[radio_flyer]

I'm going bonkers trying to pick paint for the basement. I sorta wanted to paint before the holidays because a christmas tree won't look so great with walls splatered with l0 different colors...

I had an idea once and for some reason those colors fell through the cracks of thinking and I am starting all over again...

I got this "sugared peach" by Behr sample paint which looked great in the container but sorta bright on the walls...AJ's dad says I change my mind too much and to make sure I pick a color I can live with cuz he won't buy more paint to redo it..........

The peachy one is ok but when not in a "peachy" mood the color sorta slaps me in the face. Yellows are cool but sometimes they look "dirty". Greens are great most of the time... and I hate blues and purples and pinks.. beige is boring.....white is too sterile....tans n browns are nice neutral colors but too drab for a basement with only two tiny windows..

So what in the world is left.. Dark colors close in the small rooms. So what would be a nice color that is light, warm and inviting and one won't get bored with>????? AJ's dad only buys Behr paint.. and Behr has hundreds of colors... and none that seems to satisfy my inner self and outer self or even just the plain ole me.........

Calgon take me away and somebody design my basment with wonderful colors that will keep me smilen even on bad days..

Only colors I hate are blue...I actually love all colors but not necessarily at the same time...shrugs shoulders.......

[SunnyD]

Sounds like my daughter trying to pick paint. Man it took a year. Then she moved to a house that had bright colors and she had her friend go to the old house to get the numbers off the paint cans still there. Good friend that..anyway she used them in her new house. Looks very nice.
What she did was to get a decorator/friend to help her pick the colors. One thing I was thinking about the basement is to pick the colors in the evening. Being underground so much you may want to have brighter colors than you normally would have picked.
Also what I have heard is to take something that is your favorite scarf, clothes, pillows etc. and take the colors off of that.
I am sure you will be happy with your choice but as they say on HGTV it is only paint.

[LittleForgetMeNot]

It's funny, I watch a hell of a lot of design shows but for some reason I'm just drawing a complete blank here. But, a suggestion to help, there was a show I watch and it was called "Colour Confidential" (dunno if you heard of that). The designer would find out a little about the homeowners and figured out what they were most passionate about or somethign that came with a good memory (ex. one couple spent their honey moon in hawaii). She'd make a colour wheel of all things that accosiated with that good memory (ex.sand, leaves, hawaiian things ) and the home owners would pick a few colours they liked, say why they liked it, and the designer would say what these colours would do for their room. Then they just had to pick one and it would go on the walls!

Personally I always think a nice chocolate brown looks good on walls, same with a rich dark red but you said you don't like it too dark?

I found some pictures of some basements that were redecorated by Colour Confidential:

http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=1e20a.jpg (- this one seems to be beige with a chesnut and chocolate brown accent wall near the back)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=2e51a.jpg (chesnut/dark orange)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=3e22a.jpg (the dark red I was talking about)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/viewpic.asp?i=4e4a.jpg (this one was a teen basement. it was the silver/dark grey, with a purple accent wall. I think there might have been a dark blue one as well but I'm not too sure)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/viewpic.asp?i=4e6a.jpg (another chesnuty/darkorangy colour)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=4e10a.jpg (a dark grey/green it seems with the dark beige stripes on the accent wall)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=4e13a.jpg (pale yellow/beigh)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=4e20a.jpg (greyish green)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=5e18a.jpg (gold)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=5e30a.jpg (offwhite with a dark purple/maroon accent wall)
http://www.colourconfidential.tv/vie...sp?i=5e35a.jpg (even though you said you hated blues..)

I'm sure probably NONE of this helps but there are some pictures and colours to get the imagination running!

[Fresia]

When I did my last basement, it had small windows and I needed to brighten it. Yellow does reflect the light really well but I know what you mean about it being dirty looking or green. I had a difficult time finding ones that didn't. However, Benjamin Moore's yellows have a golden cast to them (except the historic line, these had a grey/green tinge), and more than the other brands and really gave a nice ambience to the room especially at Christmas whether decorating with reds or burgundies or even a blue/white Christmas; yellows go with just about everything being a primary color. I know B.M. can be found at Ace Hardware stores but not sure where else, check their website. They also have samples to get to try first which helps a lot.

Good luck!

[(JD)]

I like to change my mind too, so instead of putting a bold color on the walls, why not put a neutral on the walls and splash the bold "color du jour" in curtains, throw pills and other accents. That's what I do and when I change my color preference, it's not a big deal and much cheaper!

If the basement is not well lit, definitely go with a lighter neutral than not. (Such as a light warm-toned beige rather than a grayed blue.)

Do you enjoy earthy tones or jewel tones mostly? Selecting a neutral from that basic might keep you happier. ( Again, differentiating between browns and greens or blues and purples.)

Hope we get pictures when you're done!

[lynn P.]

Wow those were great links of basements that ((LittleForgetMeNot)) put up...so beautiful. radio flyer - I liked the pale yellow/beigh or off white with any accent color. I love all those links though. Good luck.

[Elana05]

Hi,

I think JD has some good points...
Warm-tone beige looks really nice if you throw in some red accents like drapes and pillows. Also a good trick for adding natural light is to put a mirror directly across from the window if it is possible.

Plenty of lamps with light-colored shades really help lighten it up too. The new CFL bulbs are so much better at mimicking natural light than the old incandescents.

Good luck, it sounds like a fun project.

[SunnyD]

We are assuming that it is a dark basement but is it a daylight one? That could make a lot of difference.

[kitty004567]

Is there a color of another brand of paint you like? You can technically have Bher paint made in any color you want. Have a favorite color on something else? You can have a paint made to match.

In high school I had my room painted a light yellow. My bedroom has East and South facing windows so when the light came in the walls glowed and made the room feel really warm.

Now I've got cream colored walls and a dark green accent wall (that coordinates with my comforter). I really like it too. You could do an accent wall of a color and the rest of the walls white or a light neutral.

[radio_flyer]

SunnyD...not sure what you mean by asking if the basement is daylight. Is what I think it is called an "under ground basement". I have two little windows that are located right below the ceiling.. and the door to the kitchen is half windows, half door, so there is very limited light......

[radio_flyer]

Thank you so much for the links LittleForgetMeNot...... I love the deep rich colors...Unfortunately, the rooms are so small and those beautiful deep colors would not work in the basment. The layout of the basement is so odd. Guess the best way to describe it would be to say it is U shaped. The left part of the U would be the laundry room, the right side would be the family room and kitchen, the the curve of the U is like a hall way... Wish I could use dark colors.....

[radio_flyer]

JD.. That is a good idea to stay in the neutrals and decorate with a splash of bold. That way I could easily change colors by just changing pillows. You mentioned a gray/blue . I did a search and Behr suggested a gray pearl for low light basements, which they say makes the light glisten and bounce off the walls. Description sounds cool.. Way out of my normal color choice... But I am going to get sample paint of the gray pearl and see how it looks. Behr also coordinates colors and I like brook trout which would gives a feminine interesting look for the trim...can't wait to try these colors......

Am a bit tired so excuse my choppy writing...

[radio_flyer]

Elana.. Behr also suggest red, but I haven't checked it out yet because I was too excited finding the gray pearl . I want warm tones but I don't think gray is a warm color but it sure looks great when playing with "painting the rooms" at behr

Will have to do a search of the CLF bulbs because I've never hear do them...

Accenting with curtains will be very hard because the windows are small and are high to the ceiling. I can't look out the windows, they are so high. They are right below the ceiling.

how about a warm yellowish color? kind of like in JD's signature picture the background color behind the word "love". that seems to be a color i see in a lot of restaurants/cafés because it is a warm inviting shade. i looked at the behr samples and wildfower honey and feather gold look nice. a sales rep can help you pick the right shade to match a picture of a color better than i can as i know paint looks different on a wall than on a tiny swatch.

[radio_flyer]

Fresia... I love yellows.. Just finding the right shade is kind of hard. Will check out BM paint. There is a BM paint store not far from here, but I doubt AJ's dad will go there to get paint.. He is sold on Behr paint for some reason. But it won't hurt to look.. If I find a color I like he just might get it....

[radio_flyer]

Kitty... Good point. Behr will match other brand colors... That gives me unlimited brands to check out. I like the idea of accenting one wall and using neutrals whites/beige on the other walls.......... So many ideas....... So many choices... So many colors... Wish I had the money to hire someone to coordinate the colors...

From yellows to neutrals to gray pearl... they are all so different...Might not have this finished by Thanksgiving.. Sure hope I finish by Christmas...

[radio_flyer]

Thinking of the pretty yellows and greens.. Wondering if gray pearl would be depressing. Geesh am I talking myself out of the grays already.. Warm yellows are so appealing..

[radio_flyer]

Bloom ... AM checking out the wildflower honey.. Found a corn and caramel color that is nice...Wildflower honey is pretty but might be too dark...Feather gold is pretty too, but again it might be too dark... Thanks for the suggestions.

I like Pottery Barn Hawthorne Yellow, but even this might be too dark..

You are so right that a tiny swatch looks different than a whole wall/room.. Guess that is why is it so hard sometimes to get just that right color...

[DancingAlone]

hi radio flyer,
i live in a house that originally had very dark paneling. it was so depressing! and there is a basement here too. it can get really dark and gloomy down there unless there is enough lighting (and there isn't).

my mom had the upstairs paneling all painted different pastels and it is much better! i would love to paint the basement, it's set up with a bed, dresser etc. and would be nice painted a soft very pale green that would allow more light in it, or any light pastel.

good luck with your choice!

[radio_flyer]

DancingAlone............ I painted the kitchen pearl gray and the family room a pastel green. Both of the colors were suggested by Behr for low light rooms.........

Well let me tell you... the pastel green brightens up the room big time... Enough that I am looking for the dimmers. An going to have to find a way to use a contrasting color to break some of the glare... I am shocked with how bright the room is now. You would never even think there were NO windows ...or rather, those tiny windows I call peep holes...

I should soon be finished painting the basement... yipeeee doo dah

[DancingAlone]

lol radio_flyer, that's what happened here too. it went from ooooo too dark, to whoa! where's my sunglasses!!! but i love it anyways. the other rooms are pale blue and off white, with pretty wallpaper in the bathroom. i don't have many windows so it's ok. but took a bit to get used to!!! hope you found a nice color you like for the basement!

[kitty004567]

radio_flyer, did you find a color?

[radio_flyer]

DancingAlone and kitty... yup I found a color.. I painted the kitchen pearl gray which is different but matches the gray in the tile on the floor. I like it...

Family Room I picked pastel green which is super bright. Doesn't matter if I have windows now or not.. The green is a very pretty light green. When I finish all the painting I will take a pic and post it.. I am exhausted .. ........have the finishing t ouches in the kitchen and family room to do.. then the long hallway I have to paint. I might wait till after Thanksgiving to paint the hallway . I am just way too tired and grouchy . And I have to get up early Saturday because the guy is coming to install the microwave, bathroom fan, and a light in my bedroom... ugh... I am not a morning person. This will be interesting.. Must try to be nice ..