Best suggestion is to live in the house for a year BEFORE you paint. You need to learn how the light is going to play during the different seasons in the rooms.
What appears light and wonderful in the spring might be dark and gloomy come fall. You need to take that into account as well as how you are going to use the rooms. It's been my experience that it takes about a year to learn how your new house is going to function with you in it.

carol- thanks for the advice. you have a good thought. however, it's not what i wanted to hear. :) i was hoping to get the painting done before all my 'stuff' arrived from storage. we're in an apartment now and have the opportunity to take our time moving in. i thought i would take advantage of that and get the painting done.

Nope she is right move your things in, live in the space- see how the light changes during the day, and how it affects the colors of your furniture. Then paint.

I moved into a home in May of this year and started painting because I didn't like the colors that were in there. I have now painted the kitchen twice and am getting ready to paint the bedroom again. You have the advantage of having white walls - something neutral you can live with until you develop a color scheme you will really be happy with, so I think the advice above is good. Maybe not a year but I would say 6 months.

ok... yall have at least convinced me to try to convince my husband that we should have the furniture and stuff delivered before we try to paint, but i dont think i can wait even six months to paint or it may never get done.

i have a one-year-old and it would be nice to paint when she's not living there. not to mention, we would like our family to be growing in a year's time.

i guess i'll get our furniture in the room and reconsider this question.

how do people choose paint colors for new construction?

I have never had new construction, but Sherwin Williams has design consultants if you buy a $75.00 certificate for their paint their designer will come to your home for free and help you decide a color scheme. Around where I live they are always having sales on paint too. I have not known anyone who has used that service though so can't say if its worthwhile.

Personally I would rather take a chance and end up with a nonperfect color than white walls, even if I NEVER got around to painting it later. White walls are so stark and dreary. I hated the white walls in my childhood home and to this day I always feel depressed and stifled in a white room.

I would at the very least slap one of those neutrals recommended on here on before I moved in. Manchester Tan? Silver Sage? A blue from BM's Historical Colors? I have MS Sharkey Grey and I like that. You might also consider matching the doors and stair railing to the floor, if you think that would look good. Just MHO...

katrina- i've never heard of that service. that is an interesting idea.

tracie- i will take a look at those colors. thank you!

There are a couple of Martha Stewart colors available at Home Depot, that I like a lot and that would work with the dark leather, the floors, and I believe.......your fabric. One is Mourning Dove, a grey with a soft lean toward green, very neutral and beautiful. My living room and hall just got repainted in this color and it works so well with dark leather chair, dark wood floors and I used natural colored window treatments. Bedford Gray was another I sampled and liked, but it went too light in my room. You can have one of the little jars of MS paint mixed up for sampling at Home Depot, paint it out on a corner of your wall and try it with your fabric. These shades would make nice neutrals but are not as bland as white.

You can see the Mourning Dove on the lower cabinets near the beginning of this "Nest Egg" post.

Red

Here is a link that might be useful: MS colors in her kitchen

Red- thanks for the suggestions. i do like the idea of grey or green again. i will look at Mourning Dove. i think it might be enough to set off the white trim while still being neutral.

Have you seen BM Camouflage? I've only seen it in pictures, but it looks like a soft neutral with a touch of green. You could have it mixed in Behr.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: BM Camouflage

Having finished a lot of painting last year and the fumes that were just awful, I'd suggest get the painting done since you have a little one and want another pretty soon.

You can buy small cans of pain, paint some large blotches on each wall and judge from that.

OTOH, white walls are making a comeback and the more I see them, I kind of wish I had some in my house!

msrose- i do love that camouflage color. it is beautiful. i will have to get a color strip of that if not a sample.

oakley- thanks for understanding. even if white is making a comeback, i think i need some color in my life. all but one room in the house is white. i won't paint them all... but must paint some!

Dixie - we used Behr Ultra Premium Plus "Basketry" for our family room and I absolutely LOVE IT. It was the best paint decision we made, other than the BUPP red in the kitchen (can't remember the name of it). It is so rich and beautiful, but not over-powering...it's perfect for a family room setting. Looking at the colours in your old home it may be a bit understated but it is just so rich and vibrant at the same time.

I think something like "Basketry" could really help soften the very modern look in the home, but at the same time, the color isn't stuffy or a "stereotypical" beige or tan.

We've had EXCELLENT luck with Behr Ultra Premium Plus - I find that the paint goes on extremely well in less coats, and their colours are deep and rich.

I think I would also be like you and need to paint while the house is empty. I think the suggestions above are good ones. Also look at Revere Pewter, a Ben. Moore color that is very popular. It's a warm grey and you can do a search and find it here. Also, a neighbor of mine just painted her living room and hall a color called Dune Drift in the Seaside Collection by Valspar paint, sold at Lowes. It's a very calming color that is a neutral greyed green. A great Ben. Moore color that a few friends used and I love (and wish I used it in hindsight) is called Bamboo Shoot #1529. The other colors on the same strip as this that are deeper in color are also beautiful (Ocean Pebbles). My daughter just painted her bedroom BM Coventry Grey,a beautiful grey (cooler grey with a trace of blue). She says she feels like she is living in Nantucket. Beautiful with white molding. I have seen photos of most of these colors on this site. I don't like how the colors show on My Perfect Color, so don't check them out there. Sorry, I don't know any specific colors by Behr, but they will match anything because the color formulas are in their computer.

I picture a pale aqua with the dark floors and white trim. It could be dramatic yet calming. I also could see a very pale lemon meringue color (not a bright shade but a very milky one). Something vaguely vintage and yet light and fresh.

krycek- thanks for the suggestion. i have liked my previous experience with behr paint as well. i felt it covered better than the SW paint we used a year later.

mike- thanks for your suggestions as well. we actually have a lowes here in town (small town with no HD or SW) so i can stop by to check out those paint chips!

diana- i think i'm headed towards the aqua blues and pale yellows as well. i actually came across the link below yesterday while trying to get inspired. i really like the ocean tide colors, specifically the Duck Pond and Cornmeal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Check out 'Ocean Tide'

The "bossy color blog" has some suggestions for colors that work in alot of situations (including some that are in the light blue and yellows):

http://blog.bossycolor.com/category/best-of-bossys-colors

i think they are mostly Benjamin Moore colors, but you could have them matched.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bossy Color rec's

Hi again,

Just saw your posting about Ocean Tide and it reminds me of the color I told you my neighbor used (Valspar Seaside Collection-Dune Drift from Lowes). It's a bit more neutral in that you can't figure out if it's blueish or greenish if you can follow what I mean. Definitely check it out. When I walked into her new home I was immediately taken by it and so was my husband, who never comments on paint colors.

Denise