The whole darn place is white. When the sun pours in, it is glorious. I’ve never lived in such a bright space and would like to keep it basically white for awhile – maybe forever. But have a look at these pictures. There’s a white french door and five white-cased windows (not all in view) along the front of the house – and absolutely no ‘pop’! Would it be reasonable to just paint the window wall? Would a different, much creamier white make enough of a difference to get the ‘pop’ I want, or would it just look mismatched or a bit discoloured?
What about a quiet taupe? If so, would it look best if applied to one other (small) wall in an opposite corner for balance?
Colour is not my strong suit. Cottager and I both agree that the window casings are sadly lost and something is needed. We aren’t thinking curtains, so it will have to be paint. And if I don’t come up with something, he might decide to wing it – possibly by throwing a dart at the colour wheel. So your suggestions – and links to any relevant photos you might know of – would be much appreciated!
what about a nice sunny yellow?
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What a wonderful cottage! Those windows (and that view) are fantastic!
I completely understand wanting to keep the space light and bright, but agree that there’s too much white there right now. Even going with an off-white (vs. an actual “color) will provide more contrast than you have now. And the more contrast you have, the more “pop” you will get. (And this goes for the fireplace as well as the windows and doors.)
I personally would avoid the accent wall treatment and just pick a mellow color (or shade of beige or off-white) for all four walls that helps you take full advantage of all of your lovely sunshine, while also providing enough contrast to help your windows stand out.
As off-whites go, I’m a fan of Benjamin Moore’s Montgomery White – it’s a warm buttery off-white. If it’s too yellow for your tastes, Hepplewhite Ivory is also nice, but less yellow.
If they sell Devine Paint in your neck of the woods, you might also check out Devine Custard. Each of these is fairly neutral without introducing too much gray into the room, and yet bold enough that it should give you the sort of contrast you are looking for.
Lovely house. 🙂
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I’m not great at color either, but because the light is coming in through those windows and hitting the opposite walls, I think you can do something a little more substantial than beige/cream and that will look better. Those window casings will be very pretty next to another color – but that color would be hard to pick without knowing what other fabrics / textures you’ll put in the room. Since you like the light color, stick with something in a lighter hue — look around the room, and match an accent color you like.
That’s my $.02 – FWIW – I’m not very good at color either 😦
My post yesterday was on quality paint. I had a great experience with Ralph Lauren (from Home Depot) recently. Others mentioned really liking benjamin moore – and Jennifer (your other commenter) recently introduced me to Habitat for Humanity “Restores” – a great place to get paint at big discounts.
Fred
One Project Closer
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I swear I’m not affiliated with Behr, but on their website is a nifty little thing where you can, if you subscribe for like 6 bucks a year, upload pics of your own house and virtual-paint any room in your house. Pretty cool. If you’re cheap or have a dialup connection (like me) you can still virtual-paint using Behr’s generic room photos. Just an idea. Now I’m off to read Fred’s post about quality paint.
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We recently did a podcast called wet paint where we talked about the advantages of using color samples like Benjamin Moore sells. They are cheap and you can easily try on a few colors and see how you like them.
I too like a subtle taupe or mild yellow. I’m not a big fan of bold colors for something like you have.
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Thanks to everyone who took a few moments to consider our colour dilemma. I will be mulling over all of your great ideas this weekend, paint chips in hand. Cheers!
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Ok I LOVE color. I took an oath upon living my childhood in a beige/tan house to NEVER live in one again….so that said PAINT PAINT PAINT PAINT! If you don’t like it, prime it and PAINT again. I LOVE color. I would go with a celery green, it would go awesome in your house!
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Darling…
As always your pithy prose is such fun! Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us non-cottagers!
Bonnie
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