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alisonn_gw

WOOD you please--paint color suggestions to go with wood

alisonn
10 years ago

Wood floors, wood ceilings and wood wall from ceiling height to the peak. We just bought this house and the room is painted a nice green, but it just doesn't seem to work with the wood. I don't want to do brown, the husband hates beige or white. What do you think? The best way to describe the wood finish on the walls and ceilings is like a warm honey?

Comments (24)

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    Wow. Gorgeous. I have a similar ceiling in my dining room (floors are wide pine), and I went with a neutral. I went with a neutral (BM Cape Hatteras Sand), It's nice. Nothing spectacular. See pic.

    Can you give us other angles, showing all the wall space that needs to be painted. Agree that that green doesn't work. do you think you want serene and neutral or some oomph?

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    And my living room, also neutral. Benhamin Moore White Sand, which I would NOT choose again. Too blah, doesn't have the richness I was looking for. But again, a neutral with the pine ceiling. The White Sand is beautiful in certain light, so for about five minutes a day (actually, the way it looks in the pic is the way I like it, but it doesn't look like that most of the time). The rest of the day it's too peachy and flat looking for my liking.

  • allison0704
    10 years ago

    Gorgeous rooms! We have dark stained trim/doors and went with SW Moderate White. It photographs extremely white, but it's a warm soft white. Love it at night when it takes on a slight golden tone.

    Have you considered painting the wood walls too, but leave the ceiling and beams alone?

  • alisonn
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I should have said that white and beige are ruled out because my husband has always had issues with those colors "I like COLOR," he says.

    allison0704 - Yeah--I don't like the wood on the walls, either--it's kind of overkill. The wall on the left will be built-ins for tv/books, which we are planning to paint black, letting the wood peek through from behind. This pic is the real estate pic and not our furniture. The dining chairs you see in the foreground? We bought the same ones in black, so there are black accents in the room. I thought a red would go nice with the fireplace, but I thought red and black together might be kind of over-powering.

    Nice pics, btw--I love the old houses with those old doors and hardware.

  • tuesday_2008
    10 years ago

    If you want a light neutral, but still a little color, look at BM Limestone 513. I'm attaching a Houzz link - the rooms are nothing like yours - they are light an airy, where you have rich wood tones - but look at how nice it looks with the one wood piece in each room.

    I have researched this color and it can look "blah" in some light, but takes on a very light earthy green in rooms that don't get a lot of natural light and in rooms with lots of wood tones.

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz - BM Limestone[(https://www.houzz.com/products/limestone-513-paint-prvw-vr~1785834)

  • tuesday_2008
    10 years ago

    If you want a light neutral, but still a little color, look at BM Limestone 513. I'm attaching a Houzz link - the rooms are nothing like yours - they are light an airy, where you have rich wood tones - but look at how nice it looks with the one wood piece in each room.

    I have researched this color and it can look "blah" in some light, but takes on a very light earthy green in rooms that don't get a lot of natural light and in rooms with lots of wood tones.

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz - BM Limestone[(https://www.houzz.com/products/limestone-513-paint-prvw-vr~1785834)

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    Red is nice IF you pick the right one, which is very hard to do. I nice ,subtle barn red would probably look great.

    If it's mostly small wall area, i.e.: around windows, and no large area, a chocolate brown would look gorgeous (I'm obsessed with the color!). However, I don't think deep colors work well on large wall space (whereas, I think they work better on small wall space!). Own opinion, but I think they make rooms look heavy.

    Or something like this really nice blue:

  • alisonn
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you for the limestone suggestion--I will run it past my husband.

    Yes--I was considering a stormy blue-grey. Red might be good, too.

    The wall opposite the fireplace is a big expanse of green wall, but they put wood on the wall from the eight-foot height to the ceiling.

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    I, for one, have never seen a red room I liked. Only if it's on walls that are trim around windows, like in your pic. buti have never seen it on a broad expanse of wall that I thought it didn't look terrible. same with the chocolate brown. Those are GREAT colors for trim walling.

    That blue is nice, huh?

    The BM Limestone is that neutral your husband says he doesn't' want.

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    Here is a room in my house with BM Van Courtland Blue and pine ceiling. Might give you an idea how a blue would work. Van Courtland Blue is gorgeous, btw.

  • debrak2008
    10 years ago

    I think you just have the wrong green. I have lots of wood in my house and it is a PITA to try to find wall color that will work. Get lots of samples. Lots. Tape them on the wall next to the wood. You will find what works.

  • Olychick
    10 years ago

    I wonder how you snagged the one man who likes COLOR on the walls :) ?

    I was thinking it might be the wrong green, too. I found this pic on Houzz and even tho it's a bathroom, look at all the great colors that work with the wood.

    [Contemporary Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by West Chester Kitchen & Bath Designers Pine Street Carpenters & The Kitchen Studio

    But I think, with all the colors in the walls and the brick, that I'd try to find a honeyish color to keep from introducing another strong color into the mix. It will make the walls look more cohesive and you can bring stronger colors in with your decor.

  • geokid
    10 years ago

    I immediately thought of BM Elemental. It's an earthy green that looks good with yellow (wood) and red (fireplace). It also is sophisticated with black.

    Here is a link that might be useful: BM Elemental

  • alisonn
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yup--that's what I was thinking when we first looked at the house - "It's a nice green, but it's the wrong green." That green looks good, geokid. I think I'll tack up a sample of that.

    Thanks for all your suggestions!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    Maybe a design seed will help?

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    I would really want to paint that partition wall next to the fireplace too...

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    Whatever you go with, I suggest doing it in a cool version, i.e.: blue/gray undertones, rather than warm, i.e.: yellow/red, to tone down the warm yellows and oranges from the wood and brick.

    I can tell you that, when I got the Van Courtland blue up on that wall, I was amazed by the effect it had on the pine ceiling. It really brought out a richness and warmth that was not there before (prior owner had BM antique white on the walls - very drab color).

  • teacats
    10 years ago

    Here's a blue with some gray in it -- that depth of color will help to balance out the strong honey tones and work with the gray tones of the brick in the fireplace.

    Here is a link that might be useful: BM -- Amsterdam AF-550 blue-gray

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    Totally agree w/u, Teacats. That is a beautiful blue It's actually on the chip with the Van Courtland Blue; they're very similar. Another beautiful blue is Water's Edge.

  • tibbrix
    10 years ago

    Alisonn,

    Can you cut that dividing wall down - not lose it altogether - so it's open to the kitchen, or is there a refrigerator or something tall on the other side? I think opening that up, about half way, would make a big difference. The top of that wall is kind of awkward. You could still put shelving on it and put a log holder in the corner between it and the FP.

    This post was edited by Tibbrix on Thu, Feb 13, 14 at 12:55

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago

    Love the idea of blue, maybe even darker, like BM van Deusen Blue:


  • geokid
    10 years ago

    Deleted my post about blue, because of artillery's post below. Definitely grey-green. :-)

    This post was edited by geokid on Thu, Feb 13, 14 at 22:34

  • amykath
    10 years ago

    I just realized your hearth is quite green. I would definitely go with a gray green to compliment and not fight it.

    I found this photo on house. The columns are a great color even though I believe they are concrete. I think the color does compliment the room.

    [Rustic Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2111) by Seattle Architects & Designers Bosworth Hoedemaker

  • joyce_6333
    10 years ago

    Alisonn, love your room! And happy to hear that "painting everything white" wasn't the consensus here. Our new home has a lot of wood, with a cathedral wood ceiling in the great room. All I ever got when asking for suggestions on colors or decorating, was "paint it all white".....not necessarily always on this forum. I agree with aktillery and could see a muted olive green leaning toward gray tones shade in your room. Not necessarily what your husband would like. Maybe you could suggest to him to bring COLOR into the room through a bold rug etc.

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