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PaintDesign DilemmaHome Decorating
tamara_e_batchelor

Do these paint colours go?

Mara
5 years ago
I’m planning on painting my beautiful Victorian wardrobe and writing bureau this week (weather permitting). They are to go into the spare room of our new home, once we have the keys!

Does this colour of chalk paint (graphite with cocoa; 2nd photo) go with the Farrow and Ball mole’s breath paint on the walls?? Or should I aim for a very light grey...complete different colour??


The bed is blue! Otherwise I would have painted the furniture blue (4th photo), rather than grey : (
Featured Answer
  • User
    5 years ago
    I'm feeling slightly embarrassed to comment as I'm always on here asking for advice so don't feel I'm the one to reply for you! Can you get testers of the moles breath and the chalk paint? Paint onto some paper and see how they go. Personally I would either match or go a shade darker for the furniture. Have you used chalk paint before? If not, I wouldn't recommend it. I would find a colour you like and go to a paint shop and get a colour match in a Johnstones eggshell paint. It will be much nicer to use and a lot more durable. But you will need to prime first.

    • Comments (27)

    • PRO
      OnePlan
      5 years ago
      Bumping in the hope GertyWerty sees this - as she has an awesome eye for colour on furniture.

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    • User
      5 years ago
      Ps. I love the finish of the graphite with cocoa tho!! So if you can achieve this with the chalk paint then it's probably your best bet.

      I should have said that from the pics...it looks like it will go amazingly.
    • honeypoppet
      5 years ago

      Hi Mara,

      You've got a couple of options here - you could paint the furniture dark, which would mean that it would recede into the walls and not be noticeable as such. If you wanted them to stand out however (they sound beautiful pieces of furniture so that would probably be my preference) you could either do a paler grey or if you're feeling adventurous then a bright colour could look stunning against that wall. There's some pretty cool ideas on the Annie Sloan website: https://www.anniesloan.com/inspiration 

    • Mara
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Thank you so much for your helpful replies!!
      ...so I’m thinking of scraping the Mole’s breath and going for a lighter grey on the walls with the dark grey furniture. Will this work better??? I just took a bit of a shine to the moles breath because of the muddy brown undertones. I would love to go for blue furniture but don’t think I can with my blue bed! Argh
    • User
      5 years ago
      You could try F&B railings for the furniture. It's a very dark grey colour with a lovely blue undertone. I painted my dresser in it and it's a gorgeous colour. Excuse the chaotic scenes. Just in the middle of dusty renovations!!! That would look fab with light grey walls and blue bed.
    • Mara
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Oh I do like railings!! I’ve been considering that shade for the kitchen units. Your dresser looks gorgeous. What’s involved in paining furniture in F&B though?? Sanding, priming, top coats? What about areas I want to shade, can the Anne Sloan wax be used on top of F&B? Apologies for all the questions!!
    • User
      5 years ago
      I actually got it colour matched in Johnstones oilbased eggshell. I had to do a light sand down and then primed with a zinsser primer. Then 2 coats of top coat in the eggshell. So happy with the end result and it's a good hard wearing paint. I personally wouldn't touch chalk paint.. I used it on a couple of things before and it just didn't give a beautiful smooth finish! But I'm probably overly fussy. Double check...you may be able to get a F+B chalk paint or perhaps get a chalk paint mixed?? I'm not actually sure.
    • User
      5 years ago
      I dont think you could achieve the lovely shaded finish you are looking for with a Johnstones paint tho....i reckon it would have to be a chalk paint for that but not 100% sure.
    • Madalina Stoian
      5 years ago
      If you don’t want to go too ‘matchy matchy’ with your bedroom furniture, but still very much want to go for a blue on the wardrobe , you can choose to go for a different blue than the bed- lighter or darker. See picture of monochrome blue colour scheme. The lighter gray wall colour would match the scheme.
    • Juliet Docherty
      5 years ago

      I would honestly wait until you're in because paint colours can change dramatically indifferent rooms with different aspects.

    • PRO
      Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      This dresser looks absolutely great, I am afraid it would be lost with Mole's breath

    • rachelmidlands
      5 years ago
      Just want to say I’m stealing some of your ideas. That graphite and cocoa dresser is gorgeous! Agree that it might look lost against moles breath. Purbeck stone would be my choice but I’d wait till you have moved in so you’ve got a feel for the room. Also depends on the finish of furniture you have. If the wardrobe and bureau have got a nice colour and patina I wouldn’t touch them. A rich wood can look lovely against deep blues and greys.
    • aiexandrina
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      Vandalism! The patina takes years to develop to enrich the colour of the wood when craftsman created. Love the chest of drawers looks like a secretaire. Too subtle to paint with one flat colour

    • Melissa S
      5 years ago

      Have painted a few things in chalk paint and worth noting that the finish is not hard wearing and frequently needs re-done. It's very easy to slap onto a piece of furniture but for something I was going to be using often, I would look at another kind of paint.

    • Mara
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      So I’ve decided to keep the writing beaureu as it is (after comments about vandalism! Haha). It is a beautiful colour with a fantastic finish.

      However, the wardrobe is in very poor condition and will definitely need sanding and painting. So my question is... will it look right to have one piece of furniture in walnut wood, with a piece of furniture in painted wood?? And the bedside tables are mirrored gatsby style. So 3 different finishes on furniture in one room!
    • Sonia
      5 years ago
      last modified: 5 years ago

      I like mixed furniture. So much more interesting than matchy matchy ones. Not sure about the mirrored bedside tables with the chest of drawers and wardrobe. You will have to decorate and then see! I used chalk paint on a pine unvarnished wardrobe and I hated it. Really drags while brushing, and the wood leaked through staining it. The finish was horrid and I had to varnish it to finish. I would avoid it like the plague!

    • Mara
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      Ok ok ... scrap the chalk paint, and paint the wardrobe in F&B ? ;)
    • alyper
      5 years ago

      Having painted many pieces would recommend the F>B route. Chalk paint not the easiest to use as it drags so, particularly if you need a second application (use a damp cloth to smooth over). F&B great, and if not happy with the first coat colour, really easy to add a different shade. I use Briwax to seal.

    • E D
      5 years ago

      @alyper, Interesting, do you always wax after painting wood? What's the benefit? And the look?

    • alyper
      5 years ago

      Don't always wax, depends on the look you want, and if you have a surface which needs dusting/wiping regularly, then definitely wax. It makes it shinier, smooth, nice to touch, waterproof to a degree, and darkens the colour. On mixed furniture - I have a painted wardrobe, mahogany desk, perspex bedside tables, oak store box, and it looks great (I think), but definitely not a show house style! Much prefer the individual eclectic look.

    • tezz4
      5 years ago

      About chalk paint - l use it and abuse it - the important thing is to finish it with a good quality clear wax.

    • PRO
      Andrea Sartori Ltd
      5 years ago

      Blue bed? What sort of blue? Are you going to see it under the duvet etc, or is it an imposing piece? Look at tone and intensity as they are big pieces. I would go for one colour thoroughout, and maybe just change the textrure/ pattern on the pieces.

    • Mara
      Original Author
      5 years ago
      A rich navy velvet blue bed, massive headboard :) already ordered, so won’t be cancelling that :)
    • PRO
      User
      5 years ago
      Absolutely! As long as you break it all up with some brighter colours (even white or cream) integrates into the colour palette for this room.
    • ausbengal
      5 years ago
      love the charcoal and teal velvet to go with it with touches of bright pink.
    • PRO
      Andrea Sartori Ltd
      5 years ago

      Any colour can go with any colour: It is a question of intensity of hue and temperature and % used as contrast or compliment. If using two colours in a vast expanse, it is better to use two of the same range (for example, blues) of the similar intensity and temperature, eg two dark warm blues. Then add the pop of colour (no more than 10% of your room and you're good to go. Then add the jewellery: chandeliers, door handles etc, as one would adornment on a person. Ex2: A cold 'toilet blue' would not go with the above- The temperatures are different. I hope this helps. Ausbengal, teal would go perfectly, because the colour remains (shades of blue) and temperature and intensity are changed, thus being used as an accent colour, but not in a vast expanse, for example, the entire wall.

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