If thunder had a color, I suppose it would be a mix of the sky during a summer storm; dense grayish clouds with a spark of the sun hidden in the background.
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| Walls Benjamin Moore Thunder AF-685 Woodwork Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65 |
And indeed, Thunder turned out to be the perfect color for this living room.
The homeowners hired me for a paint color consultation after their many sample paints did not work.
It is a traditional old house, with a beautiful collection of modern colorful art. The aim was to transform the old into the new, without losing the homes integrity and character.
Thunder, a sophisticated neutral, works wonders to add an avant-garde spirit, and unlike its name, does it in a soothing and tranquil fashion.
The juxtaposition of the lightning white trim and woodwork painted Chantilly Lace OC-65 (Benjamin Moore Off White Collection) sparks just the right amount of drama.
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| BM Thunder AF-685 Living Room BM Van Courtland Blue HC-145 Dining Room |
The color for the adjacent dining room, is Van Courtland Blue HC-145 from Benjamin Moore's Historical Collection. It's a dusty gray blue, and adds depth and warmth to the dining room.
The homeowners preferred white ceilings, so I specified Benjamin Moore White Dove 0C-17, a darker white than the Chantilly Lace, to emphasize the crown molding.
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| BM Thunder AF-685 Living Room BM Kentucky Haze AC-16 Sitting Room |
The other side of the living room opens into a sitting room. We chose a smokey blue, Kentucky Haze AC-16 Benjamin Moore American Collection. I always had a crush on this color, and this was the first time I specified it out. Forget the crush, I think I'm now in love.
The kitchen was a challenge. The cabinets were painted a 2 tone bright light and dark green. Meanwhile, the pinky beige backsplash did not get along at all with the earthy granite. The floor tile did not relate to anything. The wall color was a saturated yellow with orange undertones. It was a colorful train wreck!
I had to be a magician, and come up with a bold statement. I needed a color that would tie the granite and floor together with the cabinets, overpower the pink undertones in the backsplash, and flow with the overall theme.
Once the cabinet color was chosen, the wall color came naturally. A rich neutral Pashmina AF-100 in the Benjamin Moore Affinity Collection proudly took its place. It looks great with the BM Chantilly Lace.
My clients worked passionately with me in my interactive approach to choosing the paint colors. Together we picked colors with meaning that expressed their personalities and lifestyle.
I am now involved in decorating the living room. Looking forward to visually balancing out the existing flooring/fireplace, and the new paint colors, with decorative furnishings. More pictures to follow.
Just had a thought about Thunder. The color that is. Perhaps BM named it Thunder because they knew it would go beautiful with so many other colors. Kind of like the rainbow after the storm. And speaking of storms, the Affinity collection has a beautiful color called Storm, but that is another whole post that I will save for a rainy day.
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| BM Davenport Tan HC-76 Cabinets BM Pashmina AF-100 Wall |
The kitchen was a challenge. The cabinets were painted a 2 tone bright light and dark green. Meanwhile, the pinky beige backsplash did not get along at all with the earthy granite. The floor tile did not relate to anything. The wall color was a saturated yellow with orange undertones. It was a colorful train wreck!
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| BM Davenport Tan HC-76 Cabinets BM Pashmina AF-100 Wall |
I had to be a magician, and come up with a bold statement. I needed a color that would tie the granite and floor together with the cabinets, overpower the pink undertones in the backsplash, and flow with the overall theme.
Mission accomplished with Davenport Tan HC-76 Benjamin Moore's Historical Collection. This rich complex color creates a cohesive color scheme, and reflects the homeowners refined taste at the same time.
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| BM Pashmina AF-100 Wall BM Chantilly Lace OC-65 Trim |
Once the cabinet color was chosen, the wall color came naturally. A rich neutral Pashmina AF-100 in the Benjamin Moore Affinity Collection proudly took its place. It looks great with the BM Chantilly Lace.
My clients worked passionately with me in my interactive approach to choosing the paint colors. Together we picked colors with meaning that expressed their personalities and lifestyle.
I am now involved in decorating the living room. Looking forward to visually balancing out the existing flooring/fireplace, and the new paint colors, with decorative furnishings. More pictures to follow.
Just had a thought about Thunder. The color that is. Perhaps BM named it Thunder because they knew it would go beautiful with so many other colors. Kind of like the rainbow after the storm. And speaking of storms, the Affinity collection has a beautiful color called Storm, but that is another whole post that I will save for a rainy day.
I've always had great luck with Davenport Tan and White Dove. Do you have any befores of the kitchen? It must have been quite something! Now it is sophisticated and that pink is indeed calmed down!
ReplyDeleteYet another fan of Davenport Tan! & White Dove is one of my favs too. Had a few before pics, but exposure on camera way too dark. If I can lighten them up I'll email or post them for you.
ReplyDeleteGot to love the power of color to transform a space!
I love the way you wrote this post and described Thunder and also what you did with the kitchen! A great lesson for anyone struggling to work with pinky beige!
ReplyDeleteThanks Maria! Coming from you that is quite the compliment. And I know exactly how you feel about pinky beige! lol
ReplyDeleteHello! I have been searching for a fantastic photo of someone using Thunder, and wow - this is it. Just gorgeous! I noticed you also mentioned BM Storm from the Affinity collection. What is your experience with this color (if any) in a room that gets a ton of natural light? In your expert opinion, what type of undertones do you think this gray has? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my site. Glad you enjoyed the pictures.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Moore Storm is a wonderful color that has blue undertones.
Color is all about context, How natural light affects color depends on many variables such as north/south/east/west orientation, spacial features, other colors in the room such as flooring, etc. The same color can look dramatically different in two different homes, or even rooms.
The best way to know, is to test the colors in the space!
And I am always available for onsite or internet/phone consultations if you need me.
Cathleen
Cathleen, I am very inspired by this home as well! I am struggling between Pashmina and Thunder. In your house pictures Pashmina does not seem much darker but when I look at the chip it seems so much deeper. I am thinking of using B.M's Montpelier framing my fireplace with Thunder being the rest of the great room/kitchen (with Chantilly Lace of course on all my trim work). Have you worked with Montpelier before? It's very deep but I would only be using it for the framing of the fire place and flatscreen t.v nook above it. Perhaps I should go with Van Courtland Blue instead? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteThunder and Pashmina are both stunning colors. Thunder leans on the gray side, and Pashmina on the beige side. I love Chantilly Lace for a crisp yet soft white. And Montpelier is a beautiful color.
ReplyDeleteColor is all about context and changes with its surrounding conditions. Design is about the relationships of all the elements in a room, and there are no absolute rules.
Without being in the space, or seeing photos, I can advise that Thunder with Montpelier and Chantilly Lace is a beautiful color combination. I would test these colors in the space to see how they look with your existing fixed elements and decor.
Do contact me if you need a color consultation. Will be a pleasure to help color your world.
Cathleen
Hi. I have a color question. In a VERY open floor plan, what colors would you choose for a new Tuscan/Italianate Villa style home. I would like to use something like BM Wythe Blue in my kitchen which includes a Morning Room. The Foyer, Dining Room, and Gathering Room are ALL open areas. The Gathering Room has a twenty foot ceiling,so looking up, you see the walkway to all the bedrooms. I would like to use a really pretty Gold Color and s nice Orange and maybe a darker beige somewhere. Also, don't want white ceilings or trim. Actually, I would like a glazed trim. Any help?
ReplyDeleteWythe Blue is one of my favorite colors! Just keep in mind that blue in general suppresses the appetite. Wythe Blue leans towards green but is still not as "food passionate" as reds and oranges.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to contact me to inquire about my rates for a color consultation. I am in the NY metropolitan area for onsite visits, and I do internet/phone consultations as well.
It will be a pleasure to help color your world.
Cathleen
Absolutely love Thunder! I just went out to my local Benjamin Moore store and bought myself a gallon of Thunder to paint my 1905 Bungalow living room. What recommendations do you have for a complementary color for the dining room and guest bedroom (which is noticeable from the living room and dining room)? The living room and dining room has a lot of natural light coming in along bright white tin ceilings. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteTHUNDER fan! Feel free to email me with more information about your fixed and unfixed finishes etc. I do internet and phone consultations as well as onsite. Color is all about context, and changes depending on lighting, surrounding colors, architecture etc, but here are some quick ideas to ponder, all Benjamin Moore Affinity. Subtle AF0310, Flawless AF-320 Glacier Till AF-390 Storm AF-700, and darker and dramatic- Mysterious AF-565, Silhoutte AF-655, Sparrow AF-720. :)
ReplyDeleteI am repainting my house and have a color question. I'm struggling to find a gray that goes with my trim, which is BM Ferret Brown. I am NOT going to repaint all the trim and baseboards but yesterday I finally found THUNDER and painted a wall - I believe I have found the right color! However, I am used to darker feature walls and want to bring in a dark, rich color. I am leaning toward ICI Widows Walk or a charcoal color. Do you have any suggestions that would work with the dark trim?
ReplyDeleteIf you want to paint the walls Thunder and have a feature accent wall, check out BM Weimeraner AF-155. Look at BM Pismo Dunes AC-32 and BM Mesa Verde Tan AC-33, beautiful colors on their own. For grays look at BM strip of colors for Plymouth Rock 1543 and darker. There are beautiful grays in the BM American Collection as well. And Stardust (same strip as Ferret Brown ) is a drop dead gorgeous color! If you need any additional help, do not hesitate to contact me for an online or onsite color consultation. It will be my pleasure to help color your world. :)
ReplyDeleteHello! I love your pics on Thunder. I just recently bought a beautiful home in San Francisco and painted the living room (that has tons of natural light) BM Stormington Gray. But now have realized it's looks more blue than gray. The bedrooms are BM Revere Pewter & the office is Wythe Blue. We're considering changing the living room to Thunder as we are looking for a more gray than blue. What are your thoughts on hall way colors & a dining room color? We have lots of natural light & in the dining room we have a tray ceiling we want to paint a dark color. Any recommendations would be super helpful! thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy apologies for a late reply, but I did not get notified of your comment. I am sure you have finished the painting project my now. If not, do not hesitate to contact me for a consultation.
DeleteYes, grays have undertones, and it is essential to test the color in the space to see how it reacts. Many grays read blue. Some read purple, others read green etc. If you compare grays to one another you can begin to see color differences. But know color changes with context as well as throughout the day with the lighting. I have seen Revere Pewter change from leaning towards a green undertone to having a red undertone in the same room from day to evening. Stonington Gray does have blue undertones, I also have seen in look quite green. Thunder can lean towards the red or purple side. But it has more substance (visual weight) than Stonington Gray, and won't wash out as much in lots of natural light.
Point is gray is a color, and like all colors, it is alive with personality that reacts to its surroundings. The goal is to find a gray that you love every time you look at it, that also gets along beautifully with all the other colors in the space.
Once again, if you have not completed your project, contact me for my color consultation rates, onsite or internet. Always my pleasure to help color the world. :)
Best,
Cathleen
Hi Cathleen,
ReplyDeleteStumbled across your blog while searching the net for color combinations that will complement BM Pismo Dunes. Can't really find anything. Hoping you can help.
Description:
Simple bungalow house that has a shared wall connecting livingroom and kitchen with chair-rail.
Livingroom painted Pismo Dunes. Love this color.
I need to select two additional colors for kitchen that complement Pismo Dunes.
--Shared wall will have Pismo Dunes on bottom (below chair rail).
--Need color for top of wall that will continue on top of walls in kitchen/nook (above chair rail)...hopefully something that will match burgundy/wine (the color I want for roman shades in livingroom.
--Need second color for kitchen/nook (below chair rail) that will also match standard golden oak cabinets. If necessary, I could paint actual kitchen a neutral beige color.
The color combinations I have come up with are as follows:
Top: Cromwell Gray (HC-103)
Bot: Nantucket Gray (HC-111)
Top: Davenport Tan (HC-76)
Bot: Kentucky Haze (AC-16)
Top: Dry Sage (2142-40)
Bot: November Rain (2142-60)
Top: Abington Putty (HC-99)
Bot: Wythe Blue (HC-147)
I simply am not sure any of these combinations will work.
Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.
You may email me as well at nikoby@sbcglobal.net
Thank you in advance.
Nick
Hi Nick, sorry for the delay but just saw your comment.
DeletePismo Dunes is a beautiful color. Sounds like you need a color consultation. Feel free to contact me for my rates. I am available for onsite as well as internet. Color is all about context, and changes with its surroundings. Would need much more information on fixed and unfixed finishes and to see photos.
But in general, sounds like you are in a good direction with the green and blue undertones. Nantucket Gray, Kentucky Haze Dry Sage and Wythe Blue are all lovely colors. But choosing paint colors is all about the relationship of the colors to one another, and how everything interacts in the space. It is the composition that matters, so testing the colors is essential. I would start with Kentucky Haze, especially if you are bringing a burgundy wine into the picture. Kentucky Haze is a dusty color with substance and can hold its own to the visual weight of golden oak wood and burgundy.
Hopes this helps. Once again, don't hesitate to contact me for an actual consultation. Will be my pleasure to help color your world.
Best,
Cathleen
I'm thinking of using Pashmina. Does it have a green tone in it??
ReplyDeletePashmina is a lovely neutral that can lean towards green. Some call it a greige, some call it a gray, others call it a beige. Doesn't matter what we call it, only how it appears in the space. lol. All neutrals are colors. And colors change depending on context and surroundings. So test it in your space and view it morning noon and night, as well as on different parts of the wall. It is all about how that color makes you feel and if it creates a beautiful composition with all the other colors in the space.
DeleteIf you need a color consultation, kindly contact me for my online or onsite rates. I love helping homeowners color their world. :)
Best,
Cathleen
Thank you ! I tested it all over my house. In looks like a different color in every lighting. Nice color:)
DeleteHi Cathleen, I could really use your help! I am working on the trim colors for my exterior of my house and i'm kinda stuck. My window trim has recently been painted Pashmina and my stucco is white. I don't know what other color to use. I also have this overhang that is painted green that is staying. Can you help?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rosie
Hi Rosie, feel free to email me at tocathleen@yahoo.com for a color consultation. Be my pleasure to help.
ReplyDeleteHi Cathleen,
ReplyDeleteI'm choosing colours for my new house (all benjamin moore) and painting the living room with thunder, and the loft with barn board cc-572 and the basement with storehouse. I'm looking for a creamy colour that goes with all 3 colours to paint in the dinning room which can be seen from the living room and loft. I was thinking of summer haze or almond petal.
the kitchen is a redish brown colour, not sure the name but it can be seen from the dining room. Do you have any recommendations on creamy light colours that I could use in the dining room that go with ,my colour scheme? thanks
shauna
Hi Cathleen.
ReplyDeleteI finally after 8 years in my home painted the livingroom Misted Green. The kitchen/dining area Grey wisp but I need a color to go up the stairs towards the bedrooms that will tie in nicely. The Bathroom is a yellow tan (can't remember the name) and the littlest room is a city blue. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
PS: My name is Michele.
DeleteHi Michele,
DeleteBe my pleasure to help you chose paint colors. Kindly contact me at tocathleen@yahoo.com for a color consultation.
Best
Cathleen
Hi! I just painted my living room and halls/stairway thunder. The dining room, which is visible from the living room was painted thundercloud grey. I have a black area rug in the dining room, and black panels on the windows. I'm debating window panels/area rug and accent pillow colors for the living room. What would you suggest?
ReplyDeleteNeed help picking a color for my dining room. I have large rosewood table and hutch, hardwood floors harvest oak,rug with pakistani reds. Wondering if Thunder would be a good color?
ReplyDeleteI would test Thunder in the space as well as consider a gray with green undertones such as Pashmina, Gray Horse, Sea Haze, Gray Horizon, and Silver Song.
Deletetrying to pick a color for my foyer that is off my living room. paint colr in living room is shabby chic...benjamin moore. any color come to mind to coordinate w that? white trim
ReplyDeleteEdgecomb Gray Brandy Cream, Cedar Key, comes to mind. Color changes with context so do not hesitate to contact me for a formal color consult... be a pleasure to help. Best, Cathleen
ReplyDeletehi, I like the colour Thunder and am entertaining the idea of using for my kitchen/dining/living of south facing lots of windows open floorplan...What would you say the undertones are? any greenish ones? thank you and love your blog
ReplyDeleteColor changes with context. I would buy a pint size and test a sample in the room to see how it interacts at different times of the day. (two coats with the first drying in-between) If you paint up a poster board also you can move it around. Now In general, I've seen thunder having purple undertones - not green. If you want green, I would try Pashmina - and also the Fieldstone, GrayMirage, Gray Horizon, and Gray Horse color strips. Good luck on your project and do not hesitate to contact me if you need a formal consult. Best, Cathleen
DeleteIn all of your pictures of the kitchen, it looks to me like the wall is 2 different colors (above and below the chair rail), but it just says "wall: Pashmina." Which half is the Pashmina...and what is the other one?!
ReplyDeleteSame. Above and below the chair rail is Pashmina. The same paint color often looks different on the same wall - due to shadows, lighting, angle of view etc. Pashmina is a beautiful and complex color. Works well when you want an earthy greige that tends to lean more green than red. Good luck with your paint project, and do not hesitate to contact me if you need a formal consult.
DeleteThanks, Cathleen! Wow, that's incredible. If you wanted to demonstrate how colors can vary, I can't imagine a better example! I'm starting to worry that every time I change a lighting fixture (or even a light bulb), I'm going to have to repaint!
DeleteMy pleasure.
DeleteKnow colors change depending on context - and they even look different at different times of the day. Yes lighting plays a major role. And color does not always render accurately on computer photos.
Mission is to select a color that you love and goes beautifully in the space. Viewing and testing the color in the actual space allows you to see how the color interacts with everything else. And trust your gut on how it makes you feel.
Once again best of luck on your project and coloring your world.
We could've used an expert like you when we were painting the walls in my old house. We tried to just do it ourselves (both picking the colors and painting the walls) and the result was umm... no comment :)
ReplyDeleteJennifer | https://affordableblinds.com/
Hi, I am struggling trusting my gut. I have a 1 level rambler. Not a lot of light, although my living room does have a skylight. It is a one room floor plan with the living room, dining room and kitchen open to each other. House is a little boring so I want to have a little fun with color, but don’t want to break up the space to much. I have been looking at pashmina for the living room and maybe carry into dining room. Do you have a suggestion for a good red/orange color for the kitchen and front door and maybe a warm blue/teal in the dining room or for accents. I read what you said about blue not being appetizing. Also a light color for trim? I’m not seeing a lot about colors that go with Pashmina. Thank you!
ReplyDelete