PAINT! I CAN’T PICK A PAINT

[Sadlysadsad]

So, I have a through lounge to the kitchen. The house is white downstairs (we have moved in) which I find really harsh. I want to paint the same colour in the front room and through to the kitchen, so it’s all the same.

I have a silver grey settee and I’m getting a mid grey carpet. The kitchen is Matt units in grey. So I need a colour that goes with that.

Front room can be very gloomy.

I wanted Elephants Breath, but a sample of it in the room is way too dark, and skimming stone is too grey.

My friend has suggested Timeless or Natural Hessian. I really like Natural Hessian, but will it go with all that grey, especially in the kitchen? All the paintwork is white gloss and ceilings are white, but I’m really struggling.

I don’t want white really, I had hoped for a warmer colour, but they just don’t match with the colours here (I would not have put a grey kitchen in but there you go)

After years of rented I can’t face Magnolia either

Please help me with some ideas!!

How about a very light pink like calamine or peignoir from f&b? Would look great with grey.

I've got natural hessian and it's quite beige - I would say probably not with grey, but mine's in a south facing room.

Natural wicker or natural calico are a bit brighter and might be better. NW has a slightly pinkish undertone.

You just need a colour you like. You don't need to worry what anyone else thinks. If you like a colour you see go with it. If you like it's the right one.

or dulux pistachio, that'd work well with grey.
I just painted my bedroom pistachio and it's lovely.

Absolutely what @DappledThings says @Sadlysadsad 😊

And at the end of the day, if you paint it a colour and you don’t like it, it can be changed 😊 it doesn’t have to be the most expensive paint in the world. Are you able to do the painting yourself to keep the cost down too?

I have a green colour in the bedroom, but in all honesty I am not a huge fan of grey.

Im not enjoying decorating nearly as much as I thought.

Everyone I know has Elephants breath and I really like it, but it just does not go at all! I find everything else really uninspiring, but I am more keen on pinky tones I guess, however I’m not sure a front room and kitchen in a pink shade will work.

I don’t really want grey toned walls, simply because I think it will be too cold in here.

I like beige colours (dull I know) but I don’t think that will work in the kitchen either!

I have a decorator doing it at the moment as there’s been a fair bit of filling and plastering done

Dulux Heritage finish is amazing. Best I have ever used.

If you go to a Dulux decorator centre or anywhere that does their paint mixing they can mix any colour using the heritage base. Homebase staff don’t always know this but the machine will do it.

I love Nutmeg white as a shade. We initially had it in a small bedroom. Then ended up using it in our large double bedroom. And I loved it so much we also now have it in the hall stairs and landing. And dining room. It is a brilliant neutral, not yellowish. Warm though, maybe even ever so slightly blush pink. I find it the most relaxing colour to live with. It would set off grey furniture and carpets really well. It’s available as a Heritage shade but they call it Pale nutmeg.

(now for the paint geek part)

This really old web page explains what the Dulux paint codes mean on their paint mixing colour sample strips. http://www.icipaints.co.uk/colours/duluxtrade/palette/notation.jsp

10YY 73/042
Nutmeg white (standard Dulux range)
Golden jasmine 1 / Pale nutmeg (Heritage)

If you want slightly lighter than this, I would try Roman white.

20YY 83/025
Golden jasmine 4 / Roman white (Heritage)

The 83 part of the code is how light it is, out of 100 I think. So 83 is about as light as any “colour” can be. 73 is still pretty light but has a definite colour.

There is a site called Epaint which allows you to enter the code or name of almost trade shade of paint (includes the big brands) and it will show you the nearest colour matches.

Note: I got so overwhelmed with the possibilities for my most recent room painting project I went brilliant white all over! 😳

I don’t work for a paint company by the way. Epaint will show you a plethora of colours by different brands. I just found the above really interesting when thinking about do I want it more/less colour/grey lighter/darker. I’m a bit sciencey so I think I liked being able to quantify it.

For samples I tend to paint a few coats on A4 paper, or the back of a pale cardboard open out cereal box to allow a decent size that you can put in different parts of the room.

Good luck with your choice!

Go with a deep colour. Anything white or neutral is going to look tentative and dull. I’d go with Dulux Wild Sage or maybe Stonewashed Blue?

https://www.dulux.ie/en/colour-inspiration/plan-your-interiors/chic-stylish-kitchens

Raffia Cream if you like warmer?
https://www.dulux.ie/en/colour-details/raffia-cream-1171006

Pistachio?

https://www.dulux.ie/en/colour-details/pistachio-1170900

I think pinky tones would be lovely.

Just get some tester pots of a few pinky ones.

It's a good idea if you're getting testers to paint on a large piece of card then stick in different areas for a few days to see what it looks like in different light. Paint colours change so much in different areas at different times of day. Go with what you love not with what you think should go.

Yeh, I spent at leasst 20 euro on testers but I'm glad I did because all the greens I tried, some were too dark, some were too cool, some were too grassy green. I got the perfect one though.

Our kitchen is a grey stone colour and I really dislike it.
Recently painted the walls from white to a soft pink. Lowland by colourtrend, which is an Irish company but I’m sure there are plenty of matches in other brands.

It really lifts the grey and brightens the room

If your front room is gloomy and north facing a darker colour might work, but might not. Could do a feature wall (I am not into decorating trends, but am thinking they might be so passé they are nearly due a revival… ha) , or if you have a chimney breast or alcove just do the stronger colour on that.

If you are risk averse, want a neutral, you like pink but don’t want it to look pink, then seriously try nutmeg white.

@PrayerFactory confirm pistachio is lovely!

I like the copper colour that somebody upthread linked too. That'd be lovely with grey

Dulux jasmine White

its a warm White with a soft pink undertone but not too peachy or yellow.

I left the window wall white (well, parchment white) and painted the rest pistachio because the blind will blend in with the white wall. It's not a feature. It's just to make that wall look bigger. I think it has worked. I hope people don't think it's a feature wall! in a small house (and mine is a 1980s terrace), leaving the window wall white and painting the other walls a colour can make the room seem a bit bigger. I might be deluding myself.

I'd definitely go pink. Bit of white here and there to lift it. V classy.

Dulux Goosedown, a blue/ grey/ silvery shade depending on the light and surrounding colours, it's a lovely colour.

Where do you have it, @N0ēlle? I’m coming to the end of an extension project, and I suddenly have a LOT of walls, all north-facing, to paint.

Dulux Heartwood, Dusted Fondant or Faded Damson.

Do you have a compass on your phone? You can work out which way is north and south then. South facing rooms generally get lots of sun. Good luck with finding a colour. Maybe get more tester pots.

@Glorieta that’s really interesting - we have Jasmine white in our lounge and it is very light, but not pinky at all. Definitely yellowy, and I think a very slightly greenish tinge. I hate it! It could probably work in a different room not in my house, but I have lived with it for years and can’t wait until I can get rid of it. (So many jobs to get done, it will get to the top of the list eventually… 😬)

Middleton pink from F&B goes beautifully with greys in almost any light. We have it in our living room, with a sofa and a wood floor.

We found it's the most forgiving pink that they do. We have Calamine in the downstairs loo which is quite warm but only works in there because it's bright. It was too red/salmon in a more shady room which is now painted Peignoir.

We have a lot of pink. DH used to love white walls but he's now embraced pink as a neutral