Now, it looks a bit more blue than the Silver Sage chip I have, but it's a gray leaning to blue, so perhaps something like that?

My other suggestion is to pull out your Pewter again and put the rest of your quart on your wall. I have a very hard time making sense of it showing too dark. I have a quart myself, and it isn't a dark color at all. It's very light and very faintly beige gray. You may not have done enough splotching for the color to really show up right. And...........it's absolutely amazing how a color that goes down on a wall with so much intensity that you are thinking, "No! No! No!" can, when all walls are painted, look so Yes. I see by your latest comment that you are realizing also that you need to eliminate the absolute wrong colors. Sometimes, that's the key. But make sure you have your wrong chips with you or painted posterboard, when you go chip searching. That way, you can make a comparison.

Red

Hi,
I've been stalking Ellen kennon for the last two weeks. I've sent her pictures of my rooms and have been emailing back and forth ever since. She has been extremely helpful and sent me swatches of what she suggested I use. I'm really excited to use her paints. She actually sends the formula to glidden prof. paint and you pick it up there. So, it should be local for you. Glidden paints now owns ici. I did see that the ici paints uses (and incidently glidden) the same manufacturer that Fine paints of europe uses. And, I've always heard good things about the ici paints. Anyhow...

In my room, I have these wonky grey green couches that I can't match anything to. And, lovely brown orangy trim to boot. She recommended mushroom, her tobacco road knockoff, sage, and several others. I really want to go with the powdered pebbles, but she didn't recommend it. I just love the color. She said mushroom would work best. It is a light beigy, greyish color that I do love (not as much as that darn powdered pebbles- the perfect taupe). And, she reformulated it so it didn't have those funky pink tones. For the gallon size, it was 52 dollars in flat. Maybe 53 in satin. I spend that for regular old BM (not aura) paint. Originally, I was planning on FPE paints, which was I think 125 per gallon. I contacted FPE for help. They have a color specialist. Though emmett was helpful, Ellen was much easier to speak with and get ideas. FPE literally has thousands of colors. Ellen only has maybe 100 to 200. Easier to deal!

I'm super indecisive. So, I've been collecting paints/painting for months. I was going to hire a color consultant and pay the 200 dollar fee. Until, I saw some information on EK on here. She will help you and is really nice. I think you should seriously look into her paints or at least give her a call/send her a picture. I think it was funcolors that speaks with her/did some sort of interview with her. You might search for funcolors and see what she says.

I agree with kimiko also. Give Ellen a try. I think you will be happy. Mushroom is a great color btw. Interesting to find out she can take out the pink tone.

I haven't read all of the replies but I agree with a previous poster who said that the problem is that there is not enough contrast and everything looks washed out. I really like BM Camouflage but I would see if I could get it a few shades darker.

You dining room and living room are very pretty - I love your chandelier! I actually like the lack of contrast that you have now and really like the color in your dining room, but of the pictures above I'm drawn to the darker greens.

Please make sure you don't paint the sample over the present color. It will not look right. I see you painted Latte over the blue, that's why it looks more peach. I made the same mistake and the color I picked looked entirely different then when I painted it over the prior color. Luckily, I still liked it.

What Red said... I totally agree with her.
Your rooms are lovely and I hope you can pick a color soon and relax & enjoy them.

Your room is so pretty. I love your couch, drapes and rug. What's throwing everything off to me is your red brick fireplace. It looks so traditional in what's trying to be a more contemporary/transitional space. The red brick calls for a warm color on the walls and your rug and accessories are cooler colors. It also seems as though you're looking towards a more cool color for the walls. I would think about possibly painting the brick white, not that I love that look so much but I think that with direction your taking your room, and it seems the rest of your home...it would work. Good luck on your color choice.

Tena

I think the issue with the living room is not so much the paint but that the colors are all too similar. The curtains, sofa, and rug are all too close on the color palate. I would change the curtains to something darker to add some contrast and throw some dark pillows and bright white pillows on the sofa.

The room was being painted 7 years ago and may be onto a new sofa and/or paint color by now.