Paint Colors!! Help!

Go to homedepot.com
paint.
Then on the right side of the page toward the bottom they have what's called a "room visualizer".
You can mix and match paint colors and see what looks good with what and what you like.

If you are still interested in green, I have a green that I love, but it's pretty bold. You can't be afraid of color if you use it. It's called Retro Avocado from Behr, and I added a little bit of blue to make it less yellow.

However, if most of your walls are a light neutral color, then you really don't want to paint your other walls dark or bright, or it makes the light walls look unfinished, like you haven't gotten around to painting them yet. So you need a really light color.

Buy the sample paints from either Behr or Benjamin Moore. Both are good brands, but most designers use Benjamin Moore or other exotic brands.

If you paint an entryway a bold color, you have to incorporate that color in the other rooms that you can see it from. For example, my hall is the avocado green, so I carried that color into the adjoining rooms, that are painted in a neutral color, into the curtains and pillows.

If you don't carry a color throughout, it just stands out like a sore thumb and makes no visual sense.

I suggest you look through magazines, not just randomly pick a color.

Do you have a color scheme in your furnishings in these rooms? You should start from there.

I would choose colors that blend or complement the other attached or open rooms. I wouldn't use dark or too bright colors in a small entry way. I think they would make it feel small. Check on-line with Behr paint or Sherwin Williams they have interactive paint color programs.

I'm a color & paint freak. I find it interesting that you have light neutrals thruout your larger space & you don't intend to paint those. I also find it interesting that you've already tried color in both spaces....& you don't like them.

When you put it all together, my thoughts would lean toward:

**find paint chips with the colors for both your larger living space & your cabinet color....or dab a little bit of those paint colors onto a piece of poster board. When you put those 2 colors together + the paints you tried/didn't like...how do they work? Are they compatible?

**working from this starting point, go back to the colors you liked & tried - & look at the lightest color on those paint chips. Would they work better for you? What about just one chip down? The idea here is to start with the color you like & work toward a more neutral tint/shade of the color.

**then going back to those 2 colors you liked, find accessories in those deeper/brighter shades to pull it all together.

Next thoughts: if you truly are burned on these new colors, then start from your neutrals & your cabinet colors. Find a piece of fabric that you like for some throw pillows &/or curtains.....& use this as a starting point/inspiration for your new paint colors. (if you're not able to sew, then find new pillows/curtains to start this process.)

Personally, I think we all need more info on your larger space. Neutrals can be beige, tan, cream, grey, etc. What colors exist in the wall hangings, drapery, & accessories? What's your preference: nautical, southwest, eclectic, traditional? This too would help us pick your colors!

Sooo, here's my picks: 2 tones deeper than the living room for the entry. Keeping the color in the same family will blend the spaces better. If your neutral is tan/beige, then I would use a milk chocolate...or a milky coffee color. Both work wonders for "presence"! Love these colors! The kitchen could then be a toned-down green which works well with the other colors.

Hey, & one more thought: what would happen if you added glaze to your "bad" colors? If you distress the finish, you might like it better. My bedroom started out as a peach which I hated. I ragged on some grayed-out pink to mottle the color....& then topped it with a metallic gold glaze. End result is awesome...& serene!

Hi there, J.: In the past I made the worst decisions regarding color for just about every home we have ever lived in and then one day I was at the mall and I saw the most gorgeous color in a furniture store that was on one of their walls. Well, I couldn't stop thinking about that color so when I got home I called the store and asked them the color of that wall and this is what they told me "Pick out a color that you like and then get a beige color paint and add it to that color to tone it down. Oh my goodness, that was such a revelation to me that I have used that idea and formula over the years and it works every time. Right now I did the same thing for our foyer and dining room area which are all together in the front of the house - I took a gold color and then bought a beige colored paint and kept adding beige til I got just the right color and voila - it is just what I wanted - even my picky husband loves the color - I hope this helps you, J., and best of luck to you. M.

I would go to your open living space and look around for colors that are already there and that you like in your pillows, wall hangings/pictures, lamps - anything that you spy that you like and that makes a nice accent in that room. These colors should also make good accent colors in your nook or entryway.

Don't be afraid to use dark/bright colors in small spaces. I painted a bathroom a shade of red and everyone said it would look so small and they were all surprised to see it looked bigger. Just get the right shade of whatever color you use. Since you have greenish/grey cabinets maybe a nice shade of grey would look nice by neutral colors or find a shade of green that works. I'd use the tips you've gotten to go to Behr or Sherman Williams where you can try the colors yourself.

HAHAHA I'm funny when it comes to interior paint. I get an idea in my head, go to the paint store, look at a few of those color swatches that are close to what I'm thinking, order way more paint than what I need and go at it. Pretty soon I have a room or rooms in whatever color I've selected. I go with it and decide at that point if I can live with it. Amazingly, I've had good experiences for the most part. Most recently, I painted my kitchen/living area in a cantelope/peach color. We also have a green bedroom and a yellow bedroom. Have fun with whatever you decide.

not knowing if it would match with the rest of the house or what you have in your kitchen, I say like a kind of semi dark mustard yellow, a burnt orange color and the red. that is just me though and of course it depends on how much light you get in there and if it would go. sorry if none of this helps.

maybe a tuscan dark yellow in the kitchen and a wine red type in the little entry? i like the italy inspired colors. good luck, sounds fun!