Hi Y'all!

I have a question. I need to paint soon. I'm painting my LR and DR, then hopefully not too long later, my Entry/upstairs Hall, Lib, and PR.

All these rooms are on the same floor (except for the upstairs hall part) in an 1884 Nebraska Vernacualr Farmhouse. The rooms are generous sized, and have nice big windows (most are 40"x7ft and two are 5ftx7ft) but the Southern and Western windows are under the porch roof so the light is mostly filtered. Not an open floor plan, but you can see into rooms from one another (I'm sitting in the LR right now, and I can see into the hall, the DR, and the Lib.) I'd like the colors to flow well, but I don't want all one color everywhere like often found in an open floor plan. I want it to feel both warm, timeless, and (since I'm originally from FL and the house has a very Southern vibe) a little beach house-y.

I really like some of the Ellen Kennon colors, especially warm colors like Grand Teton Clay, Amber, Bronze, Camelhair, Citrine, Honeysuckle, Limone, Milk Chocolate, Pumkin Spice, Sand, and Tuscan Sun, but we've really like the Benjamin Moore paint we've used in the past, and were planning to try the new Aura paint, which I have a bunch of samplers for. Right now I have streaks of Caliente, Jicama, Soleil, Wyndamn Cream, Hawthorn Yellow, and Concord Ivory on the walls.

So how do the ICI paints compare to BM? Is it like the high end non-Aura paint? How does it compare to the Aura?

I really wanted that very flat, velevty look of Aura, because I do live in an old house with the usual plaster wall irregularities, but I also want to really love the color on my walls.

If it matters, we're very DIY, and plan to do all our own painting. The trim in these rooms (except the upstairs hall) is natural woodwork, in sort of a mid-tone maple-y/golden oakish color. Hardwood oak floors (old & unrefinished still). Currently the walls are all a sort of dirtish/primer white. I only get direct sun in the rooms in the AM (in the DR) and PM (LR & LIB).

That's all I have so far! So how do the paints compare for starters, then we'll chat some more....

I'm planning to order in sample cards of the EK colors so I can see them in my hot little hands.

Always ;-)

Hunzi