Choosing Paint Colors

 For a couple of years now I've known that our golden walls are not long for this world.  But in my world, "not long for this world" means...I'll paint them within the next five years.  

This year I decided to start taking seriously the search for a new wall color for our main room.  This room includes the living area, dining area, kitchen, stairwell, and hallway.  We live in a very small, open concept home, so all these areas will have the same paint color.  Back in 2005, I painted them (for the first time-they'd never been painted before!) Benjamin Moore's "Golden Straw." It worked well for us for a while; we had a blue sofa in those days and white carpet (!).  But times change. 

You can see the Golden Straw here......(and the fabric strip is a sample of my curtain fabric. I adore my curtains!).

At first I thought I was going for a cream, but I didn't want anything too yellow or peach. 

I spent much of the summer sending paint chip pictures to my cousin, who likes color and interior decor and shares my slightly-obsessive personality.  I'm grateful for her!

I began to realize I really think I need a warm gray, not a cream. Not too cool.  Not too deep.

I made lots of notes on different colors. 

I acquired so many paint chips!

I ordered two different orders from Samplize (I highly recommend them!). None of the six colors I chose from Samplize ended up being the right one.  I had more honing to do....

An interior design friend sent a few 8x8 panels.  I mounted them on posterboard, along with more paint chips. (Ignore the blue; my front door is Yarmouth Blue which is much, much lighter than it looks in this photo!)

And now, at long last, I may have decided on a paint to try--that means, for me, buy a sample pot!  

 I tend to be quite deliberate in making these types of decisions; I'd rather take my time and really think it through and make the right choice than start to paint too soon and then regret my decision.  

I am not in a big rush, although painting sooner would be so nice; homeschooling is very demanding for me this year, and I doubt I'll be able to take the time to paint until next summer.  But I might surprise myself. Until then......

I continue to hone in on the perfect warm, light grey that will play nicely with my curtains, my china cabinet, the piano, and the enormous brown leather sofa that my husband loves--and I think I'm almost there.

Tell me I'm not the only one who does it like this......