When 132 Colors Aren’t Enough (Part II – The Reveal)
In Part I yesterday, I started out by saying that to know me is to know that I overthink EVERYTHING! After 622 days days slogging through our quest for the perfect paint color for the parlor, I happy to say we finally have a winner. While not all that far off from what I first considered, it is a color I would have never considered in years past.
If you managed to get through the entire post yesterday, you are my hero! I know it was long, with little climax. But read on…. Rest assured that this is a shorter post with a final reveal (you could cheat and scroll to the bottom, but you wouldn’t do that now, would you?). First, let’s take a quick look at where we started in the spring of 2017.
[DISCLAIMER: I tried to capture the colors in the images as accurately as possible, but as you will notice, there is variance of the same color from one image to another. That only exemplifies the challenge with conveying the true shades here and must be considered]
![[Image: These are the first two colors I thought would look great in the Parlor. 1: Narragansett Green (HC-157), 2: Regent Green (2136-20)]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPRParlorSwatches1.jpg?resize=800%2C613&ssl=1)
[Image: These are the first two colors I thought would look great in the Parlor. 1: Narragansett Green (HC-157), 2: Regent Green (2136-20)]
Stepping Back for a Rethink
After having firmly decided that the luxury of using Farrow & Ball paints was worth the doubled cost of regular high quality paints, I began to have a rethink over the past couple of months about whether I should use Farrow & Ball altogether. Partly because that color in my head was not to be found in their carefully curated selection of 132 colors. But also because as time had passed, I decided that I preferred to have two shades on the room, one for the walls, the other for the ceiling. And rather than having two completely different colors, I wanted two shades of essentially the same color which F&B definitely didn’t have. (That was why I was trying to force myself to like Bancha and De Nimes last fall).
And then I had to ask myself this…. “Was I trying to force myself into one of those 132 colors just so I could say I have F&B paint on my walls? Was it so I could elevate my blog in the Google Searches to drive more readership? Or was I trying to convey that I have a more refined color palette than others?” Ultimately, I think it was a little bit of all of those. The time had come to be willing to let go of my notion that I had to use F&B to be cool.
![[Image: The digital display you are viewing this on does not do these two colors justice]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPRParlorSwatches5.jpg?resize=800%2C434&ssl=1)
[Image: The digital display you are viewing this on does not do these two colors justice].
Finding My Namesake
Still unsure about where to go, I began rethinking the paint colors again earlier this month. Y was out of town for a few days, and one evening over a glass (or two) of wine, I pulled up the Benjamin Moore website and began perusing their thousands of colors when I stumbled on their Historical Collection, and suddenly, Jackpot!
There it was in front of me, the very shade of green I had carried in my head for more than a year. It was related to Green Smoke, but darker, and just a tiny bit greener. I liked it!… No, I LOVED IT! And it turns out that we share a name!, Caldwell Green HC-124 (above left). Then, unlike F&B paints, I can easily choose a second color just by moving up a couple of shades on the paint chip which brings me to the second color, Avon Green HC-126 (above right). The slightly lighter shade would look great on the ceiling to very subtly offset the darker walls.
The next day I drove over to one of only two places to buy Benjamin Moore Paints in South Philly and picked up the paint chip along with several more to bring home and see in the space. Then the next day, I went back to the store and had them mix up a sample pot of Caldwell Green and Avon Green. As soon as I got home, I put the samples on the wall with the others and realized that Caldwell Green is the shade I have had in my head for the past year.
![[Img: Finally, not counting the first two colors (Narragansett and Regent), this is all of colors (3-11) that I tried over the previous 622 days. The top two are the final winners.<br /> 3: Green Smoke (F&B 47), 4: Drawing Room Blue (F&B 253), 5: Pitch Blue (F&B 220), 6: Brinjal (F&B 222), 7: Stiffkey Blue (F&B 281), 8: Bancha (F&B 298), 9: De Nimes (F&B 299), 10: Caldwell Green (BM HC-124), 11: Avon Green (BM HC-126) <i>Side note: The Brinjal shown here (number 6) was for reference only and not considered for the Parlor.</i>]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPRParlorSwatches4.jpg?resize=654%2C1024&ssl=1)
[Img: Finally, not counting the first two colors (Narragansett and Regent), this is all of colors (3-11) that I tried over the previous 622 days. The top two are the final winners.
3: Green Smoke (F&B 47), 4: Drawing Room Blue (F&B 253), 5: Pitch Blue (F&B 220), 6: Brinjal (F&B 222), 7: Stiffkey Blue (F&B 281), 8: Bancha (F&B 298), 9: De Nimes (F&B 299), 10: Caldwell Green (BM HC-124), 11: Avon Green (BM HC-126) Side note: The Brinjal shown here (number 6) was for reference only and not considered for the Parlor.]
![[Image: Immediately upon painting the chimney breast I knew this was the right color.]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPR132Colors0108.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1)
[Image: Immediately upon painting the chimney breast I knew this was the right color.]
The Results
See for yourself! Doesn’t it make the art look amazing?
![[Image: The artwork looks amazing against the Caldwell Green.]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPR132Colors02.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&ssl=1)
[Image: The artwork looks amazing against the Caldwell Green.]
![[Image: Mantle completed in Caldwell Green. You can see my secondary color, Avon Green, in the inset area around the fire-screen.]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPR132Colors0109.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1)
[Image: Mantel completed in Caldwell Green. You can see my secondary color, Avon Green, in the inset area around the fire-screen.]
![[Image: Photo bomb by Bixby. This is the view during the evening. It is very difficult to get photos of the actual shade to come out correctly, but this one is close.]](https://i0.wp.com/ourphillyrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OPR132Colors04.jpg?resize=779%2C1024&ssl=1)
[Image: Photo bomb by Bixby. This is the view during the evening. It is very difficult to get photos of the actual shade to come out correctly, but this one is close.]
So, what’s next?
Well… We aren’t ready to paint the parlor just yet as we have a huge amount of preparation to do, a ceiling medallion to install, track lighting to install, and more. But for now, we get to at least get a very good feel for the color as we live with it.
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The detail of your over-the-top mantelpiece reads much better when painted a dark color… looks amazing! Very sumptuous… and good enough to eat! Looking forward to seeing the entire room done. Good luck with the prep work and medallion installation!
Thanks! The mantel is truly over the top. Our next door neighbors have their original simple white marble mantel which was so common in the middle of the 19th century. I do sometimes wish our original mantel was still here, this one is truly a testament to Victorian excess. It’s like they took a book on classical styles and decided that it had to have scroll work, egg and dart, dentil molding, fluting, acanthus leaves, floral appliqué, and several more decorative elements combined in a cacophony of excess. I didn’t like it at first, but it has grown on me. It is by far the fanciest architectural element in the entire house.
The color looks so much more lush in person. Capturing interior colors accurately is a real challenge. I should probably be using my real camera instead of my iPhone for photos.
Hi Devyn! Just popping in from THD to check your progress!!! You fireplace looks incredible!!! Green and gold are amazing together. You chose well!!!
Thanks Jacquie! It is always a curious thing how we can evolve. If you had told me five years ago that I would have a dark smoky green room with gold metallic accents, I would have thought you were crazy. But evolve I have, and I hope to be evolving for a long time (although I am not sure I can evolve to the current mint green and pink craze).
BTW, You didn’t leave a link, I am trying to remember what THD is.
Ha too funny, my kitchen is actually green and pink! But I think it predates the trend 😉
THD is The Historic District forum, where we discuss al our old house projects. You popped in there a while ago and I’ve had your blog bookmarked ever since! I love your taste and attention to detail.
Awww, Yes! I remember you!
I love that forum, but I also love a million other Internety things and I have a hard time balancing all of my interest while still finding time to sleep (and all those other necessary things). Old House Dreams is also amazing wealth of info, but I end up losing hours upon hours when I start clicking at the pretty houses. I will be back around, the wealth of wisdom there is fantastic. And when I really start to dive into the nitty gritty of restoring bits of our house back to the 19th century, I will need the wisdom.
Very happy to have you along for the ride.
Thanks, Devyn! Looking forward to seeing more of your house projects!! You’ve got a real gem here!
I love it so much!
Thanks Stacy! Given your more recent experience with various shades of green, that means a lot. 😊😊
Boy! I agree with AO – that mantle looks sooooo much better! I am going to have to find that BM Historic color palate. The mantle somehow looks more refined – somehow restful as well. Wonderful! It feels right.
Thanks Derek 😊 I have no doubt that under all those layers of paint is a stunning wood mantel, likely either oak or mahogany, but given the amount of work it would take to attempt to strip it back to wood, I think it will remain painted for a very long time. Fortunately, it works.
The BM Historic paint palette has been around for 40+ years from what I understand. I am a modernist at heart, but in order to appreciate true modernism, you must also appreciate historic styles and context. So, for our old house, I will probably stick with old style colors.
I love your passion and looking for the right color!! Cannot wait for the next project!!
I use F&B Shaded White in flat matt as my go-to neutral (it’s a little cheaper here in the UK) and love that it is both totally unobtrusive but gives beautiful subtle colours as different lights hit it. (I will confess to sometimes using a cheaper colour match for a first coat and then a single top layer of the F&B – a real expert might be able to tell the difference but I can’t.)
For a more defined colour I do start with F&B but move away as necessary. Your greens in your parlour are gorgeous, and so appropriate.
Thanks Alison ☺️☺️
I do still love F&B paints and it is quite likely that I will use it in the master bedroom (I am contemplating Hague Blue). I actually appreciate that they have a limited palette of 132 colors, but I was completely unable to make it work for the parlor.
While I certainly have no intention of limiting my choices to the Benjamin Moore Historical palette of 191 colors, it is at least more options and authentically American which is fitting for Philadelphia (trust me when I say that the design options in the UK are far more to my liking than the banal offerings available here).
I will add that I had considered Brinjal for the entry vestibule, reception hall, stairwell, and upper floor hallways. It is a stunning dark brown red that works really well with my ugly/beautiful tile in the entry vestibule. But, it turns out there is a very similar color by Benjamin Moore (Bewitched) that is just a bit richer in color and half the price (and very delicious in its own right.. Given that I expect at least five gallons will be needed for the entire hallway/stairwell top to bottom that is a big difference.
As always, I appreciate your stopping by and letting me know your thoughts.
Just to make life even more complicated – have you happened across Little Greene? They are the other fancy British paint company. I get the impression that they’re not as well known internationally as Farrow and Ball as they don’t have the same marketing budget, but in the UK they have even more of a ‘cool’ factor from people who think F&B is a bit passé. Setting aside the competitive blogosphere nonsense, their paint is actually really good! English Heritage (who maintain a lot of historic buildings over here) use their paint as they’re the most accurate reproductions of historic colours, and their period accurate colours runs through from Georgian to the 1970’s.
Their paint is a bit out of my price range, but I find all the period specific stuff on their website pretty fascinating, especially as it covers a lot of colours from the modernist era
Oooh! I checked out Little Greene’s website, love this look, The door is beautiful, although I am not sure I would do pink in my house. Little Greene seems to be limited to the EU. I love that they consider mid-century worthy of accurately reproducing paint colors for.
I can appreciate that F&B may be a bit passé in the UK. Benjamin Moore isn’t exactly the pinnacle of coolness either, but it is considered a stalwart of quality and in my experience the quality is superior to all of the other available US brands. It helps that they have over 2,000 colors. The one thing I have learned over the years is that cheap paint is more expensive after you factor in the additional labor to apply additional coats.
The green will be gorgeous. Was sorry to see that beautiful mantle covered with more paint but understand the expense to strip it. It does look better than the white. Can’t wait to see the eventual repaint odpf the room. The medallion will be gorgeous on that color. What color will it be?southern
revisiting the photo with the mantle.. i would be inclined to paint the mantel black. once you paint the rest of the room – it would help it stand out a bit..