Hi —
I live in Naples, Florida, and purchased a new condo when I moved here 8 years ago….My issue relates to paint for the master bedroom/bath.
Master bedroom is a good size. Presently painted Penny (Ben Moore’s 2163-30), but I’m not happy with this color–too orange looking. I want to repaint the bedroom Clinton Brown, HC-67. Should I paint the ceiling the same color?
Plantation shutters cover the bay windows in the bedroom (the shutters are white, but not a white-white) and the ceiling is now white as well.
Once I repaint the room, the bed coverlet will be a shade of blue-green (I like Laura Ashley’s linen “Glacier” [the one below is the “Bonnybrook” pattern, added by bossy color] or Matouk’s pearl pattern in jade (more of a blue than green)….
For the master bathroom (also a good size and presently white), I was going to paint a blue-green shade to coordinate with bedroom coverlet but am having a hard time coming up with the right Benjamin Moore shade. Ocean Air (2123-50) isn’t bad but seems too light….Thank you for providing your helpful site.
– Andrea
(p.s. attached is nearly the rest of the house.)
Dear Andrea: STOP RIGHT THERE. Am I in time? Have you bought Clinton Brown paint for your bedroom yet? No? Well, whew.
Nothing against Clinton Brown; it’s one of my favorite dark browns. Dry, deep…it doesn’t mess around. But you have some very nice dark wood furniture in your bedroom. Painting the walls dark brown is going to make that beautiful furniture disappear.
And if you paint your ceiling as well as the walls…well, go ahead and buy the batsuit, because you WILL be living in a cave.
Let’s back up a minute. If you’re lucky enough to have bathrooms off the bedrooms, it’s nice to have those colors relate to each other in some way.
I appreciate that you like strong color…
…but that’s all the more reason, to mellow things out in your bedroom and bath. Light does not have to = boring.
Given the Laura Ashley bedding you mentioned, I suggest a fresh, robin’s egg-y blue for your bedroom. It has to have some turquoise in it; that’s what makes it truly modern. (The sample at right isn’t nearly as cold in real life.) With your bedding in hand, put up samples of Benj. Moore’s 2052-60 China Blue or 2051-60 Bird’s Egg and see what you think. It will set off your dark furniture beautifully.
In one of your e-mails, you mentioned another shade of brown as a possibility. You could take a look at some of the subtle Affinity Series beiges, such as AF-145 Kangaroo. The only way you’ll be able to make sure the color isn’t too pink or too yellow/orange for you is to put up swatches, so please don’t skip that step!
I fear that with the neutral rug, going with a beige on the walls could be a bit (yawn) blah. So I strongly suggest a pattern on your coverlet, and possibly layering a rug over the wall-to-wall carpeting – a rug with some blue in it.
As for your master bath, Lord have mercy, that room is WHITE. I mean, WHITE white.
Whether the bedroom is blue or beige, a lighter shade of blue is an obvious solution – especially if you follow through on an area rug with blue in it. Stay the turquoise-y route, though. The Ocean Air you’ve been considering is NOT too light, but it is probably too grey. Punch up the scheme with bold towels – fuschia would be great.
If that feels too predictable, I’d love to see a light creamy green with some brown in it – sort of a celery neutral. Take a look at 2146-50 Rainforest Dew or 2149-50 Mellowed Ivory. It must be different enough from the bedroom beige to be interesting, so make sure there’s enough green in it.
I hope this is helpful, Andrea. Keep us posted, and good luck!
MORE bedroom/bath suite color challenges tomorrow…