Squirrel hit it with the "warm" blues and grays. I think F&B Blue Gray could be quite wonderful. F&B in North America is distributed out of Canada...no problem there. What I see is that there are so many warm elements in your home -- granite, floors, wood furniture, etc. -- that you will not have a cold feeling with a blue or gray color on the walls. Instead, you will create a balance between warmer and cooler tones. That balance, and the variety, is pleasing to the human eye physiologically. Using more warm tones on the walls, while harmonious (and safe), also create a certain degree of monotony. At least that's what I believe about color. I am sure others here may disagree. Of the splotches I see, I think they are too light or too dark. You need something more in the middle, like Squirrel's first blue gray. That dark gray you're playing with, while very interesting, would just make the space very dark along with your gorgeous floors and cabs. Too pale a gray and you are back in the icy-I'm-feeling-cold zone! When I look at the blue gray on the wall against the golden color of the granite, it just sings! Blue and yellow are a classic color pair, and with a knocked back red (something earthy), form a perfect triad on the color wheel. That's a way to play it safe without resorting to beige...just use one of the reliable color combos, like the triad. Remember, you will also have plenty of opportunity to change the feeling of things with accessories and art. Red pillows for winter, creamy pale colors for summer, etc. You can change out window treatments seasonally. (Tailored panels in winter, bare windows in summer, for instance.) I think your style and architecture is very energetic and I feel the color scheme can certainly follow. It would be a shame (IMO) to stay with beige...

I'll suggest complementing nature rather than trying to blend in. Shingles same as the siding -- change in texture, not color. I don't see traditional-transitional here, rather an attempt to craftsmanize a house that lacks any resemblance to craftsman. I noticed you have not started an ideabook, so no way of knowing your style. Is your builder/designer/architect unable to do color renderings like I showed above?

I don't dislike your first picture of the orange-y color as much as I do not like the second brown one. Btw, what colors are each of those? Houseon's saddle soap may work. Maybe a deeper orange like Beth's Ten Gallon Hat or Pueblo Brown. Very difficult for us to subject via colors over the computer. Only your actual view of how the colors behave in person are the true tell. Don't mean this as discouragement, it's just the nature of the challenge, but you may have to test a half dozen colors or so before you find what works. I assume you brought the color cards home of the colors you tried and put them up against the front of the house...? Is the window sill natural stone or is it painted? Hate to suggest painting it if it's natural stone as there would be no turning back and it would have to then always be painted. Still, I do think you should also include painting the sill as I think adding a second color provides additional help to improve the look. The brown you've used might even work on the sill; if you do paint the sill, it should be darker than the window sash. Again, it's definitely trial and error with your assessment of actual colors in actual light, rather than our assessment on a computer image.

Hi all! I purchased an old school house with BIG windows that quite frankly need to be replaced (but that won't happen any time soon). Walls in this room are Agreeable Grey but we haven't painted the windows, door trims, or molding yet. We have shades for these windows that are very similar to AG and I have to use them until we replace windows (for reference windows are 95 from bottom sill to top). I would eventually like to paint the grids (is that the word?) black or when we replace them they will be black. I'm trying to keep the house cohesive and it's neutrals (mostly AG) with navy, black and iron ore. So long story to get to this question. What color to paint the windows (knowing it's temp). I've been debating AG, Iron Ore or Tricorn Black. This room gets a TON of light fyi. Also if it helps, I'm planning on flanking one side with a tall China cabinet and was thinking of a dark color. I wanted to add drapes as well but don't know that there is enough room.