Paint Color Paralysis

I was pretty confident in my color selections a couple of months ago, but I realize now that I made a rookie mistake.  I didn't live with the colors on the wall first.  Paint chips only tell a very small part of the story, not to mention the changes in light from room to room and time of day.  The dining room and living room were in my mind a soothing blue gray color, the dining room a slightly deeper shade then the living room.  I am afraid that the rooms will be a bit cold with the cool blue tones, but really want something that will compliment the rich floors which I thought that tone would do well. 

So, I went and got samples (under $3 a piece at Home Depot), lots of samples.  I have applied them to the walls in each room to live with for awhile.  I also grabbed a few warmer shades in the yellow family to see if I prefer a warmer wall color.  Here is where we are at - your thoughts and opinions are very welcome!

Dining Room Back Wall - My blue/gray selections. 

Dining Room Side wall under stairway (ignore the clutter - still unpacking!)

Living Room - Warm and Cool Palette

Living Room - Warm and Cool with Deeper Accent Colors
that will be used in a special project involving book cases

My initial thoughts are that the yellow colors too similar to our furniture color and there won't be enough contrast in the room.  I'm thinking that the warmer fabrics will offset the cooler wall color if we stick with the blue tone.  As a side note, that horrible trim color is getting painted a white semi gloss.  You can see where I started around the door frame.

Box Forts

As we unpack and settle into the house, we are making the best of it with box forts!  They keep Owen entertained for quite some time and gives me more time to unpack.  We are making good progress on the boxes but still have a way to go.  In the mean time, we are deciding on the paint color for the living room.  I am stumped.  I thought I wanted a blue gray, and actually purchased the paint already.  But, I am nervous that it will be too cold for a living room.  I have some sample squares up on the wall right now living with the different colors in different light.  Who else has a blue or gray living room, and if so, what do you think?

Owen's Room

The bathroom and Owen's room are the only rooms in the whole house that don't have either wood paneling or drop ceilings.  I didn't have to even prime the space, other then the doors that I'm updating.  Here are some before and after shots of the work.  The color is Ice Rink, Martha Stewart in Behr paint. 

Before shot during inspection with Owen's little head at the bottom.

Not a big fan of ceiling fans, but in a house without central air, I am sure that it will come in handy.

Nice big window that is painted shut.

My trusty spackle knife came in handy when trying to free the window.

Victory...and a very yucky window sill.

Paint on the walls.

Painting ceilings is the worst job ever!

I am leaning towards a orange and white striped fabric for the window treatment.  I have it ear marked at JoAnn's.  I am going to stop by Steve's Sew and Vac in King of Prussia tomorrow to see what they have in their stock of discount fabrics.  I am also looking into more creative ideas for radiator covers.  It just seems like there could be some really fun things that can be done to that area.  Send up any ideas that you may have or have seen. 

Ryan's Room

Here are the updates on Ryan's room.  Like so much of the rest of the house, Ryan's room has a drop ceiling and awful wood paneling.  We are trying to figure out if we want to remove the ceiling and paneling now.  The issue is that the ceiling is hiding a bunch of electric wires just above it.  We would have to pay a contractor to rewire and hide what is there.  Most of the quotes have come in around $500 just to do this room.  Then there is the cost of sheet rocking it after we demo.  That will run probably an additional $500-$700.  The plaster ceiling and what I can see of the walls arn't that bad, so we could just leave it as the plaster and fill and sand the cracks.  In the mean time, I thought that I would try priming and painting over the walls and ceiling to see what it would look like. 

before pic

before pic - gotta love the outdoor sconce...I can't wait to replace it!

radiator cover...plan on painting it the color of the trim, a semi gloss white called Popcorn from Martha Stewart

primer starting to go up

priming the ceiling as well with Kilz Premium

It really did a great job covering up the dingy white acoustic tiles, I'm just not sure that I'm gonna be able to live with the drop ceiling in here

I've got it all primed and a first coat of paint on the walls - Nurture, Behr.  I think that the room feels a bit too cold though, so I think I may be trying something else soon.  I am envisioning a warm creamy color on the walls with a bright pop of red or orange in the window treatment.  I'll post pics tomorrow of the current room color and hope for some comments. 

Kitchen Cabinet Update

Up next are the kitchen cabinets.  They are so outdated, but are a good quality cabinet.  I decided to give them a face lift.  I am removing all of the cabinet doors and drawers, stripping them of the awful hardware, and painting them a cream color. 

labeling the doors so I know where to re-hang

removing the doors and stripping them of all the hardware

sanding them down so they will accept the primer and paint

here they all are after being primed

Because of the hot and humid weather, the primer is still a little tacky.  I am going to wait until the weather cools down before I paint them with the finish color.  I am still slightly undecided on the final color but know that I want to go with a cream or off white.  More to come... 

Paint!

In an attempt to cheer myself up from the floor conundrum, I decided to pick out my paint colors for the house.  Home Depot was running a sale until 7/4 that for every gallon of paint purchase, I will get a $5 check back.  So, I sat out on my front porch with all of my paint chips and started making a list.  It took me about an hour to narrow down my choices.  Here is a preview of my selections...I know that you will be surprised at my choices. They are not as bold as I usually pick.  I feel like I want quiet, soothing colors for the walls and will pop color in with fabric and accessories.

Bone Folder - Martha Stewart - Hallways

Ice Rink - Martha Stewart - Owen's Room

Nuture - Behr - Ryan's Room and perhaps the living room

Sharkey Grey - Martha Stewart - Master Bedroom

Popcorn - Martha Stewart - All the trim in the house

Silver Setting - Behr - Dining Room