9.12.2006

Paint Color Help

Does anyone have any suggestions for a green paint color?

Last December I posted about how we (or I) can't seem to choose a color for the living room. Our living room is fairly large but our woodwork is stained a very dark mahogany color. And the wordwork is about four (or maybe a little more) inches wide for the baseboards, crown molding, and the window casings not to mention the fireplace mantle. So I am afraid that if a color is too dark we'll feel like we're sitting in a dungeon no matter how big the room is. This is the room we are in the most so I want it to be cozy and homey.
The dining room color we are trying to match is a deep yellow/gold/orange color. It is American Tradition (Lowe's) called Homestead Resort Accent Gold. If you look it up on their virtual painter thing on their site, it looks nothing like it does on the wall. Nothing. On the site (of course, it does depend on the monitor, bla bla bla) it looks like a dark tan color.
Has anyone else noticed that when you paint on a plaster wall the color is drastically different than what it appears on the paint chip? I've painted many times on drywall and there usually is only a very slight color difference - hardly noticeable. But on our walls, the color looks very different. Maybe it is the lighting in our living room as well.
While I am soliciting opinions and suggestions, if anyone suggests Ruskin Room Green I'll scream. I sometimes peruse American Bungalow forums from time to time and this question of paint colors comes up often. It appears that everyone uses the same colors from the Sherwin Williams historic pres series. While I do really like that color it is WAY too dark for this room.
I'm looking for a rich green color that has slight yellow or green undertones. I'm not suggesting it be light like a pastel - just something where I won't feel like I'm sitting in a cave.
Any suggestions? (can you tell I'm desperate for a paint color?!!) :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you tried the paint samples from Benjamin Moore? You can at least try some of the various greens. Get into the range your thinking of. If you happen to find one you like Lowes can color match it. I did this for my LR, and found an American Tradition color that matched, it was one of the Homestead resort yellows.

Anonymous said...

We also have very dark trim. We used Benjamin Moore's Kennebunkport Green in our office. It is rich, but not too dark, but it probably leans toward blue. It is one of their historical colors.

StuccoHouse said...

You might take a look at Sung Green. It's a Martha Stewart color for SW. But, I take my MS chips and have them mixed into BM paint. It is a soft sage green that looks nice, I think, with darker woods. Lol....I know what you mean about the overuse of the SW "bungalow colors."

Anonymous said...

Hey - I read ambungalow message board quite often too. A long time ago someone on that board mentioned checking out Devine Paint. I have yet to paint anything - inside / out for our bungalow - but their colors are definitely interesting. Can't speak from experience - but if you are looking for something different - you may want to check them out.

Katz said...

Check our living room. We have the same dark wood. We went with a lighter beige and a darker beige/goldish. Works really well. We have what's in the living room in the bedroom, too, just more of the dark color upstairs.

You can see the green in the dining room, too.

carmen said...

Thank you all for your suggestions and I'm following up on all of them! I appreciate the input!

Jonathan said...

I have been going to ICI Paints on East Washington (just a few blocks west of Rural St. if you know the area). I love their paint compared to what you get at a Lowes/Menards/etc. I have the same deep rich trim that is very wide. I will check the color green that I have and let you know what it is called.

Anonymous said...

I checked the color of green that I have in my front room and is called Cypress and it is from ICI Paints.

Anonymous said...

California Paints has a great historical collection- you have to go to a California Paints retailer to get the samples of them (I don't think they market them very well) but I love some of their colors. I'm sort of a paint color fanatic myself.