Ellen Kennon Paint/Advice on Color Selection

15 years ago

Hi All,

Has anyone used Ellen Kennon's paint and if so, do you think it's worth the extra cost? I'm considering Ellen Kennon's Buttercream for the kitchen and Alexandra Blue for the bathroom and would appreciate opinions and suggestions.

Both rooms are small and get very little light. The kitchen has white cabinets, black countertops and chrome accessories (faucet, knobs, light). The bathroom has all white fixtures and white tile with blue accents. Both rooms are very small and get little sunlight.

I tend to like soft muted colors (not pastel) as opposed to dark and dramatic.

If anyone has painted with these colors, photos would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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Comments (5)

almagh
15 years ago
I just painted rooms in my house with each of these colors. My dining room is painted Cognac. It is beautiful and I wish I would have painted the living room Cognac also.

The living room is painted Buttercream. It shows as a light yellow. It is very nice, but I would rather have had something a little warmer.

The powder room I painted Tuscan sun with Alexandra Blue on the ceiling. I love how the room turned out. The Alexandra Blue is so pale that most people do not notice that it is blue. I have to point it out by showing them the difference in the white door trim before they see it.

I will post photos when I get a chance.

Alma
nmladybug
15 years ago
Our playrooom is painted buttercream and the ceiling is Christine's Cloud. I really do like the buttercream for the playroom but it shows very yellow in our space. The shelving we have in the room is white and if anything that just accentuates the yellow.
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Most of my house is painted with EK paints. The colors are gorgeous... 1/2 Mustard Seed in downstairs guestroom/bath; Cognac in LR/Den/Upstairs Public Rooms; Rust in DR; Honeysuckle in Kit; most of my ceilings are Dusk. No matter how lovely the colors are, I could never "see" the full spectrum magic that everyone talks about. I desperately wanted to, but can't really see it. I mean, the colors do have a tremendous depth to them. I thought maybe that was it, but that's not such a big deal. Then, my bf and her husband were visiting, and he saw it! He was just staring in disbelief at the walls, asking how I found paint that had so many colors in it. Then he went off on a long description about the colors of light at different times of day, and that he plants all white flowering plants, so he can enjoy the gorgeous color shift of light. He thought I was getting it, but I just said "oh yeah... I've heard of people like you. So, you can really see the colors?" Yes, he can see them. Nice, but it still doesn't make it worth the big price tag when you factor in the lousy quality of the ICI paint. It's garbage, if you ask me. Now, that I realize it's Glidden, no wonder... that's junk too. When I painted the Rust in the Dining Room, it was so bad with streaking and burnishing, yes, even after tinted primer and 3 coats, that I called them to complain. The folks at EK graciously gave me a free gallon of the next sheen up to paint over the Velvet, Eggshell, I think. That did the trick! Honeysuckle in Kit is the eggshell. No problems at all. The rest of my LR and Den is Cognac/Velvet. It is a disaster! I am disgusted with how ugly it looks. Cannot clean it, even with a very soft cloth with clear water. Cannot be touched up at all. I am going to contact them, since I am going to have to repaint the entire area. Will take 3 to 4 gallons, of one coat. I doubt they will do anything about it, but otherwise, they may have lost me. We are just 2 adults, 2 cats, and one little boy. We are not tough on walls. What a lovely, expensive mess!
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jockewing I had posted these photos of my office on the other thread (about Gustavian Grey) where you had also appealed for photos of Lichen. The ceiling is EK's Pumice. The sky was dark and stormy at the time so the color appears less green as IRL. The color is actually a soft greyish green. Definitely green rather than grey IMO.
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bac717- I did consult with her thru email and sent a couple of pictures of the room that we painted Edgewood Green. I knew I wanted to paint my dining room a barn red color to replace a red that I had so I don't remember consulting her with that room. Both rooms took two coats of paint and she will tell you that even if one coat covers, she recommends two coats to get the depth of color. The dining room covered in one coat but we did two. It's so funny that you ask about colors we tried for the foyer in BM because it has been so difficult finding a color that either doesn't have green undertones or looks good in the different lights. I can tell you that Powell Buff went green and it is very close to Pittsfield Buff. Shaker Beige looked horrible even though I heard it was the perfect neutral! Manchester tan went greenish gray in our setting. One that I am seriously considering is Lady Finger because it seems to work upstairs and in our two story foyer. Papaya was good with no undertones but a little too pale for my liking and I wanted a little more warmth. Frappe is a good one too. I have definitely learned to paint large poster boards to get an idea of the color as opposed to anything smaller.
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Hunzi, I've spec'd and painted with Aura and ICI mixed FS a lot. Rarely do I spec or use anything but those two. I like ICI's LifeMaster in eggshell. It, IMO, has a comparable *hand* to Aura Matte. ICI's Velvet Sheen and LifeMaster are similar to SW's Super Paint in that just about anyone can paint with them and end up successful -- they are very DIY friendly. Can't say that about Aura. It takes a certain knack and many DIYers (and painters) have to rethink and then adjust how they brush and roll the paint. There are several threads about that on here already. When it comes to color, there is nothing like full spectrum. Nothing. FS is an age old topic around here. Full spectrum mixed in Aura paint would indeed be it-on-a-stick and then some. Don't see that happening any time soon. :-D Affinity is the name of the color palette designed to go with the Aura paint. There are 22 colorants. Having had a handful of *regular* colors mixed in Aura I can say that 22 colorants does give the mixer person a better shot at getting a good match, but 22 colorants in the wrong hands can be about 20 colorants too many. As we all know from the years and years of full spectrum color discussions, it's as much about how all those colorants are balanced and mixed together as it is about the actual number used. Once you gets passed the basic spectral seven, one has to question what is necessary -- if ya need more representation in a color than the basic seven, maybe it's time to revisit color mixing philosophy and/or skills... or, maybe not. IMO, more is not always better. Which leads me to my critique of Affinity colors. They are rich, they are complex, they are pretty, they can have an edge of deadness and a feel of limited dimension. They are not full spectrum color. Having *regular* color mixed via Affinity processes can leave you with a can of paint that looks *puddled* with colorant, overworked, overdone. Totally depends on the color. Restraint with all that color power at one's fingertips is paramount. Doubtful that there are too many other people on the planet who would share that opinion with me. A lot of people really want Aura to be it-on-a-stick, all that and a bag o'chips in its own right. I think it's great stuff, lots of positives, but it does not hold all the allure and wonder of color to be had in the universe. Just like every other brand, it has pluses and minuses. At the end of the day, having to make the decision between Aura paint and full spectrum color is a pretty darn great place to be!
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kimberlyrkb
15 years ago
I used Alexandria Blue in our master bedroom, on the ceiling. Used EK's Violet on the walls. It was a very nice combination. Unfortunately, I do not have photos of the ceiling - but I loved the color!

I currently have Buttercream on my kitchen/dining walls, and while it's a very nice color, I would have liked something a little less light. So it might be perfect for you. ;) Unfortunately, the only photos I have don't really do it justice, but here they are - we had just moved in so we don't have much done.

If I did it over again any time soon, I'd probably use Honeysuckle, which is darker and warmer than Buttercream, or maybe Luminaire.
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}
valerieann
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everybody.

I guess I'm going to have to paint samples on my walls to see how it actually looks with my lighting. I'm shocked at how much the color and intensity varies from house to house. Recently, someone was kind enough to send me photos of rooms painted with these colors and the way it appeared in her home was exactly what I'm looking for. Now I realize that doesn't necessarily mean it will look anywhere near the same in mine.

Please feel free to offer suggestions using other brand paints.
User
15 years ago
I also have my whole house (except one last room) painted in Ellen Kennon paints. I love the sensual feel of the colors in the changing sun conditions.

I just painted my newly renovated kitchen in Buttercream because I love it in my laundry room. The rooms are next to each other and have the same sun exposure. The kitchen photo was taken later in the day, the laundry room early morning.
{{!gwi}}
{{gwi:1534456}}
My living room ceiling is Alexandra Blue, walls are Adobe and trim is Edgewood Green. The ceiling appears more blue as the sun goes down. Early morning it looks nearly white.
{{!gwi}}

Ellen Kennon Paint/Advice on Color Selection

Comments (5)

almagh

nmladybug

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Ellen Kennon Paint/Advice on Color Selection

Comments (5)

almagh

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valerieannOriginal Author

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