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paint color dilemma - open floor plan with vaulted ceilings

3 years ago

I’ve been putting off painting our open living space for years now because I just can’t decide on a color. We need to get our floors redone and really would like to paint before doing the floors. Our rooms don’t have a lot of natural light, so the colors look very different in different areas of the house. I want to keep the same paint color throughout are open floor plan space, and would like to keep a lighter / neutral color (don’t want to to look like a cave) - also would like to stick away stay away from anything to trendy.

I like the brightness of the current color but not a fan of the yellow undertone of it (looks out of date to me).

Here are the colors on the wall so far but I’m still not sold on any of them.

Any suggestions of other colors to try? Which one of these do you like (if any)?

My biggest fear is I’m going to paint and the “hue” will turn out looking purple or pink or green, etc. and not match anything OR it will look way to dark.

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Comments (14)

ShadyWillowFarm
3 years ago
What color are the rugs, furniture, art etc?
Leigh H
Original Author
3 years ago
Paint colors
1. SW Eider white
2. SW Shoji White
3. SW City Loft
4. SW incredible white
5. SW agreeable gray
6. SW repose Gray
7. BM Cloud cover
8. BM Cloud White
9. BM White dove
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Paint color for open floor plan with brown and blue furniture
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I'm really into grey right now, so that is my vote. I see a few patches of grey on the wall next to the fireplace, window and backsplash and think it looks nice. My purpose of using grey is to make other accents in the room stick out -- in your case, the Blue would really "POP" as well as your woodwork. It would be a LOT of grey though. As an alternative, you might want to think about painting the ceiling white above the cut-line which would include the Vaulted Ceiling, the Kitchen Ceiling and the Fireplace Wall. Tricky ceiling angles. mmmmhhh. P.S. What's up with that little clock on that big wall so high up. How do you change the batteries? LOL. Just messin' with ya. Cool room BTW -- :)
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I feel your pain, having gone through this myself in the recent past. I agree that stayong with lighter colors is wise, there are so many wonderful off whites. I finally picked SW Shoji White basically by closing my eyes and pointing at it! Fortunately it worked out : ) I've painted that color throughout and am picking one or two other walls to highlight in richer color. However, 3 of the LR walls are shoji white and the trim will be the same color--very 50's vintage! I'm really glad I didn't go with a grey toned off white like grey wisp, since my house, like yours, doesn't have overhead pot lights and a grey tone would've been very cold. As Annie says it's hard to tell what undertone to suggest without seeing the colour of your brick and redwood. If they have a really prominent red tone, one idea is to pick an off white with the faintest hint of blush, like maybe Pompeii OC 82 or Antique White OC 83...obviously the undertone would depend on your brick/ I've seem this done and it looks wonderful. However, if you really want a greyish tone, I loved the look of BM French Canvas OC 41 and Classic Grey OC 23. For less of a grey white, I liked Grand Teton White OC 132. Chances are you can't go wrong with an off white : ) Good luck!
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Putting beige and gray together in the same space used to be frowned on, but lately I've seen this done rather successfully, for instance where the rug was gray and the upholstery beige. With my light beige upholstery my new carpeting is going to be a warm gray color called London Fog which I would say is more or less greige. However, for a wall color I would probably choose something lighter, more like the solid color of your rug. It's already next to the "yellow" floor and I don't think it clashes. That color would lighten up your living room considerably and make the art on the wall pop more.
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You could treat everything at or above the opening as the "ceiling," and everything below it as the "wall." My mom has told me that they would do this in old houses to make the room seem bigger, or something. Otherwise, yes, paint it all the same color. There were lots of cove ceilings in my 1930s neighborhood, and most people painted the ceiling and walls the same, or had a picture rail to paint up to, e.g.: But I think an actual picture rail might look odd in your room. I had a coved ceiling without a picture rail, but the ceiling was odd and gave me a stopping place: You could get a similar effect with just paint.
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simplechoices
3 years ago
We need more info. Floor and other fixed finishes, furniture, etc. No way to give you advise without seeing more.
Melissa R
3 years ago
try SW Popular Grey
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
Your flooring will have ahuge effect on your choice of wall color so wait until the floors are in and then cover them while you paint.
Leigh H
Original Author
3 years ago
So currently we have like a “yellow” pine floor, white carpet and horrible white / black checkered linoleum kitchen flooring. All of which I’m planning to change out to one consistent new wood floors after I get it painted. I’m also planning to paint my kitchen cabinets white and if I’m brave enough paint or replace my island a blue or grey color. I really don’t like the layout of my island and hate the “desk” in the kitchen so still trying to decide how to replace that before I do the floors too

I’ve been overwhelmed by how to pick out paint and flooring for such a large space
Leigh H
Original Author
3 years ago
Patricia, I was told to paint first then do flooring because then you don’t have to worry about getting paint on your new floors - I’ve not done floors but assumed the person who told me that is correct.
Leigh H
Original Author
3 years ago
Picture of the kitchen too - visible from the dining room and living room...
I don’t really like any any of the colors in the kitchen right now. Definitely not my “style”. Im hoping to tackling painting the cabinets and changing out the countertops to white, maybe making the island a different color like navy or blueish grey, but trying to take baby steps and pick out new floors and wall colors first.

Huge props to professional designers and their talents, because just picking out a paint color has me paralyzed ... I can’t even imagine how I’m going to pick out flooring or colors for the kitchen next

Very overwhelming 🥺😩
Leigh H
Original Author
3 years ago
Just noticed the cat photobombed the living room photo 😹
Jacqui Naud
3 years ago
I agree you should refinish the floors first. The wall color will depend on the stain you choose. Also, refinishing hardwood floors is messy. It creates a lot of dust that you don’t want all over your freshly painted walls.
jck910
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Floors first They will affect wall color choice. Stay away from gray if not much natural light
ShadyWillowFarm
3 years ago
You’ve mentioned the color blue twice. And your current color palette is beige, which is why you are having trouble picking out yet another beige. Go look at blue art on great big canvas.com, or shop blue rugs. Find something you love color-wise and pull colors from there. Pick the wall color last.
Rory (Zone 6b)
3 years ago
I too have high vaulted ceilings. I do get a fair amount of light because I have lots' of windows and a few skylights. However, I do also have lots of trees. I opted to paint the ceiling in the rooms with the high ceilings the same colors as the wall. I like it much better that way in my situation. There is no contrast between the ceiling and the walls. I did use a pretty light color (BM Classic Gray).
WE HeadyArt
3 years ago
We painted our ceilings and walls the same color with our vaulted ceilings as well. Love not seeing the “line” at the ceiling!

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