@lori A. sawaya -

Thank you for the tip! I was originally looking at Color Stories photos for the exact reason you mentioned: it will work with the varied lighting. When I went for samples, the lighting in the store threw me off and I came home with some very dark colors. One I did like was CSP-135 - MakeBelieve but I wasn't sure how that would do in the room. I have a Skipping Stone chip at the house, so I will try it and probably get a sample.

A quick question: does anyone have a WARMER not not GRAYER paint suggestion? I tried a few things last night and it confirmed that my brain/heart/eyes like the colors on the sample but for the room I need WARMER.

Here is what I tried (keep in mind, I have no clue what I am doing) - my goal is to find something soothing, warm and cozy but also that doesn't highlight that hideous fireplace!

Pashmina - 25% lighter -- I liked this better than full strength pashmina but the color is a bit too muddy for the room (I think. I will have to check again when I get home)

SW Sensible Hue - on the walls, it was very similar to the BM Gray Mist that I tried, even though I thought it was be a bit softer and greener

Anew Gray and Balanced Beige: these were recommended by a color expert I hired online. I understand where she was going with the blue/green recommendations (gray whisp, quiet moments, silver strand) and then she also added BM Rodeo. Rodeo was pretty but washed out and was too light - it looks kinda blah. I added Pashmina from a left over sample at my moms. At her house, it's a pretty greenish gray - on my walls it's more muddy and not as pretty. Probably from the very gray lighting in the room. I liked Anew and Balanced but they seem a bit "blah", similar to Rodeo. I haven't really moved them around the room to see how they look yet - I'll do that tonight.

Lenox Tan - lightened 25%: This was added after seeing a blog that had colors recommended for a north facing room with low light. I was grasping at straws and wanted to see how it worked. I think it's a big too yellow but I'm surprised that I liked something like this. Makes me wonder if I need a warm brown.

Any more suggestions are welcome. I can see that going to all these blues and greens like I normally do isn't going to work for us here. Everything gets "gray" quickly or looks too "fixer-upper" tv show (we do have a fixer upper farmhouse but this is not the vibe we are going for. We want warm, woodsy, rustic :)

For reference (if you read this far): here is the room as a work in progress. You can see the original state of affairs with the checkerboard floor and bright yellow walls. We've come far but I'm stuck on the walls.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vVez6cKFizJm7xbw7

gah...I really wish one of the colors from last night worked....

BM Ashen Tan, Abalone

Thank you, everyone. I'm lost and think I'm way off track. Any new suggestions would be helpful.

I was going down the wrong path with this search for a lighter pashmina. It's not working. I even tried lightening the pashmina about 25% - knowing it was going to make a new color - but it didn't work. I will have to get the Skipping Stone that @Lori A. Sawaya recommended but can't seem to make it to the store when it's open - They might be able to color match at HD. I'm not sure if they color match the CS line. I can see how that would look prettier with the floors but I don't think it's warm or dark enough enough. I have the paint chip/square at my house but I believe that the bright blue light we have in that room most of the morning/early afternoon will wash it out. I seem to need a richer color in there...which is why I keep doing to dark colors. Also, I don't want to draw more attention to the fireplace and the lighter colors seem to do that.

I was now thinking maybe a warm off-white or soft khaki? I don't know. Someone told me "taupe
without green, pink or gray undertones". That is so confusing for me and I need to google all of that! So confusing haha! :)

I know I'm all over the place and don't know where to go anymore., The only think I do know is Ithat I don't want cool undertones. I don't want the brick to stand out anymore than it down. I am aiming for a color other than gray b/c everything in this room looks washed out or gray. My goal is warm and cozy. We are at the edge of the woods and I've recently been told the browns will compete with the floor color. The tan/beige's I tried didn't work. I don't know. I'm just lost!

By the way, if anyone has any suggestions, ii'm all ears. I"m kind of avoiding the BM store until I know what' I'm getting. The color consultant there keeps telling me to use every generic popular gray. She doesn't understand what I'm telling her about the lighting. She has recommended "gray owl" to me so many times I'm temped to put it on the wall to show her she's wrong. Her style is very tendy farmhouse, so I understand but, for that reason, I'm not going there until I know what I need!

BM Frosted Toffee is a fairly neutral color.

Did you try BM Skipping Stone?

Sherwin Williams Loggia is a nice whole house color. Looks great in my daughter's home, she used it on the main floor. As a color consultant for both SW and BM , it's one of my personal favorites.

jn3344, I didn't get skipping stone yet due to the store hours. The only BM store in the area wasn't open when I was available this weekend and then it was closed before I got off work. I'm going to try and get there tonight. My concern is it will be washed out but I'm going to try it anyway :)

matching a color is not as easy since you are a scanning a printed picture of a sample. You do not get all the color nuances you get from the original formula.

At Lowes and Home Depot they have all the formulas in the computer and are able to pull them up. I just provide them with the color number and brand. I wasn't sure how it worked forSkipping stone b/c it is a Color Stories color and specific to BM Aura paint . Additionally, they are special in that they do not use black paint to make the color

That being said, after some searching, they were able to do Skipping Stone for me at Lowes. I put it on a sample board and I'll try it around the room tonight!

where did they get the formula? guess someone bought paint in each color and adjusted the base and color to another brands based on the paint label.

Sloyder, i think it's a fairly recent addition. If you go to the paint counter with the number, they have all of the SW and BM paints in the computer. They may have other brands but I can confirm that they have both. They can look up by name (ie: skipping stone) or number (CSP-135). They are almost 100% accurate from what I have read on multiple professional design blogs and on houzz (not a scientific study but it's good enough for me!)

I should add that full spectrum colors, color mixed sans black colorant, are super difficult to duplicate using different product from the original.

Nuance means you're consciously/unconsciously considering chroma and value at the same time. Nuance is how gray and light/dark a color looks. Nuance is not a measured color attribute. (The NCS Color System describes and illustrates nuance brilliantly if you want to learn more).

It's hard to duplicate the nuance (grayness and lightness) of a FS color using different ingredients because the nuance of color comes from a balance of the colors within the mixture. With FS color, it's not so much the formula as it is the ingredients and the unique signature each ingredient brings to the mix.

And because it's FS, there's no shot of black to tamp-down and normalize nuance - you can't cheat with a shot of black which can quickly help substitute colorants/bases mimic the original color's grayness and lightness. Which is yet another reason why FS colors are so hard to duplicate, cross brands.

Thank you for explaining this, Lori. I wish picking a color was as easy as numbers and math is for me...I'm missing the part of my brain that understands that...or, maybe the learning curve is too big at the moment :)

For anyone following the saga of this color, here's an update:

I was able to get this pic of the colors this morning.

On the right wall, which is how we will view the room most of the time, I put Skipping Stone on top. Relaxed Khaki in the middle and Perfect Greige on the bottom.

Of the three, I like Skipping Stone the best but I don't know if I like it for the entire room. It feels cold. I was looking at it in the morning light, which is bluer and colder than other times of day, so I will have to try again tomorrow. It's dark here now and I"m still at work. I missed my window of opportunity. Please ignore all the other samples around the room.

Thank you, Lori! Your latest comment was extemely helpful! I figured it was going to be very difficult to reproduce a FS color at the local big box store...which is why I was trying to get to BM. Unfortunately, they all close at 5, while I'm still at work and not close enough to run out during lunch. I was desperate and decided to try it. I figure I'm going to miss out on the full range of the color but maybe it can give me some idea...

Thank you for the info on NCS, I will be reading up. I'm new to painting anything, so I need to learn all I can.

Sometimes close enough can be the perfect solution.

If an original FS color mix isn't in the cards, then it's not.

for anyone who is still reading this saga...

as many suggested: pashmina is out. we like Skipping stone but are now faced with if it is right for the kitchen (see pics). we think maybe we need something a bit warmer...any thoughts? the kitchen is a mess and we can't redo the floor / countertops at the moment so, we're repainting cabinets and walls. One color for both rooms.
I was thinking of a skipoing Stone or a warmer version for both walls but we really aren't married to any idea at the moment.
her goal is to downplay the ugly floor / countertops in the kitchen and unify both rooms with one paint color. we like to keep the kitchen country slash cozy we're not looking to modernize or make it into the Best of Houzz...we know that won't happen but we do want to start living in room we like again! (last pic is before we primed and put mindful Gray on walls as a test...)

How about BM Tapestry Beige? here it is in our master reading nook and bathroom.

we think maybe we need something a bit warmer...any thoughts?

No, you don't.

Get the real FS version of Skipping Stone mixed in Aura matte and move on.

re: skipping stone

Tried to edit the previous message but couldn't. Sorry for the duplication...

If we do skipping stone, we need to change paint color for cabinets (which is fine b/c we aren't committed to any one specific color yet

Originally, we were learning towards marscapone (I know...totally different direction and not in line with Skipping Stone) but it came from my original thread about our kitchen. Now, if we are looking at skipping stone for all walls - in the back room and kitchen. That changes our cabinet color though.

BM recommends Burnt Umber or Chateau.

Our island will be Kendall Charcoal - see sample below

Confused why then you have to change cabinet color?

Not a paint expert like some here but I view the BM suggestions as just that... not the only choice.

I think I’m confused about the Burnt Umber and Chateau? Are you talking about the rest of the cabinets? I wouldn’t paint cabinets either of those colors. I think your Skipping Stone and Kendall Charcoal look great. And let Lori give u a cabinet color and just pull the trigger!

My new house is Pashmina which is a lot of color and could be muddy as you said if you don’t have enough light. I think you are going to get a very similar look with Skipping Stone. I previously had a house with warmer colors like Shaker Beige, but my advice is that will date your house.

Molly D...you aren't the only one confused on Burnt Umber and Chateau :)

This project threw me for a loop. I went to the BM site looking for a compatible color to get an idea of what to do and those are two they suggested. I was trying to figure out if they were a good cabinet color, I don't think so, but thought I would throw it out there because I am thrown for a loop. I was going in the direction of charcoal on all the cabs and then a creamy white for the walls, trim and headboard (and the walls in the backroom with the fireplace). Then, Skipping stone was suggested and I am totally lost! I guess what I"m wondering is: how do we get skipping stone to work in this kitchen and keep the relaxed, old-fashioned cheery vibe in the kitchen (not modern/contemporary). I"m assuming we can do that with the cabinet color with the skipping stone wall combo, but I wanted to see what was suggested. Whenever I go to my local BM consultant she suggests grays and in the back room, gray will not work. At all. I think I've tried them all but it's square peg, round hole. I want it to work but the lighting isn't warm enough for what we are looking for, which is why a Full Spectrum color appears to me so much, if it's the right one

That being said, we are in a bit of a split brain about these rooms at the moment. We want the feel of a country kitchen, not modern. The house is from late 1800s and it is our forever home with a 30-year reno plan :) For now, we are just updating what we have to and getting things up to speed (insulation, fixing the chimney, etc), which is why things (such as the title countertops) are going to stay. We plan to gut and rip up the tile in 6-8 years, depending on the speed of the other projects. At the same time, we are ready to move on from the old, mismatched everything the previous owners had going on. So, cabinet color update and wall update seem to be the best way to unify...I think? I don't know. This really isn't my thing! I'm at your (and everyone else's mercy)!

I really love Pashmina on my mom's living room wall. I stare at it every time I'm over but, you are right, without the right lighting it's muddy. That's exactly what happened with us. i tried really hard. I also love the Rockport gray we have in the other room--I put this on these walls and it's dark and flat. So fascinating how it doesn't work in this setting but it's so soft and calming with a slight hint of green in our other room.

I"m excited to try skipping stone but it's difficult to know what to do with the cabinets:

walls: skiping stone

trim and (fake/bad/needs to be updated but it's here to stay for now) breadboard: also skipping stone?

cabinets: I dunno. :)

I appreciate your help. You gave me a lot to think about. As you can see, we want to be done with it, as Lori suggested but we are stuck on the cabinets :)

Simply White cabinets/trim/beadboard - warm but not too creamy, definitely not a clean/crisp white

Kendall Charcoal island

Skipping Stone walls throughout

Pull all three chips and you'll see they make a pretty palette as chips and they will look pretty installed too. Neutral but warm, pulled together and cohesive, incorporates the tile floors without matching (because there's no reason to do that).

Here’s my advice- your initial post was very focused on finding a specific paint color. But I really think your dilemma is larger in scope. I read back and didn’t see anything about your wanting to do your kitchen cabinets/trim/headboard until much later. So people focused on wall paint. . Had they known that, they might have weighed in on that at that time. I’m not sure how many more responses u will get with your post title. You got good advice from many and it seems you like the Skipping Stone and Kendall Charcoal. I Would make a list of things you are willing/able to change and be specific. In a new post have a more general title. Post your kitchen pictures right away. Say you are planning to do the Skipping Stone that Lori suggested on a previous post and the island Color. Then ask suggestions for those specific things you are wanting to do like kitchen cabs, trim, and bead board. List things that will not change. (Floor, counter)

Side note- on my new home, my trim color is the same as my kitchen cabinet color so there’s no fighting with whites. I’ll keep following your posts to see what the designers say.

Good luck!

Go with what Lori said- it will look great. She suggested like what I have with the trim and cabinetry matching. It will look crisp and fresh with the island pop of color.

Do dark lowers and Simply White uppers. Meet him half way.

That's not necessarily my personal design aesthetic but darker lowers and light/white uppers is a look a lot of people like. Pinterest is a good place to find examples.

At the end of the day it’s your home. If you like the Kendall charcoal for all the cabinets, then do that and use Lori’s Simply White on your trim and bead board and the Skipping Stone on all your walls. That’s not wrong. I would not start over. In my opinion, if you are looking on Houzz for advice, you are someone that is beyond just walking into Home Depot and grabbing the first off white you see. Forget the “ sophisticated” label- your colors will look like they actually “go” together because they’ve been chosen by a professional. All of it costs money and time. I recommend taking her advice.

Good luck! Post your “after” pics!

Benjamin Moore Charcoal Slate, or SW Grizzle Gray

Hmmm was that a color match somewhere or BM Kendall Charcoal? We need Lori back...

That last pic of the island is Kendall Charcoal? I thought kendall was more of a brownish charcoal? I didn't think it had any blue in it.

You could try Elmira White for the walls. It's not actually white. But it is warm toned, and goes with almost everything. It's my new fav color because it not only looks really nice but goes with everything in the house.

So the cabinet coat was mixed up into kendall charcoal color?

You could go tried and true and have kendall mixed up into BM Satin Impervo. Wonderful paint to use. Get it before they no longer make it!

They're all phasing out oil paints. There just happens to be enough demand for Impervo that BM is still making it for the time being.

Hopefully the newer water based alkyds will one day be as nice to brush as the alkyds are.

Prefer photos posted directly. Not a fan of links.

Me too. Houzz wasn't working for me any other way. A link was the only way it would upload a photo.

Thank you for the advice, everyone. Unfortunately, skipping stone is out. We weren't sold on skipping stone. It fell flat and really dark in the back room. Love the color in the kitchen but the dark filtered light of the back room just didn't work with SS. It's has a mountain blocking the little bit of northern light and trees filtering the west facing windows. I love how it looks with the floor, Lori is right...so much better than Pashmina. Sadly, it's not going to work for this room.

We still need a color to go with the floors, Urbane Bronze, Simply White trim. Something lighter than SS but darker than Ancient Ivory (which I like but I think it might be too yellow for the back room). Anything gray or gray-undertones (is that even a think?) falls flat and looks really dull in the back room for most of the day.

Yikes lost the will to live/

any after pics of the kitchen and family room?

I just read this entire journey as well and am totally interested in the final results 2 years later...

Hello everyone...long time no speak! We ended up going with Ancient Ivory. I knew right away it wasn't the right fit - too light and looked washed out almost all the time but I painted anyway. I needed something on the walls and I figured I would be able to go back and figure it out later. Well, 2 years later and I have terrible news...I HATE THE COLOR. It's torture! I've recently started painting sample swatches all over again. Trying to keep in mind EVERYTHING I learned here on this thread and my other one (houzz has been better than googling randomly or asking the BM color consultant who, each and every time, suggested gray). At the same time, life happened...husband was back in school, I was trying to change jobs, etc etc, so the walls stayed the same. We started fixing up the outside, scraped our deck down and started to repaint. Next, we have to figure out house colors and, as you might have guessed, I"m totally overwhelmed on that too. I have a few colors from when we originally painted...I'll dig them out. Then, maybe, if anyone is interested in helping me save my sanity, you can offer suggestions on how to find a color that is bright (b/c the house is so shaded and has low light most of the day) and how no grays or gray undertones!

I am sorry to hear that you are not in love with the color you choose. I happen to have Pashmina in my very large entry that runs the length of my home and I have been happy with it for a nearly a decade, it really seems to have lush softness to it, almost like real pashmina. I have never felt it was "muddy" as some people say. My adjacent living room and dining room are BM Frappe which has a creamy warmth to it, but with a new floor in the entry coming in a few weeks, I have decided to change it up and was also looking for a bit lighter than Pashmina. I have a delivery from Samplize arriving tomorrow with some color options, many based on this dialog so I am happy to share my thoughts with you in comparison to Pashmina if you are still thinking along those lines.

I know it's a bit 'over-done' but I have Revere Pewter in two guest rooms and my toilet closet which are all varying sides of the house and levels of light and honestly, the color really does work well anywhere and like Pashmina, it tends to give off a soft glow. I know it would be fabulous in my LR/DR, it seems to be a magical neutral, but I feel I want to change it up and inflict some self torture on myself ; ) Another yummy BM that really works for me is Mascarpone. I have it in my laundry room and am going to have my wood cabinets re-done in this as well, as my dark herringbone floor will also extend into the laundry. We did build a little getaway and I did the entire home BM White Dove which is a crisp white but just seems to lack in the "feel good" factor of Mascarpone.

Sorry, this probably is not helpful information, especially if you have moved to exteriors... not sure if you are thinking light or dark but I recently was looking at darker colors for exteriors and I have to say, BM Dragon's Breath is way stunning as is FW Mole's Breath.

Did you ever change anything ? i wonder if white duck by sherwin williams , or natural choice would have worked . Somewhat similar to ballet white by BM.