New here....will need lots of help

15 years ago

I have been lurking for a few days and have learned so much I decided to join.

I am a New home owner and am starting from scratch. I have a tiny budget and almost everything in my house comes from the "Early Attic Collection" (AKA mom and dad's hand-me-downs). I have not even really decided my "my style" is at this point. However my early decorating attempts have be not so great.

I wanted to paint my den/kitchen (all one great room) a warm sage green. I had to pay someone to come in to paint due to tall tall walls. And that was a pretty big expense on my budget. And the green I had spent weeks picking out, turned out horrible!! Warm sage somehow became hospital/mint green. :o(

I am trying to decide if I can salvage the color or just scrap it and start all over with a neutral tan....

I never knew decorating could be so hard.

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Comments (7)

organic_smallhome
15 years ago
Welcome!

Did you try out a sample of the paint on your wall first? That's always a good idea. Lighting makes a big difference in paint color: depending on time of day, height of wall, etc.

As for whether you should change it, all I can say is that if I were you and I positively hated the wall color, then I would definitely change it.
sharon_fl
15 years ago
Welcome!! You'll enjoy these forums. As for the paint color...maybe before you do anything-go to a craft store & buy 2 or 3 foamcore boards. Prime them, then paint your green color on. I might suggest to you to try a coat of transparent glaze over it-which will 'cloud the color somewhat. Next-check out the metallic or pearl sheer glazes-try one test board with that. Lastly, paint a different green, more to your liking. Good luck-just remember..it's only paint!
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chapel_hill_yankee
15 years ago
I had the exact same problem with the green I chose in my house (also one big kitchen/family room area). A decorator picked it out, and after having it painted it looked like a baby/mint green. Ugh! A friend of mine found a chip at Sherwin-Williams that she thought was perfect. I tried it and she was right! It was called "Shore" (#8115) and it came out a beautiful, muted sage green color. I have had many compliments on it since I had the room repainted. Good luck!
anele_gw
15 years ago
I say repaint. You can get a pole to reach the high parts . . .is the ceiling white? If so, then you don't have to worry about that.

EVERYTHING will be planned around a color you hate-- don't dig yourself into that hole. Better to decorate slowly (I know how that is-- little $ and time) than fast and end up hating it. Just get samples first, paint, look at them throughout the day as lighting changes.
randita
15 years ago
FYI, the most popular SW sage color is Svelte Sage. The whole strip with Svelte Sage on it is popular (the lighter shades being Grassland and Ancient Marble). I also like the strip with Softened Green which is sage, but not as gray as Svelte Sage.

If you decide to go neutral, FYI one of the workers at my local SW store said that on any given day, about 20% of the paint he sells are from either the paint strip with Whole Wheat or the one with Blonde. I thought that was interesting.
ceciley13
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, I think I have decided to scrap the green and go for a good neutral. First of all because I am frustrated with green now. And also, like I said I am so new at all of this, I haven't even really figured out what my own style is. So, I am thinking if I go with a good neutral, it will be easier to change furniture colors etc. as my taste evolves. That being said, I want to stay away from whites as neutrals. I HATE white. I think its because there was so much of it in my house growing up. So, I was digging through old threads on here about tan neutrals. What do you guys think of these?
BM: Shaker Beige, Sea Spray, Rich Cream, Manchester Tan
SW: Bagel, Totally tan, Blond, Kilim Beige, Stonebriar
Those seem to be the colors that over and over I would see a picture of and say 'hey I like that'.

THEN: I found this throw pillow on the Ikea web site, and LOVE it. I love the color pallet, and I love them all together. Would it be totally wrong to plan all the rest of the room around one pillow I like?

I have a couch and two wing chairs that will all need to be slip covered. They are mom hand-me-downs, and one think I have realized is my mom and I have drasticly different taste. So, any ideas of colors that would go well with the pillow? I was thinking maybe slip covering the two wing chairs in the dark red, and maybe the couch in a dark brown???

Here is a link that might be useful:
anele_gw
15 years ago
I don't think it's wrong to plan a room around a pillow, but since you are working with a budget like I am, here is what I suggest:
(1) DO NOTHING. Don't repaint yet, don't buy anything yet (except maybe that pillow).
(2) If you decide to go with that pillow, look around to see what else you can get to go with it. How much will these things cost? ENVISION the room as a WHOLE before you buy. I know you mentioned slipcovers . . .if you get them, go for a 2 piece set (separate seat) or consider making them.

Since you don't know your style yet, I'd probably just wait a bit longer to get started on decorating. Look through Craigslist and see what kinds of pieces call out to you. I really like contemporary styles, but I get tired of them and they look dated. I don't have the budget to keep updating. On the other hand, I love antiques . . .and they are timeless to me, so now that is the direction I am going in. For inspiration, check out several library books. What kinds of styles keep drawing you back?

New here....will need lots of help

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New here....will need lots of help

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