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!!

I think if one room faces north and the other south you might find with pinks that it goes excessively peachy in your kitchen or if you go for a pink with a lot of blue in it it looks quite lilac in the north facing part of the room. I have found that some of the 'white with a pink tone' shades are a bit magnolia for my taste but I really don't like yellow tones which doesn't help. I'd not go with a dark blue, I think that would too be oppressive for both your kitchen and sittingroom particularly with the grey units and sofa. A light green could be pretty though.

I still think pink is a good suggestion, particularly if you are leaning that way already. I have F&B Middleton Pink in my north east facing sitting room, it's got a lot of blue in it but I like that and it's not too peachy in the evenings with the lights on. F&B Great White is another white with a lot of bluey lilac in it although it can read grey in some lights. Madaboutthehouse (interiors blogger) had a very light pink by Mylands called the Threadneedle throughout her old house, she chose it because it didn't go peachy in her south facing bedroom but also had it as her pale colour in the rest of the house including the northfacibg kitchen and office so that might be worth a look.

Remember all these designer colours can be colourmatched by e.g. Johnstone's. Or you can check which cheaper brands have the best match in their range using E-paint colour comparison site.

Oh wow, I love this. I think you might have found my pink, thank you so much!

OP, I agree with everyone saying pink. Anything green or blue will be too cold.

Also, have you considered changing the kitchen cupboard doors? Could you afford to, if you really don’t like them?

I wanted elephants breath but it was too dark for my room so I went with Egyptian Cotton.

How about F&B ammonite? It's a warm white that goes really well with grey

I've got alot of grey like yourself and the warmest colour I found to pair with it is ochre, it looks amazing

I’m not a pink loving person at all, but settled on F&B pink ground for my south facing kitchen as it was the only colour that went with everything else that was already there...I ended up loving it so much, that I also used it in my north facing living room, where it’s done a fab job in warming up the space.

It’s a surprisingly versatile colour. It has a bit of personality, but not so much that it starts to take over the room.

Gosh @SparkleHard when you look through all the pictures on the F&B site, it looks SO different in different lights. Is that your experience?

I like the Brewers Albany paint range a lot.

Their colour chart is arranged with all the creams along the top and above a range of colours. So creams with a blue tinge are above the blues, creams with yellow are above the yellows and so on.

They are much cheaper than F&B and I think cover better. You can get them in the Covermatt finish which is non shiny Matt. F&B do use natural pigments so some of their colours can’t be matched, but I have found this applies to the darker richer tones.

We have used Pevensey from Albany in our home.

Pink or yellow toned colours go well with grey. So pink ground would be nice. For heavens sake, don't add more grey on the walls. It sounds as though you already have more of it than you want. I agree complement it with a warmer colour. Also pale teals can be warm eg pale powder.

It's critical to start by analysing what direction ea g room faces, as that has a huge influence on how paint shades work in a room. I think it's the most important thing.

Also see these.

www.farrow-ball.com/how-light-affects-colour

And

www.farrow-ball.com/the-chromologist/inspiration/top-tricks-for-tricky-light

Ps I'm not suggesting you must use F and B, but they're still good as starting points.

Wow, there are indeed a lot of differences in the online pictures @Rainallnight !

In my house, pink ground does look a little bit different in my north facing living room compared to my south facing kitchen, but it’s pretty subtle. They’re easily identifiable as the same colour.

I wonder if some of the difference on the F&B website is down to people using different cameras?

So I have some pink samples here and coming,
Adobe pink 6 is really nice and our favourite so far, nutmeg white is ok, but not a favourite, Egyptian cotton bit dark,and faded damson is lovely but I think too pink
I’ve pink 01 and pink 02 on their way (lick) and am still waiting on my timesless sample.

This house painting is at a standstill until I choose

Google dulux ballet slipper too.

Hello, I can't help with a specific colour but had exactly the same dilemma recently and used a one-off consultation with an interior designer which was amazing. She recommended a colour that worked brilliantly. It wasn't cheap but the amount of time she saved, the colour I ended up with and the help with the overwhelm I was feeling was priceless. Let me know if you'd like her details (she does it online)

We have grey units in the kitchen with is north facing. It has been hugely lifted by F&b peignoir

@Sadlysadsad just curious - which colour did you choose in the end?

I’ve been having the same dilemma and I always prefer neutral to colour . Natural hessian looks lovely against the grey in my carpet and my mid grey DFS zinc sofa , really looks modern , I tried grey walls before and it just looked so cold and dreary . The hessian adds a nice glow of light to the grey carpet and grey furniture . Like yourself I couldn’t change the carpet as it’s new but just doing the walls Natural Hessian looks fab and makes such a difference . We’ve had lots of people comment . Hope this helps you !

Hi Sadlysadsad , Did you chose a nice shade in the end and are you pleased with your result . Hope so !