Surrrrpriiiise!!!

Oh boy.

Well, what I can see on my monitor your brown sheets seems to go with the carpet. So, is the carpet a brown based gray? If so, I'll recommend the colors I've been using lately:

BM's Baltic Gray, Willow Creek, and even Eagle Rock (which is much more dark). The reason that I ended up with Baltic Gray originally in my foyer is that it worked really well with my chocolate brown foyer. And if you look at the strips near it, they are towards the tans/browns.

Obviously there are other lighter colors on the strip that might be closer to the lightness you are going for, so check them out!

Good Luck.

Well bkw has looked at so many paint samples that I'd trust her judgement! My impulse was towards a light brown, maybe a shade from the bedspread? I'm so sorry you got such a hard-to-undo surprise! It'll get better; paint can make a world of difference. Just make sure DH has learned his lesson and doesn't attempt to decorate solo ever again!

I wonder if anyone could photoshop some of the color you're ending up with, on one of my walls?
I have real trouble saying that an item is a ____ based _____ (But if you're having pain in your chest, look me up :)
I am not averse to color, but it needs to compliment this carpet, and I'd like to stick with the burnt orange /colorway if possible.
This is not at all what I envisioned....

Oh heck, I'd Take any reasonble suggstions. I need new direction :(

I don't really have any suggestions, other than don't bury DH under the carpet; it'll make a big lump, and be harder to decorate around.
Dee

Honestly in the first and last pictures the Walls look greenish grey and the carpet looks blue grey.

In the 5th picture it looks like they go together ok.

The other pictures are in between.

How about a peachy tone from the bedding?

I should be painting my trim in my bathroom, or putting samples on the wall from my vast collection of cans of paint in the basement. But noooo, I'd rather play with your room. I figured out how to get a photo into BM's site, so here you go, it will give you an idea:

Baltic Gray:

smoke embers:

Eagle Rock:

Graymount (strip next to the one with the ones above)

Etruscan:

Kona:

solitude

how about painting the walls the green from the flower pillow on the orange settee--i think it would look good with the bedding and get rid of the gray blahs

I love the Etruscan that BKW posted! Combined with the gray carpet it's a very rich look, lively but not loud. I was thinking of a tan with a pumpkin/terra cotta/orange undertone and this color has it. On my screen it also looks great with the bedding.

Oh my! Well, at least the color is neutral, really it looks fine. I used to have gray carpet and it wasn't hard to decorate around.

I think green would look good but I also really like the Etruscan and Kona colors that were posted.

I am really liking the brown toned gray colors (on my monitor) that Bee did for you. Now you just need to decide how dark to go. They look great with your carpet, bedding and the orange accessories. No need to change

I actually like your current paint color with the new carpet! I thought it looks calming, and like the touch or orange as the accent color.

The only thing i'd change are (1) curtains (maybe longer ones in white/linen - not quite as yellowish as the ones you currently have? (2) and also change the smaller pictures into a bigger one.

Thank you, thank you, Beekeeperswife! I'm going to try some of the grayish browns, I think. I really appreciate you taking the time to photoshop those for me. The carpet's been in for a month, and I've just been so discouraged by it that I couldn't even think of where to begin.
I know that the gray is "boring", but I need a really calm, serene backdrop because of sleep issues. I already have shades (hope they'll match!) and drapery rods, and thought I had drapery fabric. Will have to tackle the wall color first.

Dee, you made me laugh! He meant well, and I'm not angry, just confused because I had a plan and it's changing. From a decorating standpoint, to someone else's eye, using a "real color" would make sense, but I need something really serene and sedate in this room.

I also think the current wall color looks ok in the room-- but for change, I do like the kona and graymount, eagle rock... I think the only thing that (to my eyes, on my monitor disclaimer) looks a bit off is the curtain color as well as the length.
I like the rust and turqoise touches you have going on. I wonder if things might look "friendlier" if you changed from the brown sheets (which I guess might look very rich in real life, but on my monitor they look kind of drab and not happy)...?

torsade, just thought you should know that I feel that gray is anything but boring. It's what you do with it that counts. I have a lot of gray in my house, in my opinion it's not boring. It's very calming to me.

Baltic Gray in my foyer

My family room

Gray is a great neutral that you can pair many things with.

based on my monitor, i think i like eagle rock best........

I agree with busybee3, Eagle Rock looks the best to me too. (Sorry about the surprise carpet switch.)

I like Eagle Rock and Graymount. I was afraid that there wasn't a color in the world that would look ok with that pale gray carpet! Now I'll get some paint cards and samples, and then ask opinions again.

BKW, your home is stunning. I read this forum every day, as a lurker, and admire your talent and that of the other posters, so much! Gray has always been my favorite color, and makes up the majority of my wardrobe. It IS a very soothing color :)

Eagle rock is also my favorite of those posted.I agree that gray is anything but bording. I recently painted my DS's room in Revere Pewter. When the walls were naked it did look a tab boring, but once I started hanging pictures on the wall, it became a marvelous backdrop. I've paired it with dropcloth curtains which are a greige color and work very well for a calming understated look. In his case, as his room is quite small I was looking for something to make it feel more expansive.

I think the eagle rock or torsade are rich and luxurious with the carpet and bedding.
I think this will be a serendipitous "surprise" on your DHS part- I think it will be gorgeous!

Check out the link to this quilt. It would look really nice in your bedroom

Here is a link that might be useful: MyFavoriteBedding

Isn't it great that mykingcomforter has posted again? I didn't know they made quilts out of SPAM!!!!!

today is SPAMAPALOOZA DAY on Garden Web!!

One more vote for Eagle Rock...or because I'm not that in tune with my surroundings...leave it be and just book a massage :-)