Cabinet hardware and paint. Two of the hardest decisions for me with this new home. I can pick floors, cabinets, tile…anything within a two minute time frame….but ask me about paint or knobs and I start to sweat. Which I find hilarious because it is the two things that are super easy to change….but I just want to get it right the first time! I have been thinking about paint for the house probably since we signed the contract. I wanted each room to flow nicely to the next…I wanted some definition of color but I didn’t want any one color to take center stage. The house is a very open floor plan…so each room needed to have a “relationship” with the adjoining room. When you step in the foyer…you see right into the family room…which is right into the kitchen…which follows right back to the hallway in the back. I wanted you to be able to stand in the front rooms and love the colors that you see all the way to the back of the house….so that they all made sense together. I wanted to share with you a few tips that help me plan out the color in the spaces….

I will go room by room to hopefully make sense of it all;)

Starting in the foyer….I chose Steel Wool by Ben Moore on the ceilings. This small foyer can handle a little punch of something special…and this true charcoal gray was just what I was looking for. It draws your eye up to the amazing crown moldings and makes you want to spend more time than is necessary…just to take it all in. I paired the charcoal with Constellation by Ben Moore. It is a watery blue gray that looks classic and clean. I love how it came out against the white trim work…and also next to the large front door that is stained Jacobean by Minwax. The whole space is classic….but also a little touch of modern.

As you leave the foyer….you enter the family room. We wanted the built ins and stone fireplace to take the stage so the color on the walls is barely there. SandDollar by Restoration Hardware was the perfect “non-color”. It is a creamy vanilla that isn’t too yellow and it isn’t white. It looks great with the gray furniture and dark leather that will be in this space. The ceiling color is Light French Gray by Behr. Both colors work with the white wood work…and also with the dark hardwoods and stone. When you are considering paint for a new home…try to keep in the back of you mind how this space will look when it is all done. I was considering going a little darker in this room….but when I stopped to consider the dark floors and the darker furniture and the dark stone….I thought the walls and ceiling should be lighter. This combo works awesome in this space.

The family room and kitchen work almost as one room….so the paint had to play nice together:) The kitchen isn’t painted yet….but the ceiling color is continued throughout the whole first floor. This provides continuality and creates a cohesive look. The color for the kitchen walls will be Constellation by Ben Moore (which is the same color as the foyer.) I think sometimes we feel the need to pick a new color for each room….when in fact the same color in a few different rooms will help draw the spaces together. Also, the same color plays different in each room depending on the light and the furnishings. I think the powdery blue will look so good against the white cabinets and dark floors.

We continues the family room color (SandDollar) up the stairs and into the loft and hallways upstairs. We also continued the Light French Gray on the ceilings upstairs.

I haven’t had time to photograph the whole house since it has been painted….but here are all the colors that we are using….

Back hallway/office, Son’s room, Daughter’s ceiling, Daughter’s bathroom are painted 1/2 strength Coventry Gray by Ben Moore.

Laundry room and guest bedroom are painted Buttermilk by Restoration hardware.

Powder room walls and Son’s ceiling are Naval by Sherman Williams.

Daughter’s bedroom and bathroom ceiling is painted Ballet Slippers by Valspar.

Master bedroom, closet, dressing area, Son’s bathroom and Basement walls are painted Reflecting Pool by Behr.

White Umber by Porter is the trim throughout

Jacobean Stain by Minwax

Hopefully that gives you a little idea of where we are at…and what my thoughts were about the paint. I think painting a whole house at one time can be overwhelming….but I started with just one room and then picked colors based on how that room flowed into the next. Using the same color in a few rooms is a great time saver too!

Let me know if you have any questions:)