The house where I work was built in the 1850’s and was known variously as Tivoli and Marble Hall. The center hall has a black and white diamond patterned marble floor, the original white wainscoting and rather hideous beige walls.
We received a grant to do some restoration work on the hall, which will include painting the walls. My job is to pick out the colour to use. Since the hall is north-facing, we want something that’s not too dark, and since the house is listed on the National Register, we want to do something that works with the building.
I have some paint samples that I am putting onto pieces of tagboard so we can hang them and see how the colours react to the light during the day. One of the colours that I really like and that I think might go well with the black and white marble, and the white wainscoting is Silver Sage, Restoration Hardware’s best-selling colour. 
I am also thinking of a very pale pink or purple. Any suggestions?
LOVE this color. I was just looking through the Benjamin Moore historic colors today, and thought that both castleton mist and beacon hill damask were very interesting (HC-1 and HC-2.) I like your lavendar idea as well.With the black and white floor, you almost cannot go wrong no matter what you choose!.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved that color. I was actually just at RH tonight and thought to myself how much I still like that color! good luck!
ReplyDeleteJoni
Hi Meg,
ReplyDeleteWow, you work in a stunning building! I love Silver Sgae - it is a real classic and would be quiet enough and historical enough to suit while still being warm and noticeable. I think green is a very timeless choice as it doesn't seem to date. There are also some nice Benjamin Moore historical colours, but I don't have my fan deck. Did you consider the Pratt & Lambert historical (Williamsburg) colours? I have never seen them myself.
Lovely choice - don't overthink it as long as it looks good in your light! I started to use it in our master bath and the colour just dies in the low-light space!
xo Terri
Love the Silver Sage...have that on the list for our bedroom. PLEASE avoid the pale pink. Pale Pink with a B&W pattern floor reminds me of a public restroom in a government building or hospital.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be the devil's advocate here and say: red! I know, I know. But with the light and the floor and understanding that colonial colors were brighter than we previously believed...red!
ReplyDeleteSomeone just e-mailed me with the idea of persimmon, which sounds lovely. I am not sure that the CEO will go for that, or HBD's suggestion of red.
ReplyDeleteOur corporate colours are an orange and brown, which sound hideous, but aren't.
Click here to see the colours on our website.
I love the RH colors but they may be a bit...residential and sedate for the location? I love the suggestion of a very pale pink like you said -an almost white - or a very sophisticated dove gray. Those may be a bit more 'boring' than you were looking for though.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of using something like Farrow and Ball's Fowler Pink. Warm, complex, welcoming, and still very elegant.
ReplyDeleteThe silver sage is soothing, may be chilly in the winter light though. Persimmon is intriguing. Have you looked at Farrow and Ball's colours?
ReplyDeleteI envy you and almost don't envy you having this responsibilty! I perhaps think this maybe a little chilly in a north light but it's gorgeous in itself.
ReplyDeleteI can picture a grayed down periwinkle, not too bright. Ask Maria at Color Me Happy for her thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI love Farrow and Ball and the warmth that they offer- a white with a bit of a buttercream to it would look sharp with the the black and white floors.
ReplyDeleteEven mustard like tones?
I have used Silver Sage at least 5 times and have always loved like you said it looks greenish in some lights and grey like in others.
I am also a fan of: C2-478 (Dorian Gray- Ben Moore- and I love the name too!)
* For once I'm shutting my mouth~ (Am HOPING to get assistance from you, & all the responses here, for MY "problem")!!!
ReplyDelete~~~I've been TRYING to find "t*h*e" right color for our MBR for ages now... can't seem to get it right!!! (And it could have been painted three times by now for all I've spent trying to FIND "t*h*e" right color!)...
Oh, well... guess "that's the way the paint chip crumbles!!!"...
GOOF LUCK!!! Can't wait to hear what you decide upon (altho I DO like GRANT'S suggestion in his first sentence!)..
Warmest wishes,
Linda in AZ *
Paint colors fascinate me. I could spend loads of time flipping through fan decks. I like two of the suggestions most: off-white with buttercream or persimmon. Or, maybe I'm just kind of hungry right now. They both sound tasty.
ReplyDeleteI guess I wonder how that color is historic to 1850's? I tend to think of the 1850's as stronger colors, based on the new chemical processes that were available. Bright green, bright yellow, and the darker wallpapers that you want to avoid. A melon might work with your corporate colors and not be dark. Thinking of a David Hick hallway I once saw. Aesthetically, I love the idea of a cool gray mentioned earlier, but also tend to think of that as art deco-ish. It sounds like a mission clarification is in order; light sunny hallway trade off with historic accuracy. PS I LOVE your current header.
ReplyDeletethis is a lovely home - would love to walk through it
ReplyDeleteFarrow & Ball's Ciara Yellow.
ReplyDeleteI think the silver sage is lovely. You might check out the colors Martha Stewart used in her Maine home. I believe she had soft grays-but I could be remembering one of her other homes. Anyway, her Maine house might be a good source to check out. She just showed this home on her show so maybe her web site has information.
ReplyDeletesilver fox by Ben Moore is on the ceiling of our dining room. I get so many compliments on it. Looks great in the sunlight and luminous by chandelier or candlelight. Silver Sage is always a safe bet as well!
ReplyDelete