paint dilemna

I'm always so indecisive. I want to paint the walls in my apartment but I can't seem to decide on a color.

Ok, I know I want green. And I'm pretty much down to two shades, but I can't pick.
You can see them there: http://www.sico.ca/En/Couleur_Interi...rt_Palette.asp
I am hesitating between "Lemon Thyme" and "Greyish Sage". They are from the same swatch, but "Greyish Sage" is lighter.

With "Greyish Sage", I'm worried it would be too close to hospital green. And with "Lemon Thyme", I'm worried it would look too dark and make my place feel small.

That color will be in my kitchen, living room, office and stairway. These are all actually the same room so I have to paint them the same color. It's a pretty bright room (window on one side, and patio door on the other).

I can't decide! help!

Originally Posted by marie-p

I'm always so indecisive. I want to paint the walls in my apartment but I can't seem to decide on a color.

Ok, I know I want green. And I'm pretty much down to two shades, but I can't pick.
You can see them there: http://www.sico.ca/En/Couleur_Interi...rt_Palette.asp
I am hesitating between "Lemon Thyme" and "Greyish Sage". They are from the same swatch, but "Greyish Sage" is lighter.

With "Greyish Sage", I'm worried it would be too close to hospital green. And with "Lemon Thyme", I'm worried it would look too dark and make my place feel small.

That color will be in my kitchen, living room, office and stairway. These are all actually the same room so I have to paint them the same color. It's a pretty bright room (window on one side, and patio door on the other).

I can't decide! help!

Click to expand...

Don't forget that you don't always have to choose just 1 color for a room. You can have every wall a different color if you want.

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

Don't forget that you don't always have to choose just 1 color for a room. You can have every wall a different color if you want.

Click to expand...

I thought about that, but I think it would make the room feel smaller.
Plus, I'm having so much trouble choosing one color, imagine if I had to pick 2-3

I LOVE the Lemon Thyme color!! The other one just isn't vibrant enough -it's a bit dull. I would go with something that has a bit more character to it like the lemon thyme. Don't worry about a bright color making your room feel small hon- i just redid our guest bathroom- it was a hideous aqua green color before (the previous owners pained over an emerald green and didn't use a grey base so it bled through -it was horrible) We painted ours "spiced pepper"- a gorgeous shade of red- and it looks incredable! It didn't make the room feel smaller at all- it looks great!

Be sure that you use a Grey base coat/primer!

Ok, personally I wouldn't go for green, but of the two, it would be the greyish sage because its lighter.

I prefer coffees, caramels and creams with accent colours on pottery/trinkets like reds, greens or blues, (one accent per room) I also have loads of plants.

Why don't you do each room a different shade of the same kind of green to give a bit of variation. Just keep adding white to the same pot of paint as you go through the rooms.

I love love LOVE the color greyish sage for walls!!!!
That's my vote, I wanted to paint our bedroom that color.

I like the greyish sage... and I don't think it looks to hospitally!

I think I would use the greyish sage for most of it, with one or two accent walls of lemon thyme.

I think you should use the marjoram and the grayish sage. use it to differentiate between the rooms. For example the far wall of the dining area could be the marjoram and the kitchen could be the grayish sage or visa versa.

Lemon thyme.


Color psychology:
Green is considered the most restful color for the eye. Combining the refreshing quality of blue and the cheerfulness of yellow, green is suited to almost any room in the house. In a kitchen, a sage or medium green cools things down; in a family room or living room, it encourages unwinding but has enough warmth to promote comfort and togetherness. In a bedroom, it’s relaxing and pleasant.Green also has a calming effect when used as a main color for decorating. It is believed to relieve stress by helping people relax. Also believed to help with fertility this is a great choice for the bedroom.

Room color and effects on mood

I don't like either, but if I have to choose, I'd go with the Lemon Tyme - it should be very close to the color on the sample. It will be "light" when wet, darker when dry.

Well, I'm the same like you -- can't decide. I'd ask myself -- which goes better with my furniture and textiles (curtains, chair upholstery, rugs, whatever)? And then I'd hold each swatch up to my arm and see if one is more flattering than the other to my skin tone. Hopefully, they'll be the same color. If you just can't decide, I would probably go with the sage -- it has yellow and brown tones and will NOT look like hospital green! and the Lemon Thyme is pretty, but in certain light, it may be pretty dark for what sounds like not a really large space. What do you think?

I think Greyish Sage with a Lemon Thyme accent wall.

thanks for the feedback.

some info for those who can't decide...

the floors are hard wood (light wood color), and there's more light wood color around the room. Most of the furniture is either black or covered with fabric (which can be changed easily). The only exception is my office furniture which is cherry wood colored.

the ceiling will stay white, so will the wood trims near the floor (what are those called again?) and the doors / door frames. The stairs are white and light blue right now, but I'll change that to white and dark gray.

I'm trying to have a comfortable feel, without feeling boxed in. Actually, as it is, it really doesn't feel boxed in. The room feels very "open".

Greyish sage for the ceiling!

I would say Greyish Sage only because you would have for option colors for trim and accents...greens, blues, darker grey etc...Yellow is sort of a stand alone color.

No doubt about it: Lemon Thyme! All the experts say (and my own experience has been) that you should go with a little deeper shade than you think you want... because somehow it never ends up looking as intense as you think it's going to be.

And Lemon Thyme isn't very deep at all -- it's really a nice medium intensity. Greyish Sage, on the other hand, looks weak to me, almost like a greenish white. It doesn't have any of the life in it that a good green can bring to a room! So my vote goes for Lemon Thyme.

I know you're afraid of trying to deal with two colors, as some have suggested, but if you decide you can handle it -- you could use the Greyish Sage on one section to break things up a little, if you really like Greyish Sage. It might look even more washed-out next to the richer Lemon Thyme, though.

But if it were my place... I'd do Lemon Thyme in one area and Lime Pulp in the other! Love those two together! And then I'd add some accents in deep berry red or eggplant... ooh, maybe even some dark chocolate!

I like the aloe color. Those others seem to dark for my taste but hey if that's what you like, go for it.

I voted Lemon Thyme because it's the darker color.

Why not get a quart of each and paint one wall one color and an adjacent wall another color to help you choose? What I've learned from painting (and I sold paint many, MANY years ago) is that color chips are deceptive -- paint always looks different on the walls. The Lemon Thyme will most likely be darker than it looks on the color chip, but that's not necessarily a bad thing depending on the size of the room, windows, doorways, color of flooring, etc.