This is a post from a long time ago, but updated as of March 2012 (yahoo!), just in case you’ve ever wondered about the colors on our walls . . .
______________________
I’ve received several emails lately inquiring about paint colors in my home. Shelley recently wrote,
“Dear Kate,
I’m curious if you would mind sharing the paint colors on your walls in your dining room, stairs, and entry? I so want to take my dated golden oak stair rail and replicate what you did with yours with the gel stain and glaze! Thanks for the inspiration…now only if I can get a dose of courage as well. I love your home! Simply beautiful ! ~ Shelley”
Sure Shelley! Some of the colors in my home are straight out of the paint can. Others I’ve tweaked by blending my own color.
In our living room is Benjamin Moore’s Affinity ’Tranquilty’ but I had the guys at the BM store tweak it by pulling two drops of blue out of the formula to make it a hint grayer, so we dubbed it ‘Tranquility Tweaked’.
Here’s the formula for the Ben brand (which I love because it covers in one coat!)
S1 0x 3.0000; Y2 1x 1.5000; B1 0x 20.0000; O1 0x 19.0000
Here are three closest color matches to my custom formula: ‘Portico’ by Valspar, ‘Sea Salt’ by Sherwin Williams, and ‘Chicken Wire’ by True Value. .
.the the
The dining room, kitchen, and family room are all connected as open spaces so it made sense to paint them all the same color which is Benjamin Moore’s ‘Camouflage’ a pale gray green. It looks different in morning and evening light, a brighter green in direct sunlight and more gray in evening or indirect sunlight.
.
In the foyer is a neutral tan color we painted many years ago and I’m sorry to say, the name is not on the can because it was a custom color, but here are some close color matches: ‘Wheeling Neutral’ by Benjamin Moore, ‘Churchill Hotel Wheat’ by Valspar, ‘Whole Wheat’ by Sherwin Williams, and ‘Classic Taupe’ by Behr.
.
The kids’ study was recently given a makeover and the color is Glidden’s ‘Oyster Bay’
The master bedroom is another custom blend – it’s a mix of 1/2 Camouflage and 1/2 Misted Green, both by Benjamin Moore. The closest color match is ‘Comfort Gray’ by Sherwin Williams.
.
In the master bathroom is (shoot me now, I know) another custom color I mixed up with leftover paints …. but I’ve color matched it too so here’s a few close ones: Valspar’s ‘Clothesline Fresh’, Glidden’s ‘Grey Leaf’, and Sherwin Williams ‘Silver Mist’.
.
In my daughter’s room I painted the walls a pale gray green: ‘Thistle’ by Ralph Lauren. Even though RL paints are not sold anymore at Home Depot (except for their metallics), HD still should have all the formulas, so don’t hesitate to ask!
.
In my oldest daughter’s room, the wall color is ‘Blue Green Gem’ by Kelly Moore – a watery pale shade of Tiffany blue.
.
In the home office, I hung the grasscloth wall covering, but I painted the non-papered opposite window wall in a very close match by Valspar called ‘Seafoam Storm’ which is a really gorgeous medium gray blue. The back of the bookshelves are also painted with ‘Seafoam Storm’.
.
In my boy’s room, we painted his walls an intense teal called ‘La Fonda Villa Fountain’ by Valspar – it works well with the board and batten installation painted in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Dove White’.
.
On the walls in my powder bathroom is Valspar’s “Seine” – a deep mushroom gray color with a little chocolate brown in it too. I also installed beadboard wallpaper for a nice contrast.
.
‘Silver Sage’ is one of those colors that you just can’t go wrong with ~ so it made sense to use it in our laundry room, but I cut it in half with some white to stretch it.
So there you have it, for anyone who’s ever had any questions about the paint colors in the CG household. You can tell I’m a fan of blues and greens, as long as they are muddied up with gray. In my opinion, adding gray softens hues, reduces a color’s saturation, and creates a more soothing color, therefore increasing the chances you’ll be delighted with your color choice over time.
That said, regardless of what you choose, paint is simply the easiest way to transform the feel of a room. Yours truly is guilty of picking up the brush on many occasions and changing the walls in my home simply because the mood strikes!
Are you as guilty as I am of repainting all the time?
.
