Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Paint colors, floors - I'm already having anxiety attacks! I know it sounds stupid - but how do you even start - there are millions of colors, styles - all that!!!
We pretty much picked out the shade we want for open plan parts of house - although not the exact color - bought two samples today. Also know shade we want for nursery - got a sample.

But, master bedroom, bathrooms, guest bedroom, den - I'm just completely overwhelmed and don't know where to start!!

How did you pick?

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

when we moved in we looked at the house the style the layout to help.

for our bedroom i had furniture already (alhtough i cant wait to get something else lol) we looked at the furniture and the bedding we had and our ideas as yo what we like and dont like to help us decide what to do.

go out and look around at stores. sometimes you find an item that you love that you can use to inspire you for a room in your house.

GL the biggest thing i would say to do is to work on one room at a time. starting too many projects can get overwhelming and make you feel like you are living in a mess.

we started with the hardwood floors. we wanted to get that out of the way becuase it does smell and make a big mess. then we did our living room. we still have so much more to do.

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

My aunt works for Ethan Allen - I had her come over and go through some of the rooms with me to pick out the colors.

It is VERY overwhelming. Once you decide the color scheme you want in the room - it will be easier to narrow down the colors.

And, always get samples first. My two bathrooms are disasters - we picked the colors ourselves - and HATE them!

Congrats on the house by the way!

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Thanks, ladies. I have some ideas - I think I'd like a sage green in the master - and then there's 40 of them Would maybe like to do a light grey in another room. Also - we are not going to be able to afford to re-do bathrooms for a while. So I'm trying to think of a color for the master bath that will downplay a pink marble roman tub and counters


ETA - Diana, you lucky beyotch - having Ethan Allen expertise at your fingertips! I was telling Jamie today that I understood why people paid interior decorators to do the work for them!

Message edited 8/4/2009 10:30:06 PM.

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

We are homeowners for one week now so we are in the same boat. We painted our master bedroom 'lettuce' green from valspar which is a sage green and did an accent wall in 'coffee bean' from valspar. I haven't uploaded pics yet but I love it! They had hardwood floors and white crown molding up already. The colors accent each other so nicely. Good luck!!

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

It's overwhelming because you're looking at the entire house as a single unit to "do". Just take one room at a time. Paint can be done at any time, even a year or more from now. Especially the separate rooms. Save those for later, and you've just halved what you have to worry about.

Also, remember that it's YOUR house, so just because an "expert" recommends something, doesn't mean it's actually going to work for you. I've seen hundreds of designer rooms, in pics, TV, and in person, and most of them I could never live with myself.

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

What i did was went on the BM site. I used the color thingy in rooms similar to ours. It made me able to weed out colors I didn't like. I then bought the little paint samples and painted squares on the walls. It helped immensely

Good Luck and hey CONGRATS!!!

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Do one room at a time. There's no rush - you just signed up for what, a 30 year mortgage? I think you have plenty of time to get everything done :)

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

yep one thing at a time, clean and prime the walls. Then put swatches up then sit on it (you don't have to paint right away unless you know for sure on the color)

Then make a plan for one room at a time (year?)

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Def. one room at a time. Paint the rooms that must be painted first so that you can move in. Than paint the other rooms over time.

When picking out colors for each room, try to get ideas from pics in magazines or online and than go and look for a color. Yes there are lots of shades of each color, but that is ok. Bring them all home if it makes you feel better. Put the like shades together and just look at them in different light. Than start to throw out the ones that you just don't like the color just by looking at it. Get down to 2-4 colors of that one shade and than try to figure out which would go best in the actual room. Maybe you have drapes or a bedspread or a piece of art that will be going in that room and you want it to compliment that piece. That is how I picked most of my colors for our house.

Believe me it's not easy, but take one room at a time to decide about the paint color and than decorate one room at a time when that point comes. Believe me, I understand the anxiety part all to well. I was were you are now, but it was 2 years ago. The house comes together, just try to do it one step at a time. You have plenty of time to make this house your Home!

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Check out these sites for some help.

Armstrong

Better Homes & Gardens

Decor Pad.com This site has many different ways to look at a room. By room type or by room color.

Floor planner This site is great for trying to figure out if you can fit everything in your room or not. Joining is free!

Home Decor Exchange.com

The Nest - The Paint Bio

Your Home & Color Coach Blog

And one of my favorite blogs....
Young House Love.com Check out their house pics, their "HowTo" tab and of course their daily blog. They have some great ideas.

GL! I hope these sites help you out in some way and make the process a little easier.

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

selecting paint colors is very overwhelming and even more overwhelming when you do not have a frame of reference to coordinate the paint color with. do you have furniture, accent pillows, bedding, a piece of art that you own and LOVE?

i would start by purchasing a color wheel. i bought the BM color wheel at aboffs. with the color wheel in hand, try matching the swatches to your inspirational pics or items that you already own.

to organize your thoughts and ideas you could create a mood board using photo shop or MS word.

colors in adjoining rooms should coordinate and flow. i.e a hot pink nursery next to a burgandy master bedrm is a major eyesore and huge no no.

select a palatte of colors that you love (i.e ivory, tan, light green, pale blue, buttery yellow) and use this colors throughout the house (paint, accessories and fabric).

Message edited 8/5/2009 9:57:31 AM.

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

that is why i already started planning but im sure once we are actually in the house i'll change my mind all over again

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Thanks everyone for the advice and for the websites. I know I have time to do this but I guess I feel pressure because DH would like to get all the painting done (before the floors) by the end of August when we move in. Also, his dad is coming down here to help him with that so it would be great if it could all get done.
We'll have to see!

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!

Start with the baby's room. If you have to do everything else later, it'll work out. My advice is to do that room first, so you don't have to disturb any sleeping patterns or routines.

Re: Day 1 at the house and already overwhelmed!