I would say either the lightest or the darkest. But have you thought of a light beige...maybe the color of the darkest color in your stone. Or match the beige in your rug. Sorry to confuse the matter.

I agree about beige, it would warm up your room. What accessory colors will you have? For me it always made a difference before I painted.

I passionately vote for #2!Before I saw the samples and just saw the hearth, I thought warm grey like the mortar. Anr there, you already had it!If you go too warm, like the tan sample, your stone will get lost in the similar color. The grey will bring the stone foward and most prominant. I have a very similar style home. Livin lodge! (bad pun)

I'm kind of liking #3. It is a warm gray and looks to blend well with the stone and the mortar. I like #4 too but with all that space it might be too dark and cold.

I am drawn toward #3 as well. It's a nice midpoint between the color of the stone and the color of the mortar. I agree that the pretty stone may get lost against a beige so sticking to a warm gray might help bring the stone forward.

You have stained woodwork as well so you'd want your color to blend nicely with the stain which looks to be honey/goldish-correct?

How about getting some sample jars of the colors you're considering and a couple pieces of poster board. You could paint four colors - front and back of each piece of board. Then place or tape the painted boards alongside your stone. Leave them there for a few days and observe. That should help narrow down the possibilities.

Not to throw a wrench in the mess, but had you considered a neutral green like SW Grassland, Svelte Sage or Austere Gray? Sorry I don't know comparable BM hues. I think a green/gray would look gorgeous against your stone and stained woodwork. I have Austere Gray in a bathroom that has honey/golden oak cabs similar to the color of your woodwork and I think it looks really nice.

But I really like green ;)

I appreciate everyone's feedback and comments. I have sampled some green grays but I guess I haven't found one that I love yet. The problem is that the DR is a green gray so I want a little more contrast, but complementary color for this room. Maybe I will have to look at the other colors on that SW paint card for additional colors.

As far as the wood work, we are planning on darkening the mantel piece.

Thanks and keep the suggestions coming!

I think I like #3 waynesboro taupe and #4 iron gate.

I like #3 - taupe. It has the most warmth to complement the stone and your furniture. the others all look too grey to pull in your furniture.

#4 looks too dark to me. #2 would be my second choice.

I'm drawn to #3, too. It's looking like a warm grey/greige to me. #2 would be my second choice of these options.

Thanks for all the responses! Okay, looks like #2 and #3 are still in the running.

randita, I went and picked up a few more samples :)

What do you guys think of these colors? I know the chips are tiny, but I wanted to get a vote on which colors I should have mixed in sample sizes.

Thanks again everyone!

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From top to bottom:
SW Austere Gray
SW Escape Gray
SW Ancient Marble
SW Grassland
Eddie Bauer Beach

These are really hard to see.The only one really making sense to me is the Edeie Bauer Beach. But that may be because it is bigger than the rest.I think I might like #3. Can you make the pic bigger?

It's hard to tell with the small samples. You have six samples up but only listed five colors, so I'm not sure which sample goes with which name.

But of the six samples you have there, I like the third and fifth from the top best.

The top two look bluish (could be my monitor). The fourth looks a bit too light and the sixth looks a tad dark.

But again, it's hard to tell with the smallish samples.

What is the color in your DR? It might help knowing that since you want a complementary color for this room.

Have you looked at SW Amazing Gray or Anew Gray. They're more truish grays, but are warm. I think your leather furniture would look nice with them.

Sorry to keep throwing more ideas into the mix.

I narrowed down the additional 'tiny' paint chips to three possible colors ( some of them were too minty cool ). I will paint up my poster boards tonight and post a photo of the new colors tomorrow when the natural light is best.

The DR is SW Silvermist. It looks more blue on the SW site, but in my DR and the actual paint chip, definitely more gray sagey-green in natural light. I really want to find a color that complements the DR and the stone, without looking too much like the SW Silvermist. I was thinking of something more beigy or gray with the green undertone.

Appreciate everyone's advice!

Here is a link that might be useful: SW Silvermist

DH is watching the All Star game, so I decided to pass the time experimenting. Hope this helps you rule in or out some color families. Here goes:

SW Tony Taupe

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SW Svelte Sage

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SW Rare Gray

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SW Oyster Bay

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SW Mega Greige

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SW Intellectual Gray

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SW Hardware

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SW Gray Area

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SW Escape Gray

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SW Anew Gray

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randita, thank you so much! Rare Gray, Intellectual Gray, and Hardware really pop out to me. What about you?

Oops - forgot one:

SW Chatroom

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I agree with your preferences. As I was doing them, I was drawn toward the Hardware as well (Chatroom which I pictured above is on the same strip as Hardware-it's one step lighter). Interestingly enough, all the ones we both like are grays which have a slight hint of green which is what you wanted.

The colors on the paint strips look darker to me than they appear in the samples I posted. Hardware is the fifth color down on the strip, but the others you liked were the fourth color down. It looks like you room gets plenty of light and you have a high ceiling, so going at least the fourth color down would probably be good and not seem too dark in your space.

I vote for the taupe. It compliments both the stone and the wood around your windows the best.

(At least from what I can tell from your pictures.)

I will have to check out those new gray colors you posted also. Thanks again!

Okay, here is the new line up. From L - R, BM Plymouth Rock, Eddie Bauer Beach, BM Waynesboro Taupe, SW Stormy Weather and SW Svelte Sage.

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I think the Svelte Sage is the one I like the least. Its the more green. What do you guys think? Am I getting close or should I keep looking?

Thanks

Still following this process. I like any of the three on the left. The two on the left pick up your mortar color and the gray streaks in your stone. The third from the left is kind of a "greige" which bridges the gap between the stone and the mortar.

The fourth from the left doesn't blend as well with the depth of the mortar color and the Svelte Sage does look too green.

Thanks randita!

Plymouth Rock, handsdown!

ptamom, thanks for the color vote.

Of the last picture posted I like the Plymouth Rock the best and in the order you have mounted towards the right. Have you figured out how deep a color you want? Have you figured out how saturated a color you want. I am not sure if I am using these terms correctly. When I say saturated I mean less gray and more of the true color such as blue, green, yellow, red, etc. It was so difficult for me to see the underlying colors in the grays and I was looking at in my remodel. I had to paint swatches next to each other and live with it for a few days. Then, that information might lead me in a new direction, because of the new knowledge I gained while living with the samples. Different walls and times of days are telling on colors. Best of luck and I hope you have as much fun as I did with my color search.

From your choices, I like waynesboro taupe. SW svelte sage is green, I tested it and went w/ one shade up, grassland in my mbath and guest Rm (love it, but prob not what u want). My mb color really compliments the mbath color. It's SW relaxed khaki- beautiful color!

enduring, thanks for the response and I do know what you mean. I want a clean color with depth, but not murky. That's what I am afraid of. Maybe I should sample a few colors just a tad lighter?

Thanks zaara. I tested grassland also, and it's a beautiful green, but not right for my space.

Thanks everyone

waynesboro taupe should be the best, iron gate is too dark, the left ones are too light. The rug should be changed to a dark brown.

braider, thanks for the suggestion.

As of right now, I am really liking how the Plymouth Rock is looking now that I have taken all but that sample down. I have several more samples painted and up on other walls in the room. Still may sample a few more colors.

I'm drawn to the Waynesboro Taupe, too, but could see Plymouth Rock as a second choice.

I just wanted to say that I love your fireplace, and anything you choose will look beautiful. Good luck!

I guess I should put the Waynesboro Taupe back up and see how it looks again. Thanks everyone!

Back again. Here are a few photos of Plymouth Rock I grabbed from the web. I like it very much and I think it would look great in your space. I thought it might be darker on the walls than the photos show, but I think it's just the right depth - not too dark, not too light - and a perfect match with your mortar.

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randita, thanks for posting those photos. I thought it may be too dark at first, but the room gets a lot of light so it actually doesn't look too dark I don't think.

Thanks for the help!