I need help picking a paint color to go with the main living room color?

Question

My living room is small but I have a vaulted ceiling with a white popcorn ceiling. I painted most of the room a "desert powder" (behr paint) color which is kind of sandy color with a hint of yellow. Portions of the room have a lower 4 ft trim with a stucco type bottom wall seperated by a wood border. I was thinking of going with a high gloss ultra white on the border but I have no idea what to paint the lower stucco wall. Friends say it has to be opposite and darker with dark blues, browns but Im not sure i like that. I was thinking of an antique white, taupe, beige types or a color called "calming retreat" (behr). Am I breaking design rules, will it look bad? I need some help...Single male bachelor who cant design but trying....Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

I looked up "desert powder" on the new behr paint deck and it was not on there.
Look at the paint strip which your color was on and pick a color 2-3 shades darker than your wall color (from that same strip).
Also, Paint the ceiling the lightest color on that strip.
It will blend perfectly.

Answer 2

Who cares that you may be breaking designer rules,get what you like!
a coup;e ideas:
1} Go to your Behr paint store if that is the paint you like,when you see your sand color paint on the color peice is it in a row with other colors? If so this helps because if so,say it is 3 down out of 4. Then when picking the next color look in that 3 down spot. they will be within the same tones.and will look nice together.
2} The people at the paint stores know there stuff..ask them what is good,or trendy in your area. Whatever color you choose,take home the sample first,tape it to a wall and make sure you like it in there..colors look different in different lighting.
3} a deep brown would of been my first choice but since you don't like browns,just think darker then what you have,contrast.
Maybe a deep rusty color,or a dark olive green.
4} lastly,what will be in the room. Maybe you can play off a piece of furniture or a painting..

Paint is pretty cheep so if you don't like it..repaint.

Answer 3

My instant thoughts are go with the lighter shades as it is a small room. I personally think your friends are wrong suggesting dark colour. Your colours sound better. I suggest going to a paint specialist store and asking them. Sometimes the paint distributors also have pamphlets showing ideas of colours that go together which are most helpful. I do understand your dilemma as I had similar problems and here in Australia you can employ a colour analyst from one of the major paint manufacturers. Perhaps where you are (America, I guess) I'm sure they would have this option also. Look into it. It was well worth it for me as I was re painting my whole house and it only cost AUD$120 and then I got a rebate on every can of paint purchased albeit a small amount but it all added up. Hope this helped a little. Good luck.

Answer 4

Your friends suggestion of the darker blues would be good. With the desert look, I would recommend 3 different hues. This will bring out the stucco texture, too for authenticity. Focus on the darkest blue and use the lighter ones for highlights with a sponge technique.

Sounds great. Enlist some women to help you if you can. We are great at the design part but you may have to bribe us for the actual painting. I don't know too many who like painting.

Answer 5

hey it's good to try, that's the only way ..... to save money and avoid purchasing the wrong color, it's a good idea to invest in large paint chips (18"x18") .....they are about 4 dollars each but they give you a good sense of color on a larger expanse and you can study and evaluate the color with different lighting at different times during the day including artificial lighting. (if you dont want to spend on chips use a solid towel or solid tablecloth or solid showercurtain or solid fabric or even a Tshirt but the key is a large sample, not a tiny one.) ... feel free to use those free color chips but be aware little chips can easily fool the eye and at worse be costly and aggravating in time and money spent... remember nowadays stores like Lowe's and even some good hardware stores offer color matching with a scanner gun and a paint "computer". all you need to do is bring in your SOLID sample (no pattern!) for the clerk to scan. larger is better. you can also invest in white boards and those little "sample jars" but i think that method's more expensive than the large chips method. happy painting and best wishes for a great look. ps you can also look at pages out of wallpaper books NOT to buy wallpaper but because a page can visually substitute as a "large color chip" due to size. look at the almost-solid patterns of course

Answer 6

Breaking design rules? They were meant to be broken. Guess what I have in my living room? I have a blue wall with white clouds on it. Do what you will and harm none. Is Martha Stewart coming to your house? then don't worry. Do what you think is right for you. good luck. Maeve.

Answer 7

Make it steel blue, Robocop!