Today I'm reaching out to you for your advice. I finished the bookshelves this weekend, so they are bright and shiny and white. I need to paint the backs of them still, but I haven't decided what color I want to use as an accent in the room. Where I need your help is with the walls.
As much as I would love to come in and paint them a fun color, they are going to have to stay neutral. Our plan is to sell the house within the next year (hopefully), so there's no way I am going to want to repaint in that short of time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, neutral paint sells houses, so we're sticking with a neutral color.
My original plan was to paint the office walls gray, and most likely a slightly darker hue. I am a sucker for contrast, and I knew that would make the white bookshelves pop. However, the space is rather small, and although one wall is almost all window, I'm a little afraid it's going to make the space feel almost cave-like.
Gray is huuuuuuge in the design world right now. I love gray - it's fresh, contemporary, and gorgeous. My only concern: gray is becoming somewhat of a norm, and I like to be different. We've already painted our bedroom gray, and Noel does not like the idea of having every room the same color. That doesn't bother me though...because I think it is ridiculous when every room in a house is a different color: houses need to flow and feel cohesive.
Source via Kirsten Danielle on Pinterest
When I got out my fan deck and starting looked through the grays, the color that actually jumped out at me wasn't a gray at all - it was greige. For those of you who don't know, greige is a mixture of gray + beige, hence the name. It is a gorgeous color, and has a feeling of warmth to it without looking too beigey. Greige isn't quite as popular yet, but is definitely making a statement. I think it won't be long before grey and greige are battling it out for the top neutral paint color.
Just as I was starting to really like the idea of greige, I turned to my pinterest page for inspiration. To be more specific, I starting searching through my home office board. When I got there, much to my surprise, do you know what I found? A lot of white on white. And for me, that's rare.
I talked last week about how much the color orange terrifies me. Well, here's something else you don't know. White walls scare me just as much. With white, you run the risk of looking empty and unfinished...but as I was looking through my board I saw image after image of beautiful, all-white spaces...and my mind started racing.
My plan for the office is to have a very neutral, monochromatic palette in terms of the walls, furniture, and curtains. Then I would add pops of color through the accents, artwork, and the back of the bookshelves. By painting the walls white, literally everything would fade into the background, making the colored pieces stand out so well.
But white is scary. I've always painted over white rooms. I don't want my room to feel unfinished. So what should I do?
Choice #1: Gray. I know I'll love it. It's gorgeous, fresh, and will provide the contrast I want. Yes, it's done all the time, and yes, I've done it in my house. But I adore it.
Which would you choose?
Choice #1: Gray. I know I'll love it. It's gorgeous, fresh, and will provide the contrast I want. Yes, it's done all the time, and yes, I've done it in my house. But I adore it.
Choice #2: Greige. It isn't as common as gray, it's slightly warmer, and will still provide the contrast I want.
Okay, this color looks gross. The swatch I have on the wall looks much better than this - I blame the limited color selection in SketchUp.
Or do I take a huge risk and go with Choice #3: White.
I'm just afraid of it turning out like this image below. They have all of the components for a GORGEOUS room...but it doesn't have that wow factor. Something is clearly missing, and I think it may just be some color on the walls.
Source via Kirsten Danielle on Pinterest
GREIGE! It will make the shelves stand out and will still be great for resale (you know I LOVE grey, but its hard for people (non-designers) to work with!)
ReplyDeleteGREIGE not enough natural light in the room to make the white not fade like in the picture above. Same problem with the light & the gray - I think it will make the room feel a little small. :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, you should know seeing as it was your room Lauren!
DeleteI am all for the greige
ReplyDelete