Hues you can use: Paint advice from a style expert
Style expert and Washington Post design columnist Elizabeth Mayhew recently answered reader questions about paint selections.
Q I need to repaint my front door. It’s been painted a flat black to match the rest of the trim on the house, but it gets really scratched up. Is there a solution that doesn’t involve me repainting the house trim?
A Would you consider going shiny with your front door? Think of doors you see in Paris and London. The paint, if applied appropriately, will not scratch, and it will be super chic.
Q I live in a 15-year-old house, and at the time we built it, offwhite trim was lovely. Now, it seems dated. How do I marry today’s colour schemes with ivory Duron paint? I can’t repaint all of this trim, bead board, etc. I’d love to paint the walls Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter and also want to paint the maple/caramel kitchen cabinets, but I am stuck.
A I hear you, and I, too, am a Revere Pewter fan. I think you will be fine if you spruce up the walls in more up-to-date hues (like greys). Also, there is no rule against marrying white with ivory — the two colours look beautiful together. In my own bathroom I have ivory-ish tiles, so to give them a lift, I painted the walls in alternating horizontal stripes of ivory and white; it looks chic and modern.
Q On Pinterest, I’m seeing highgloss white paint for ceilings. I love it, but my painter says no. I suspect he doesn’t want to do it because it requires an imperfection-free surface. Thoughts?
A I agree with your painter. Your ceilings need to be in pristine condition for a high-gloss paint. The same would be true of your walls if you wanted them to have a lacquered finish. The problem with high-gloss paint is that it shows all imperfections. If you have crown moulding, you can paint it a glossy white. That will at least give a pop to your ceiling.
Q We are looking to paint our gender-neutral nursery, which will be furnished with white furniture. The nursery doesn’t get a ton of natural light, so we wanted to pick a warm and light colour. Our son’s room is green, so we were thinking a shade of yellow for the new baby. Any suggestions for a warm yellow that’s not overpowering ?
A I would steer you away from yellow. It’s not that I don’t like it, but unless it’s a sunny saturated tone, people don’t look good in it. How about a really pretty shade of light blue? My favourite is Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light. It looks amazing with any colour — lavender, red, navy and yellow, too. You don’t need to spring for F&B; you can have it colour-matched at just about any paint store.