Great Transitional Paint Colors {Friday Favorites}…

 

Happy Friday friends and welcome to another Friday Favorites!

One of the most common questions I receive from readers is how to make the transition in a home from warm undertones to cool tones.  Ironically, I also get the same question from readers wanting to transition from cool tones to warmer tones.  I think it’s because trends in paint color undertones have really shifted in a significant way.  It’s hard for people to determine what paint colors to choose when making such a big jump from warm to cool and vice versa.

 

 

These days, so many homes are now built with an open concept, people are challenged by choosing paint colors that make a smooth transition because each wall has to work well with the other walls.  In my home, you can see the walls of five different rooms as you stand in my entry way and when I change the color in one room, I have to think of the other four walls. Yep, it’s been a big challenge for me as well.

Just a few years ago, we were all painting out homes in very warm tones in creamy  yellows, warm browns, tans, latte, etc…  My whole home is pretty much the warmest of warms and I too am slowly transitioning to the cooler tones. It’s interesting how we all evolve with the colors in our spaces. It’s like going back and forth with our hairstyles from short to long and long to short!

 

Fine Grain by Dunn Edwards

It’s one thing to change a paint color using the same undertone but when you’re completely changing an undertone, it’s challenging to know how to choose colors that can help with the transition.  Especially if the rest of the home is not that new undertone.  It’s not affordable for many of us to paint every wall in a new undertone at the same time, so picking a great transitional color is key. Today  I thought I would share some great paint colors that can help with the big undertone transition.

My recent master bedroom revamp is an example of jumping ship from one undertone to another:

Before:

 

After:

 

As you can see, I went from a room painted and decorated with all warm tones into cooler tones.  However, I still incorporated touches of warmth in my drapes, carpet, pillow and blanket to make the transition smoother into my kitchen, which is all warm tones.  I also picked a cooler paint color that had the slightest hint of warmth to keep the transition to cooler tones not so jarring.  My home still flows and the transition from my kitchen to the bedroom is smooth because I didn’t go completely cool and kept touches of warmth.

Here is the transitional paint palette of colors mixed with warm and cools that was my inspiration for the room revamp:

Instead of jumping completely into a new main undertone, I think it makes all of the difference by choosing colors that are a balanced mix of both cool and warm.  Finding paint colors that have a nice mix of cool and warm undertones will help if you are wanting to transition to new undertones in your home.

I wanted to give you some examples of some paint colors with a nice neutral balance of both cool and warm that would work for both groups of people; those wanting to go cooler and those looking to add a touch of warmth. Some of these colors may lean more cool or more warm than others but they all have a mix of the two tones.

Pleasant Valley by Benjamin Moore is a great balanced transitional color and notice how well this mix of cool blue and warm green works with the warm wood tones in the floor:

 

 

For an even cooler blue with a hint of warmth, Benjamin Moore Slate Blue is another great transitional color.  This color is ideal for those wanting to go cooler and to incorporate blue:

 

 

Benjamin Moore Sea Haze is another great cool blue with a hint of warmth and it is beautiful mixed with warm tones in wood and furniture:

 

 

Sleepy Blue by Sherwin Williams is very cool but with the slightest hint of warmth and it transitions perfectly with warm wood tones and the warm tile floors in this image below:

 

 

For those warm wanting to transition to gray or for those wanting to add a touch of warmth, Gray Owl from Benjamin Moore is a great balanced gray because it has hints of yellow in it that again would compliment warmer tones in floors or adjacent rooms:

 

 

Again, notice how Gray Owl works well with the warm wood floors. The hint of yellow really make a big difference. By the way, Gray Owl is HGTV Designer Emily Henderson’s favorite paint color and one that she says she uses often because of the hint of yellow and the balance of cool and warm.

Northern Cliffs by Benjamin Moore is another great gray with a balance of warm and cool:

 

 

For a very light cooler color, Benjamin Moore Shoreline is the perfect balance of warm and cool and it’s a great catalyst if you want to mix cool and warm tones together in a space:

 

 

I stumbled across this awesome collection of warm grays from one of my new favorite paint blogs; Painters Place Blog that are all a nice balance of warm and cool.  There are a couple colors in this batch that may lean more cooler or warmer but these colors are a great starting point:

 

 

These examples of paint colors that I have shown you are all starting points for those of you looking for direction in transitioning undertones.  Keep in mind that lighting in your space will play a huge roll in determine what undertones will ultimately pop out in the space and what may be perfect in one space may not work in another.

If you’re looking for additional help in how to choose exact colors, you can check out my post “Tips and Tricks for Choosing the Perfect Paint Color“, which I go through the tricks with spotting an undertone and eliminating paint color choices quickly.

One last thing… Keep in mind as you choose paint colors, you can help transition significant changes in undertones through accessories, furniture or art work.  You can go cooler with little to no hint of warmth in a paint color (like I did in my bedroom) and you can balance it later by incorporating touches of warmth through accessorizing.

If you want to see more rooms with exact paint colors, I have a really nice collection that you can look through on my “Pick a Paint Color” Board on Pinterest found here.

I would love to know which of these colors

Have a great week friends!!

Cheers!

Cyndy