The gut wrenching choices we have to make when everything is new and fresh go by the wayside a few years later when we're ready for a change. Since I do my own painting and paperhanging, I don't obsess about it as much as some. But I also don't change just for the sake of changing something. I do get tired of everything eventually and then I change it. For some reason the first change after the Big To Do isn't as stressful as the choice when everything is new. What's perfect for one person might not be perfect for another.

Don't think of it as stupid think of it as on adventure. It can be confusing and intimidating but how wonderful to have so many choices.

I'm not so knowledgeable, but since you asked-Would I go for a change just for the sake of change? No. Not from the way you explained it. If you're comfortable with that color and have looked at others and can't find the right one, I would say you already have the right one.

I would go with that for now and think at your own pace about what you had in mind when you envisioned a change and maybe try some accent pcs in that direction to kind of get the feel of where you want to go with a change.

I'd stick with the one you like, even if it is the one you already have. You can always change it.

when I buy a really space-taking-stuff and then I go back to my house and mess everything up to find a place for it.

If you would care to post a few pictures, I'm sure you will get some comments. It does sound as though you may already have a winner. That said, I definitely understand wanting something new:) C'mon, surely there's a new color out there for you!

The most telling thing in your post, to me, was "The area is open, and I am a person who likes colors to flow from one area to the next."

I am also that kind of person and am in the midst of having all my walls repainted in an open main floor plan, so I can relate. In the end, I chose to go with just one color. But a suggestion my painter made was to do one color but have it mixed in a lighter or darker formula for different areas.

You haven't given us the range of colors you are considering. Are you choosing from among off-white shades? Light neutrals? If the change is going to be very subtle and your current color works in your light and coordinates with all your furnishings you may want to just stay with it.

I'm not a color expert, but if you can describe what you have and what you're hoping to achieve with a color change, I bet you'll get help here.

I work at an all girls school and we just had a speaker in who is an expert on girls' brains. One thing she said was that women actually see colour differently and that is why when we line up 10 shades of white our husbands say, "aren't they all the same?"

So my response is, it's not you, it's them :)

Do post pics and colour names. I'm sure we can help.

I feel stupid about 90% of the time, so I relish that 10% when it happens.

Picking paint color is an exercise in madness. It gets easier when you learn more about paint and how paint color works, all the elements involved, etc., but it's still a nerve-wracking thing, and you never, ever know how a color will really look until it is up on the ENTIRE wall.

Pics would help a lot. Don't get stuck on one type of color either. You might be missing some great ones.

What area of color are you looking at, i.e.: grays, blues, browns, yellows, beigeâ¦.?

First keep in mind that 30% of the male population is color blind. Even painters can be color blind, though they would NEVER admit it. Check to see if those who are giving you opinions about paint can identify the number in the circle on the left and then the circle on the right. If they cannot they are red/green color blind. Do not take color advice from them.

Then when you're looking at 10 different choices at the wall, don't strive to say YES, but NO. Too many choices can be daunting. You'll feel like you are accomplishing more if you view choices and say NO to something. That eliminates a choice and the variables get fewer and fewer.

Also don't beat yourself up over a task you don't do everyday. Practice makes perfect. Thank goodness you're not trying to select paint colors from a 2" chip or asking for advice on paint colors via the internet, which makes absolutely no sense to me as a designer considering the variables of location, time of year, and computer monitors that don't illustrate colors the same from one to the other.

This post was edited by beverly27 on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 11:38

It could be that with your new furniture and new kitchen and any new accessories (window coverings, area rugs, lighting etc) that you still want/have to purchase, that your old paint colour will take on a new life.

The other thing you might try, as someone mentioned, is to take the old colour and either lighten it up a bit or darken it a bit depending on the new look that you might be going for now.

Would I change a paint colour just for a change - Nope, that's angst I can do without. The last time I did that I had paint samples on my walls for 2 years.

I am in the middle of this problem right now with about a doxen diff paint samples on the wall. I am only changing the color because the entire family have said they are tired of the existing color. Its been there for ten years. Of course there is the little problem of seeing a brightly stenciled table here a few weeks ago which lead to deciding to stencil my table which led to deciding to paint the entire kitchen which led to everyone speaking up about changing the color of the livingroom. Sometimes open concept rooms just suck.

Thanks so much for your replies and words of advice. After sleeping on this, the color stays. I realize that I had been following beverly27's advice all along to say "no". I know what colors work in this house. But, I am changing the trim, moldings, and ceilings to a better white!