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sml101

Tonal decorating- help with paint, please!

sml101
13 years ago

Good morning and happy holidays to all!

I have attempted to post in another forum, but can't see my post. Sorry if this is a double posting.

I love whites - crisp whites, ivories, creams. Lots and lots of light!

I live in the apartment that is East facing and is generally quite dark for my tastes.

I want to paint the living/dining area in a warm soft ivory/cream color. The catch is- it has to work with my existing sofa from Ikea, which is also ivory.

I intend to do tonal decorating, so no dark woods. I will pick up shelves in white and dining table in white but with modern forms (think parsons table).

I want a warm soft white, but not yellow because I am afraid to turn this setup into a "country"-like interior, which might look weird.

Help?? I have Benj. Moore near me and love their paints.

Link to my apartment pics is enclosed.

Here is a link that might be useful: living quarters

Comments (3)

  • yayagal
    13 years ago

    I too am a lover of creamy rooms. I would suggest getting Sherwin Williams Steamed Milk for the walls, it's a yummy cream with no yellow and then do any trim with SW Roman Column which plays off the steamed milk beautifully. The rug and furniture will work very well with it. I do like a little contrast in the room. I added some earthy browns, tans and greens to my room. Good luck with it.

  • WendyB 5A/MA
    13 years ago

    Actually, I see a lot of yellow tones in the sofa. And a lot of gray tones in the carpet. Great close-up of carpet btw. Ironically the overall affect seems different than the close-up shows.

    The wall color that is up now looks pretty good with the sofa and carpet from the pictures. Is it too dark for you?

    I've done a lot of trim in whites and off-whites, but never walls. One of my favorite trim off-whites is B.M. Sparkling Wine. It is fairly white, but even whiter (but not glaring) is Timid White. Both are quite clean with few undertones. My creamy kitchen cabinets are B.M. Frappe which I love a lot too for a less-white creamier tone.

    I'm not sure how white shelves and tables will look with all your creamy tones. But I guess that's your vision. Too contemporary for me to grasp. I'm into deeper colors with more contrast.

    I do think some dark espresso wood pieces would really pop and add a lot of style to your room, and can still be quite contemporary.

  • rococogurl
    13 years ago

    Benjamin Moore has a white collection card that should be available at the paint store. It has more than 20 whites. You could put together a tonal scheme using that as a starting point.