Color Buzz

Refreshing an Older Room

If you want to update an older room without making a drastic change, replacing the wall paper for paint is always a good choice. We recently revamped a room in a farm house that dates back to the 1860s. First, we stripped the wallpaper and applied a fresh coat of plaster. Then, we stained the white plaster with Valspar Sandy Cove, a color we thought would keep the integrity of the historic structure. When staining the plaster, we were careful to water down the paint 5 parts water to 1 part paint.

For the closet space, we wanted to choose a color that created a cozy surrounding to the bedroom like Valspar Caramel Gold, Hot Crossed Bun or Crunch Granola. After we applied the paint, we washed the closet walls with Boston Legacy, a darker brown, to give the closet some depth.

         

                                                                             

                 Sandy Cove 3005-10A               Caramel Gold 3006-7B

                                       

                Hot Crossed Bun 3005-9B           Crunch Granola 3004-9B

Exterior Color

         

When painting the exterior of your house, you should always consider the color surrounding your home. Do you have nature around you? Then, you might want to consider two different directions:

      1) To blend in with the surroundings. One great color that harmonizes with most landscapes is Valspar Dakota Trail. It has enough green and brown in it to harmonize with the great outdoors.

      2) The opposite direction is to use a red like Eddie Bower’s Cabin Red. This will set your home beautifully against its setting.

When picking a trim color, keep in mind the size of your home. Larger homes should have a lower contrast between trim and main color. You do this so the home won’t feel chopped up. For smaller homes, especially cottage style homes, you can have more fun because the trim-to-main-surface ratio is smaller. If you want a small house to look larger though, keep trim and main color closely related.

                                              
                                            Dakota Trail 6008-3B

Design Dilemma - Anita's House and Response

Hi Beehives,

I am having a problem finding the right color for my bedroom.  The room is 16’ x 14’ with an 8’ ceiling and a large window facing west.  I would like to paint the room a light brown color that would compliment the teal-green bed comforter.  The bedskirt is a chocolate brown.  Help!!!

Anita

Dear Anita,

Since I can't see the actual teal and chocolate colors, I'm going to give you a few light browns.

Oregon Coast
Sandy Cove
Mark Twain House Oak

Each has a touch of green in them which I think will work nicely with the teal. Let us know how it goes.

Best,

Ann


                              
Orange Coast 6007-1C    Sandy Cove 3005-10A   Mark Twain House Oak 3004-9C

 

Design Dilemma - Penny's House

Hi Beehive designers,

Okay here goes.  My foyer and hallway is painted in Waverly New England Yellow, in a semi-gloss finish I believe.  My kitchen is sage and can be seen from the living room.  What would be a nice complementary color to the Waverly New England Yellow and sage color?  I have brown microfiber sofas and two paintings that I love with various reds/poppies and greens framed with dark frames.  Any specific direction or suggestions with this is greatly appreciated.   

Thanks,

Penny

Hot Chocolate

When I lived in Brooklyn, I had a bedroom without windows. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. In order to create a cozy space, I found a great Brown—Valspar November Foliage. I started with a base color of Bleached Slate, and over that I painted the deep brown with a color wash effect, letting the gray come through every so often. I used Morning Lake as trim. For a tiny room with limited natural light, it was a warm and cozy retreat – made you feel like you’ve slipped into a delicious cup of hot chocolate.

 

                                       
    November Foliage 2001-9A    Bleached Slate 7004-20      Morning Lake 7004-21