Yeah! Some responses! Thank you so much. I'll try to answer some questions. Lynn I have the fandeck here also. You are right. They are all fairly far down the strips. I guess I'm deathly afraid of having a pastel house and so it is really hard for me to look at the strip and go to the lighter colors. I fully intend to go through LOTS of SW little sample cans. I think drywall will start maybe tomorrow, so possibly this weekend? FUN! For the blue in the Master Suite, I do really want it to be restful. The color above Raindrop is Meander Blue which is also pretty. We have HUGE windows in the bedroom, so I was thinking I could get away with the darker color, but I will definitely try both on the wall. Here are the windows in that room. Not a lot of wall. In the upstairs BR3, I have two little boys. I was thinking I might do some "boat" stickies on the wall in there like the following which is why I went with such a bright color and then "toned it down" in their bath. Or I might do some framed "space" pictures like Very good point about the poster board. I may get started on that today and then take them out at different times of the day and move them around. Thanks for the tip. Hi Lindy! Can you believe I made it this far. ;) They are intense colors. I know. I thought they worked really well in our old home, which was older and smaller, but I'm not sure how they will translate to the open spaces in the new. Just for reference, here are a few of the colors in our old home. This is Sundance in our old living room. And this is Peppery in our dining room. However, you definitely have me reconsidering the intense colors in the bedrooms upstairs. I did a bit of juggling... I changed the hall to Sole which is the lightest color on the Sundance strip. I changed the Bonus area to Clary Sage (one up from Artichoke) but will try both colors. I moved the Softened Green into the guest area and then introduced another color Sands of Time in the Guest/Kid's bedroom #2. I'm probably getting to the point where I just need to get a bunch of colors and try them out. colorcrazed Good idea to move up and down the strip. I did that in the upper hall and if it isn't too "lemon pie", I may try that. It also think I may try the Sole in the Great Room and Foyer and keep the Sundance in the kitchen if it is overpowering in all the space. I really hope it doesn't take me 35 quarts to decide,...

My deepest sympathy on the loss of your son. You will get more help if you post your question in the Home Decorating part of this forum. It's more active than this one and there are lots of talented people who have good ideas re color choice - both exterior and interior.

Janet, you have my sympathy as well. I would only add that you should pick colors that make you feel happy. I know the trend is toward neutrals, but if this is your long-term home, I would not worry about painting for resale, but to choose colors you really like and that flatter you. Look in your closets and see what colors are prevalent -- that is a good clue. Several years ago, I lost both my mom and dad just a few months apart, and shortly after the loss of a very dear friend. I was devastated as you might imagine. Fortunately for me, DH and I had just purchased a fixer-upper, and we had always agreed that we wanted to paint in colors we loved. We ended up painting in a warm palette of spring greens and warm, buttery yellows, and every time I stepped into the house after work, my spirits lifted. We just sold the home, and despite my agents suggestion that we "soften" the paint colors a bit, we did not. We had multiple offers after 5 days on the market it, so our color choices didn't even hurt us financially, and I am convinced that that they helped me through a very difficult time. My best wishes to you and your family.

Here is the DNA on SW Sea Salt. It has an LRV (light reflective value, or how much light does it absorb or reflect.) of 65 so 100 is most reflective. 65 makes it not very reflective, kind of mid range. It has a Hue Family (what is the main color that is most likely to show thru) of Green/Yellow (cool segment) and it has a moderate Chroma which means it has enough black to "gray it down" and helps define how much "color" is in the paint. This one has a fair amount of Chroma, so it is pretty "colorful". So, if you want a more "quiet" backdrop, look to the "off-whites". Some to get samples of and compare are SW Chantilly Lace (pretty white); SW Extra White (not quite as bright but still white); SW Cotton Balls, SW Pure White is nice too. Then you can get some of the more colorful choices like SW Sea Salt, SW Agreeable Gray, SW Accessible Beige, SW Alabaster (more yellow Hue Family) or SW Worldly Gray which has much more color but fairly neutral tending to gray tones. Worldly Gray has an LRV of 57, so it is mid-range light reflective. Not as reflective as SW Sea Salt for example at 65. LRV is measured from 0-100. The closer to 100 the more reflective; the closer to 0 the less reflective and more absorbing of light.