apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I did the same thing -- painted my bedroom with Kelly Moore's Sourdough, which looked beigy-yellow but ended up looking way too French's mustard yellow in the walls. Finally found Benjamin Moore's Yosemite Sand, a warm, antiquey-looking comforting beige with yellow tones, much like what you ended up with in the picture.

I did the same thing -- painted my bedroom with Kelly Moore's Sourdough, which looked beigy-yellow but ended up looking way too French's mustard sunny yellow on the walls. Finally found Benjamin Moore's Yosemite Sand, a warm, antiquey-looking comforting beige with yellow tones, much like what you ended up with in the picture.

Benjamin Moore now sells little pots of paint - just enough for an 18" x 24" piece of foam core. This is great - just hang that foam core in your room, move it around and check it out at different times of the day before you settle on a color and start painting! I never specify a new paint color to a client before doing this test - it never fails!

I painted my sunny apartment lemon ice by Benjamin Moore. During the day against the white trim is very, very light indiscernible yellow. In the evening under incandescent light it turns to a warm lovely ocher. I love it. Always bring samples of the colors home and see what happens to them through out the day and night. Sometimes one could surprise oneself with the possibilities.

I once wrapped my room in red velvet flocked paper. Light would bounce around and give every thing a rose colored glow.

I had used the Benjamin Moore little pot of paint for my bedroom, and that helped. Wish I had done that with the living room too.
I had painted my living room two different shades of yellow on different walls. On the swatches they looked very different. One looked like notepad yellow and was awful, I went over it with a million coats of white.
The one shade of yellow that remains, looks completely different at night, in the day and with certain types of light. Definitely thinking of getting those GE Reveal light bulbs.

i just painted with Behr's "Kansas Grain" and LOVE it! it's a warm creamy-yellow with a slightly peach cast (but not too overpowering). sunshine in a can!

The GE Reveal light bulbs are great. They make a really a room look great!

well, if this didn't scare me off from painting...

My sister moved back into her condo and we bought $60 worth of Benjamin Moore paint pots to figure out what to paint the walls. The first time she had painted when she bought it, some of the colors ended up being pretty far from what she wanted. It was eye-opening. Colors that she really wanted looked terrible on the wall and colors looked completely different from one room to another. A lilac which looked pretty on the wall in her bedroom just looked like a washed out white in her spare bedroom. She ended up going with yellow and green in both bedrooms, a combination we never imagined she would use. I would definitely recommend buying a small amount of paint first. Since Benj. Moore only puts a selection of their colors in those little pots, I wonder if those colors are selling substantially more since the pots came out. Any thoughts?

I love those Reveal bulbs but they break at the slightest touch. My boyfriend slightly tipped a lamp last night an the brand new bulb (last Monday) died. On a related note, he tipped the lamp because the room was in chaos as I was repainting a wall. I love the Glidden Pale Shadow, it's a white with a tinge of pink that changes in the light. Landlords and supers see white so no need to repaints, I see glowing walls that make me and everything in my apartment look soft and just better.

Anyway, I'd run out of paint the first go around on this wall and when I bought more it didn't match exactly so I had to repaint that whole wall. Lesson learned, buy extra paint and mix the cans in a 5 gallon bucket like the pros do.

You folks ever hear of white? In smallish NYC apartments, white is the only way to go. I tried colors once upon a time--felt like I was living in a box of confetti.

It sounds like you're less scared of color than you are of messing it up again. Color can be really overpowering if you don't know how to use it, but it can also make an apartment warm and cosy and inviting. Sometimes you can definitely mess up, but it's also fun to experiment and try to get the perfect balance of colors and textures. My apartment is tiny too, but it also has a big dose of clear, bright color so I feel energised and happy throughout my day, even if there's no sunlight.

I hate dull white apartments. I used to live in one with my ex-boyfriend, who wouldn't let me decorate. To me the place wasn't white, it was three-tenants-ago white with scuff marks everywhere. It was a non-choice -- he'd abdicated control over this particular part of his life to whatever was easiest to do and whatever hand-me-downs he could scrounge from relatives.

Color can be tricky and nowhere more so than in NYC
where the light is so grey. But all the more reason why
its important to get it right and rewarding when you do.
I think the Benjamin Moore pots help a lot and also realizing that even white is not just white. There are an
infinite variety of whites. For instance I painted all the
ceilings in my apartment with Ralph Lauren Picket Fence Semi-Gloss to bring sheen and light through the
rooms. The walls are RL Nigerian Peony(bedrooms &study) and Benjamin Moore Linen White (very warm and yellowy)in public rooms. Color is fun.

Todd again. I'm not categorically against color. My pad is white on white on white, and I LOVE it. Especially the white gloss floors. Sparkle, sparkle. Plants and art provide the only color. BUT a few years ago when I was looking for an apartment I saw a place with an all-pink bathroom. A very pale pink--think that inner pink of a conch shell. I looked so good in that mirror I decided to always have a pink bathroom. My bathroom is pink. Pale pink--everything except the toilet. I couldn't find a pink toilet. I tried. I'm a straight man with a pink bathroom and I'm proud of it. Girlfriends love it.

A trick I just got hip to (which helped me tons) is to "mix down" a color that I like. Perviously, I felt I was tied to the swatches available, i.e., if the color I liked was too intense, I should just go with the neighboring swatch. In most cases, this is not just a diluted version of the neighbor, but a different hue entierly. So, if you feel like you have the color you want, but it's just a bit too intense, have the paint store "mix it down" to 75% or 50% and see how that works!

I am moving into a small home in FL and would like to go with the nautical colors of yellow, white and navy. I want to paint the walls yellow through the entire home. I have been sampling some yellows, such as Hawthorne yellow, hay stack, and squish-squash, they are too bright. I want a soft yellow that won't jump out at me.
Please help me.
Thanks
Tina

I need help to ideas to paint my apparment. we will move to NY and our appartment is so smal. which colors are perfet?
we were thinking light yellow for the walls and the door franes in white, what do you think?
thanks for your answer. cyndy

I need to paint my two floor house; my husband likes a warm yellow ocher, which one you will recomend me from glidden paint and also the trim and the ceiling color under the roof?
thanks you very much for your prompt answer, dalis

Is there a month for paint colors and peer suggestions? That would be cool. I'm sure a lot people needs help. You think small NYC apartments are difficult? At least most of them have high ceilings and big windows. My tiny 9'x9' bedroom in a long island house is even worse, small room + small window + dark brown wood paneling from the 50s = totally dark prison. I need to choose a paint color that works...need help...

i usually paint small rooms benjamin moore linen white and all wood trim high gloss white, this color combination looks very clean and it looks great in any room or lighting. i lived in nyc apartment for 8 years and had white walls entire time. white walls made the place look harsh and old. a light tint of yellow can lift your spirits and makes a room to look sunny even on cold winter day.

Hi. I have a question about paint color... Anyone there to reply>???
Kathleen

yes