Home Decorating | New Paint Color? Help!

For those of you who have been following this blog for a little bit, you know that we moved into a new house a little over a year ago. Our family of six (including our two dogs) moved from a two-bedroom townhouse to a beautiful single family home. When we made that transition, it was a little overwhelming because we came from somewhere that didn’t have any storage options so almost every room was just way too cluttered. We lived in the house for 8 years and had dreamt of one day living in a nice neighborhood with a yard where the kids could play and the dogs could run around. Now we are here!  And, I am personally excited to be a little more spread out and organized with our things, but most excited to have a blank canvas to decorate again. I had originally decorated my first house when I was 25 so my style has significantly changed in the last couple years and the super warm colors in my last house aren’t the direction I was heading. But the reality of buying a new house hit our bank account this past year. Of course, we expected the closing costs and the money needed for some necessities like the refrigerator and washer and dryer, but there were some other things we didn’t even think about purchasing that, as soon as we got to the house, we realized we would want pretty quickly. In a few short months, all the money we had saved up for the move was gone and we didn’t even have bedroom furniture! We still don’t. Not to mention the day after we moved in, Lowes installed our 2^nd story washer wrong and during the drain cycle a whole large load of water dumped onto our second floor. We had drywall hanging down from our first floor ceiling for months while we were going through the claims department. My dreams of being able to decorate and complete a new room right off the bat kind of fell by the wayside. But that is okay! Throughout the year, we started gathering decorative pieces as we saved up the money. Steve and I are huge believers of not going into debt (thanks to Dave Ramsey and FPU) so we saved up for each piece of furniture or each décor piece we added onto our house. This year, we are on an even tighter budget with Steve being back at school so we are doing a lot of things on our own or just really shopping for better deals. I hope to start showing my DIY projects from time to time on the blog, but the very first thing I want to do is paint our downstairs now that our one year review with our builder is over with and our nail pops and settling cracks have been fixed. Here is where you come in. I am having such a hard time choosing a color. So, I need your help! What color do you think I should do? I am going for a “Cozy Country Cottage” look in the long run. I really love my neutral colors, especially because I want to be able to mix certain accents in throughout the seasons without being stuck against a certain color on the walls. Below are the colors I am going for and pictures of the two main rooms downstairs. What is your vote?

I’m going for either Pale Oak, Gray Owl, or Revere Pewter 

With the neutral color palette that I have picked below I will be replacing the curtains and adding pops of color throughout the room – like in the carpet and throw pillows. Also, the decor isn’t near finished, so try to visual a long term color with my style.

So which one? Help! 

XO,

Stacy