Thanks for the article...I agree with a lot, but not all.

Never thought of painting the ceiling cream instead of white...wonder if that would make white trim look off. I have painted ceilings a lighter version of the wall color.

Really, your bedroom has to jive with the rest of the house? Maybe if it is on a main floor off the LR, but upstairs? I don't think so. And where would that leave kids' rooms....the same color scheme as the LR/DR? Naaah!

And painting a room so you "glow" in it based on eye color or even skin color? So your whole life you are supposed to live with the same colors? Have never heard anyone say "you look fabulous in BM Gray Owl!" lol....I like switching things up too much.

And then, of course, what do you do if your kids don't have the right coloring to go with your house?

ROFL nosoccer!

A lot of this advice is worth considering, but I agree that "wearing" your rooms is a little silly. I'm a "winter", and my husband is a "spring" (do they do that kind of color analysis anymore?), so does that mean we have irreconcilable decorating differences? He does look great in his office, which is a terrific pear green, me not so much! ;)

I don't think you necessarily need to match your interiors to your wardrobe, but I have been in some rooms that really make people look lousy because of the wall color.

I think #6 is probably the one I see the least followed in GW. And #2 is related. I think there is a lot of going overboard when it comes to obsessive matching of color schemes: pulling out a tiny flower in a rug and needing to match it to something, getting rid of something because it doesn't match the color scheme. Needing *whites* to match exactly (?). I feel like I often see perfectly coordinated rooms that are nice looking but would be a little less flat, and even nicer if the coordination wasn't so obsessive.

"Even when I don't use the same colors everywhere, I still like the rooms to feel connected. The bedroom should never feel like it's in a completely different house from the living room ��" the whole house has to make sense as one." ��"Mona Ross Berma

I'm a big believer in this. The key is the rooms should feel "connected", not matched. It can be tricky.

Soccer, have you not heard of the latest trend, designer children? You just have to know in advance of depositing your eggs and choosing the fertilizer what colors you will want depending on their sexes and IQs. You can always have your husband's contacts tinted to blend with the whole composition you are creating. Nine months give time as well to match the shirts and dresses to the draperies and coverlets. Ouch. What about those color coded toys? Must they be the color of the carrots and plums on your dinner table or the stains deposited by the Gerber strained carrots left on the sofa by the baby who is sickened by it all?

Half my house has white ceilings (bedrooms, bathrooms) and the other half has cream, the same color as the walls. When I had my house painted, there was a lot of conflicting opinions: Paint the ceilings white! Don't paint the ceilings white! I was chicken at first, because cream (SW Antique White) was actually a big step for me from builder's white. I started with the bedrooms and bathrooms and the white ceiling (same color as my trim) looked fine. When I got to the halls and rest of the house, because of an open plan and vaulted ceilings, I was afraid the white ceiling would look weird in a hallway that ended in the middle of my living room wall. So, I went with the cream on the ceiling in the hall and it looked fine. I then had the confidence to continue with that scheme in my living room, dining room and kitchen. I like it better than the white ceiling which, depending on the light, is a separate thing up there. The same color seems to wrap the room better, even look lighter, depending on the time of day. I think a 50% of the wall color could also look good.

Can someone suggest a wall color that will coordinate with my whole family?
Brown/auburn hair, brown eyes, Caucasian.
Mostly gray hair, hazel eyes, Caucasian.
Brown hair, blue eyes, Caucasian.
Blonde hair, brown eyes, Caucasian.
Brown hair, brown eyes, Asian.

Oh, and don't forget the dogs: white/ginger, white/black, brown/white.

Preferably a color that will make the first two family members look 5-10 years younger.

Thanks so much!

Sueb20:
Laboutin nude, of course:

This post was edited by suero on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 17:23

Sue20, cute! lol My ceilings are the same color as the walls, a warm tan, and I have to say I like it better than the white i've had in past homes~I find the continuous color more appealing, visually. It's definitely a matter of personal taste. I'm also of the opinion that rooms should feel connected in some way. The wall colors can vary, but all be the same color tone, just a lighter or darker shade. And the same colors in decor should be used thruout for consistently. It doesn't have to be large 'doses', even a flower arrangement can be enough.

I'm big on #5, "interject elements that add intense personality. Make it gutsy, or else it's boring." �"Betsy Brown. I like to refer to it as dramatic. I've used black in every room, be it a background in an area rug, lampshades, pillows, and even in paintings. In one bedroom I've used black chenille drapery panels. Whether it be a print or solid fabric, it doesn't matter.

Thanks yaya, it was an interesting read, and sort of reiterated some of the things I was already aware of. Makes me feel I 'ain't so dumb'! lol

Well, I've decided that I don't care whether husband, kids, dogs, etc. look good in my house. It's all about moi! Moreover, they look good enough and don't know that the blue in the bathroom doesn't work for them.

Seriously, I already think that unconsciously we do pick colors that flatter us.

I always chuckle at these fundamental designer advice things. I remember one of the designer mags running the top 100 designer hints and there were multiple instances of one saying, "No don't ever" and another saying "Always". So much depends on taste, trends, the look one is going for, etc. In fact, IMHO, it's breaking the "rules" that adds the individual personality to a room.

For me, I think I only have one white ceiling in the entire house....all the rest are shades or contrasts with the wall colors.

I have matched colors in the fabrics to the wall colors and it has been successful. I have also done shades of the colors in the fabrics in the wall and it too has been successful. It all depends.

As far as neutral balance, I more often see the opposite...people are afraid of color and opt for neutral and/or beige everything so everything will go, and they don't add the color for all that neutral to go with...instead they end up with boring beige or dull gray.

I don't mind it if private rooms feel different from the public spaces in the house, esp if they are not visible from the main part of the house or are on another floor. But here too, it all depends. If the style of the architecture is very strong, then a room that doesn't work with that can be jarring. But if the architecture is pretty white bread and the rooms are plain boxes, then I say add interest....and if the girl wants to go holly hobby and the boy wants to go NFL, who cares? One house tour of a victorian home comes to mind... where the woman did romantic and tchotchkes and lace and pink roses and shabby chic painted antiques up to the eyeballs. Her husband's "man cave" became an absolute relief to all the overdone everything else.

When it comes to contrast, yes it can work, but so can no contrast, to wit, Phoebe Howard. Contrast can come in shades and patterns and textures too...not every room needs a shot of black or a pop of color.

And I think others have commented enough on matching a room to one's self...actually, as I recall, I painted our old MBR to match our cat Casimir's eyes...they were such a wonderful shade of olive gold....

When I first moved into my old house, I painted the dropped ceiling of fiberboard(?) tiles in the livingroom a cream color. The walls a "paper bag" shade of tan. That was 34yrs. ago! I would love to raise the ceiling back up to 14' but it's just not practical in that room, so eventually I will probably drywall and repaint it the same color. Really needs it now tho - a new coat of paint would make a world of difference in there.