Ok are we talking architectural designer or interior designer? Architects are more about lines and form and they grumble about the interior designers but that's who they hire to do the color boards. Either way you are the client and it's your house. It may be a great color scheme for the design but if you don't like it change it. Those sample of paint are worth every penny because you need to see more than a little chip. With your asymmetrical design you have room to vary more than the usual field or base color and a contrasting trim. I'd make a tracing of the design and copy a bunch of pages of it to use as a coloring book. (yes use crayolas:-) Another shade from the same shale grey paint chip and a one more accent color would be a good bet. If you are going subtle neutral, make it 3( not 50) shades of grey and play with where you put the darks and lights. Remember sunlight and shadows will create alot of contrast for even a "pale monochrome houses. (the computer rendering doesn't give you that.) You could add a pop a smoky teal, plum or coral if you want color as bold as you design. These would just be accents or trim. If shale grey it a really light silver you could make a monochromatic scheme with blue grays and a navy blue door and trim. The tan/beige in the rendering needs a darker grey to work. I would keep my midtone color on the lower level and a lighter shade on the second level. The top part that pop out could be a bolder accent color withe rest of the upper level almost white. Lot depends on your roof and window frames and whether you want them to blend in or pop out. Try a bunch out on paper or one of the computer programs before choosing any changes.

The next time I decorate by a colour of the year will be the first time. Don't hold your breath. I have nothing against this particular colour but it doesn't work with all the things I've collected over the years, and I am not about to discard carpets bought after hard bargaining with dubious merchants in Istanbul or Islamabad because they don't "go" with a paint colour that someone voted "colour of the year." In its place, I think the colour would be quite nice (better than this years choices, certainly). It's just that my place isn't the right place for it.

It's a neat concept, but highly impractical for a wet, coastal climate of BC where I live. We could only have the wall open for roughly 4 months out of the year. And those open months would need a screen, big time. I'd forever be the one to be walking into the screen, which would bug the heck out of me (pun, lol), so I'll just pass on the whole idea. It's like the convertible car owners up here. We'll get a nice, sunny day in winter and you will see these people with their tops down, but wearing toques, lol. Or they will take the top down on the first sunny morning in spring and by afternoon it's pouring rain, again. Convertible in BC? Extremely seasonal. Convertible wall in BC? Ditto.

It was great to see a show that highlighted that good design is so important, and that good design doesn't necessarily mean bigger. I was also interested to see the egalitarian way design was shared with the 'masses' through project homes and DIY plans. A peculiarity of Australia. It seems such a shame that good design is now considered out of reach of most people. Having engaged an architect to design our renovation, I can understand why people shy away from the fees, however we're now about to embark on a renovation that keeps the best of the old, creates a space that is more contemporary and suited to our lifestyle, and flows so much better! The footprint of the house stays almost the same, so we will have a lovely big backyard. I'm tipping this may be a selling point in the future. Wouldn't it be great to see volume builders adopt these principles and start to offer better designed multi-functional spaces. Smaller houses are less expensive to run. So excited to see Pettit and Sevitt. I'd love to see Merchant Builders back in Melbourne, they were big on the entire concept, working with a hero of mine, Landscape Designer Ellis Stones. Oh to dream.....