Another Paint Color Question...Need Your Help

S

Shelbygirl

Cathlete
The other paint color thread got me to thinking that perhaps you guys could help me out with a color choice. I'm having my entire house painted and I'm having a really tough time picking a color for one of the spare bedrooms. This room has a dark rose colored carpet and I can't find any color that looks right with it. I've tried different shades of beige (yuk). I've tried very light neutral colors with a slight touch of pink (can you say pepto bismal?). I'm not ready to admit defeat and go with offwhite, however. Any suggestions? (Other than getting new carpet, that is!).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Shelbygirl
 
I'd try a white or a light off-white with just a touch of bluish-rose mixed in. (the pepto bismol effect you got might be because of the colors in the "neutral" when mixed with the pink: a slight yellowing tint could turn pink into pepto b pink).

When I painted my kitchen and hallway, I took 2 gallons of white and added a quart of a yellowish off-white (beige) to it to get a light peachy color that really picks up the sunlight nicely without being too dark. I did something similar to a bedroom, taking a gallon of white mixed with a quart of a pinkish color (but it's a little darker than I want it to be).

Remember that when you choose a color from a pain card, find the one you like, then go two or three colors lighter, because once the color gets on a large space like a wall, it looks much darker than on a paint chip or in the can. (I learned this from my parents, who were house painters: inside and outside).
 
Rose and mauves go well with browns and taupes. I love Parisian Taupe from Behr at Home Depot. Also a light cocoa brown, or light coffee browns would look great in my opinion.

Lori
 
>Rose and mauves go well with browns and taupes. I love
>Parisian Taupe from Behr at Home Depot. Also a light cocoa
>brown, or light coffee browns would look great in my opinion.
>
>
>Lori


That sounds nice! I like it much better than the sage green idea (but I hate green, except in plants!).
 
i think i would use a flat paint in the "taupe" family first and then use a ragging technique on top of it with a satin 2 or 3 shades lighter. that way, the focus in the room is teh walls and not the carpet. plus, it will have a warm rich affect on the room.

jes
 
I agree with Jes - I did a faux finish on my wall in the livingroom and one wall in the diningroom - gorgeous!! I used as a base color: Behr Premium Plus - Satin Finish - String of Pearls, and then used a taupe color mixed with glaze. I used a sea sponge to get the faux effect and am very happy with the results. Reminds me of my trip to Tuscany! Home Depot carries all the Behr designer shades as well as great examples of the final finish whether you use flat, satin or high gloss paints and it's very easy to do. Home Depot also has what I call "test boards" so you can play with the different techniques, ragging, sponging, etc., and the staff are more than happy to show you how. My two walls took a total of 30 minutes, once the base color was on - and it dries very fast! Not to mention that when you're doing this type of technique, you can't make a mistake - that's the whole idea - it's not supposed to look perfect. By the way - my painter suggested that I hold up a sample strip of the paint colors in natural light to get a better idea of what the paint color should look like. My rule of thumb has always been to go either up or down in color in natural light because of shadows and of course the type of lighting that is being used in the room.

Hope this helps! :D
 
Thanks so much for your ideas, everyone. You've been very helpful with your suggestions. I was getting nowhere on my own with that rose colored carpet, so now I have a few places to start once again. (You should see my house; there are numerous test samples all over the walls. My painters think I'm nuts, testing out six different colors per room, but at least I've been happy with the results in the rooms where I was able to make a decision!).

Thanks again,
Shelbygirl
 
What about wall paper? You could find one with a light pattern: I see a light bluish-gray background with some tone-on-tone leaves, and maybe a few very light rose splashes of color here and there (the pattern I see in my head is very attractive, and not overkill...really!).
 
Kathryn,

Wallpapering is a great idea! I never even thought of that. If I had known you came from a family of painters, I would have called on your help when we started our whole painting project!

Your comment in a different thread about finding the color you like and then selecting a shade or two lighter is proving to be very sound advice. (Of course I only discovered that trick myself after testing two different shades of a particular color and finding them both to be too dark).

Have a great weekend,
Shelbygirl
 
Shelbygirl, you may also want to post your question on HGTV's message board. You may get even more helpful ideas.

Good luck,
Lori
 
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