oh reading Maria's blog helped me a lot, definitely (even though last post, with its comments(including mine lol), was interesting but rather irritating..rip out this, drywall that..that's what happens when 80 percent of population does the same exact thing, and is extremely bored of it after 10-15 years. ) barnkatz, thank you for the link! I don't know..maybe the hardest color to get right is the one you've never tried before, or tried less times? Because I'd definitely say that it's red)) you never know. but the more you practice-the more you know about a color..and yellow happens to have less fans, generally. I've read this is because it has this tricky influence on you-it makes you happier if you're already happy..or lets say just fine. But if you go through sad time, or hard transition-it might trigger bigger sadness in you. So they avoid putting it in psychiatric hospitals, for example..As far as I remember. So it's controversial color by itself. I do know though couple people that love yellow most of all. Interestingly, I had every color of the rainbow in my top three favorites, one time or another..but it never was yellow. And I never thought of it until recently. Together with that- I like my current house's yellow..it IS very uplifting. Like it less in artificial light though. Looks like it's a very morning-afternoon kind of yellow..less light, or artificial light, and already something like caramel might work better. OK. All this to say: The most amazing book I've ever read was Janice Lindsay's book "All About Color"..recommended by Maria Killiam btw ..it's fascinating to a degree I find difficulty to describe.

Hi all! I have been meaning to report back but just haven't gotten to it until now. I really appreciate everyone's advice and suggestions! We tried out quite a few of the suggestions (accessible beige, agreeable gray, drist of mist, along with a few of the others mentioned). Sadly alllll of those either looked purple or pink in the house. I don't know why but they did. I really like how they looked in pictures so was a bit bummed they didn't work. We ended up going with SW Alabaster for the main color of the house. It works really well and will allow us to add color with furniture, wall hangings, etc. At times it looks a bit more on the soft white side, but it looks cream, and even a light light yellow at others. It ended up complimenting the flooring really well I think. We did paint the kitchen, which is part of the main floor, SW Sea Salt. I really wanted one color throughout, but cabinets and countertops are going to be a shade of white, so we needed to break it up a bit. We also used sea salt in the bathrooms, SW mountain air in the bedrooms, and pure white for all the trim. We have quite a bit of trim, craftsman style, so that also helps bring out some color in the alabaster. I have to say that mountain air is a really pretty color for bedrooms! My husband told me that it reminded him of a nursery, but I didn't even think that until he mentioned it. It is bright and airy feeling and will go well with the gray carpet and different colored furnishings. And it looks light in the daytime and darker in the evening. Anyways, just wanted to post an update and to say thank you again for all the suggestions!

Thank you justerrilynn..I loved it too but it seems now I see the shortcomings more:) (interestingly, opposite from my own photographs-the older I become the more I'm puzzled why I was displeased with them then lol) Anglophilia I had a yellow-gray plaid trenchcoat when very little!..it was probably too good, too dressy, since they rarely let me wear it..and then I grew up and it became too small)) Now though I have a very vivid yellow rain jacket, bought on sale in St Petersburg when August weather there suddenly turned into late October lol..strangely works well..but it was made in Germany blahblah..the quality is superb It was 2010 though..maybe they also went down in quality since then lol ah back to yellow. again when I was very little-somebody gave me three or four remnants of yellow velvet fabric..tiny but enough to imagine it being a blanket for a doll or something I think I never recovered from it. They were so rich and luxurious and pretty and, well, velvet-y... I think I still remember all my toys, dolls, and their clothes. Which takes precious space in my brain since I'm bad with numbers and historical dates.. Great thread..I love looking at all the rooms and colors and reading everybody's stories.

Here is the problem - you are looking for a paint color based on 2 inch square swatches compared to huge expanses of the colors already in your home. If you have a sample of the countertop that you can take outside - that it the ideal answer. If not you will need to make do with a gerry rigged method using the counter top in place. Get a large white sheet. Gather samples of the colors that must stay ( a drawer front, a sample of flooring that closely matches if an actual sample isn't available, a sample of the granite. Gather as many colors as you can from the neutral and heavily muted colors at the paint store. The lighting in the paint store will confuse your brain - pick up everything even if it doesn't seem good in the store - you may be suprised by what works when you get them home. If possible, take all the colors outside and cover a table with the white sheet. Lay the samples of the colors that must stay on the sheet and place one color sample at a time next to the colors that have to stay. If it works in natural daylight it will work anywhere. If it is not possible to take a sample outside cut a hole in the sheet and let a small section of the counter show through the hole in an area near a window. If that is not possible get a good lamp with a 5000k lightbulb and place the lamp so it shines on the hole in your sheet. You can limit the amount of any sample of the things that must stay by doing cutouts on the sheet. Typically one or two colors will feel right. This is going to be the hue you want. More than likely when you purchase a sample and paint a large section of wall it will read more vivid than the color you picked from a tiny sample. More space- more color. But you will know that you are in the right ball park and can use tools like EasyRGB to discover similar colors that are slighly less saturated. I worked with Miller Paint when I first discovered Devine. They were amazing. Don't know how they are today, as it has been 20 ish years ago. If I were in their service area I would work with them again in a heartbeat. Hope this helps narrow your choices :-)