Here's a slightly wider angle view.

I love the top two for sure! They will make for a great contrast. Can you tell me what is the difference in the undertones between the top two? Is one more of a blue and one more of a gray green??

Yes, the top one is a little bluer. The middle one is more greenish-gray.

I like the greenish gray. However, that is just a color I really like. I will have to make note of it!

And another look with less direct light on it.

Thanks for the pics, dlm. It is beautiful in your home! In your opinion, would it go well with a dark brownish olive sofa, or is it too blue for that?

The sofa I have in that room has olive tones - there's a bit of it showing in the first pic- so obviously I think it works! You need much bigger samples and it would help you if they were not on the wall but on boards you could move around the room, prop behind furniture...... But you're also looking at everything with the yellow backdrop so that's going to color your impression - no pun intended!

I like the Olive!

I have Providence Olive, it is a very lovely color. We used it to paint our kitchen island and then used it as the color in the nearby sunroom as well.

From GW Photos

Kitchen still not 100% done
From GW Photos

It looks a bit darker in your picture. Neither of my pictures are on sunny days, if that clarifies it for you.

Wow! All these colors are gorgeous in your homes!

I did do the poster thing, but I am going to paint some bigger wall samples. The posters seem too shiny for some reason--not like the paint actually looks on my walls.

Hmmmmmmmmmm...seems like this crowd is pretty evenly divided on colors. Of course, I think they are all lovely. The trick is to pick the one that will best work with my furnishings, which seems to be easier said than done.

It's really hard to advise because your Paris Rain looks so different from DLM's.
I feel that the Olive may not provide enough contrast with your sofa and curtains, but then, it looks quite different in localeater's house.
As I've posted before: I usually don't like anything greenish but I had asked the realtor at an open house to find out from the seller what the paint color was (Coastal Fog). Seemed to change a lot depending on light.

My living room is Providence Olive, and it's a beautiful rich color. We have dark furniture in there, and books, and it feels like a forest room. Art work looks great against it. That said, it's dark, particularly in a north facing room. I've enjoyed it but am ready to go with something lighter. (Maybe Paris Rain!)
Good luck to you!

I'll try to upload the Providence Olive here:

Love the Providence olive and it will make the room look so rich and relaxing.

Funny, I don't really like olive, but in your room the depth and richness of the color will look good. Only thing is, I don't know if I'm being swayed because it goes so well with that chair and sofa.

I'd move the samples to a couple of other walls to make sure it looks just as good there...

I think the olive is too dark....your furniture, curtains and art work are already dark. How about a lighter color on the same strip as olive? Also, take a look at the colors on the strip with BM London Fog---grays with green/taupe undertones.

Are you considering anything besides greens?

Love all three colors, but I feel the Providence Olive is too close to the furnishings in your room.

Your sample of Paris Rain looks bluer on my monitor, but if it looks IRL like dlm's room, it would be perfect.

Update: I painted more swatches in various places on the walls last night. After looking at them in various places at various times of the day, here are my thoughts.

Paris Rain: an absolutely gorgeous color, but I think it may be just a tad too blue for my furnishings

Coastal Fog: top contender at this point since it blends well with my existing furniture ( also, the color reminds me of Spanish moss; with all of the swampy greens I have already, this color works well)

Providence Olive: beautifully matches my furniture, but I think it may match too well and not offer enough contrast, as posters have pointed out

TODAY: I may go back to the paint store to sample Revere Pewter. It is extremely similar to Coastal Fog, but it has slightly less green.

I also wanted to give a big " thank you" to everyone who gave me opinions, suggestions, and especially pictures of these colors in their own homes. All of these colors are beautiful in your homes. I do live on the Gulf Coast in a hot climate, so I am thinking something like these lighter colors may be more in keeping with my area. Thanks again!

I have never done this, but people post all the time about getting a color at 50%. Maybe that would work with the Prov. Olive.
Also what about talking to the paint store folks. Tell them just what you posted here, that it matches perfectly, too well and you feel you may want more contrast. See what they offer.
Good luck, keep us posted.

The thing with 50% is that it's frequently not like the same color just 50% lighter. I did it with Yarmouth Blue (25% I think), and it sure looks a lot grayer than the 100%. So, maybe the same strip as Prov Olive but lighter.

I agree with the others that the olive is too close to the color green in your furnishings and feel everything will disappear against it.

I like the Coastal Fog best of the three, but continue looking till you find the one you 'love'!

My vote is for a lighter shade of the Olive. I like the richness, but I think you need more contrast with your furniture, and the color will intensify when it is on all four walls and the walls are reflecting each other.

An old decorating rule is, go two shades lighter than you think you want, and that has never failed for me.

So, I went to the paint store to get a sample of Revere Pewter. I just knew it would be perfect. Maria Killam said it's a green-gray, and several decorators and homeowners say it's the perfect neutral.

Needless to say, I have come to the conclusion that I must have strange lighting or something in my home because the Revere Pewter was lavender--not a tinge of lavender but completely and totally lavender! The positive part of this experiment is that the Coastal Fog just keeps looking better and better. It's got some of the same greeny-brown undertones that I see in the Providence Olive, so I am now about 85% sure that Coastal Fog is the way to go.

I'm leaving to go on vacation Saturday, and I won't start painting the walls until I return. That gives me a few more days to look at my patchwork walls and solidify my decision. Thanks again for all the valuable suggestions!

That is almost funny that RP is lavender in your house. Looking forward to your final decision. And have a nice vacation!

You might want to check out Baby Turtle - or maybe you don't want another contender!!! Here's a link to some Google images.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baby Turtle

Can you show us a bigger picture of your room? I agree with the others about not using Olive. I'm not understanding why you want blue in your room. Those blues are pretty but I don't see other blue in there.

Have you thought about other colors besides blue and green?

Actually, I'm trying to NOT have any blue. Greenish gray (like the color of real Spanish moss) is what I'm shooting for. I can't upload a pic right now because my computer is trapped behind some furniture (just painted the wood trim in the dining room, which is where my laptop is docked).

I can tell you that the colors are reading a little more blue in this thread than they appear in real life. I took the pics with an iPhone, so perhaps that is why. Paris Rain in quite green IRL, but almost too minty with a touch of blue in the light. The Coastal Fog is really most like the greenish gray I am going for. They sure do appear blue in the pics, though, for some reason.

I can honestly say that NONE of the colors look in the space like they appear in the computer pics I've seen. I guess that's why color must ALWAYS be tested in the space in which it'll be used.

Duh! I was able to post from my phone without using my computer. Here's a bigger pic. Revere pewter (aka lavender) in near the mantel.

Here's another picture. Coastal fog on top, Revere Pewter in middle, and Paris Rain on bottom. They appear more green in this picture, which is close to the way they appear in person.

I bought a sample of Revere Pewter 3 years ago and tried it in my entry, my kitchen, my living room, and even finally splotched the last of it when I redid my guest room. It didn't look good anywhere in my house, no matter how much I liked it in yours. And in my LR, it did appear to be a gray with lavender undertones.
I too think the P.O. is too much for your furniture. The Coastal Fog looks the best to me. I did a lot of variations on gray in my house and went with Martha Stewart Mourning Dove in my living room. It had the grayed green I was looking for without going too far in either direction. I got it at Home Depot.

Red

I vote for Coastal Fog. I used to have it in a former kitchen with dark cherry cabinets and loved it.

Coastal Fog looks good.
In case it doesn't quite work, I remember that there's an exact match of PO on the card that has Embassy Green and Inner Balance on it. (There are exact matches to most of the Historical Colors other places in the fandecks. Deer Path is the same as Decatur Buff, for instance.) I don't have my fan deck with me, and so can't remember the name of the match for PO. I do remember that it's the one above Embassy Green. I've thought about re-painting my PO living room Inner Balance because it does seem like a lighter version of the olive.

Happy painting!

Coastal Fog looks good.
In case it doesn't quite work, I remember that there's an exact match of PO on the card that has Embassy Green and Inner Balance on it. (There are exact matches to most of the Historical Colors other places in the fandecks. Deer Path is the same as Decatur Buff, for instance.) I don't have my fan deck with me, and so can't remember the name of the match for PO. I do remember that it's the one above Embassy Green. I've thought about re-painting my PO living room Inner Balance because it does seem like a lighter version of the olive.

Happy painting!

Thank you so much, indygo! I may have to try Inner Balance. I did not know that the PO matched Nature's Scenery. I knew about Nantucket Gray and Cheyenne Green, but not about PO and NS. Luckily, the generous folks at
my local hardware store let me borrow a fan deck until I make a decision. Needless to say, I've spent a fortune sampling colors over the last week. I guess Inner Balance will be next.

DLM, I also think Baby Turtle is beautiful in the pics I've seen, but it has a lot of yellow in it. I loved the Monroe Bisque when it went up and for many years. I am tired of it now, so I'd prefer a more greenish-brownish gray.

Just a reminder to sand that sample paint down very, very well before you paint or you will see every single edge. Good luck with your project!

I was trying to make a suggestion, but ... all these samples were painted directly on the existing paint layer. That must distort the color. I would not be able to make a decision from this. I would have to prime one wall, and paint the samples on that wall. And then only post pictures and make a decision.

I love the Providence olive on your wall but if it competes with your furniture, definitely consider Nantucket Gray. Love that color!

Caminnc, thanks for the reminder! I will be sure to sand before I paint.

Jollyrd, I have a white poster that I hold up to kind of block the yellow when I look at the colors. When I try the Inner Balance color, I'll tape the white poster to it so you can get a better idea. You are definitely correct in that the existing yellow does affect the sample colors.

Revere pewter is a solid grey in my dining room. Richmond Gray is a grey-olive in my bedroom. (Colors chosen by realtor when the house was put in the market and I'm living with them for now.). So, if you want another option to consider, I'll throw Richmond Gray out there.

I like the 2nd one. It seems airier and I think a lovely contrast w/ the rich tones of your furniture and the graceful lines.

Another color you might try is BM's Abingdon Putty. We have something very similar. It looks like a boring beige on the chip but has greenish undertones with a bit of gold in our light. I've linked a thread that contains a photo of a room painted in this color. Please note that the first link is *not* Abingdon Putty.

Here is a link that might be useful: scroll down for Abingdon Putty

This post was edited by lazydaisynot on Sat, Jun 15, 13 at 0:42