Hey Laura! Volume III
In this edition of Hey Laura! I answer questions about how to offset warm wood tones, finding a trim & cabinet color to work with Pearly White walls, pairing Worldly Gray with Functional Gray,Eider White having a rose colored undertone and using Intricate Ivory in a dark space.
I am excited to bring you my answers to some of your comments found around Rugh Design! Please visit any of my Blog posts or color schemes pages from the Color Wheel and leave a comment to have chance to be featured in future Hey Laura! posts.
If you can’t find the answer you are looking for I would love to be your Color Consultant! You can hire me for an Interior or Exterior Color Consultation as well as for an eDesign. Or if you don’t have a need for a full blown consultation but would still like some help check out my Color Question Consultation.
Let’s get started!
Help me with these warm wood tones!
Hey Laura!
Love your site, I’m learning so much! We just bought a house in Alaska with a cabin feel. The kitchen, dining, and living rooms are a big open floor plan. I’m struggling with all the WOOD! The knotty pine ceiling, red oak dining room floors, light wood kitchen cabinets. The walls are currently like a warm red/orange color so it’s VERY warm on the whole level. We want to repaint the entire room(s) a cooler neutral color. Love grays, but the seller just put gray carpet in living room plus we have dark gray couches.
Would Snowbound brighten up the rooms and offset the warm wood? We don’t get much light in the winter so, looking for something to be bright year round! Thanks so much for any tips you can give.
– Alissa
Hi Alissa,
I’m so glad that you love the Rugh Design site! It’s my passion to be able to help others find the right colors for their spaces. 🙂
I totally understand wanting to tone down some of the wood tones in your home while adding some brightness. I think you are so wise in realizing this! I would look for a soft greige that has a slight cool undertone to brighten up the space. The cooler undertone will help to tone down the warmer wood, while still complimenting it.
Snowbound is a slight off-white that has a bit of a cooler undertone so you are on the right page, however, I would look for a color with a bit more saturation than Snowbound to show more of the cool undertone that will help to offset the warm woods.
Keep me posted on what you decide or let me know if you need further help!
Laura
Trim and Cabinet color for Pearly White Walls
Hey Laura!
Your website is sooo helpful! I have gutted and am currently remodeling my entire house. Can I use Alabaster for my trim and cabinets with Pearly White for my walls? Do these two colors work together? Should the ceiling be Ceiling Bright White or same color as the trim?
Thank you,
– Teri
Hi Teri,
Thank you so much! I’m honored that Rugh Design has been so helpful to you.
To answer your question, I might consider going a bit more white for your trim and ceilings to create a bit more contrast with Pearly White walls (which I love!). The inspiration pictures that I have seen with Pearly White walls all have bright white ceilings and trim that really help to pop against the Pearly White walls. Pearly White and Alabaster are both greige off-whites, with Alabaster being a bit warmer than Pearly White. In order to really showcase Pearly White, a brighter white would be my first choice.
I hope the renovation goes well and would love to hear what you end up deciding! If you need more help check out my Interior Color Consultation Trim & Cabinet Package.
Laura
Pairing Worldly Gray with Functional Gray
Hey Laura!
My entire house is painted in Worldly Gray and I’m looking to bring some depth to the combined living/dining room and my master bedroom. I’m not as keen on the colors further down the paint strip from Worldly Gray as they seem a bit brown/green to me (which admittedly is a struggle I have at times with Worldly Gray but I don’t want to repaint the entire house). I’m considering Functional Gray, it seems to still have some warm undertones.
Do you think this would coordinate well?
Thanks!
– Julie
Hi Julie,
Thank you for reaching out! This is a great question. Undertones can be so tricky!
Functional Gray is an option for a more saturated color to pair with Worldly Gray. I categorize Functional Gray as a greige because it is a gray, but still has some warmer tones to it. It is similar to Intellectual Gray, but has a teeny, tiny hint of violet that makes it a bit cooler.
Worldly Gray SW 7043 with Functional Gray SW 7024
That being said, I would test it out to be sure that the mauve/violet tones don’t come out too strong in your lighting. Keep me posted and let me know how the sample turns out!
Laura
Eider White has a Rose undertone!?!?
Hey Laura!
We just painted our new home and used Eider White in a few rooms. It reads a Rose undertone color!!! Why?
– Todd
Hi Todd,
Thanks for reaching out! Great question. Eider White is a greige off-white that is one shade lighter than Agreeable Gray. There is a bit of warmth to Eider White, but it sounds like your lighting is causing it to look more rosy than is intended. Light coming from the west can cast a reddish tint on paint colors.
Try changing out your lights to a cooler temperature to see if that helps any! I know re-painting is a pain, but if you can’t get it to look right, then consider a color that is cooler to contrast and tone done the warm lighting in your home.
Keep me posted on what you decide!
Laura
Intricate Ivory in a dark space
Hey Laura!
I have a dark house without a lot of natural light currently painted a very deep mustard gold. Scary! Thankfully, there is a lot of wood work and white cabinetry and I’ve done white sofas with light area rugs, as the floor is a darker wood.
I wonder if Intricate Ivory has enough depth to not go dirty looking due to the lack of light? It seems to contrast enough with the white woodwork. Any thoughts would be helpful! P.S. we don’t like gray, and are glad to see it wanning in popularity!.
Thanks,
– Nancy
Hi Nancy,
I do think that Intricate Ivory has enough depth, but it can honestly have a slight peachy undertone. I would look at a few other creamier paint color options that have a bit more of a yellow undertone, but won’t look “dirty” at all next to your woodwork. Test out some other creams to see how they look in your lighting. You are on the right track with white rugs and accessories to lighten your space up!
Keep me posted on your progress.
Laura
Hey Laura!
I have the same exact situation as Nancy and about a million color samples hung on my walls!
I have reddish/oak trim around my windows, lots of light from the east and south, but I’m afraid Intricate Ivory may have too much of a pink undertone to it.
– Gail
Hi Gail,
I agree. Intricate Ivory can actually have a peachy undertone that won’t look as good with your reddish oak trim. I would look for a cream color with more of taupe undertone or to tone down the reddish wood, I love a soft blue-gray. It will compliment the trim while also toning down some of the warm.
Let me know what you decide!
Laura
Leave more Comments!
I hope to continue to post answers to questions on a regular basis. So feel free to leave your comments! Each color scheme page and each blog post has a dedicated place to leave comments.
If you are in need of color help I would love to be your Color Consultant! You can hire me for an Interior or Exterior Color Consultation as well as for an eDesign. Or if you don’t have a need for a full blown consultation but would still like some help check out my Color Question Consultation.
Follow me on social media for more color ideas and inspiration!
– Laura
Thank you sooo much for your advice!!! I’m impressed I was almost on the right track ;). Since posting my comment we’ve decided to paint the wood cabinets white, so that will help tone things down. The whole living room – dining – kitchen is a big open floor plan so that’s why I’m stuck on which wall color will work for all the different exposures while toning down the red/orange knotty pine ceiling. In response to your suggestion, I was going to do alabaster now instead of snowbound but that’s too white probably?… what about agreeable gray?! It’s a warm greige like you said but the undertones are brown I believe.. would that work? I worry repose gray is too cold and agreeable greige is too warm? Kitchen cabinets we were going to do pure white with gray tile floors but it’s north facing with windows and a West exposure window as well. Would alabaster cabinets be better? So many choices! Thanks for any help you can give me! We buy paint this weekend so I’m rushing!
Hi Alissa!
It sounds like you are in need of more than I can offer by responding to your comment. Please check out my Interior Color Consultation packages in my shop.
I would love to be your color consultant!