House Help: colors!

zamboni00 · January 2014

So, I am really bad at decorating, etc, and also making decisions.

I am trying to start thinking about room colors, but I have no idea where to start.

We will be selecting cabinets soon, and I feel like I should keep wall color in mind during that, no?

I read somewhere that it helps to carry a couple of accent colors through the house to tie it all together. I also read that you should pick one color and use different shades/tones/whatever for rooms that share an open area. Our maybe I totally misunderstood. Like I said, i'm dumb about this stuff.

Any advice or thoughts on where to start?

If it matters, it's a pretty open floor plan. The main living areas will all be visible from each other (kitchen, dining room, living room, foyer, 'keeping room').

Help!

Pretty Please

brij2006 · January 2014

I would pick out your kitchen cabinets and countertops, then go from there on colors. You could always do accent walls in each designated portion of the rooms to pull out colors from your furniture. It's easier to change wall color than to change cabinets, countertops, and main furniture.

sparklingdiamond · January 2014

I basically picked the counter tops I wanted and the cabinets and then we picked tile/wall colors that would go with that. Since our counter tops are granite with black and gray, we stayed with gray tile and things that would complement that instead of doing anything in the brown family. Our kitchen is pretty open and flows into the dining room and living room.

sgautschi · January 2014

^Agree with the above. Once you pick out your cabinets, post a pick so we can tell you what color we think would be best.

nfp147 · January 2014

I would concentrate more on getting the cabinets you like and then picking paint colours. Paint can be redone fairly cheaply; cabinets cannot.

If it were me, I would go with something fairly neutral throughout and then add accent/coordinating colours.

We used one colour in different shades throughout our common areas (hallway, living room, stairwell, entrance) and then used different colours in bedrooms and the kitchen and dining room. My main colour is this:

I have a feature wall in the living room about two shades darker.

The master and dining room/kitchen are grey and I have a dark purple feature wall in the master.

zamboni00 · January 2014

Thanks

I see your point. Cabinets and counters/granite first.

That's a whole other slice of overwhelming choices haha.

FWP, I know.

Anyone have thoughts on granite vs quartz vs corian?

brij2006 · January 2014

I've found that granite is much colder and harder than I thought it would be. Glasses and plates break easier on it, and it's pretty cool to the touch. However, it's a great hardy surface that you can put hot pans on and work straight on the surface.

Corian was probably my favorite out of all surfaces. You can still put warm stuff directly on it, and work directly on the surface. But it had a softer texture and a little more give than granite. It was also warmer to the touch.

Quartz I don't know much about, and haven't done much research.

RockABye · January 2014

We've built 2 houses and remodeled one. I've had granite in 2 of them and love it. LOVE it. So easy to take care of. As for the colors and stuff, I always say go with what you LOVE for your cabinets and countertop, then build from there. For paint colors, do you have any artwork that you will want to use? Basically, choose artwork and build off of that for colors. If you don't have artwork already, then go with what you love I like neutral(ish) colors because it's easier to change up based on my ever changing moods, but I also love bold colors so really, I'm not much help... sorry lol.

In our current house, we used Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray on the living room walls, then used SW Sea Salt in the kitchen (same paint strip, diff shade). Our house is pretty open concept, but there's a defined separation too, thanks to the headers, if that makes sense. I liked those colors because they're pretty neutral. Then we just chose coordinating colors for accents. For example, I used SW Foxy as my main accent in the pantry, laundry, and will eventually use it behind the cabinet doors. It also coordinates with our rug and some accessories. Then I used SW Accessible Beige for the entry and dining room and will use accessories in the comfort gray, white, and foxy color scheme.

poppies717 · January 2014

Spend all the money on cabinets! No seriously, I hate our kitchen, and we're only 2+ years in. I wish we had upgraded our cabinets. Learn from my mistake!!!!!!!

zamboni00 · January 2014

That's an ongoing battle. I KNOW not to skimp out on the cabinets because it's not something cheap to change/upgrade later (which has been our general rule of thumb, budget wise)... But at the same time, I have such a hard time spending SO much on cabinets when I seriously don't think it really matters to me. Except the non slamming drawers (whatever they are called).

So thank you for being the voice of reason. Even if it doesn't matter now, it probably will at some point

I love the idea of using artwork.. We do have a number of pieces we are excited to place in the new house- that is a great starting point.

I knew you all would help me feel less overwhelmed!

poppies717 · January 2014

I didn't think I cared about the cabinets, and we ended up going with the base model. I wish we had even done a small upgrade.

House Help: colors!

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