So far I have liked a few of the small chips I've put up of off whites, but I don't think I've narrowed it down 100% yet.And obviously chips are not swatches, and swatches aren't quite the same as painting a full wall. I wasn't thinking of using the off whites and creams in my home at the time I picked up the sample pots a few weeks ago. I need to visit the local BM store this week and try a few more things out. I had a sample pot of palladian blue (to try in our bedroom) and put it up there (foyer and DR) just because I had it out. Oddly it seemed to work really well with the floor. Kind of a lighter version of what's on the floor (it seemed to read w/ more green in my house). It didn't look too terrible with the wood either since it has some warmth to it. I'm a tiny bit afraid that it might be oppressive with the carpet though? It is more of the look that the PO had (her walls were a more pastel, lighter version of the floor color). However, the Palladian Blue is not pastel, kinda muted/muddy, and more sophisticated than the more pastel blue that PO had up. Not sure if I want to go with it but I am considering it. It was not something I even thought would look remotely good w/ the carpet based on what I've seen elsewhere but it is one of my favs. Comfort gray isn't bad either, just a different look. DH think it wouldn't be too blue once we have curtains up, furniture in place, art on the walls, etc. When you enter you enter in the foyer and there is a hall straight back to the kitchen. In the foyer immediately to your left is what will be our study (PO's formal LR) and to the right is the DR. I'm thinking about using Palladian Blue in those rooms (DR and Study) and having the foyer be something more neutral like off white/cream. Both the Study and DR have the seafoam carpet, and the stairs (visible from foyer) have it as well. The rest of the house is more neutral (thankfully).

All of my canvas or panel-based work is either on panels with wood sides that I either stain or paint, or in floater frames. For some reason I buy panels or gallery canvases that are 2" deep - I like the distance from the wall. My woodcut prints are all matted and framed of course. The black floater frames help the 2 go together. Think also, however, about how early modern art - late 19th early 20th century - work is framed in sometimes very ornate traditional frames. It can help a contemporary piece fit in a traditional setting in a very authentic way. Just in the last couple of weeks I saw some new abstract landscape-based paintings by Thomas Batista done this way and there was something very refreshing about it. Wouldn't work for mine though. As kittiemom mentions, the frame is supposed to bring your focus to the work, not to itself. A good framer is a fine thing to find.

@Gina: The paint that was used the first time that there was a problem with was Sherwin Williams CAB acrylic lacquer. I believe this is a perfectly great product (the finish itself was beautiful where enough paint was applied) and I know a lot of people really like it, it's just the painter who did my cabinets did not understand how to work with it. I don't honestly know what the new cabinet paint is. All I know is that it is Benjamin Moore and waterborne or water-based, but I don't know what specific product. There are a lot of good discussions on this on the paint forum though. @rkb: I was about to come back and say that the overspray wasn't really bad at all (presuming they do a really good job taping off). I did tell them ahead of time that I'd be repainting the walls so I let them spray there and they said it was easier to go up on the ceiling (which is wood painted the same color in our case) and then come back and touch it up. BUT tonight I realized that our freestanding walnut-topped island, which was pushed way into the far corner of the room, beyond the plastic curtain, got a good dose of overspray. At first it looked like dust, but a piece of paper we had sitting on it left a nice little square of un-oversprayed area. It stinks but it's not a huge deal because we only oil our island, so hopefully it will come right off but if it doesn't I can give it a light sanding and re-oil pretty quickly.

I've been experimenting with chalk paint in general and I have come up with 2 things. Annie Sloan paints IMO are better, better coverage, ease of use, colors stay saturated even when diluted with water to make a wash. I've had a quart of Old White that somehow even after several large projects is still 1/3rd full! CC Caldwell, while having a larger range of colors and are (in my area at least) substantially more economical in the sample jars than the ASCP paints. Just aren't quite as good. Not horrible mind you just not quite as good coverage wise. Now heres the kicker. I have waxed both paints and recently tried a water based polycrylic on them. ASCP- clear wax deepens the color poly does much the same but I don't find it to be a dramatic change CCC- the color changed considerably with both wax and poly! So much I'd have to account for that change in my finished piece. I have yet to try my hand at making my own custom paints, for my purposes the commercially available works great. I might have a different opinion if I were covering large areas like those beautiful grey cabs above.