So we are working on picking out paint colors (yay, this is the fun part!) And we're struggling with deciding on the living room.

When you in the front door, that will be the living room and future home of either a black or brown grand piano.
Go straight ahead and get to the family room, turn to the left and get to a hallway that leads to the bedrooms. Kitchen and dining rooms are accessed from the family room.

So, I think the family room, kitchen and dining (which all flow into each other kind of) will be a gentle, warm-toned beige (not quite dark enough to be tan, but too dark to be called cream).

The living room aka piano room could be the same color. Or it could be a color in the same family closer to cream? Or it could be a white color?

The trim (throughout the whole house) is white.

I was thinking that if I end up with a black grand piano, the beige walls might not look as nice, so we were considering going with a warm white in that room. But then we remembered the trim, and I think it's just a generic true white (satin or glossy). So then if we did that there would be two colors of white in the living room??

Also, it seems like it might be better to not have all the rooms the same color, hence the idea of picking a different color for the living room.

I do want to do the decor so that it will accommodate either a brown or black piano. Because I don't want to choose the instrument based on color (except for white, I will not bee buying a white grand).

So any thoughts, advice?

We live in the house of white. Even our hardwood floors are stained whitish.

So I’m a little biased. But it’s not for everybody.

Maybe Feng Shui can help?

https://www.thespruce.com/deco...in-your-home-1274398

I would either do the Living Room the same color as the Dining Room or a 25% let-down (mix with white) of the Dining Room color.

I like the idea of the space becoming slightly darker and more intimate as you move through the Living Room (public space) and in to the deeper reaches of the house. Few will notice it directly but it will be something you can feel. It will also change a bit during the day as the sun comes in from various directions. I like that sort of thing.

Using the let-down technique assures the two colors will harmonize - something that is very difficult to do with beiges.

Jon, as it that way or did you paint it to be that way?

One thing I'm worried about is the white trim not being the same white as the walls. I know we can try samples, but it seems like it will be really hard to find a good match.

Bernard, we are going to be completely feng shui (which is fuu sui in Japanese but we are paying close attention to which way each room faces, since that influences how the light comes in etc.

Steve, so are you suggesting to have the living room and dining room the same color even though (or maybe because) they aren't adjacent? You can't see the dining or kitchen from the living room, only the family room and hallway can be seen from the living room.

Re the 25% let down, I like that idea....

We were thinking another approach might be for those colors where there's colors in a family or darker to lighter, we'd use the lighter ones, but say maybe use the lightest one in the living room (so like a very like beige almost cream) and the one two squares up from that (so beige closer to tan) in the family room and into kitchen and dining room. (I left the color swatches at home, I'll post those later).

Anyway, any thoughts on that?

So this is not the exact color we’d use but it’s basically I mean when I say beige/tan with white trim.



So Steve, we could do a reduction with that kind of color, is that what you mean right? As opposed to trying to find two different colors.

Separate question, would a black piano look bad against that?

Also, would my favorite chairs look ok in a room that color? I know these would like fine in a white room but I’m worried about beige overload...

Here are my chairs (don’t judge me!)

I like your Gustav Klimt upholstery on that armchair!

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I like your Gustav Klimt upholstery on that armchair!

OMG that's exactly what that is!!! We've had this chair since we first came back to the US, and I love the colors. And I love those Klimt paintings (esp the most famous one, what is it called, the lovers or something like that) but I never made the connection!! Too funny!

Definitely not white.

Warm tone.

I like your dark beige, so I think steve's suggestion is a great idea.

Jon's white works for his home and furnishings.

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Steve, so are you suggesting to have the living room and dining room the same color even though (or maybe because) they aren't adjacent? You can't see the dining or kitchen from the living room, only the family room and hallway can be seen from the living room.

Not really - I just like the idea of lighter colors in the public space.

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Re the 25% let down, I like that idea....

It's a very easy way to make sure the colors blend. Colors on swatches don't always graduate the way you think they will. Always try a large brush-out on a few walls first and look at it at different times of the day.

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So this is not the exact color we’d use but it’s basically I mean when I say beige/tan with white trim.

I like that combination, but if you are going to use the walls as a backdrop for art (which is what your upholsteries are in my eye) you may want to go a lot lighter. Here is a picture of a room done in two whites - "Navajo White" on the walls (Nina will recognize this one - a favorite in Western interiors) and "Swiss Coffee" on the base and trim. Swiss Coffee is generally a better choice than pure white because pure white doesn't cover well at all.

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So Steve, we could do a reduction with that kind of color, is that what you mean right? As opposed to trying to find two different colors.

Correct. Maybe start with a color that's already in your upholstery. In fact, I can see a whole house done in colors nabbed from that Klimt fabric.

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Separate question, would a black piano look bad against that?

I think it would look terrific, YMMV.

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Also, would my favorite chairs look ok in a room that color? I know these would like fine in a white room but I’m worried about beige overload...

Seems to me you would want the walls to sort of fade out if you are using that many different patterns. Well done all-white houses are done that way - the art and the fabrics become the star of the show.

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Seems to me you would want the walls to sort of fade out if you are using that many different patterns. Well done all-white houses are done that way - the art and the fabrics become the star of the show.

Yes, exactly!

Ok, I *really* like the photo you posted Steve, the cream-on-white.

So, if we're going to do something like that, we have to decide if we need to re-paint the trim in the living room. We are hoping to avoid that, partly because Mr. SK is already going to be doing a ton of painting and it would be nice to have at least one thing we can leave as is. We'll have to see.

So, another question relates to the paint brand. Some one recommended Behr to us, but if we want to purchase at Lowes (which is closer and easier for making trips back and forth) we would have to choose from either PPG (same brand as Gliddon I think), Valspar, or Sherwin-Williams. And if we go with Sherwin-Williams, we could go to a dedicated SW store in town, so that might be a plus?

Anyway, I'm having a hard time judging just how different the price would be, but while we don't want to break the bank, I don't think we want to go cheap on paint.

Any opinions about:
1) brand of paint to buy (choosing from Sherwin-Williams, Behr, Valspar, PPG)

2) where to buy it (our options are Lowes, Home Depot, or the SW store)

Of the choices you have, I'd go with Sherwin Williams. It's the brand my painter uses and we don't have any trouble with it. The mid-grade is what is in my house and has lasted for years. The independent store is likely to be better at custom orders like let-downs and Lowes is open Sundays so there is that.

The only paint I don't recommend at all is Behr "Marquee". I hate that stuff. Too thick, won't level, very hard to work with. I've used other Behr products I liked but I really don't like Marquee.

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The only paint I don't recommend at all is Behr "Marquee".

Good to know! Thwt was one of the ones I grabbed swatches for at HD.

But I think we’ll go to the SW store — they are open on sundays too!

I’ll report back when we make some decisions.

White on White on White.
White or very close to white is my rule.

Bob painted his place with colors. It is now claustrophobic.
Come colors might be ok if it were larger.
But that is just my opinion.

Don't worry about whether the piano will look good. Pianos always look good.

Pianos are the new black.