I like BM”s Natura Line. You can try: Swiss Coffee, Ballet White

Thanks! I’ll look at these. A friend suggested pale oak so that’s on the list too now.

My pleasure. :)

Your walls look light and bright now. Perhaps you would benefit more from upgrading your lighting? Have you consider that. Most any offwhite will look darker than what I can see now. Order some samples from samplize.com. Do not paint samples on your walls. I would also paint your stair railing and newel post black, satin finish and balusters white. This will really freshen and update your look. I will post some inspirational photos.

A couple staircase examples.

A couple rough ideas of how black and white can modernize your new home.

One more

Here are some BM Whites and Blacks to consider.

Thanks Flo! This was very helpful. Lighting is definitely on the list. The walls look okay in the pictures but in reality they are dirty and full of stains thanks to the previous owners. Trim is in very bad shape too so we’d like to get that fixed. Right now we see stains and cracks and holes everywhere we look. I’ll check out simply white. That looks good to me. Do you have any thoughts on pale oak? I have always had white walls and want to use some color this time.

Yes I understand. I have used Pale Oak and it is ok but it leans gray. SW Natural Choice has more beige look and is neutral. I don’t like Greek Villa it tends toward pink. What main color is your furniture?

Flo. There isn’t much furniture at the moment except a taupe coloured couch. We moved from a very tiny place to this house so will be getting more furniture once the shops open up. I am comfortable buying smaller items online but prefer to see bigger items like sofas, dining tables, etc in person. The color is always off online thanks to heavy editing. Taste wise, I find myself attracted to neutral coloured furniture and will add accent colours if it gets too bland.

Ok. That’s helpful information. A nice backdrop for a neutral color palette is SW Worldly Gray. I like to consider the whole house when selecting paint because usually you end up doing it all anyway! So you are lucky to be starting from scratch. Here is a color palette for a whole house that might work for you. I have used all these colors and they are very harmonious together and create an interesting home feeling. There are other great combinations but I thought we could start here. Take a look and see what you think. Of course, we can modify to your taste but at least I know these colors work together.

SW Worldly Gray is a nice base color. We are leaning toward lighter color palette today so this might need tweaking and lightening.

Here is photo to help you compare some color samples I have in my stash! I think you can read the names. The one on the far left is SW Accessible Beige. This might help you see depth of color.

But you need to go to SW store and get some chips and pick 3-4 you like in your light and get the pro samples from samplize.com. I use these all the time. They are 12 x 12 and have great color. Hope this helps.

My first question is are you keeping the tile floors? Those will greatly influence what colors look good on your walls when working in the greige pallets. Flo has given you solid options. She is a wealth of knowledge in the paint dept and I fully agree that the first order of business is getting the banister paint! I would keep the long hall as light as possible as it appears it struggles with natural light. Will the cabinets , counter and back splash be staying as is?

Also agree with Flo about replacing lighting and those "boob lights" in the hall way need to go but @Flo Mangan in your mock up of the hallway I only have one negative.....don't use the light you recommended. Did several of them in a clients home and well lets just say the quality isnt there LOL! Major installation issues and hours spent my by contractor to "make them work" later 3 of the four got put up but the 4th one we had to send off for and it came back faulty the second time etc etc etc. Never again! Friends don't let friends recommend bad lights LOL!

Relating to Flo’s suggestions: I see your staircase as a huge focal point. I would attack it first. Stain the treads dark…like the kitchen cabinets I see from your front door. black railings and newel posts with white …..,senior moment, to match the white wood work.

Spindles! I knew it would come to me.

Black lantern.

Thanks so much Flo. I really appreciate your input.

Thanks Design Interior South for your comments and reference to “boob lights”. Ha haha ... I am definitely replacing them now! Yes I’ll keep the tile floors but will likely put rugs on them. Staircase...yes needs to be updated for sure. I got a few quotes and it’s nearly 4000 to paint. I can get new spindles and posts for this much which I think would make a bigger impact than just painting. Happy to hear if you disagree. Re the kitchen, I’ll be getting a white/cream quartz countertop with an overhang plus changing the backsplash to match/complement the countertop. Hopefully that will lighten up the very dark kitchen nook. The other option is to paint the cabinets white which I am still thinking about.

Are you keeping the floors and staircase in the honey oak color. If so, I wouldn't go towards gray, especially with the tile floors. I'd totally paint the spindles and the risers white as that would be a big help in getting some of the oak neutralized. I never like to paint a stair railing and would rather re stain it in a darker color (or lighter), or leave it as is for now. Changing the spindles and risers will make a big difference. A nice wall color for you to try would be BM White Sand - it's a nice neutral that will go with some of the warm tones in your floors and give you a bit of contrast with your white trim. Get some inexpensive sisal runners for the hallway to cover the tile.

Thanks JudyG. Totally agree. I previously got a few quotes to update the staircase as you suggested as it’s nearly $4000. For that much I can get new modern looking spindles and posts along with staining the steps darker. This will make a bigger impact I think. Please let me know if you disagree.

Be careful on ‘redoing’ stair. Never as simple as you think. $4,000 is high but done right it takes a lot of time. I would paint it. You could do railing and newel posts yourself. And farm out painting the balusters. That is a lot of stairs, railing etc. but will be big feature when complete. An open style entry chandelier is going to take the space up to a new level. I would wait on painting kitchen cabinets until you have done other key improvements. Might work well then.

I will disagree on your stairs thinking. That will cost more than painting in my experience. Think that through. Just depends on how you want to deploy your budget.

" I can get new spindles and posts for this much which I think would make a bigger impact than just painting."

You have gotten a quote to replace your Handrails, balusters , newel posts and it was $4k?

Roughly 4K yes but just for spindles and posts. I’ll carefully consider the cost estimate for painting vs replacing before starting on this project. Flo just pointed out that replacing is usually more expensive in her experience. Either way, I do agree that updates are necessary since the staircase is dead centre in my floor plan.

Well if handrails are staying in the estimate something to think about is the curve of your hand rails on the bottom step. Very traditional. As far as posts and balusters being replaced you will have to stay completely cognizant of what style the new ones are that will work with the traditional handrail. Also you will still have to have that handrail refinished to achieve an updated look. You biggest change will be in painting your risers white and refinishing the tone of you woods whether that be with paint or a darker stain.