if you love clean, crisp colors more than muddier, murky ones-don't go with greige. I love muddy and murky..I do love clean colors, I love all the colors, but I use them as accents, much more sparingly. Accessories, art. Bigger surface like walls should always be whatever you gravitate to naturally the most. Greige is not crisp or clean color. It has beige in it, right? very light version of brown, essentially. It leans much warmer than blueish gray. White or bluieish gray would be more fitting, with crispy white. They'd share the same..color temperature so to say.

Or-you can go with color too. You can go with, say, grayish blue)) Rather than bluish gray.

But walls should be the last choice you make, really. Because to find paint is much much easier than other elements. Paint colors are infinite universe. While in other elements, one is much more limited.

Having seen the things you like, I would definitely go with a nice white. As april pointed out, greige is not a crisp color, so you probably don't want that considering what you described as your preferences. BM Swiss Coffee, Dove White, Chantilly Lace are all worth considering, then as holly said, the fun begins. I envision a room with white slipcovered furniture and blue Indian block print pillows, a sea grass rug, some ceramics - a touch of oxblood would be nice with the blue and wood. It will all come together very nicely. Blue, wood, white and some accent color is a great framework.

I like Navy Blue, wood and white. Especially with a hint of green.

Your pillows and coffee table are perfect and the art glass is lovely. You a have a very cohesive look.

Look at chloebud's picture. Does that white look hospital-ish? If you think so, then white is not for you. To me the white in that picture is luminous and makes the furniture and accessories stand out.

And yes, contrast is important. That is where the blue and wood and green or red accents come into the picture. A colorful wall, say a pale blue or a silvery gray could work, but I am not a fan, so I have not played with the concept enough to have anything useful to add to that conversation.

When I want color on a wall, I want a serious color there. A red or green dining room, an aubergine bedroom, a brown lacquered library, a chartreuse living room, a yellow kitchen, these are the colors I like for rooms that are not a shade of white.

Every color of the rainbow and then some have been in and out. Keep in mind this is marketing, marketing, marketing. Use what you love and makes you feel happy and at home. Personally, I couldn't live without blue!

Given your art glass and comments, perhaps a white/blue/green scheme with strong natural accents (cane,rattan,jute,grasspaper,warm woods etc.)? Maybe a touch of orange ala Katie Rosenfeld (last pic). What does hubs think of your inspo pics?

Home on the Waves, Cohasset · More Info

I like greige...

I think gray, beige, or white are all fine but don't like when things are too monotone. I like gray walls, just not with the faux barnwood gray floors, gray couch, gray counters, gray cabinets.....and same with beige.

Kikodog what are you married to in the room? What can you NOT change any time soon? If you were willing to paint the chest/coffee table and end table whiteish, and add more predominantly white pillows, it would visually lift the room. And yes, good point about lowering the art glass a little. I think Silver Drop might be pretty. It's beautiful and changes throughout the day depending on your light. But always do a good-sized test on your walls and live with it a couple of days. Check it in all stages of light. There are so many beautiful blue/green/grays out there... No excuse to not have beautiful walls! Lol. In the house I am moving from, I have silver drop in the kitchen and den combo.. It does have 16 and 12 foot ceilings and very large windows. But it is one beautiful color for both spaces. My cabinets were a light White Oak. My floors were a medium to dark oak wood. In my new home, I am doing the silver drop in the master bathroom, where I have predominantly charcoal grey with carrara marble counters and creamy white trim and cabinets, but gray tile floor. The rest of the walls in the home are alabaster. I am living the fresh feel, especially since I am downsizing after 20 years in the same home!

LOL...I am married to very little in that room. I am not changing the floor. I guess I love that. Pretty sure I'll keep my husband and the kids, too ;0. We have lived in out house for 14 years. We have done nothing, planned to move, and saved money. After a year in the housing market (tying to buy and sell) we are now planning to stay for the long term. The plan is to make this house what we would really like. So everything is on the table. I do want an all white kitchen which will be part of the room (white shaker cabinets, "marble look" quartz and subway tile backsplash). We plan to replace all trim and paint white (what we have is so thin it will shred if removed...super awful). The pictures below were taken last fall (the carpet and pillows have changed but all else is pretty much the same). So there is a lot of room to do what we want.

Here are the pictures:

Well, if you want white shaker cabinets, marble-look quartz, and a subway tile backsplash, you shouldn't have any trouble finding photos. Almost every kitchen on Houzz incorporates those three elements :( Create an ideabook of the ones you really like, study them, and then start your plan. The paint color on the walls is the last thing you choose, and (if neutral) has the least impact on the overall effect.

The most important factor is to PLAN it all out beforehand, engage a good kitchen designer and contractor, and figure out your budget. Then after all that planning, have a contingency fund of at least 10-20%, and realize that it will take longer than you thought, and stuff WILL happen!

Following

Thanks Diana...all done as suggested. KD...check, Contractor...check, kitchen design...check (working on some specific cabinet adjustments and the visuals on the island). Yes, I see the images on Houzz...lots of gray, beige and white as well. In reference to many of the comments above, I like the look. Since this is all in one room, I want to think about making it cohesive and I am looking at paint color as well. I will be painting my whole home so I want to think this through. I think the question comes in because I am doing just as you suggested in your post...planning.

Diana Bier Interiors, LCC...I just looked at some of your designs and love your kitchen (and your marble!). You have a beach house decorating that shows a pine four poster bed. Who made this bed? I had a very similar one in pickled pine growing up and would love something similar.

Thank you for your kind words, kikodog! My marble is Vermont Danby--Olympian White, my cabinets are white, and the backsplash is a crackled gray/beige handmade tile. I wanted more color but my husband liked the neutrals. So we added the red reclaimed brick, and I've accessorized the room with blue and white transferware and red accessories. I had 2 throw rugs but had to remove them for the time being because of a new puppy.

The pine 4 poster bed is about 25 years old, and was made by Thomasville. It's not easy finding this style today--everything seems to be weathered gray in a more modern/streamlined form. You might want to go on ebay, etsy or craigs list to get one second-hand.

Sounds like you are doing your homework! Good luck with the kitchen!

Full disclaimer: I am not a color or paint expert, and I have trouble seeing the differences in shades.

That said, our last house was painted in cool-toned shades of white. The house always felt gloomy and dreary, because it got very little direct sunlight. So we had a paint expert in and she suggested we go in a different direction: warm tones. Beige throughout, with some deeper rich warm tones here and there in the darkest of rooms, and a golden yellow in the kitchen. It made an enormous difference, warming the rooms up quite nicely.

Flash forward, our current house when we bought it was painted a light yellow/orange throughout, with yellow oak flooring. The place gets tons and tons of direct sunlight all day long. You'd walk into the house in the afternoon, and it would feel positively on fire. It was too much! So we neutralized it all and went with grey flooring, grey kitchen cabs, and white walls. The place feels much calmer and cooler. (It's also not all prison grey -- we have mixed in beiges and browns and other neutrals as well as colors like seafoam and navy, with touches of orange and yellow).

TL;DR: despite trends, consider what type of natural light your room gets, and choose a paint that can either cool it down or warm it up.

Good point. Currently the room gets sun from the large glass doors and window (Eastern exposure). We are adding a sun room there and will have interior glass doors and a larger pass through window from the kitchen. Front porch to the west gets direct sun (and room gets direct light) all afternoon.

You might as well ask, "how long is a ball of string"? :-)

My advice? You can never go wrong with a color you love. There have been several articles written on Houzz of late with some amazing kitchens that have painted non-white cabinets. Start there for inspiration. Be brave and bold if you plan to live in your home for a long time. I'm spec'ing a modern kitchen right now with a combination of walnut and teal cabinets. It's going to be awesome.

Sorry...pet peeve... It's palette.

Kikodog I have wanted those plate/dish blown glass things on my wall forever...but cost forbids :( I just love them.

I love Hollybar's inspiration pics for you. They're just stunning...

Orange is the new black right?

I laugh out loud any time I hear someone say something obtuse like "gray is so over". It's a neutral, it is timeless, like the little black dress it doesn't go out of style the way that bold color options come and go. Now if gray is not your thing it's totally fine but you have to choose a neutral of some kind, in fact your neutral choice is as important as your complimentary color choices. Beyond that, as others have already noted, choose based on your style and what you like, it needs to reflect you.

I painted all of my cottage interiors gray back in the late 80's, then in the 90's I went with two soft golds in the living/kitchen areas, with the ceiling and wall color reversed in the two rooms. When I sold it a few years ago, I took everything to off white. Personal bedroom colors through the years have ranged from cocoa, to apple green, peach, soft sage, and charcoal. Paint is cheap so you can change it more frequently and to suit your mood. Just keep in mind the fabrics and textile it needs to compliment.

You might want to spend some time looking at Mark Sikes's work. He is known for his use of blue and white.

https://www.instagram.com/markdsikes/?hl=en

https://markdsikes.com

Oh Rita...these are lovely. Very Hyannis Port. His inspiration is so classic. Through a fortuitous work opportunity and the fact I have the world's best job...in May I was able to stay the evening at Oak Springs the former home of Bunny Mellon. She designed the Rose Garden and was good friends with the Kennedy's. Her aesthetic was quite similar.

<div><a href='[https://www.houzz.com/photos/bunny-mellon-home-va-home-google-search-phvw-vp~122977043[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/bunny-mellon-home-va-home-google-search-phvw-vp~122977043)' target='_blank'><img src='https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/50a1f98e0b427a22_8-3298/home-design.jpg'

The home and gardens were amazing. I love the true french kitchen. Everything is white and her fabrics are amazing. The curator of her estate found a room full of amazing fabrics and framed those for a "museum" area on the property. It is impossible to describe the beauty of the the blue and white fabrics. I return in October and get to stay in Jackie Kennedy's room!

What a treat you had! ^^^^^

Pennydesign...my very faux chihuly (oh so far from the real thing). My sister-in-law got these for about $10 a plate, laid them out on the floor of the store (took almost 2 hours), and we put them up with standard big head nails.

Oh darn your sister!!! Where is she when I need her ;)

No matter what they are, I love them. I'm always on the lookout....

I hear you about the neutrals...I don't know about trendy things as I don't pay attention to that, but I've always liked a cream color...it seems more friendly than beige. However, cream is usually in with the yellow paint strips in the store and that frightens a lot of people...

I think people just get kind of bored with what they have...even if they like gray or beige, it's always nice to change things up..

Whatever you do, don't ignore that initial feeling you get when you see a color. Whether good or bad, instincts and what you're drawn to will serve you well.

Hollybar, one of your inspiration pictures caught my eye.

Do you know anything about the light in this one:

I'm not particularly a gray fan, but every color I love seems to have a gray base.
This topic is really as redundant as the millions of threads on "What is timeless?" or "Will white shaker cabinets go out of style?" Nothing personal here, but if you've done any reading on this board (even before Houzz changes) you'll have read, "Go with what you love." Done. 'Nuff said.

Now, if I could just talk my sister out of that puce bathroom....

My kitchens have been some shade of yellow for forty years. I don’t care what’s “in” of “out,” yellow energizes me and makes me happier, so I will always have a yellow kitchen.

CEF it looks a bit pagoda-ish to me..

Similar?

it can be also a light from Colleen and Company

http://www.coleenandcompany.com/lanterns-and-pendants/

looks like this one

http://www.coleenandcompany.com/the-pagoda-lantern/

in peacock:

( I think the question was regarding a specific kitchen..that's kinda a follow-up thread..

That's why I hesitated suggesting, say, yellow for the walls (which would look great with whites and blues etc), knowing that the specific kitchen supposedly will have marble like quartz-probably strong veining and all? Obviously there should be yellow that would work great with marble like quarz if one is really willing to look for it. I just need to look for it mentally first so to say. I envision it to be a bit green tinged like lemon? and very rich looking.

Whatever you like is what matters! You have to see it every day, no one else does! That being said, neutrals are always the more versatile option. Personally, I like white kitchens because they seem more open and airy, but that would be my choice for my house, not necessarily yours. Things to consider are color of your appliances, cabinets, floors... For example, if you have stainless appliances, you may want to avoid a clashing grey. If you have white appliances, white walls may make them look dirty over time (you would be surprised how dingy a refrigerator handle can get!).

Hi Kiki,

Grey is out? News to me and the entire real estate of NYC, lol!

Sorry if I missed this in the above posts, I did look, but what's going on with your lightbulbs?

I agree Janie Gibbs! Northern NJ also loves grey!

Following to see what you end up doing, do what you love & good for you in planning ahead. We are in the finishing stages of a new build here & because it been a long haul, am starting to 2nd guess some of the choices we made.

Blue!

I don’t think grey is out. Still a very versatile neutral and will be so long after the trends move on. If you love it, use it.

I personally am a big fan of white and find it far from boring! A more blue-white can work for a brighter “crisp” appearance, but I like the look of a warmer white paired with woods (like teak). Our new build kitchen-living-dining space has Alabaster white cabinets, a warm gray polished quartz (CS Bianco Drift), blonde-ish floors, and white walls - SW Heron Plume, which is a bit chameleon like depending on the light, but leans toward a soft, cozy warm. In or out, does not matter. It is what I like and what I gravitate to.

One point in this story/article has been posted here: pick just 1 room for bold paint for vibe you want, or to go with your items....maybe most other rooms neutral.

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pick-a-paint-help-how-to-create-a-whole-house-color-palette-stsetivw-vs~13038406[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pick-a-paint-help-how-to-create-a-whole-house-color-palette-stsetivw-vs~13038406)

I'm finally at a point in life I'm not decorating my house to sell later, but now i can't find sofas that aren't gray or beige! I hate both!

What price point are you shopping? Mid-range stores (Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn) offer lots of color options, as long as you can wait a few months for delivery.