Dee, I figured that, but these days with most painters using latex, clean-up isn't/shouldn't be an issue, IMHO anyway! I think they have been able to get away with it, so they keep doing it. I am old and cranky enough that I would look at the line item estimate, ask him how much more for several colors, and then tell him to just take all the painting charges off because I was going to bring in someone else to paint since I want more than one color in my house! :) If you brought in another painter and told the builder to take off the painting charges, I wonder what he would say. Although it is a slightly different situation, our painter whom we have had for years paints what ever colors I choose and he doesn't ever charge more if he is doing rooms in different colors-we've had him do it both ways with several rooms in one color and other times with every room he is painting being a different color. As I said, old and cranky and tired of having people take advantage. Of course, I would do it in the nicest possible way-how I had my heart set on certain colors and how we do understand that he is the best builder in the area which is why we chose him, but we just feel we need to hire an outside painter to make the house a home, we just can't imagine having EVERY room the same color, etc., etc. Faron, you want to weigh in here??? Of course, you may discover that you absolutely love one color throughout! In that case, no worries. Sometimes, I am tempted to try that and see how it looks-problem is that I can't decide what that one color would be-ha.

What an adorable house! I grew up with those white frame houses with black trim, & to me, they always looked stark & maybe institutional. & this is what I thought when I was too young to know those words! I think with a pure white background, you can use pure clear colors like red, which is a great "country" color for houses, or deep cool pastels, like the gray you have now or maybe a deeper gray. Hunter green is also a traditional color for farmhouse trim, & it would play off the white white beautifully. I'm a fan of Behr paints from Home Depot, but a lot depends on your climate; we have lots of summer & you may have lots of winter or lots of salt spray. This forum's participants have a vast pool of experience a great willingness to share, so I'm sure somebody will give you expert advice on brand & type.

Thanks for your kind words about the house. :) awm03, I believe you're correct that this house is post-MCM. It was listed as such on Zillow. "Just noting, though, that both the dining and front rooms seem to be visible from the family room, so I'm wondering about visual...symmetry with one very dark and the other very light. Also, painting the dining room dark will make that one set of windows especially dominant during the day." hamamelis, good points! "Curtains aside, they also seem to be asking me for a console or some such thing under the single panes..." I guess that would be possible if the console or some such sat far enough from the wall so that the drapes could move behind it. "Regarding the glass and mirrors, it occurs to me that the front room would change light and character dramatically with all of it gone. And that it can be beautiful when well done and lit." Excellent point. I think I'm not liking it now because there are so many things on it. I was looking at the listing photos and I much prefer it with a few select pieces of art. "Why is there what looks like a little wall sticking out in the middle, though, with the glass continuing on?" It does have a little wall that divides the glass area into two sections. It's just decorative and has been there since the house was designed - no doorway removal. justerrilynn, I like those styles of rugs. I've been eyeing them up on Overstock. I'm going to mull over the light-colored leather sofa idea. My set is getting older, but it's still in good condition, so it might be a hard sell to the BF. Lighter colors and a more MCM design would fit better in this house. I think after digesting all of the advice given, that I'll stick with light, neutral colors and hold off on the deep blue dining room. I suspect that a new coat of paint is going to go a long ways towards making things seem fresh and inviting. Thank you!

First off, travertine tends to have a pink beige undertone. Here's what Vancouver colour expert Maria Killam would recommend for a greige. She defines greige as a very pale neutral that looks like grey and beige combined: "BM Pale Oak or BM Cedar Key: The most popular greiges for updating pink beige flooring or to relate to existing taupe finishes. Choose the correct greige if you have existing pink beige or taupe hard finishes. Cedar Key is slightly more pink than Pale Oak so move them both around to decide which one looks the best."