apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's tough to say without seeing all your furniture, but having suffered through a bad sponge paint job for months after moving in, I'd paint it antique white or some other neutral (maye a light gray) immediately and they maybe add something more daring later. It might be more work in the long run, but using a neutral for a while might give you a better idea of what would work best. That sponge paint makes my teeth hurt.

I think it's more about the "effect" than the color itself... i don't see it's that bad... just repaint it in the same color. From the pictures i see is bright, lively, fresh. I think you'll find it more relaxing and coherent if you too get rid of the "little accents": the little pillows, the little accesories... you know what i mean.... and oh my god! that mirror as well. They really give nothing to the room.

My opinion is just by repainting and getty fewer and more substancial accesories you'll improve the feel and look of that already gorgeous room you are fortunate to have.

a soft taupe would look really pretty with all the white trim and would complement your blues and greens. There are some lovely features in your place--windows, fireplace--it would be a shame for the paint to compete with all that. I like Faint Maple from Valspar, but it may be a bit too dark for the fresh feel you are going for. And, I may have to agree with manu--the mirror over the fireplace isn't great. It may look better somewhere else, like a hall.

From experience, painting over sponge painting is HARD unless they did a REALLY good job -- it leaves an uneven wall behind. If you don't have a desire to sand your whole wall down, you may need to re-sponge-paint the wall (I know, ACK).

I agree with ec05 on the neutral paint idea. May I suggest "Pearly White" by Sherwin Williams in an eggshell finish. It's a lovely off-white and has been my goto neutral color for awhile now.

Benj.Moore linen white is always fresh and clean looking. I'm partial to Grant Beige myself which is very neutral and changes from khaki or lt olive to taupe according to the lighting and time of day. Eventually, after you live with a choice for a while you can decide on accent walls if you want to add some color or focal point. I just mixed grasscloth with the Grant Beige after having it for a 2 years. It's a beautiful place, good luck!

PS go with the best paint you get afford to help cover the texture created by the sponging.

perhaps it was poor sponging in my old townhouse or I was just happy to see it go (it was mint green, rose, harvest gold and rust), but it didn't seem difficult to paint over.

Use a good primer too! That might help with any texture.

What a great place. I wish you still had your crown molding, consider adding some when you paint, please. As for color, I agree that a taupe with white trim would look good. I also love when people use a powdery version of Tiffany blue in spaces like this.

I had a similar condo a few years ago - I painted the walls a couple of lovely caramel colors from Ralph Lauren (it is really high quality paint - I'd recommend it to anyone!) I think one of them may have been called Dulce de leche (or maybe that's the name I made up, but you get the idea). I used slightly different shades of the same color to differentiate my kitchen from my LR. Many people couldn't even tell as it sort of seemed like a trick of lighting, but I liked it. Looked gorgeous against white painted trim AND the wooden built-ins I had. Pick up a bunch of swatches and stare at them in different lights until you think you're going to go crazy from noticing the subtle shifts in color, then pick one.

but please don't listen to the people that want you to keep the pneumonia color that's up there now. blech!

I think something in the orange spectrum will bring out the greens, blues and especially the white. Buy several paint samples and slap them on the wall, you will get a feel right away of what best suits you. I think I bought 11 different shades of sand brown color and tried them all until I found the one I liked. Sometimes it only took one stroke of paint on the wall and I knew it wasn't right. It's worth running to the paint store several times to buy samples. In the end you will be happy with the color choice and you wont have gallons of paints left over that you don't like.

I know this sounds boring, but how about white? Your fireplace is Greek Revival -- and I'm guessing the rest of the house is too -- so white is both appropriate and elegant.

Gracious Home has a wonderful paint color called Pearl. A pearly white with glossy white trim would be lovely.

Ha,ha 'Chartreuse hangover' could any hangover be worse? Your place has potential.

Yeah, that wall color is not flattering and I can even see the texture in the pics. On the upside, those windows are delicious!!! I feel like a light gray would look good here. It will still show off the architectural details, but allow the blues & greens to pop a bit.

White, off-white, or ivory with bright white trim would look lovely. The most beautiful whites are Donald Kaufman's -- they are full-spectrum, and literally "glow" in sunlight, and change colours with the changing light (they don't just get greyer in fading light like most paints). Check them out:

http://www.donaldkaufmancolor.com/

To buy the colorcards online:

http://www.coxpaint.com/store/cart.php?target=category&category_id=254

A good neutral color I have found is "Rice Grain" by Sherwin Williams. It's not too light or too dark but gives a nice contrast to the white woodwork It too has a way of changing colors depending on the time of day. A very little green hue in the background might tie together the blue/olive combo. It also looks striking with red as well.

A great way to pick paint is look at the colors that have the whole spectrum on the chip - that way you can see what the "root" color is. If the darkest color on the chip has a color you don't like, the light color won't either!

Happy painting!

We just painted our entire edwardian terrace "lexicon quarter". i can't recommend it strongly enough. Its a crisp bright white, I used it on the walls and the same colour in a high shine for the woodwork. Our home went from looking dated to fresh and clean. the plain colour allowed our furniture to do the talking! I think your place looks from around the same era? if so, it was common for the entire space to be painted white.
good luck