Master bedroom paint color...

The "creme" walls just didn't jive with the new grey tone chairs.

It is a real struggle. It is a head banging, nail biting struggle that often leaves me feeling helpless and hopeless.

Just kidding...it's really not THAT big of a ordeal. But it is a struggle for me to change wall paint colors. Truth is, if you hate the paint color of anything, it is a relatively easy and inexpensive fix. Just repaint. Isn't that what I post time and again.

I think for me one of my biggest fears is that it will be too dark. When I was building homes I always told my clients, if you think you like the paint color on the chip, go one shade lighter. If they insisted on sticking with the color they liked, I would buy a sample, paint a huge swatch on the wall and EVERY time they would go lighter....every time. 

That is one reason I advocate painting large samples on the wall and living with it for a few days. Also, every paint has an "under tone" and it is impossible to see until the light in the room or natural light from windows hits it just right That awesome grey you thought you loved suddenly appears green or purple...the "off-white" that looks perfect on the tiny chip suddenly looks very pink...the blue-grey that matches your bedding looks purple when the sun hits it mid day.

I think that is why the process of picking a wall paint color sends me into a dark hole. 

The upside is, I KNOW THIS....and if I will just take my own advice, I will be fine.

So I pick colors I THINK I will like, paint large swatches on different walls in the room and look at them at different times of the day. 

Last week I shared the colors I first picked...and the reasons why I thought they would NOT work!

I did go back and pick up a sample of SW Nuance...it is one shade lighter than Useful Grey. I liked the Useful Grey but I was picking up a hint of green.

So Nuance it was...and I like it...but it is VERY light and truthfully, it is tough to see a real change.

Side by side, you can see that it is an exceptionally subtle change....but a change none the less. 

I probably could have gone with a darker color...this room gets tons of natural light but for now I am happy the "creme" is gone and the subtle gray blends a bit better with the elements in the room! 

Sherwin Williams "Nuance" is pretty close to the color in my "inspiration" color chart....

I originally discovered this little color chart at designseeds.com. It is a great site where you can find color combinations that work together...colors you would never imagine could exist side by side. This color sample has been my inspiration since I first started working on this room 3 years ago...one element at a time! 

This site is a source of endless inspiration and in my opinion it is one of the first sites you should visit when designing a room. If you have an element you HAVE to decorate around it will help you find colors that will enhance, and even mask it....that ugly brown couch or the wing back chair your mom gave you. 

I was able to pull every color off this chart and incorporate it into my master bedroom. The "white" in the trim, the "grienge" on the walls, the "bluish" on the fireplace wall, the "frosted berry" in the rugs, accent pillows and throw, the "grey" in the chairs.

Start your inspiration journey with colors in hand! And remember, if the paint is too light (or too dark) JUST PAINT IT AGAIN!

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