paint choices

I've been spending a LOT of time lately trying to come up with the perfect paint choices.  Everywhere.  I want there to be a flow to our home and the rooms, and feel like they are cohesive even while being different.  I've been going a little crazy with it (and I'm certain driving hubby crazy in the meantime) but we have a TON of painting to do and again, I want the colors to work well together.


Part of my problem?  I hate our kitchen.  Okay - hate is a strong word.  But I don't LOVE it.  I want to have that *gasp* feeling I have when I look at other kitchens and think, "oh my gosh - I LOVE it!  I have to have that in my house!", while then turning towards ours and just thinking, "eh".


The house originally came with the same exact sheen/color on every.single.wall.  It was nice to not have to worry about slapping paint colors on right when we first moved here (and had no deck, no landscaping to speak of, no grass even, etc).  But after a while, that builder-beige color gets old.  Really, really old.  So, we started changing some of the rooms.

Builder beige in Lilah's room before we changed it

One of the problems with builder beige was that it feels really dark.  Our kitchen is where we spend 80% of our time, and is west facing, so we don't get morning light.  Even though there are quite a few windows on that wall in both the kitchen and family room it still felt dark to me. Eventually we painted the kitchen a yellow color - I wanted lighter and brighter but not neon, obviously.   It was supposed to be a color we used in Phoenix and received a ton of compliments on, but I'm guessing they changed the formula because I really don't care for it.  I thought I did.....but alas, I don't love it.  

the yellow kitchen.  See...eh?  Right?

Of course it doesn't help that folks like Young House Love are doing amazing things to their kitchen I am drooling over (namely, white cabinets, open shelving, tons of tile backsplash, etc.).  I realize our kitchen is beautiful, and we have gorgeous maple cabinets, but I am so drawn to white kitchens it's ridiculous.  Want to see amazing?  Check out Camille's kitchen (and whole house!) makeover here. 

So, hubby and I have discussed that maybe....just maybe...one day in the very distant future, when all other house projects have been exhausted, that maybe I could have my white kitchen.  And regardless, the yellow has to go, so I'm planning - knowing - that even if the kitchen cabs don't get painted, the walls will.  

I had already picked a color for our master bed/bath a while back (yes, a paint chip has been taped to the walls in there for over a year and a half....I'm getting to it - I swear!) and while I love the chip up - I won't claim to be 100% sold to it.  I want to pick something for the much larger family room/foyer/upstairs hallway first, and then go from there.  

Centsational Girl has an amazingly gorgeous kitchen and I love the wall color - she used Camouflage by Benjamin Moore, and described it as a grey-green that looks grey in indirect light and green in direct light.  But it's subtle and gorgeous and has a neutrality to it that I wanted also.  That is my #1 choice for the family room right now.  

I also know (because of my big plans for the family room - I really should put together a mood board) that I want a dark complimentary color, and when I check out Camouflage on the Benjamin Moore site, I see a few that work, and two that are to.die.for.  

When you click on the "More Color Combos" on the lower left, you get a dark brown called Black Bean Soup and a grayish blue called Silver Half Dollar.  SOLD!  I wanted a dark color for the back of our family room built-ins and I love the brown color they chose.  Tehre is also some plans in the works for some new curtains, and that color comes into play.  The grayish blue is EXACTLY what I had in mind for the kitchen, so that's currently my front-runner there.  

Of course, these are all choices based on colors on a laptop monitor.  Once I get some small samples made up and brought home and see them on the walls in our spaces, I could very well change my mind. But it's nice to have a starting point.  

I've gone through a similar process for the basement based on the colors we chose because I have some similar plans down there.  But I'll save that for another post as I've already gone on long enough.  Off to get paint chips and samples!