help with choosing paint colors!

11 years ago

My husband and I are building our own small green home, completely by ourselves. We can build anything - no problem but we are not good with paint colors! Our house is unique in that it is small (450 sq ft. per level, but it is one big open space, so everything has to be the same color IMO. We thought about doing the kitchen a different color on walls 1 and 2 because there is a built in corner shelf that will separate walls 2 and 3 - which flows with the rest of the house.

We have a plank and beam loft floor (kitchen ceiling) that consists of 6 x 14" larch beams (reddish color) and 2 x 12 fir plank floors (yellowish color). Our cabinets are natural hickory bead board and our granite is sapphire blue.

We originally wanted to go with a light grey-green (see picture). Painted it on, and felt as though there was not enough contrast. A darker green seems too dark and blends in too much with the granite.

Now we're thinking of a burnt orange for the kitchen, and a light yellow-grey-green for the rest of the house. But we don't want the house to feel smaller...

Please offer suggestions! Thank you!

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Comments (4)

outdoorventurer
Original Author
11 years ago
I forgot to mention we will have a slate backsplash and plain cedar trim
dilly_ny
11 years ago
I have similar kitchen to yours, beams, stone fireplace, maple cabinetry. We have tried over 20 paint samples and I think we are going with Benjamin Moore tea light.
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MarinaGal
11 years ago
My current kitchen has light maple cabinets and green granite countertops - some similarity with your kitchen from a color standpoint. My kitchen is in a California Paint called Pumpkin Pie. Our adjoining family room is California Paint Asian Jute, and our adjoining dining room is BM's Bennington Gray (a gray green). I love these colors together - I don't think my rooms feel small -but our house style is more modern with higher ceilings. I use apple green accents. I really love the orange - we have had it up for over 6 years and gotten lots of compliments. I think you are on the right track to play around with orange in your kitchen. I initially tried greens, but it took a bold color to warm things up!
karin_mt
11 years ago
I wonder if the orange will be too similar with the warm-toned wood you've got on the cabs, floor and ceiling? I love orange but have the hardest time incorporating it into a room.

We struggled to find a fun color to go with yellowish wood in our office - it was not easy! We ended up with BM Dill Pickle. It's a vibrant green that works great with the wood. I would not want this in my whole house though! But it makes the same impact that orange does and works well as an accent. We paired it with BM Cliffside Grey which is a wonderful color that reads grey, green, blue or neutral depending on the light and the context.

Side note - when we first painted it we were all skeptical. Builder was shaking his head. But once the painter's tape came off and we took deep breaths we all loved it. Now the builder brings people here just to show off the color. (oh, and his amazing work in transforming a former cave to an amazing home office!)

I can post a pic if needed.

Major kudos to you two for building your own home that is both small and green. It looks lovely from the pic. I love square windows!