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bigdoglover

Can you help me find a good tan wall color?

bigdoglover
12 years ago

Three years ago we painted our family room "fool's fossil", which is a Dunn-Edwards color, but we had it made in BM paint. In the daylight it looks warm, cheery, rich, wonderful. In night lighting (incandescent) it looks dark, very military khaki greenish, and real dark in the shadowed areas. Not liking it at night time! I think there may be too much green and/or grey in the mix.

I'd still like to have tan walls, but want them to look warm and cheery all the time, and would like them a little lighter -- but still tan (not off-white). I'm also going to run the color into the kitchen to go with our new (not yet painted) creamy white cabinets. Our woods are natural oak, our upholstery colors are tan, terra cotta, off-white, a touch of teal. Our granite is going to be Golden Persa/Solarius, which has creamy whites and a touch of peachiness, some black, some mica, and sort of quartzy stuff.

Can you share any tan paint colors that have worked well for you? Thanks in advance...

Hope this comes through. I don't know if it's just me, but things are loading very slowing on GW this morning.

Comments (36)

  • ccintx
    12 years ago

    Try Sherwin Williams Nomadic Desert. Just FYI, every "tan" color I've tried in Benjamin Moore paints takes on a muddy, greenish cast at night. I don't know if it's the paint base they use, or what. I'll be interested to hear more suggestions as well.

  • cat_mom
    12 years ago

    The color I suggest, does take on a slightly khaki hue at night (incandescent lighting, downstairs room), but it doesn't look dark, or muddy, and it still looks very nice; BM's Muslin. It reads lighter in my BF's home (upstairs room, high ceilings), but is a nice, neutral color in both of our homes.

  • cjc123
    12 years ago

    I really like Bleeker Beige by BM It may be to dark for you but looks lovely with cream and white.
    This photo is during remodel - excuse the mess please ;)

  • Shareher
    12 years ago

    You could also try Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams. It is one lighter on the paint card than Nomadic Desert. Both are nice colors.

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    CC, cat, cjc, and Shareher, thanks so much, I'm going to go get samples of all these. CJC, love your color! CC, interesting about BM tans, thanks for that info, this is my first tan and I'm a huge BM fan, but willing to switch on the tan. They have a new organically tinted paint, I wonder if it makes any difference.

  • jamiecrok
    12 years ago

    We have used the Valspar (Lowes I think) Woodrow Wilson Putty matched at SW in two of our houses. It is on the lighter side but gives a nice contrast to white trim. I like it because it doesn't turn brown around other warm colors.

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, jamie, one more to add to my wall experiment!

  • gr8daygw
    12 years ago

    kilim beige has a definite pink undertone in my house just FYI though on the paint chip it almost looks green, weird...

  • shanghaimom
    12 years ago

    I've used BM Manchester Tan in two different houses--one house with wood trim, one with cream trim. Vastly different lighting situations, including a basement with little light and a two-story wall of glass which is always flooded with light. It never fails me! I just keep going back to it. Not too light, too dark, too green, too peach...just neutral tan. Kind of like sisal--goes with everything.

  • dash3108
    12 years ago

    My entire downstairs, stairwell, and upstairs hallway is Sherwin Williams "Sands of Time." I love it.

  • itsallaboutthefood
    12 years ago

    Our family room is painted Benjamin Moore camelback. We had a decorator who recommended it since I asked for warm colors through-out our house. It goes well with our warm yellow (BM straw) kitchen and red (BM Mexicana) living room. It is not greenish or gray at all.

    Here is a link that might be useful: BM Camelback

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    What wonderful help. Thank each and every one of you so much for your info and kindness. I'm going to try every one of them. Thank goodness for the new pint sized cans!

  • 64reno64
    12 years ago

    We have Lenox Tan in our dining room. Its on the darker side, but its always a warm, true tan in our room.

  • advanced
    12 years ago

    I agree with designnov. I have Lenox Tan in my library and adjoining Powder Room. I used at at full color in the Powder Room but only at 50% in the library. It maintains the warmth and richness but is a lighter look for my library.

  • suzie2003
    12 years ago

    We used SW urban putty and we love it.

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    designnov, is Lenox Tan a BM color?

    advanced, to get 50% do you have them add only 50% of all the pigments?

    Thanks, suzie, will add that to my list.

    mythreesons, I'm drooling over the beauty and symmetry of your kitchen -- and the ceiling -- the ceiling!! If I may: What color are the cabinets painted? Can you tell me where you got your corbels, what size they are, and how deep the shelf is? That's just the look I've been trying to achieve. Also, what is your backsplash? I am having to make all these selections right about now. But about the paint -- the ceiling is Manchester? the walls are Bleeker? I don't see a third color... sorry if I'm being dense!

    Many thanks again everyone. :-)

  • 64reno64
    12 years ago

    yes, Lennox tan is Ben Moore. Im pretty sure it would be 50% of the colors. I ve had paints cut by percentages, and the paint stores know what to do when I ask.

  • advanced
    12 years ago

    Bigdoglover: What I did once I decided that I liked the Lenox Tan by BM is, I had them mix the base can with just 50% of the pigments. I took that home and tested it on my walls and it was perfect so I kept it. In another area of the house with a paint called Green River I did the same thing but when I tested the 50% the color wasn't rich enough so I brought it back and they added another 25% and remixed the paint. It came out perfect. The pigments are added to the base colors by a computer program. The paint store just has to program the correct percentage and the machine does the rest. The programming at the paint store allows you to keep a shade of paint you love but feel is to dark for your area. Good Luck

  • MIssyV
    12 years ago

    two thoughts from me if you haven't made up your mind yet...
    1. i have had universal kahki (SW) for years in three areas of my house, still like it today.
    2. i just painted my kitchen and adjoining family room bennington gray (which is tan, not gray). it's okay, i can live with it, but wouldn't do it again.

  • Emily
    12 years ago

    We did BM's Shaker Beige in our family room. We love it. It doesn't get much natural light at all (sunroom/four season room attached off back) and it looks great at all times of day.

  • mythreesonsnc
    12 years ago

    Doglover -- Me too, I love my big old dog!

    My cabinets are Manchester tan, and the ceiling and the trim as well. The walls are Greenbrier Beige. I love that it is Khaki --- a hint of green, with a little grey, mainly just tan. I second several of the other mentions --- like Universal Khaki, that is a great color too! My backsplash is a crema marfil subway tile from The Tile Shop. I really like it. It blends, but has some character. The corbels are very plain from my cabinetmaker --- he had a catalog.... and the shelf is about 7.5 - 8" deep. Not a headbanger, which is handy. I did have them add a little plate groove on it, which in theory should be handy, but I've done nothing useful with it!

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thank you again designnov & advanced, I'm going to try the percentage thing. Thanks much MissyV and epressler.

    mythreesons, any chance of asking your cabinetmaker the name of his catalog? Or if you could give me his # I could call and ask him, and purchase the corbels from him. I've been having a real problem with this. The smallest ones my cabinetmaker's catalog offered turned out to be humongous, to my taste way out of scale with everything else; he has nothing more to offer. I've ordered some other options elsewhere, but seeing your kitchen today was a Godsend. The look and scale of your shelf is exactly what I wanted. Thanks for sharing the other details. I searched and found the thread for your kitchen. It is just exquisite.

  • boxerpups
    12 years ago

    A few favorite tans....
    ~boxer

    Stone House BM

    Yes this is Stone house again (different lighting)

    Stone house yet again and notice with green it takes on
    the green tone of the rest of the room

    Bleeker Beige BM

    Valspar New Penny

    Lennox Tan BM

    Lennox Tan BM

    Mesa Verde Tan BM

  • susanka
    12 years ago

    We just painted our office, workout room, and three walls of our bedroom in SW Cherish Cream. It's really not a cream in our rooms, more like a tan with slightly peach tones at times, but never greenish. Lovely changes in our Colorado light. I don't have pix, but I think pix are not going to look the way the color will show in your home anyway; huge swatches on the wall are the way we do it. Good luck!

  • mythreesonsnc
    12 years ago

    Hi Doglover, I e-mailed my cabinet guy and he believes the corbels are from Osborne Wood Products. I looked on their site though and don't recognize them. Of course that got me looking, and the closest I could find are at corbels.com --- the capistrano model. It is a very simple design, and they have several sizes. I'll continue to look, and if I find it exactly, I'll let you know!

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    boxer, thanks, those pics are very helpful. Bleeker looks just like what I have on my walls now (in the day, -- the "good" time of day for it.)

    susan, that sounds really promising because peach is one of my colors and I was secretly hoping for a peachy tan.

    mythreesons -- thank you soooo much! I just ordered a Capistrano corbel. A million thanks for going the extra mile and contacting your cabinetmaker.

    Can't wait to go out and get all these paints, and after all this wonderful help, I can see I'm going to have to finally learn how to post photos in case anyone wants to see the results.

  • gilmoregal
    12 years ago

    bigdoglover - We just finished painting. I chose Sherwin Williams Softer Tan and had it matched in BM Regal paint. In the lower-light rooms, I used 75% strength, but in the rest of the house, I used it full strength. I love it, and everyone who has seen it has commented on what a beautiful, soft, neutral it is.

  • 1929Spanish
    12 years ago

    I love the color Sand Box (WN-28) by Behr. It's a much lighter tan, but darker than off white. I've also used it with 4x pigment and it becomes more tan.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sand Box

  • Bunny
    12 years ago

    mythreesonsnc, what's your backsplash?

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks gilmore and spanish. I've made my list, and have 16 colors to go get chips and samples of. :-)

  • mythreesonsnc
    12 years ago

    doglover, yes, please post pics when you are done! Linelle, the backsplash is crema marfil subways.

    Look forward to seeing more!

  • athensmomof3
    12 years ago

    You can log in as a designer on the Benjamin Moore site and order the large 8x8 (or 5x9 depending on collection) chips. I did this last night for about 15 colors - no cost and free shipping. I know some BM stores have the larger chips, but mine does not.

    I am seriously considering BM Cream Fleece - one of Phoebe Howard (a designer in the South) favorite colors. It is not a cream, definitely more tan, but still light. This may be my foyer/hallway/back hall color and everywhere I can't figure out what else to paint. Still waiting on my large chips for sure!

  • bigdoglover
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    athens, I had no idea, thanks! Still have not gotten the paints so this is good news, and adding yours to the list.

    mythreesons, OK, I will post the pix, will have to learn first. Granite went in yesterday. Absolutely gorgeous. Cabs still need to be painted (still searching for the right painter...) BTW I think I referred to you as mythreedogs when posting a link to your kitchen on another thread. I'm SO SORRY!!! I think there is someone with that name & I got yours mixed up with theirs. Besides which, can you tell I'm very dog oriented?? :-)

  • janealexa
    12 years ago

    We have SW Kilim Beige in our new house, so far so good. But we haven't moved in to our house yet so I haven't gotten a chance to "fully study it." Also check out SW Pavilion Beige, I've heard lots of good things about it. But I never tried it in my house.

    It all depends on your house. Colors that others loved didn't look right in my house. BM Bennington Gray and SW Softer Tan had green undertones in my house...

    Good luck!

  • Bunny
    12 years ago

    I have SW Antique White (mixed by Kelly Moore) throughout most of my house, including full strength on the ceilings of my vaulted living/dining rooms. During the day it is a warm rich creamy French vanilla. At night you could call it tan, with no peach or green undertones.