My daughter used Ellen Kennon's olive in an office. It's a really nice color, darker in tone but not too dark even in the smaller room. The ceiling and trim is white.I think the white ceiling looks really good with the olive color.

Course I'm votin' for Tulip Leaves. I mixed that color a long time ago using a couple different EK colors. EK then took it and remixed a *cleaner* color match and added it to the stock colors.

It was the green I couldn't find anywhere else and to this day it's one of my most very favorite green paint colors -- ever. It's so organic and complex and yummy.

Pairing it with Olive is brilliant. Honestly, I wish I thought of it first. lol! Gustavian Gray on the ceiling would be divine, IMO.

So there's my totally biased and nonobjective input. :~D

Here is a link that might be useful: Tulip Leaves and Friends

There is an Ellen Kennon thread in our Gallery you might enjoy. Lotsa' pretty pix.

My daughter did Gustavian Gray in her bedroom. Honestly, when I think of the olive and the Gustavian gray together it just doesn't seem like it would look as good. The gray is really an unusual color. It has green or blue undertones depending on the light.

Maybe it would look okay but I like the way it looks with the white ceiling a lot.

I absolutely love, love, love Tulip Leaves! If I don't use it in the living room, it will be used in our family room which also has a brick fireplace and wood mantle. Windows and trim are stained, not painted, and the brick has lots of warm tones including more than a few that are "brown."

A couple of my friends were really surprised that I would think to paint my living room green. And these aren't women who make conservative color choices in their own homes. It made me wonder if I was choosing colors that were too taste specific. We're not planning on selling anytime soon, but the Sand or Terracotta Sand and Adobe are more conservative I guess and would probably have a broader appeal.

Adobe is more conservative than Tulip Leaves, but ya never know. Some people consider green a neutral. Go figure. Here's a pic of Gustavian Gray. It all depends on the light, the room and how it shows. In this space, it's not the least bit gray. Can't say I've ever seen go 'gray' just various variations of pretty and interesting. :)

I tried the Gustavian Grey next to Tulip Leaves/Olive combo. Looks more blue than grey - very pretty. What would you think of white opal trim? BTW, I heavy "knock-down" texture on walls and ceilings through out the house. What finish would you suggest? I'm thinking of Lifemaster for the low VOC's. Would I need to prime? Walls are currently antique white.

Love White Opal. Love.

I have troweled walls and a soft texture on my ceilings. I use my favorite flavor of paint which is the LifeMaster in eggshell. It's not too shiny. But, if you feel like you want more matte for the texture, Velvet Sheen is a good choice too.

No. There's no need to prime with either V. Sheen or L.Master. As long as you do two full, good coats you're good to go.

Thanks for your suggestions and encouragement. I just got off the phone with Ellen and placed my order. What a lovely, lovely woman! We had a great chat and I'm so excited about this project. Going for the LifeMaster, btw, for ceiling and walls. Again, my thanks.

What a lovely, lovely woman!

I know, I just adore her. Always so light and so positive and so pleasant. Every time I talk to her (email) I think I need to take a page from her book. She is inspiring. I do consider her to be a friend.

Quick side question here: what Ellen Kennon color comes closest to RH Silver Sage?

The Restoration Hardware color Silver Sage has been mixed full spectrum and given the name H2ahh.