Your room sounds incredibly lovely....... I think I'd be tempted to do the nightstands a creamy-white...

What would I do? I'd order the blue quilt. Which I just did! Thanks for the heads up! lol

But I do think the blue would be nice in your room. It's a soothing color, especially for a beach house.

What color is the floor?

I would be tempted to go with the ceiling color, healing aloe as my first choice and if that does not work then I would stick with white.

Floors are hardwood (maple).

Stained light or dark?

If the floors are light, my inclination would be to go with a deeper shade of the blue. I think it will give some depth to the space, and offer some contrast to the lighter flooring.

The floors will be light. Of course I'm not even in the house yet, but I'm gearing up to move in and set up the bedrooms ASAP because we'll be arriving at the beginning of a 2-week "vacation" and I don't want to spend the whole time moving and messing around with furniture. So I want to paint these tables now so my room is "done" ASAP.

Les, my first instinct was to paint them a somewhat darker blue, too, but I was afraid it would be jarring when everything else is so light. Maybe I'll take a look at Mount Saint Anne, which is a bit darker but not really dark. All the other bedrooms will have nightstands painted a color that does not match the accompanying bed, so maybe I've established a theme here...

It sounds like you've established a theme....have you thought about an espresso color or black, and then painting the edges with a metallic silver, or your blue. Maybe trim out the top edge and around the drawer (if there is one) and maybe some striping details on the legs? And then some silver or crystal knobs?
Are the end tables the same style? If not, they can be painted 2 diff. colors.
Either way, your house sounds beautiful, enjoy!!

Here are your colors and quilt. I'm curious what color and type of drapes do you have? What color of rug are you going to have on the floor? When you say, your headboard is Matte white Iron is that a upholstered headboard or is your bed a white iron bed? To me it sounds like you are going for a country comfy bedroom.

Edgecomb gray.

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Quiet Moments.

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Healing Aloe.

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Your quilt.

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I like these colors together and they look similiar to yours.

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On my monitor it shows more green than gray, all gorgeous colors.

I don't think it is that important on what color you paint the side tables, I might distress them.

But what would you think about using pillows that are made out of country coordinating ticking pillows,also plain colors to match quilt. What would you think of a big plain country antique quilt hanging on the wall, very subtle.

Wing chairs in the room and tufted sofa loveseat at the end of your bed. What type of pictures are you using or a big mirror or both.

At any rate, your beach home sounds lovely and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

We would love to see pictures.

.....Jane

I know you said you don't want a beachy theme (I agree) but big seashells go anywhere, they're neutral, like Switzerland. Also an interesting throw at the bottom of your bed.

If I were going to use wing chairs I would get an ottoman for one of them for reading and kicking back.

I know it said it didn't matter on the color of the side tables, it doesn't I don't think. But distressing in two colors might be interesting.

Here is a picture of my chest of drawers I used in my dining room, I think the techique would be very nice for your side tables. I know your tables are nothing like mine, just wanted to show the techique which I don't know how to do.

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That blue dresser is pretty, and a very simple technique. I can give you the recipe.

Thanks paintergirl I would love to have the recipe. I love painted furniture, inside and on the porch. Thank you thank you.

....Jane

I'd paint them white, in the same tone as your bed, to reduce the number of elements in sight. You aren't looking for drama or energy in there. If you wanted something other than dead white, I'd consider a pale sand color, but nothing that isn't absolutely neutral. The fact that they are not the same will add a certain textural interest, so more color is less likely to give you the peaceful thing...

Newdawn, you may be surprised at how easy this is, and idiot proof.
These instructions are for duplicating the finish you already have. If you have a specific piece in mind, I can get ya better directions.
So, prime (latex is fine);
Paint white (again, latex is perfect. I use a flat paint because brushstrokes will be minimal and it's easier to sand (you can use a roller, as well). And, does not have to be perfect;
Sand back spots to bare wood. You can hand sand or use a palm sander with medium grade paper;
Once that is dry and clean, apply color (you may or may not need 2 coats);
Repeat the sanding, wearing away to bare wood;
Finish with a coat of varnish. You can use a wipe-on poly (my personal favorite), you can use a latex poly or you can wax it.
Lots of words, but very simply technique. If you want to get fancy, you can glaze with a soft brown, which accentuates the wood tones. But, not necessary. You can embellish with florals or pinstriping or...
Soooo many ideas, so little time (and energy). Anyway, hope this helps.

I'd go w/ a darker gray than Edgecomb. Maybe have them darken the color a bit more?

Or

I'd paint them 2 shades darker than Quiet Moments or Healing Aloe. I think painting them the same shade as the ceiling or closet will look to 'thought out' and matchy matchy.

newdawn, thanks for all the pics. The Healing Aloe and Quiet Moments are much more blue IRL than those samples look on my monitor. We have no drapes yet -- putting up some kind of simple shades or blinds for now, will worry about curtains later. I'm trying to keep the windows very simple to keep the focus on our great views. No rugs yet, either! I'm waiting for a rug I like at PB to go on sale -- it's a natural fiber (sisal, I think -- haven't looked at it recently) w/ blue border that matches the quilt. The bed is a white iron bed; headboard only.

Chairs and such would be great, but when I say it's a small room, I mean it's a small room! We have space for bed and nightstands and that's about it. Partly because we have some wacky ceiling angles that limit furniture placement, but I'm not complaining. We have a big closet that we will put a bureau in. I have already bought a large print of hydrangeas in colors similar to all my above colors, which will go over the bed. (Our yard will have lots of hydrangeas!)

Remember how I said I had the Matine quilt? I don't. I bought this stuff sooo long ago, I forgot what I actually bought! What I actually have is a solid color porcelain blue quilt (from PB -- it coordinates w/ the Matine blue print) with the Matine toile bed skirt and shams! *Duh* So, now that I've realized that, I'm pretty sure I'll paint the nightstands white because I'm concerned that blue nightstands next to the blue quilt will not look right. I may have to do a version of newdawn's dresser above, though, because I love that look!

Here are some pics. I'm going down there tomorrow and the second floor will have been painted... can't wait to see color on the walls!

This is what the exterior looked like a couple of months ago. The big square opening on the second floor is the master bedroom window that overlooks the water. Where the ladder is -- that's our balcony. On the first floor on the left is our new screen porch, something I have always wanted!

This isn't too exciting, but it's the hallway upstairs, which is enormous to us. This hall has 4 windows overlooking the back yard and a skylight at the top of the stairs. There will be a window seat under one of the windows, across from the top of the stairs.

Here are some not-great shots of the master bedroom. They might require a bit of imagination.

Here you can see a bit of the windows that are across from the bed, and the door leading to the balcony.

This is looking from the far end of the room, toward the door. As you can see, we have a fairly long "hallway" leading to our door. I have a 6' long pretty ledge w/ hooks that will go on one side of the hall. It's not really wide enough for furniture. The door on the left leads to the master bathroom. The partial wall on the left is the closet wall.

This is looking from the front windows back toward the closet. The closet won't have a door. Architect was trying to create some extra "openness" in our small room... which is why I had to pay extra attention to the closet wall color! This is the wall where the headboard will be, if that's not obvious!