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Can anyone out there help me with neutrals?

I am a colour-lovin' girl. Deep saturated colour, that's what I love. I've been living this colourful life for about ten years now but I want more. More freedom to decorate and change things about--without re-painting.

That's the beauty of neutrals, right? They go with everything. So how do you pick one???

The room in question is North facing. It's ten by eleven. I has one large window on the north facing wall. It's painted in Raspberry Truffle (by BM) which has a reflectivity value of about 92.

It's a cave.

I stained my computer desk chocolate, I have a dark walnut china cabinet and the large expedit in brown black to assemble and put up once the walls are painted. All the pine in the room will be painted white (except the door).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46773919@N00/323453010/in/set-72157594399969850/


I've tried BM Greenmount silk (HC3) a lovely soft slightly cool white. I put it on the poster board, hung it up and, meh. Doesn't do a thing for me.

I've been struggling with this for a few months. Can anyone help me? Talk me out of a neutral (a light turquoise, or blue, perhaps) or help me figure out how to pick one.

Thanks.

Psst! Alana! Let me tell you a secret... neutrals don't go with everything. Neutrals are the popular "mean girls" from junior high -- they get cliquish about needing to be with colors of similar undertone, and they often make brightly colored or dark furniture look clunky and awkward. People who go "all neutral" to try to fit in often turn out bland and characterless.

With the exception of small touches of black and white, neutrals are just as difficult to use as saturated colors, so if you don't love 'em, leave 'em alone. (Remember, it's the Princess of All Things Beige & Square that tells you this.)

If you're determined to go off-white in a north-facing room, you need a yellow-based white (or even a distinct golden beige) to simulate the sunshine you don't have. A blue- or green-based white will make the room look cold -- not a win for a lover of saturated color.

i have a living room where i want to put a door in. is this a relatively simple DIY install or would it be better to get someone to do it? any suggestions for a simple inexpensive door or someone to to do the job? thanks!

Whew. Thanks Wende. Clunky and awkward. Yep. I get that. Not the look I was going for! I was really hoping you'd help me out.

The greenmount silk is a yellow-green based white. As I have yellow-green in the hallway (1/2 strenght timothy straw--the hallway, with no light, glows). ...and was planning a yellow-based white for the living room (also north facing) I thought I'd get a cool "colour story" thing happening. But that's OK. I think I can live with the living and dining room being the "same" colour. (I think).

A golden beige. I can try that.

I tried posting this question to AT along with a photo, but I guess it was too boring. I have a stainless steel garbage can with the step opening, medium size. My NYC kitchen is small so it's against a wall in between the oven and a counter/storage area. There is a modern print on the white painted wall above it, but about 10 inches below the painting the paint is all scratched, all along from the garbage can opening all the time, it slides all over, so it spans the whole way about 2.5 feet. I have a 3 year old who loves opening it with his foot, which adds to the scratches. Wondering what I can do with this that won't take away from the painting. Wish i could show a picture. AT could you show the pic? thanks.

Alana--

If you can, get your hands, immediately, on this month's (actually, September's) issue of House Beautiful.

A BRILLIANT take on color, their Fall color issue entitled "The New Neutrals." Every room more gorgeous than the next, and a TON of paint ideas (with all colors listed).

Among other things, that issue dispels the myth that neutrals are always light, and that neutrals can't have any "color" in- or among-- them.

Maxie, Flickr the picture and provide us a link.

okay here are the photos. I'm not sure if the scratches are very clear.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12351431@N05/

i don't want to keep having to repaint, and there really is no other place to put the garbage can. thanks for any tips!

P(too)--I did check it out in the library yesterday. I practically leaped on it. But 80 to 90 per cent of the brands and thus colours listed in the wonderful article are not available here. Even the Benjamin Moore colours have different names here in Canada--so it's almost impossible to check them out. (Actually, it's all the colours in what we call the designers classics collection.)

If anyone knows of a translator I'd be eternally grateful!

We do have Sherwin Williams, though, so I thought I might try the Honied (honeyed?) white.

I have a poster board done up in "Philadelphia Cream" and it's better, but. not. quite. there. yet.

Oh--and did you notice that "Lavender is the new neutral"? I was just thinking that myself when I saw Bilhuber's proclamation.

PS. Sorry for typos, but the keyboard is on my lap. I'd never survive a renovation!

maxie, get a nonslip mat so the can won't slide around; add a bumper or stop behind the can so it doesn't reach/touch the wall; buy some rubber/nonskid feet for the can so it stops sliding...

I will be going to Rome on vacation next week, and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for unusual things to see or do while there. (i.e., Quirky shops, modern architecture, day trips out of town -- stuff that might not be in an average guide book.)

Thanks a bunch!

Hi! Along the lines of Alana's question I am pondering colors for my living room. I just got this sofa in the "Korndal Green" color: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49840538 . Our living room has creamy off white walls, apartment style beige-ish carpet, and lots of dark wood trim (it's a 1920's bungalow). Everything else in the room is "up for debate" and I can't figure out what colors will look good with the sofa. Or the shape/size/material of a coffee table that would look good with the sofa. Any ideas? THANKS! :)

Help! we have a Wassily knock off we inherited from an eccentric uncle. the leather on the seat part is cracking badly. where can we go for a cheap renewal? we want to spend as little as possible as we're not really attached to the chair.

thanks!

Is it my imagination--or do dark colours tend to absorb and thus visually reduce the clutter--while light colours just, well, make it more visible?

And Wende...do you mean to say that neutrals may make my dark furniture look clunky--even if I go with a golden beige?

And should I exchange the black-brown Expedit for the white? It's still in the box...and though dh will kill me--we only have use of the vehicle it fit until Friday.

It was purchased to contain the stuff on this wall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46773919@N00/323453008/in/set-72157594399969850/

JC--
Not attached to it? Put it up on Craigs List or AT Classifieds. I doubt it worth the hassle unless you love love it.

Alana--
Interesting about the US/Canadian differences in paint brand colors! Did you see any US brands (particulary B-M) that you fell in love with? I'm sure we could get you some swatches or tester pots, which you could then have custom mixed up there...

Maxi:

I would velcro a piece of thick fabric on top. Perhaps felt in a color that coordinates with the kitchen. Use the top to make a paper template and save the template so you can make another if the fabric becomes too soiled. You could even cut out simple bird or flower shape in a contrasting color and glue that on top. (This could even be done with suede for a child-free home.)

Another option is to see if a plastic shower cap might fit. They come in different patterns these days and can easily be washed.

P(too) what a sweetie!

The colours I can't match are:

BM lookout Point 1646. My notes say this is a pale blue.

BM Bear Creek 1470 (browney gray)

BM Graytint 1611 (soft grey)

BM red parrot 1308 (red with touch of brown/black)

None, I think are going to work, surprisingly enough. First, they seemed a bit dark in the mag...and except for Red Parrot, none are especially warm (as per Wende's rec and my own gut feeling)..or are they?

I did get a sample pot of Sherwin Williams honied white and found out as it is made with a luminescent base it 1) doesn't cover well, so will need at least 3 coats (shrug). 2) shows dirt (definitely a concern).

I should mention that I'm also thinking of painting the pine table (and shelves) white (whatever trim colour I decide upon) and my old Ikea bookcase, currently green, possibly yellow as well as my "dining" chairs.

(But the yellow is flexible, could be orange, could be green. Depends what works.)

Is there a difference between west elm and target rustic block sidetable? The appearance not the price

my bed frame is totally whack. looking for a super heavy duty one. saw this:

The Edge ™ Metal Bed Frame with Rollers

http://www.affordable-beds.com/edge_metal_bed_frame.htm

i can't find reviews, anyone have one and think it's good?

If anyone else has seen that issue of House Beautiful--did you find it surprising that orange, pink, purple and even green count as a "neutral?" Is this a secret, known only to design professionals--or are they just messing with my head?

Every so-called neutral has an under-tone--so either everything is a colour (and there are no neutrals except, perhaps 18% grey) or. hey. they are all neutrals!

The honied white is just as the woman in the mag described it: white with a shot of sunshine. (The chip looks like the palest red-orange). It is SO light, I think I may feel disembodied. Do you think the dark furniture just might float along with me? The philadelphia cream, which was a perfectly respectable colour this morning, now looks like a dirty, dingy, distant cousin.

And Wende...do you mean to say that neutrals may make my dark furniture look clunky--even if I go with a golden beige?

Naaah... the darker the neutral, the more dark furniture will make friends with it. Also, if the neutral shares an undertone with the wood (so, yellow-based with golden oak, tints of red or orange with mahogany), it will make friends with the dark furniture more readily. (Hold paint chips up to the wood.) By the time you're up to a medium tone, the wood is usually not fighting back so much.

Your enemy with dark furniture is stark white -- every piece of dark furniture becomes a Statement, and if you have a lot of storage, that's often too many statements shouting in a single room. Even with our Rental White with a slight yellow undertone here, my golden-beige wood furniture has a little too much to say for itself.

Bear in mind, though, that I really, really want my large furniture to fade into my walls, so my entire life revolves around creating a unified background in which nothing larger than a big chair gets to play drama queen.

I think all the "neutrals" in that issue made it there because of their "grayness." None are true unabridged colors.

But yes, to see an orange among the ranks of neutrals was quite surprising.

Now where on Earth did I ever get the idea that cool colours look good with dark woods, and warm with pine, beech, goldy oak, etc?

Your advice makes more sense to me, Wende.

And your comments about the furniture making a statement help. I really think I ought to exchange that big black/brown expedit now, while I have the chance, but I really hate Ikea white (and pretend beech, too, for the record).

With your comments in mind, I'm going to go through my blasted BM fan deck again tomorrow....

oh and P(too) I picked up a chip of that orange: it really is good enough to lick!

This is my first time posting on AT, so bear with me. This looks like a great group of people! I am moving into a UES studio (from NM!), and am trying to figure out color schemes right now.

I read in AT that some rooms should be cool whereas others should be warm. I'm really having trouble with this concept. I'd LOVE to do red accents in my living/dining section of my room, and then use a curtain hung from the ceiling to divide my sleeping area. I just don't know what would be a good 'cool' color for the bedroom area, and if I should even do that since they're technically still in the same room. I was thinking white and gray with silver, or else white with a little bit of pale green, like a flower leaf. Any other ideas are appreciated as well!

Thanks in advance!!!

Michelle--on Sept 5/07 the site will be hosting the "cure." This issue comes up in week three or so. Click on the book blog link to the right of the screen and search for the threads for those weeks. You'll get a taste of what the cure is like as well as further discussion of Maxwell's concept. (Or just search Wende's posts in the new search function. She knows what she's talkin' 'bout!)

But what you're planning sounds great.

Alana, thank you so much for your reply!!! I will definitely check those out. I'm still learning the layout of this site so I wasn't sure where to find those threads. I'm reading the book start to finish right now while I wait to move in, I will probably join this next cure, although I want to try to get a lot done in this upcoming week.

I'm glad you think it's a good plan so far!