painting the family room- help me out!

[esperanza]

We have lived in our house for 5 years and haven't done any painting. The main family room area is really in need of some painting. The walls are so dirty and beat up looking. We're hoping to get this done next month, but I've been left in charge of picking a paint color. I like watching HGTV, but I have zero actual skills when it comes to any kind of decorating. Help!

We are in a ranch house, and this is the main living area where we spend a lot of time. (Aka this needs to look good!) It will be the family room and the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. There is a half-wall dividing the family room and kitchen. The kitchen is a tan/khaki kind of color. I like the kitchen color. The family room is a creamy/yellow color. I'd like something rather neutral. Not looking for a bright accent wall or anything like that. But I have no idea how to find a neutral color that will also look okay with another neutral color (kitchen).

We have brown living room furniture with some accent pillows. The pillows are cream/brown/green/aqua and other ones are tan. Can I go into a paint store with the info on the kitchen wall color (fortunately I have that!) and our accent pillows and they can help me figure it out? Are they trained in that?

Dh says I can pick the color but he wants to pick the finish. I'm not exactly sure what he's thinking, but I'm thinking that he has some experience with different paints at work. Something about plastic-y finish? I have no idea. This will include a hall that is highly trafficked, so we need something that is easy to wash and will not show a lot of dirt/handprints/etc.

Tips on kinds of paint? Where to get it? How to pick a color?

[charla]

I think cream from the pillow might look nice, but then again I'm not very good at picking paint colors.

[esperanza]

Originally Posted by charla

I think cream from the pillow might look nice, but then again I'm not very good at picking paint colors.

I had the same thought. But I'm a little nervous about if it would be too light/show every made by a preschool boy mark on the wall?

[mummy2boys]

I would go with the cream as well.

[Aerynne]

The finish is more what determines what shows up on the wall. Glossy, semi-gloss, etc.

Do you like the kitchen color well enough just to do more of the same in the family room?

[esperanza]

Originally Posted by Aerynne

The finish is more what determines what shows up on the wall. Glossy, semi-gloss, etc.

Do you like the kitchen color well enough just to do more of the same in the family room?

I do like it, and I thought about that, but a couple questions. One, is it too much of the same? Two, the kitchen was painted a long time ago. At least five years, but I'm sure more. It's probably faded, right? So even if I went in with the exact color name, what are the chances that it would be an exact match?

[Aerynne]

Originally Posted by esperanza

I do like it, and I thought about that, but a couple questions. One, is it too much of the same? Two, the kitchen was painted a long time ago. At least five years, but I'm sure more. It's probably faded, right? So even if I went in with the exact color name, what are the chances that it would be an exact match?

You're much better off doing a color match than the name. Do you have a place that matches color? And I like the wall colors the same throughout but not everyone does. I'd rather use furniture and pictures, etc, to bring in more color.

[KSL]

You can bring a chip of the actual paint from the wall and they can match it for you (so it matches what the color is now exactly, rather than just using the formula based on the name of the paint color).

I personally like Behr paint from Home Depot but an ACE Hardware, in my experience, gives much much better customer service. And I like Valspar paint which they have at ACE.

You can also get samples of colors to put on the wall (small little tiny sample so you can paint a few swipes) to see what you like. Since you're painting light colors you could try a few and they would easily be covered up by the paint when you paint the whole thing.

I won't weigh in on colors bc I like bold, bright colors on walls

[esperanza]

How would I do a color swatch from the wall though? I'm not going to take a chunk of wall off to take that in. All I have is the paint can and paint color.

I held up the pillow to the kitchen wall, and really the cream in the pillow is pretty dark. It looks pretty close to the wall color. I wonder if it's going to look too close but not be exact- like I was trying to match them but couldn't.

ACE is a great idea. We have one close by, and they are very helpful. I had forgotten about going there.

I'm sure at some point I will ask my mom her input on this. She LOVES this kind of thing, but she will also make it into a big thing and I just want to make this quick and painless!

[KSL]

You just need a quarter size sample to match it- you could peel this with a razor blade from a corner or other inconspicuous place and then repaint hat small section with the new paint that has been created to match it (assuming the finish in the kitchen and the living/family room are the same)

In my experience, if you are holding the pillows up to the paint and examining them to see if the colors match and are like yeah, they're pretty close, then it's going to look like a match when the pillows are in their regular spot a few feet from the wall (and no one else is going to hold them up to see if they match). Do you love these pillows? Are they throw pillows or are they the actual couch cushions? I ask bc if they are just throw pillows you might replace (I replace mine every once in a while) then you'd have to be even less concerned about trying to match the paint to them. If you are going to match the paint in the kitchen in the living room, that will not look like a mistake.

[esperanza]

These are just throw pillows, not couch cushions. I'm not super tied to them at all. Though replacing them would also require decorating thinking.
I was more thinking that if I get an exact match to the pillows, but it isn't an exact match to the kitchen, that won't look right. But obviously it doesn't matter if the wall and pillows match exactly.
Is it too boring if everything is the same though? This is pretty much what people see when they come over- the family room and kitchen. I don't want everything to be too brown/beige/khaki. Beige carpet. Brown furniture. Tannish linoleum. Tan walls.

[Pragmatist]

I will always choose semi-gloss for paint because my children are crazy and my walls need to be washed frequently. I would go with the same paint color as your kitchen.

[KSL]

If you want to change it up and still stick with a light color, you could do a light blue-ish gray, or just a light blue. Light blue goes really nicely with shades of brown and kind of lightens up the whole room.

I am not sure if that would go with the aqua in your cushions, but it might look nice with them (depends on the shade of blue and shade of aqua)and you could always replace the cushions if it doesn't go.

[2sunshines]

Did you paint the kitchen? As in do you know exactly what paint was used in there? Brand, colour, etc? If so, that info alone should get you pretty much an exact match. Yes, old paint may fade or mark up or change but it'd be slightly enough that it shouldn't matter. I have used the same colour years later on walls to touch up areas and when it's dried it's always blended in just fine.

With you wanting neutral and it being a half wall in the kitchen, I'd probably just extend that same colour in to the whole common living spaces. Especially since you love that colour.

[esperanza]

Blue is a nice idea too
We didn't paint the kitchen but I have the name and info from the previous owners about the paint. I will have to make sure I have the brand, not just the color name.

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