Living room and dining room...

Click here to see it!

...are gettin' painted!  But deciding on the paint color is the hard part.  I went with Grandma's timeless advice (thanks Grandma!) and picked one thing in the the room I'd really, really like to base the color off of.  And it was....my favorite painting we own.  I eyed it for a whole year before I bought it from Bed Bath and Beyond, but $100 was too much to spend on something like a painting.  I'm too cheap for that!  After our wedding, BBandB sent us a 50% off coupon on any one item in the store.  I allowed myself to snag it for $50 in 2010.

A couple of weekends ago, Charlie and I stopped in at Ikea and used a free, $25 off anything in the store to pick up some white frames that will accent this painting.  I am going to put photography I take in them with my new camera.  (I was thinking of using sepia nature photos.  We'll see where I take it).

Then, tying everything together, I came up with this mood board to see how the room would look with the wall color, Behr's "Lime Light":

Art: BB&B, Frames: Ikea, Dinnerware: BB&B, Geometric Fabric: Front Door Fabrics and on our dining chairs, Mini Vases: Ikea, Brown swatches: Art Van Furniture fabric and wood colors, Color: Behr "Lime Light"

The living room AND the dining room would be this color, so I want to make sure I picked it right.  I picked up a sample from Home Depot to try the color on the wall...and it looked AWFUL.  Too bright.  Too intense.  Too funky.  Not warm and cozy enough for my taste.  Too bad it looked so perfect on the computer screen.  Back to the drawing board....

I got some samples from Home Depot and tried them all on the wall together.... and I think we've narrowed it down to two....

My analysis:

Lime Light, the original pick, actually looks okay in the picture, but like I said, it is far too bright in person.  More of a bedroom color.

Valley Mist was ruled out almost instantly.  It was too in-your-face and very, very bright aqua.

Smokey Slate really caught my eye.  I LOVED this color but Charlie hated the way it looked on the computer screen, so he was hesitant to get the sample.  I liked how it brought out the green undertones of the painting.  However, I worry that, because it's so dark, it will swallow up the room.

Contemplation is a gorgeous color and very mature.  I love the way it plays off the painting, and I think it is a great color for two rooms.  It wouldn't overhwlem.  However, I worry that because it is such a good match with the painting, it will almost loose it's "pop" on the wall...



So what is your vote?

Contemplation:

Smokey Slate:

Here are some other rooms painted these colors...

Contemplation



Smokey Slate

Leave a comment and tell me your gut reaction!