First thing to do is paint. Herein lies the problem. There were spaces that I already knew which paint colors I wanted to use because it works well in our current home and the bed linens, furniture, etc... go well with them. I like earthy, neutral tones that provide a lot of warmth and richness without taking away from what's in the room.
The idea is to build a frame with paint so that the portrait it holds (furniture, art, textiles) are the focus. Benjamin Moore has those rich, full, paint colors that I love, but it also has a higher price tag since partnering up with Pottery Barn (thanks PB). Enter Kelly Moore (no relation, that I know of). Kelly Moore has the exact same paint colors that Benny has with a different name. It's amazing what a good painter will know and what they will share with you if you ask.
Spanish Sand with Caramel Mountain for an accent wall (accent walls are great because they break up the space) Skin Light with Manchester Mood (1/2) as the accent wall and Gothic Grey (1/2) with Gidget's Secret.
You'll notice the 1/2 (half)... When you have a color and you like the shade of it, but it's too dark, try lightening it up by asking for 1/2 the formula. They will add white in some cases or different shades to dial it up in terms of brightness. This is sometimes easier than going down the color chart or over on the color wheel. When you do that, you end up having a color that is similar to the one you like, but has a different base color (yellow, blue, pink, etc...) and that often looks nothing like what you liked about the original color. One thing to note, once you start messing with the formulas, they consider it a custom color and you can no longer return it. So, if you are unsure, buy a sample size and try it first before buying the whole gallon. Yes, I did that. Interested in a color called Persimmon?
Then there is the finish. That's a whole other ball of wax... Eggshell has sheen and semi-gloss has more sheen than eggshell. Oil stinks, but it's great for high traffic surfaces such as doors and trims. Durapoxy is the "new oil" but word of caution, it dries almost instantly and so for a large surface as a wall or door, it makes it look streaky once you start adding that second coat.
If you have kids, eggshell finish is the way to go. It provides enough sheen and smoothness that you can easily wipe away dirt without it taking days for the stench of oil based paint to go away. For a bathroom that exists with a lot of humidity in it, semi-gloss is your best bet. There is even a formula they can put into the paint that helps mold not develop on bathroom ceilings and walls.
There are those rooms that a flat finish looks great on... formal living room, master bedroom, but if you ding up a wall or it gets colored on, you have to paint to get rid of it... you can't just wipe it off.
Bedrooms, upstairs hallway, are almost finished. Next up, the living room. That should be interesting as we are going all white and there are about 200+ shades of white to choose from.
