apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I remember once being influenced by the name of a colour instead of the actual colour itself; it was a disaster.

That is yet another reason why I appreciate Donald Kaufman paints (besides the amazing colours) -- no names, just numbers. Pantone paints too.

For some reason, the names of Farrow & Ball colours are not as distracting, and seem more descriptive.

For me, this is the downside of paint names. It's easier to refer to paints by name, but I hate it when I love a paint color which has a name that doesn't appeal to me.

Right now, I'm struggling with a new color for my living room. Benjamin Moore's 'Soft Fern' is the color I like best, but the name is just too...well, ... soft and ferny.

For gray, I love Revere Pewter and I've used it a lot, but it reminds me of the town of Revere, near Boston, which is not a recommendation. Even knowing both are probably named for Paul Revere leaves me feeling - meh.

I'd almost rather they were numbered rather than named, so I didn't waste energy thinking about it.

I love animals. And now that I think about it, I chose the brand Behr! The colors I chose was squirrel grey, safari green, and aqua breeze.

I take that back. The green was called moss landing.

i was tired of looking for the right green for my kitchen, so when i saw "Panacea" i decided no more, i'll take it. it turned out to be perfect -- as perfect as i'll take the time to search for.

reaching

I think being influenced by names is crazy making. Call it Green 101 and be done with it. IF you pick paint colors by any criteria other than how the color flatters you when it's on the walls, you're a victim of marketing.

Intellectual Gray on the walls doesn't make you smarter.

I don't even look at the names.

I couldn't tell you the names of the colours on my walls. I find the colour i want and then go for it regardless of the name.

I hope paint names don't reflect personality. The one I just chose... Asparagus!

I agree that a lack of names would make color selection much simpler - I sometimes find that I like a color but can't get past the negative connotation that the name implies so I end up fussing around for another choice...

...I mean, who wants "How Blue Am I?" or "I've Got The Blues" on their walls when they could instead have "Graceful Sea", "St Lucia Skies" or "Hawaiian Breeze"?

My boyfriend and I delayed our plans to move to Philadelphia together, so to kind-of, sort-of make up for it we painted our bedroom Betsy Ross House Moss. Awwww

It took me forever to decide on my primary paint color. I think I had over 10 sample colors. I didn't pay attention to the names, but the one I ended up with is called "subtle", which is really me.

Uh oh. I painted my living room in Behr Elephant Skin. I certainly hope there's no correlation.

i'd say the colours fit my personality - and they certainly match my (red) hair! :-)

Sometimes the names influence our decisions, sometimes they're just accurate. I picked out a shade of blue for my boyfriend's office, saying it would be calm & peaceful, yet sophisticated. I didn't see the names on the swatches they gave him. As it turned out, it was named "Meditative Blue."

I try not to pay attention to names, but I often peek. For many people, the descriptive names elicit emotions in us not just of the colors, but of the life we'll lead surrounded by those colors. It's only natural.

Names can be fun, especially when you use them as the final decision. Like if you like two colours equally and it comes down to the name - I'd rather go for 'sunshine' over 'jaundice', you know?

Several years ago I helped my friend Betsy paint her entire living room...two coats. She hated it and the very next day we painted over it. We still refer to it as "the Nubby Wool incident".