Revive Your Home for Summer {Part I Maybe? | Wall Paint!}
- The Pelican Empress
- Jun 29, 2024
- 5 min read
This is the first in what I hope may be a series on refreshing your home for a new season, in this case summer, and what I'd like to talk to about today is paint. This is probably the thing I get asked about most, usually by people in a cold sweat because they are in the process of moving and painting all the rooms in their new home before they have made any other design decisions. We can talk about that another time, but today I want to focus on reinvigorating a room that is already nearly complete, except that the paint color has not behaved because:
It was delightful on the chip but totally dissimilar on the wall, or
It was delightful in the store but totally dissimilar on the wall, or
You're terrified of truly "powerful" colors, so you chose a color many shades lighter than your heart's desire and now your room looks like the inside of a strawberry yogurt container, or
You painted one wall your heart's desire as an "accent wall" but it is a fail.
Yes, and on that last point, it is a fail because it looks like you just stopped before painting all four walls or like you ran out of money to paint all four walls (which is probably the real story behind the first "accent wall"). So we are going to have a little Come to Jesus now, and I am going to exercise some tough love:
NEVER DO AN ACCENT WALL.
Because it's a crime against walls.
OK, yes, fine, never say never, and we can talk about that another time, but if you have reasonably standard walls and reasonably standard room shapes, then the answer is "never", because it is always right to paint all walls in one room the same color. If you can't imagine a particular color on all four walls without throwing up a little bit in your mouth, then you need to pick a different color.
Now, on to what you ought to do instead.
Engage me LOL, but if you would rather do it yourself, below are some things I've acquired knowledge of in the course of time.
But first a True/False quiz.
The direction a room faces can affect how a paint color looks.
Both natural and artificial lighting can affect the appearance of paint color undertones.
There is a best time of day to choose paint colors.
Dark paint colors almost always make a room feel larger.
Yes, they are all True, and now that you are more anxious than before you started reading, I am going to give you a list of colors that are certain to work, at least most of the time (although please keep in mind this is just a short list and there are others). Like most designers, I prefer Benjamin Moore paints because they are easy to apply and have the best color consistency from swatch to wall.
As much as possible, make your starting point colors that occur in nature.
Nature matches everything, right, so never forget that God is the OG decorator!
Your next stopping point should be the Benjamin Moore Williamsburg colors (with the Historical collection as backups), because even if these colors weren't actually used in Williamsburg (I used to work at Colonial Williamsburg - they weren't) - they are classics.
Without further ado, voila my list of colors that I use or have seen work very well, with a reminder to always paint a small area on all four walls, at least 1' x 1', with two coats of the sample paint, and then look at them at 8 am with all shades closed and all lights off, at 12 noon with all shades open and all lights off, at 4 pm with all shades open and all lights on, and finally at 8 pm with all shades closed and all lights on, and THEN make your decision - actually there is even more to it than that so yes please do reach out to me.
All photos from Pinterest unless otherwise indicated.
Benjamin Moore HC-148 Jamestown Blue. This is an extremely calm, coastal, colonial teal and a very popular color for high-traffic areas.
Benjamin Moore 1680 Hudson Bay. Cobalt is exceedingly popular at the moment, but it also is a classic, and Hudson Bay is a timeless cobalt blue that is not too bright and doesn't skew toward a horrible purple - this one has been short-listed for one of the spaces in one of my homes!
Benjamin Moore HC-9 Chestertown Buff. An excellent, darker, neutral, neither yellow, nor gold, but a a blending of the two with an ultra-fine tangerine undertone that was amazing in my previous north-facing living room and that I may use again in a west-facing bedroom because it is so adaptable.
Benjamin Moore 2037-30 Kelly Green. This is an exceptionally dark, crisp green with a whiff of lemon, used here in Cara and Poppy Delevingne's Los Angeles retreat.
Benjamin Moore 1616 Stormy Sky. This is a very attractive dark purple-gray with just enough neutral to keep it from looking like yogurt, and if you want an even more neutral tone, 1581 Millstone Gray is especially pleasant too.
Benjamin Moore AF-175 Barista. This is an exquisite, classic brown that looks good in south- and east-facing rooms and goes with everything.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I please introduce Benjamin Moore OC-24 Wind's Breath, which coordinates with EVERYTHING - it is a complicated off-white with gray undertones.
For the more daring, this is Benjamin Moore CW-465 Parrot Green. In full disclosure, I have never used this color, but everyone who has is absolutely head-over-heels about it, and I can see it working almost anywhere, because it is earthy, vibrant, and dark, making it a superb backdrop for wallpaper insets/murals.
Benjamin Moore 1322 Ladybug Red. There are color connoisseurs who assert that this is THE consummate paint. It is a classic red with pink undertones, perfect for those with their own way of speaking.
Benjamin Moore 2131-10 Black Satin trim with AF-5 Frostine walls. This black is from the mathematically calculated hue collection and this white is from the collection designed to mix and match easily. Note that Frostine does best in a room with warm lighting.
Hopefully you observed that I did not once mention "color of the year" or "trending" because those are publicity stunts and you need a color that you can live with and then ADD a "pinch" of something up to the minute if you want.
Now, about white.
My darlings, you deserve to live in something better than a white box because you are not a pair of airpods, but if you have many colorful furnishings and are not sure a colored wall paint will work for you, there are some lovely white paints than can work as a background for a collection.
Stay cool if you are in the tropical areas!
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