7.16.2015

Thoughts for Thursday: Picking Out Paint Colors- The Foyer and Hallway

Why is picking paint colors so hard?!
When we bought our first house in 2008 I knew exactly what I wanted and picked out our colors rather quickly. I leaned more toward greens and beige and it all came together really nicely. When we moved to our current house in early 2013 I wanted to shy away from greens and add more blue and grays so I went with a greige all over main level and upstairs hallway and blues or grays in most of the other rooms.

This time around I am sort of leaning back to greige/greens/blues but Kyle is leaning toward more blue-grays.  We're sort of at a cross roads with what to paint our main areas.  We've hired a painter to paint our foyer, kitchen, family room and the boys rooms.  The rest of the rooms we plan to do ourselves once we've lived there for a few months since I tend to change my mind often :)   Since we have the painter scheduled for closing day I'm down to the wire and need to get him our paint colors.

First up is our foyer. Since this is what people will see when they walk in the house I want this area to look good and make a statement or "pop" but I don't want it to be too overwhelming either that people think WTF.

This is right when you walk in.  We will paint the foyer and upstairs hallway the same color.

Here is looking down from the second floor. Do you like that random ledge on the left?? I have no idea why or how these became popular in the early 90s.  What exactly did people want to display on them?! That light will eventually get changed out too.

We are between two colors. Kyle loves Sherwin Williams Lazy Gray and I love Sherwin Williams Repose Gray. They are both cool neutrals but lazy gray has more blue in it.

Sherwin Williams Lazy Gray


Sherwin Williams Repose Gray



All the ceilings and trim will be painted by our painter in Sherwin Williams Pure White (in satin for trim and flat for ceilings) for reference.

I'm not going to lie I am a huge baby when it comes to picking out paint colors. I really like to play it safe and stick with the beige/greige/light colors in my main living areas. I'm definitely a "neutral nelly" and afraid of color. Yes even a light gray blue scares me, that's how bad I am. 
Kyle on the other hand just wants something different and said he's tired of looking at all the beige on our walls.  (We currently have Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter in our main living areas and upstairs hall.) He was never one for having an opinion on paint colors, or decor for that matter, but since his company has started developing and building senior living facilities he's been working with interior designers more and has a huge interest in our house this go round. I love his input and I like that he's pushing me outside of my box a little but still feel uncertain. Since our foyer is two stories I really want to make sure we get it right the first go round.


So what do you all think? Do you like color or are you scared of color like me? Do you have any no fail colors you love? I asked on instagram and got a lot of good ideas from you guys so I'm still checking all of those  out.

Now it's your turn!
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Thoughts for Thursday



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27 comments

  1. I like that color--I think it's smart to do a more neutral color, especially in main spaces that you wont want or need to change as often. I like the first gray--the color in the sample picture is with similar wood to the wood you guys have in your place and I think it'll look really nice. They are both such a similar color tho, I dont think you can go wrong with picking either of those!

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  2. I like the second one better but I'm more like you with paint. I don't think you can go wrong with either though. I just feel like the second one is more neutral.

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  3. I really like repose gray - it's so pretty and your foyer is so big and pretty!!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  4. i like the repose gray! gorgeous. xo jillian - cornflake dreams

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  5. I am terrified of color, too! So much so that our entire house is painted the same color (a beige) except for our bedroom and bathroom, which are light gray and greige. I'm so tired of the beige everywhere now, but I know if I change my mind, we will have to paint the entire house, ugh! I love the Repose Gray; so pretty!

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  6. I think I would go with the repose just because I think you would have more options with your colors in the adjoining rooms.

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  7. Paint is tricky, so I totally feel your pain!! Our entire house (including ceilings) are painted in Repose Gray and we've been super happy with it!! It's an easy gray that works with everything and is just enough color to really make your white trim pop!! If you haven't been to my house tour tab lately, that may help you :)

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  8. I'm like you and lean more towards lighter, neutral greys since it makes it easier to decorate around and if you ever do sell you aren't stuck having to repaint over a bunch of wild colors that sellers won't like. I would stick to neutrals for more of the main spaces and go a bit more out of the box for the boys room or the basement (if it's finished.)

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  9. This was one of the toughest areas to decide one when building our home this last year. I was afraid of putting in too much color but if you have a lot of natural light like in your foyer you might be surprised with how much color you could add without it looking too bold or too dark. I actually really like either one but think I would learn more towards the lazy gray, but it also depends on what other items will go in the space.

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  10. Picking paint is SO hard. I do love the colors you're both leaning on for the entryway - kinda leaning more to the one that Kyle likes.

    The layout looks so open and pretty, I can't wait to see what you guys do with the place :)

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  11. I love the colors you picked! We went really strong and bold with our color choices when we moved into our home in 2007. We are now slowly repainting everything. I love color but it was just too much. I think it's fun to have maybe one room with a bold color (like a bath or dining room), but going neutral is so smart!

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  12. go with the darker shade, because with your amount of space and natural light, it will appear lighter on the walls. The house is beautiful! Good luck :)

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  13. I personally avoid lots of color on my walls because I like to switch out our accents in the room frequently and change the color pops. I love the Repose Gray! It's stunning! If you go too dark it will make the space seem small and it's so gorgeous and open! I say go light and give yourself some wiggle room to play with rugs, lights, decor!

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  14. Picking out paint colors is truly a science haha. I still can't find the perfect baby blue for the nursery! I like the repose gray :)

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  15. Picking colors is the worst!!!!! I am so bad at it! But I love what you are thinking about! Our house is grey tones too

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  16. I'm with you - color is not my comfort zone. I'd rather go neutral for walls and big pieces like sofas and add color with easy to change items like pillows, art, etc. I am commitment-phobic when it comes to design. I feel like a neutral gives me the freedom to change my mind.
    I'm with you on the second gray - much more neutral. The first almost has purple undertones to me.

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  17. Picking colors is the worst!!!!! I am so bad at it! But I love what you are thinking about! Our house is grey tones too

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  18. I'm scared of color too but I have seen it done so well! I'm just not very confident in my own decorating abilities with it! We have mostly neutrals in the main parts of our house, but some pops of color in the bedrooms and guest bathroom. Love the greys, so pretty and calming!

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  19. Totally understand what you mean about only liking neutrals! We compromised and used colors in two rooms and honestly a year later it still kind of bugs me lol. Both of those grays are super pretty, I don't think you'll regret either one!
    Kelsey
    www.thepeacockroost.com

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  20. Loving the colors you picked out, and can we talk about how gorgeous your foyer area is!? And I hear ya on only liking neutrals... most of our house is a gray or beigish-tan but the kitchen is a maroonish red. I'm ready to branch out and paint the master closet a fun color like purple, but I'm not sure how the husband feels about that :-P

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  21. I think our entire house is grey and I still love it three years later! You definitely can't go wrong with a grey with all that natural light.

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  22. I definitely like your gray better! I would say though that maybe you can do something more interesting with the wall beneath the chair rail - we have one like that in our main living area and I go back and forth between painting it a bolder color (like blue, to complement our furniture but not be too crazy), or doing a modern wallpaper (that would be easy to wipe fingerprints off of! Can't wait to see what you end up picking!

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  23. Both of these are great grays but I think I might like your pick better. We have a subtle gray throughout our house and it looks different in each room with different lighting but also looks great in each! Gray is a great color and I love that it can look different in certain light and even at different times of day. Cant wait to see more house updates!

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  24. What a beautiful and open foyer! You can't go wrong with either of those paint colors! Xo, Stephanie

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  25. At least you are both within the same color range as far as your paint references are concerned. Better that than arguing things from the opposite positions in the color wheel. There's a much more workable middle ground with the colors that each of you wanted. It's wise that you have decided to compartmentalize and distribute the work as well, with another painter in charge of the other areas of the house. The final product should be worth looking into.

    Harlan Sanford @ Painter Ready Knox

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