Need color scheme suggestions for new house

11 years ago

Hello all--it's been a while since I've been here--been too busy with new job.

A good friend of mine has just purchased a new house. Very exciting! It was built in the early 90's and is spacious with a nice floor plan. I have not been in it yet, but my friend wants to paint all the walls, change out some bathroom fixtures, etc. Basically he wants to have everything renovated before even moving in, the absolute easiest way to do it by far. The bones are good, but all of the finishes really need updating. He doesn't take possession for several more weeks, but next weekend the agent is letting us in to do measurements, pics, paint color consideration, etc. I hope to have some pics then.

The home has a large living room that flows into the breakfast nook/kitchen and the entry foyer. There is a separate dining room. Then a master with its bathroom and 3 additional bedrooms with another bathroom. My thinking was:

-One color for the living/breakfast/kitchen/entry/hallway since all of these areas kind of flow together.

-One color for the master

-One color for the additional bedrooms, maybe same as master. One bedroom will probably be converted into an office/lounge/library - maybe go dramatic here

-Perhaps a darker dramatic color for dining room

My friend likes the modern gray/blue gray trend, but still retaining nods to tradition. Sort of a House Beautiful updated traditional style. Likes a lot of mid-century stuff mixed in.

His current house has the master bedroom in BM Sleigh Bells, a soft blue-gray on the strip with designer favorite Horizon and Alaskan Husky that he loves. This will probably be the master and also the extra bedrooms.

BM Quiet Moments will also make an appearance in one or both of the bathrooms.

He is definitely a blue-lover, but I think also doing the living/kitchen in a blue might be overkill. Currently there is a tile in the living/kitchen that actually has blue-gray tones. This may be changed out for wood if the budget allows. All the trim is white and he is having the kitchen cabinets painted white (probably BM White Dove or Decorator's White). The countertop is black granite. From what I understand, the back of these rooms is almost all windows, so it seems to be flooded with light. My initial thought would be to go with maybe something like Revere Pewter or Edgecomb Gray. Maybe go more to something a little less gray like Bleeker Beige? He is not afraid of color, but I think we want to do something safe in versatile here since the rooms are so large and it would be a major undertaking to repaint.

In the dining my thought would be to go dramatic, maybe a darker blue green or a rich inky blue?

I believe the overall scheme of the house will be a base of blue gray and a linen-y grayed neutral, with hits of red, lemon yellow (love yellow with blue-gray) and lots of white.

Any suggestions on which way to go? Like I said, at this point we know for sure Sleigh Bells/Alaskan Husky and Quiet Moments will appear in the house.

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Comments (7)

lindac
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
There is no way in hell I would even consider painting walls in a house I had never lived in.....and even without my furniture in place.
The sun in the morning and the sun in the evening....what reflects off a garage a fence or a neighbor's house how your beloved hutch looks all affect the colors and tones of the paint and finishes I would consider.
Colors look very different at night then they do on a sunny day and walls look different in an empty room than in the same room with furniture.
Tell your friend to move in before he begins to select paints and finishes. I know it's a pain to move out of a room to refinish it....but I believe he will be happier in the long run.
I have seen too many people who had to choose the colors and finishings in a new house, repainting in 3 months because the color was too dark or looked like white in the day time or because with the tile the walls look wrong and it's easier to paint than re-tile.
It's fun to plan new finishes....but don't do more than fix a leaky faucet until you have been in the house for a while.

Our first house was brand new plaster on lathe and we were told not to paint for at least 6 months to allow the plaster to fully cure. By the time the 6 months was over, I was so sick of all the white walls, I painted the living/dining area something like harvest wheat.....which was like dark mustard when all the walls were that color! I could hardly wait until the paint was dry to re do it!...But I was over reacting to 6 months without color!
jockewing
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, I agree the way you propose is probably the best idea, but it's just not gonna happen in this case. That is why I am going for colors either he or I have used before that have worked in a variety of lighting situations, and that are flexible enough to go with just about any style.
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I totally know where your head space is at right now! I am in the midst of serious planning for my 3rd and final BR reno. The master bath is days/weeks away from being finished, and our original plan exactly one year ago was to gut and redo BOTH bathrooms at once! Thank heavens reason prevailed and DH figured out how to reroute plumbing and come up with a temporary fix so that we could continue to use one of the BR's! Though I've known I was going to redo this BR for 18 years... and the timeline has been creeping closer recently, I was really in a quandry as to where I was going... Like you, I did contemplate the classic white marble look with painted white vanity (and ironically that is sort of what the original builders of this 50 year old home went for; only with 'marble look' laminate and vinyl floors, and of course the sky blue fixtures! LOL I think I have seen nearly ALL the bathroom pics on Houzz, some of them hundreds of times! I have made a couple of visits to our local granite yard (where I bought our granite and tile for the MBR), and it wasn't until I finally found a bathroom worthy of being called my Inspiration photo, that things began to fall in place for me. In fact today, I bought the first item for the new bath...an oil painting! That will now help me to focus colours/textures/theme and I am feeling so much better. (I had picked but haven't paid for my tub...that is the single most expensive feature, and once I confirmed that it also helped as it changed the direction I had been going) Here's my pic, called Upstream...it will steer me away from granites with pink in them (I was getting pulled towards a few this week...LOL). I am almost giddy now that I have a starting point! So, my advice is keep looking, keep your eyes glued, look in books, magazines, TV shows...looking at your beautiful bedroom, I would think maybe some Victorian style mags might give you some inspiration.
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Aha..then it's harder, you having less choice My natural inclination would be B because I love warmer, softer. muddier colors, and choosing A wouldn't help me with other furnishings So ask yourself what's your natural preference. These are permanent surfaces, you'll always have to consider them. Especially in the open plan. On the other hand..option A..you can at least repaint the cabinets, if so inclined, at some point..(you'll be restricted by other surfaces though, to a degree)..and yes they seem to be of better quality..but hard to say by the pic of course. I also agree with cawaps..that grey of theirs seems slightly off..cooler than the rest (I'm a bit mad at your builder right now I admit..what it matters to them if you mix things? well whatever I guess)
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So without any dimensions just going off what I can see in the photo here is a conceptual layout. I'm visualizing SW Passive as the dominant color with Seawashed Glass as the accent. I hope this helps!
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https://www.homestratosphere.com/blue-house-exterior-ideas/ Sorry the original link didn't work. These are some that similar to my original suggestion.
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TxMarti
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Your ideas sound great, and I totally agree that it is easier to get all the painting and flooring done before a stick of furniture is moved in.

While sun and reflections will change color a bit, it's nothing you can't work around. Paint a sample and put it next to furniture where it is now or take a pillow or curtain sample the new house with you. It's not like the sun is going to be completely different in the new place.
loribee
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think SueB's beach house has a very nice selection of blues that may interest your friend. Search for pix or ask her to share them again, maybe...
jessicaml
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I almost used Gray Mist, a soft off-white that I've seen described as a good backdrop for a gallery wall. And of course Edgecomb Gray and Revere Pewter have been popular versatile colors, worth a look. Gray Owl comes to mind, since that's the color beekeeperswife recently picked to use throughout her new home. A search for "color scheme gray owl" led me to the following blog, which seems to have colors that may appeal to your friend. I'm linking to the list of their paint colors, but you have to navigate the site a bit to actually see the rooms mentioned.
For the Love of a House Paint Colors

I also like the different gray color combinations on this site, and the paint colors suggested to achieve the looks.
Beautiful Gray Color Combinations

And here's the story of how Young House Love chose Moonshine over Gray Owl and Collingwood.
Going Gray

Here is a link that might be useful: Grey gray whole house palette on Pinterest
jockewing
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Well went over to see the house this weekend and helped him select the color scheme for the whole house:

Living room/kitchen/entry/hallway: BM Gray Owl
Dining Room/Guest Bathroom: BM Sea Star
Extra Bedrooms: BM Natural Cream
Master Bedroom: BM Sleigh Bells
Master Bath: BM Quiet Moments

I think it will be very soothing and lovely. Everything is pretty light, but we went darker in the dining and guest bath for a little drama. I sure do wish I could pick out colors as easily as he does! I would be endlessly agonizing I'm sure!
Tmnca
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We just finished painting and doing flooring and moved in! There is "no way in hell" I would wait until AFTER moving in and then try to paint with furniture etc in the way! Painting the empty house is definitely the way to go. We ripped out carpet, painted everything then put in the hard floor and then moved in.

For the blue lover I can highly recommend BM Wedgewood Grey. It's more blue than grey but a beautiful serene color for the bedroom. I am so happy with it! Most of the rest of the townhouse we painted BM Mascarpone a beautiful warm white without any dingy or prominent yellow tones. Accent walls we did BM Mexicana, a rich red with orange undertones.

Need color scheme suggestions for new house

Comments (7)

lindac

jockewing
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TxMarti

loribee

jessicaml

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Tmnca

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Need color scheme suggestions for new house

Comments (7)

lindac

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TxMarti

loribee

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Tmnca

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jockewing
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