When the time came to begin preparing to move, there were "adjustments" of course, that needed to be made to the home prior to moving in, the first of which and possibly the most important is the choice of paint color. I can appreciate rich, vibrant paint colors however, I prefer a more neutral palette for the home, I gravitate toward greys, beiges and soft browns for my home. As far as my style of decorating I would describe myself as modern contemporary with a touch of "traditional-ism", hmmmm...
I begin most projects with a lot of research so "project paint" was no different. I consulted many design blogs for ideas, poured through many West Elm and Pottery Barn catalogs for decor and color inspiration, numerous home design catalogs again, gaining more inspiration, ideas, etc. I finally settled on the very sophisticated and chic (at least in my mind) gray for my home after a couple weeks of research. Not just a one gray, but I thought multiple hues of gray--soft, mid, to deep tones of gray was the focal color.
The picks:
The inspiration for my foyer, family room and master bedroom color came from the photo below, seen in Elle Decor. The wall color is Benjamin Moore's Sea Haze. A very soft gray, I felt this gray was definitely more gray/silver than blue which was key.
The master bedroom will be finished with dark wood furniture, pure white bedding with pops of yellow and darker gray accents. The family room will have a taupe/earth toned sofa and love seat, dark coffee table and accent tables. There is a wall of windows, not shown in the photo, for which I have not settled on the color or type of panels I will hang there. I am teetering between tonal drapes to match the walls or perhaps taupe/linen color panels, I think I will make my decision after all the furniture is moved into that room.
The Inspiration - Benjamin Moore's Sea Haze
The dining room and living room will be painted Benjamin Moore's Amherst Gray. A deep-toned, sophisticated gray I thought worked really well with our dark wood dining table and chairs. The trim will remain bright white, I like the contrast of the white wainscoting with the charcoal gray. I'm not sure who to credit with the inspiration photo of the dining room below, but I chose that pic, not so much for the decor (although I think the decorator did a fabulous job!), but for the representation of the Amherst Gray color shown. The walls are Amherst Gray and my dining room has the same wainscoting detail and trim, my dining table and chairs are a bit larger and more traditional in a darker cherry wood finish, however I felt this pic was an excellent representation of how my dining room might look.
The Inspiration - Benjamin Moore's Amherst Gray
For our offices I chose Benjamin Moore's Pewter, a mid-tone shade of gray. I didn't load before pictures of the offices as the before pics will simply show 4 walls of blah beige color. My husband works from home and we have very distinct style tastes, so it was definitely necessary that we each have our own office space in the house. Both spaces will be painted the BM Pewter, my office will include pops of pink and black and white for contrast. I'm dying to include a cozy furry white rug and crystal chandelier to really glamourize my space! The accents for my husband's office, also painted Pewter, are TBD. I'm trying to figure out how to make his whiteboard which he insists we hang on the wall, more attractive. Suggestions are welcome! Note: The BM Pewter I am describing is BM# 2121-30, Pewter. I specify the chip number because there is a color made by BM called Revere Pewter, which after some research I noticed that people tend to use the names of these two colors interchangeably but that is incorrect, both colors are nice, but they are very different colors.
For guest room #1, I chose BM's Oat Straw, a cheery but neutral beige/brown that worked well with the grays. I just thought I wanted something a bit brighter for the guest room and bath. The room will be finished with a dark cherry wood sleigh bed fitted with West Elm's pin-tuck duvet in Sea Spray, additional accents TBD. The bath, painted in oat straw as well, features warm honey oak cabinetry. 
The bath will include very "natural", spa-like accents--lots of glass containers, sponges, white and beige towels, etc. I chose the inspiration pic below, again not so much for the decor but for the color shown, Oat Straw is the color of choice for this decorator as well. Very neutral, yet not at all boring, but warm and inviting. Thanks to Yojmac for the great picture! I included a swatch photo of the oat straw color as well below.
The bath will include very "natural", spa-like accents--lots of glass containers, sponges, white and beige towels, etc. I chose the inspiration pic below, again not so much for the decor but for the color shown, Oat Straw is the color of choice for this decorator as well. Very neutral, yet not at all boring, but warm and inviting. Thanks to Yojmac for the great picture! I included a swatch photo of the oat straw color as well below.
Colors for guest room #2 and guest bath #2 is still TBD at the time of this posting. I'm leaning toward Oat Straw for that bedroom as well, but not 100%, that particular bathroom won't get a lot of natural light so keeping that in mind as I continue to search for the perfect color.
There are no after pictures posted yet, as the house painting is in the works at the time of this post. In the meantime any feedback, tips, suggestions or plain ole' commentary on the paint choices or decorating thoughts please share!
A couple before pics are below, stay tuned for the "after" photos...
Foyer before - basic blah builder's beige
Family Room before - same blah beige...
Dining Room before
