Hi Laurie! Your userid always makes me smile because one of my all-time favorite teachers was Ms. Rose -- she was my English teacher in hs and I just loved her. I read "Jane Eyre" with her and that's where I learned of the name St. John; Ms. Rose explained that it's pronounced "sinjin." That's my eldest son's name! Okay, so back to white / cream: the Calming Cream definitely has more yellow in it than Mayonnaise. I'm staring at it right now and I don't think it's darker and it really does not look yellow, but it's also not a bright white (which isn't me). It doesn't read exactly the same as the Mayo did in our previous house -- it's warmer, but then the lighting conditions are so different here. Oh, you know those gorgeous moldings in old British houses which have been there forever and the white is pretty mellow from time and that it's an oil-based paint (which also yellows over time)? That's what it reminds me of. That is a horribly constructed sentence but hopefully you know what I mean. I think Benjamin Moore got the name right with Calming Cream because it is a calm color and it does look like the most luscious pool of rich, fatty cream. (my favorite kind!)

Okay. You're all not going to believe this!!!! But maybe you will. After all you're garden website people. I NOW HAVE GROWN TO LOVE MY BM WINDHAM CREAM!!! I finally got a bit of furniture in both LR and DR and what a difference that makes. I don't have my camera here today but I'll have it this weekend and take photos. My cottage is not completely furnished yet but every room has the main, large furniture in it now. My DR table and chairs are black and cherry finish over solid Asian hardwood and birch veneers. Which basically means table/chair legs are black. Seat and Table top are cherry. Chair backs are black. Love the 2 tone. LR sofa/chaise are a warm mocha color that has threads of gold color in the brown which looks great in LR and off DR. Plus my floors got refinished and they're lighter now so that also made a difference. And yes nesting, the BM creams are more yellow etc. etc. like u wrote above. funny. And for everyone who commented on the Palladian Blue I LOVE IT SO MUCH I WISH MY BEDROOMS WERE PAINTED THAT COLOR. But they're BM Van Alen Green (which is soft and pretty and I'm just not repainting ANYTHING unless I hated it.) I did paint my powder room Palladian Blue. I only have a small photo of part of the wall but here it is: but that Palladian Blue is my favorite color. My BM Lenox Tan kitchen would be 2nd favorite.

Caroleoh - Yes that wall will be painted too - the whole area out to the side entrance. And the kitchen, DR, and LR will then all be the same color. "I think visually you need to tie the island into something already in the kitchen or it's going to look like it doesn't belong." I agree. Never thought about painting the island and backsplash the same color like that. Hmm.. I have already paired all the samples together and like it. I thought I was set on black, but think it'll feel too dark. Part of my problem is I feel like I need to go with a blue gray if I go with a color since the flooring and countertop are the fixed hard surfaces in the room and have that color in it so I don't look like I'm ignoring it. I know green compliments red though. I need to get the cabinets stained first before I can get a real feel for it. I was just curious what others though. Hopeful a light bulb would go off. I'm having the island bb replaced the same time I'm having the backsplash and new crown installed so I'll be committed to paint at that point. I think it will really bug me to have two different looks of bb. - The paneling on the island is flat with grooves.

I tried to post a picture, but am having trouble with a few things. First of all, my photo skills are lacking and the true colors of the current wall color and the sample of Wheeling Neutral are just not showing up they way they appear IRL. The current wall color is much more yellow. In my picture, the two colors look quite similar, when they really aren't at all. The other problem is the size of the picture. I inserted the picture by dragging and dropping from my pictures library and the picture is huge. Do I need to resize before I insert a photo? This is my first attempt at including a photo since the change over to Houzz. Then, of course, there's that whole thing with my photos becoming 'property' of Houzz. I have been comparing my samples of Lenox Tan and Wheeling Neutral and I think I've figured out what didn't work with the Lenox Tan in our BR with the bedding I'm going to use. Altho I do like the richness of LT, the color needs to be grayer and I think I've achieved that with the WN. Could I go darker? I suppose the answer would be yes, but then the color is just about matching the grayed brown in the pillow sham and that's not necessarily my goal. The colors should just blend, right? I want a nice background color that works with the overall color scheme.