Last week we talked about Snowberry’s exterior design and paint colors.
Which brings us to the interior color scheme.
A word about home style and cohesion. For me, the exterior and interior of a house should bear some resemblance to one another. What I mean by that is the exterior theme and interior style should flow; should be cohesive … what you see on the exterior should offer some indication of what you’ll find inside.
Snowberry is a 1950’s ranch style house with a little bit of Cape Cod flair. The cedar shake exterior is traditional in style therefore the interior is as well. For those who think tradition = boring. I beg to differ. We’re not talking Grandma’s house here. Snowberry is what I like to call modern cottage or modern traditional. Traditional, but with a modern twist.
Exterior and interior cohesion is a real bee in my bonnet and probably worthy of its own blog post, so … stay tuned.
Ok, with that said, let’s get to the paint colors.
As you come through Snowberry’s front door and enter the small foyer, the library is visible straight ahead. Also from the foyer you get a glimpse into the kitchen on the right and the center hallway on the left.
With that in mind, these rooms, as well as the molding/trim color for the entire house, are first up for paint color selection.
I knew I wanted a blue front door and sage kitchen cabinets. You can read all about Snowberry’s inspiration here. Searching Pinterest and Instagram I was able to determine the paint colors of many of my inspiration rooms, but how would they work together? How to create a cohesive whole house paint color plan?
Good questions … to which there are many answers. I called for help.
Having already chosen Farrow & Ball Oval Room Blue for the front door, I searched their website for complimentary colors and noticed they offered Color Consultations. Their website says a consultancy will create a ‘curated color palette for your home.’ Farrow & Ball has a reputation for being pricey, but I was curious – and overwhelmed by so many color options and ideas – so I inquired about a consultation.
Turns out an in-home color consultation is $250 which is credited back toward the future purchase of paint. The fee includes an in-home visit, followed up with a detailed Color Specification sheet (paint schedule). This includes your recommend paint colors, a large swatch of each color and the appropriate finish recommendations for each application.
I decided to invest in a consultation. After emailing back and forth, color expert Jet Marie Patterson arrived at Snowberry. We walked the house, in its demolished state, looked through my inspiration binder and discussed my vision for the look and feel of the finished house.
Snowberry’s Color Palette
Jet agreed that Oval Room Blue was an ideal color for the front door.
She loved the idea of sage kitchen cabinetry and recommended Farrow & Ball’s Vert de Terre. Oh my gosh, Vert de Terre and Oval Room Blue work so beautifully together … which led to Jet’s next suggestion for the library.
The library renovation plan called for floor to ceiling cabinetry, bookshelves and millwork. No visible drywall. The room has very little natural light and I initially thought it should be painted white. But, with the kitchen, dining and great rooms paneled in white beadboard, a white library seemed a bit too much. I love the look richly painted library room and had saved many inspiration ideas in rich blue and green hues.
Jet took one look at my inspiration photos and suggested Oval Room Blue for the library as well. Opening the Oval Room Blue front door and looking directly into the Oval Room Blue library with a glimpse of Vert de Terre in the kitchen to the right created a beautiful vision. I was sold.
Next up, the foyer, hallway and millwork throughout the kitchen, dining and great room spaces.
The lower walls in the foyer and hallway received a beautiful wainscot treatment. The upper walls – between the wainscot and crown – are drywalled in a smooth finish. These spaces don’t have great natural light and the hallway is narrow. I wanted them to feel light and airy and create the illusion of spaciousness. Jet suggested Slipper Satin for the upper walls and Wimborne White for the wainscot and trim. Wimborne White was also designated for the moldings and trim throughout the house.
Kitchen / Dining / Great Room
Snowberry’s kitchen, dining room and great room run together … not in an open-concept sort of way … more like connecting train cars. You can see the before and after floor plans here. Therefore, the beadboard treatment I planned for the great room walls was also needed in the dining room and kitchen. This is the type of mission creep situation everyone warns you about pre-renovation. Wimborne White, already determined for the trim, would be used for the walls and ceilings throughout these three spaces.
The final paint color decision – for the living-space side of the house – was the great room beverage bar cabinetry. I had my heart set on a wood countertop for the bar. I pictured it in a dark walnut. My husband, Jim, wasn’t on board and considered the bar his domain and not open for discussion. This is a battle discussion we had about our last two houses and in both cases I lost. He must have grown tired of revisiting the issue and he gave in agreed it was the way to go at Snowberry. Once again mission creep reared its ugly head and walnut countertops were installed on the beverage bar AND the kitchen buffet and laundry closet counters as well.
Back to the beverage bar cabinet color. I considered using the kitchen cabinet color, Vert de Terre. But felt that the bar should differentiate itself from the kitchen and deserved its own color. Jet suggested Green Smoke … a hunter greenish color … which pairs beautifully with the walnut.
And, there you have it.
I’m a quick decision maker. I either love it or I don’t.
In about an hour our whole house color scheme was decided.
A few days later I received an email from Jet with the paint schedule attached. A few days after that a fancy envelope arrived via snail mail containing the paint schedule in hard copy, large paint swatches, a gift card. Let me tell you, it was beautifully packaged and presented … the paint schedule printed on super high-end paper stock, the paint swatches tied with a pretty bow … I mean, ooh la la … nicely done.
Important Mentions
When it was time to paint – months later – I felt the Wimborne white wasn’t quite right for the wainscot, trim and moldings. I switched it out for Benjamin Moore White Opulence, a brighter white that worked well with the Farrow & Ball colors and was more in keeping with the light and airy space I envisioned.
BM White Opulence
Full Disclosure – we did not buy our paint from Farrow & Ball. The cost was substantially higher – I mean SUBSTANTIALLY – than our painting contractors preferred Benjamin Moore Aura paint. I can’t speak on the difference in Farrow & Ball’s product that justifies its cost. When I saw their quote and compared it to the Benjamin Moore quote no further discussion was required.
Most paint brands offer some form of in-store color consultation as well as online tools. Of course, in-store assistance is always available at no cost – including at Farrow & Ball locations. Our closest Benjamin Moore store has local interior designers on-site certain hours each week. The designers will also come to your home for a consultation and, like Farrow & Ball, charge a fee for this service.
Let’s review the paint choices:
- Front door – Farrow & Ball Oval Room Blue No.85
- Foyer & Hallway upper walls – Farrow & Ball Slipper Satin No.2004
- Foyer & Hallway lower wall millwork – Benjamin Moore White Opulence OC-69
- Library – Farrow & Ball Oval Room Blue No.85
- Kitchen cabinetry – Farrow & Ball Vert de Terre No.234
- Kitchen, Dining & Great Room beadboard walls – Benjamin Moore White Opulence Oc-69
- Beverage Bar cabinetry – Farrow & Ball Green Smoke No.47
- Wainscot, molding, trim and ceilings – Benjamin Moore White Opulence OC-69
Paint finishes – Walls & Ceilings (drywall) = flat finish. Moldings & trim = satin finish. Our cabinetry was painted by our cabinet maker in his shop.
Bottom line … was the color consultation worth the money? (Remember, we did not buy our paint from Farrow & Ball so the $250 fee was money out of pocket.)
The answer is … YES!
Yes, it was absolutely worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Next time we’ll pick up where we left off and talk through the paint colors in Snowberry’s bedrooms and bathrooms. Who knew Snowberry’s color scheme would require three full blog posts? Maybe I’m long-winded.
Also, next week I’ll be offering a free printable of Snowberry’s entire color scheme – The Paint Colors of Snowberry!
As always, I appreciate your visit and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
I can’t pick my favorite, front door color or library color. Every dang color is so beautiful !!
Thanks, Sam … xoxoxo
I agree with Samantha–they’re all stunning! I always have such a tough time choosing paint. You make it look easy. XO
Thanks, Susan … the secret is don’t overthink … go with your gut. And, then cross your fingers and toes and hope it works out. 😉 xo
” For me, the exterior and interior of a house should bear some resemblance to one another. What I mean by that is the exterior theme and interior style should flow; should be cohesive … what you see on the exterior should offer some indication of what you’ll find inside.”
I LOVED THIS!YOU KNOW WHY ………I HOPE!
I have heard for years…….WOW,I would never have imagined what was inside by THE OUTSIDE of your home!
A TRUELY informative POST!The end was a SHOCKER!!!
TELL ME WAS JET A MAN OR A WOMAN?Must be a story behind the NAME!Did you INQUIRE?
XX
Contessa … I think the outside of your house is very in keeping with the inside. Perhaps not at first glance, but when you look closely there are many many clues. It just takes a keen eye! Jet is a woman … and no, I’m ashamed to tell you, I did not inquire. Only the Contessa could get away with that and probably elicit a fascinating story. Poor Jet, though … no big paint sale. xo
Hi Juliet,
Lovely color choices, and I enjoyed reading about your process. So streamlined and efficient! Gosh your home is really pretty and I love all the mill work.
My color choice process was more: paint every wall with a swatch of each color, and sit and watch the light change before making a decision. I finally learned to paint small pieces of white board instead of the wall, so I ended up with so many small pots of paint! So Many!!
But I’ve been really happy with my color choices, too! I would never decide until I saw the colors in the rooms though, I admire your ability to make those choices so quickly and without doubts.
I agree that the inside and outside should flow together in someway to create a cohesive environment. And, sometimes it is fun to be completely surprised by the unexpected interior of a house!
Xo Heidi
Heidi – I’ve done my fair share of ordering paint sample and painting large boards to pin around the room at various times of day. And, my fair share of runs to the toxic waste dump to dispose of all the samples. Remember when Benjamin Moore sold tiny jars of their most popular paints? Just enough to paint a board. Not sure why they stopped doing that but those were the days! A decorator recently taught me that you can call Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, etc. and ask for a ‘brush out’ … which is basically them making your paint board for you. It takes a day or so, but its very convenient and no little paint cans to gather dust in your garage. xo
I love all of the colors you picked! Just gorgeous!
Thank you! I’m so happy that you like them … our kitchen in particular seemed like a bold choice. Our cabinet maker did NOT like the color and was not shy about telling me so! xo
I love your choice! And as long you are happy, that’s what matters most. My lower cabinets are blue, so maybe I’m biased 🙂
Love your interior choices- and love those library built-ins!
That’s so sweet of you to say. The library is truly a dream come true! xo
Beautiful colors!!
Thank you, Sharon! xo
juliet I love it. But I got stuck on the first shot with the dutch door. now I need to paint my exterior to add a fun color to our kitchen dutch door, right? laura in Colorado
Hi Laura in Colorado! I’m late to the Dutch door party … looks like you’ve been doing things the right way! xo
Your home is beautiful!! I am crushing on your kitchen cabinets!!
Jennifer, you are too sweet! The kitchen cabinet color caused a lot of grief … not everyone saw where I was going with it. But in the end I think I won most of them over. The importance ones anyway! 🙂 xo
What gorgeous colours. I love the built ins and the front door.
Thank you, Carol. Built-ins really are a great investment. Is it possible to have too much storage?!!! xo
I do love that green!
Thank you! I was really nervous about it but I love it too! xo
I’m loving all of the colors you have chosen!
Thanks, Linda. With a color expert guiding me how could I go wrong?! 🙂 xo
Juliet this was really cool reading about the consultant and what a nice experience. I might have done that had I known about it! I don’t know if you follow Dani BP’s blog, Mop Philosopher, but she has done her new house in Farrow & Ball too. I am a bit confused, you said you did not use their paint? You used Benjamin Moore, but show their F&B colors as what is on your pretty cabinetry. So did you have BM make copies of the F&B colors? I feel like I missed something. Everything looks gorgeous together! I love how you walk into the house and see the library…and the colors kind of take you through to each space! Beautiful!
Hi Kim, sorry … yes, Benjamin Moore mixed (matched) the Farrow & Ball colors. Truly any paint store can match any color. Farrow & Ball’s paint costs were over 3x the cost of the Benjamin Moore Aura paint … and even the BM was a huge chunk of change. I assumed our contractor would get a discount that would make the Farrow & Ball paint more within our budget, but sadly that was not the case. However, the investment in the consultation more than paid for itself. And, Jet was extremely gracious. I don’t know about Dani’s blog but will check it out right now! xo
I love the choices you made in your kitchen and library. Beautiful. Jet was a great investment.
She sure was! I felt bad telling her we weren’t going to buy the paint from Farrow & Ball, but even our contractor could not get a discount that brought the quotes in anything but distant range. But she was very nice about it and ask me to send her pics of finished rooms anyway! Love that about her.
Your home is just beautiful, and I love the colors you chose!
Thank you and thank you!!! I’m so glad you like the colors … making these choices is tough and it’s so gratifying when others like them too! xo
Picking paint colors is so difficult. You picked amazingly beautiful colors for your home.
Paula – thank you! Can I tell you how relieved I am to be beyond the decision-making phase. So much pressure … I say that in jest because while it does feel difficult to these decisions, when I think of all the seriously difficult things we do in our lives … this one should be a breeze. Ha! xo
Can I tell you how in awe of you I am? Your paint colors. Your photography.
All are stunning!
Happy day friend!
KariAnne
KariAnne! I just did a backflip and I don’t even know how to do a backflip! KariAnne … visiting the blog … oh, my … happy day! Thank you for the compliments … I can take credit for the paint colors, but my photograph are taken by the wonderful Monica Vargas Photography! Isn’t she talented?! I’m having a Happy Day now! xo
Juliet, I adore your home and posts. I’m subscribing to get all of your updates! I never thought about getting a color session at home as I’m a little bit of a control freak, yet this post has me thinking! Great color selections. I too normally go with Benjamin Moore, btw.
Thanks so much, Ali! I subscribed to your blog too! xo
I am in love with your cottage! It is fabulous! And what a wonderful story, I had no idea about the paint consultations. I HATE picking paint colors so I may have to try this out.
You are so sweet! I’m with you … picking paint colors is the worst. And, if this really is our forever house I’m never going to do it again. Ha! xo
What a wealth of information – and a great resource! Thanks, Juliet!
Thanks, Michelle, I really appreciate it! xo
Great color choices again!! I wish we had a place to get F & B near me!
I think they’ll send them to you the samples by mail … and they’re doing virtual consultations! xo