I'm back! Well I went and painted about 5 different swatches- and just didn't love 4 them... Too dark and too green or mustardy were the main issues for most. There WAS one I really liked though - BM Revere Pewter. But I was so similar to the BM Grant Beige that I have up there (same intensity, but a little greyer/tauper) - that I can't justify repriming and repainting. (not to mention paying the $$ for BM) if it's not going to be much different looking. SO I Have decided to just stay with the Grant Beige and see how I feel once the floors and trim go down next week. I have never been more indecisive in my life than I have been during this renovation- but thank goodness I have you guys to help keep my head up!

First, I always choose to paint after the cabinets are installed for two reasons: (1) the installation of the cabinets may cause nicks and marks in the wall; and (2) the walls and entire kitchen will look different after the cabinets are installed so that it is better to choose your paint after the cabinets are in place. Second, regarding your concern about painting the ceiling with the island. A good painter will cover everything completely, not just the island, but counters and cabinet fronts as well, so that all will be protected. I also agree with Raee's second paragraph above. Your painter was in a rush for whatever reason; consequently you have to live with paint color you don't like and have to repaint also, just so he wouldn't be inconvenienced. It sounds like you need a new painter. Check out Angie's List and Yelp for recommendations. Third, I do not like wall color and ceiling color to be the same. If you want your walls to have a gray tone, why would you want your ceiling to be gray too? I use Benjamin Moore Cloud White on my ceilings. I really like it; it's soft and neutral. You can't go wrong with it. Once I had a ceiling painted, and just after the painters started, I noticed the white was not as soft, and it turned out the painter was using Benjamin Moore's Decorators White because he had it in his shop, rather than the Cloud White I had specified. He hadn't gotten far in painting the ceiling when I noticed, but I made him get the paint color I specified and made him paint it over. That was two homes ago. I never used that painter again of course. But I have never been disappointed in the effect of Cloud White on my ceilings. Oh, and make sure your ceiling paint is the "flat" finish, not semi-gloss or eggshell. Having said that, I like kitchen walls to be in eggshell cause it wipes easier. But the ceiling should be in flat finish. This post was edited by akchicago on Sat, Apr 13, 13 at 14:16

I need help choosing BM colors. Last time we painted, we chose a sage green with burgandy shutters. I was hoping for a a pretty soft sage that doesn't appear mint. Last time our painter played with the color after the 1st coat so I don't have a name for SW color we ended up with. I was going to only have color on the doors this time. It was too much color. What would be good on shutters? I was thinking cream or navy or a deeper sage on same chip. Is it ok to not put shutters on 2nd floor garage addition even though those windows are in the front? I hate drawing attention to this part of the house. Thank you!

Wow thanks for the input, guys! While I think the green works, it's just not my thing. I have played with gray browns, taupes, and think they look nice. I definitely want to stay with neutral earthy tones but I'm not feeling the green. I am also conflicted about the tudor-style, or board and batten, trim. Do we paint it the same color as the siding to reduce the busy look, and perhaps paint only the perimeter trim a different color? This was a question our painter asked because it's sort of in style right now. I think the beige garage door is what irks me the most. We did consider a new garage door but decided against the cost of it for now. Our painters are coming by with some taupes and dark brown samples tomorrow, so keep the ideas coming!