Hi plankandtrestle The undertones are tough to pick until it's in the flesh! Monument could be a good contender... if you want a true charcoal you could ask the paint counter to use only pure black and white to get your desired charcoal... I have monument on my gutters, downpipes and trim see below. I've paired it with wallaby which is a brown grey (you could darken) Hope this helps K x

Absolutely agree with blueskies60 ! Remove the artwork/bench/plant that's on the left and replace then with either a bookshelf or a tall chest of drawers. Perhaps the plant can be repositioned into the corner on the floor where this troublesome niche is (there seems to be more than enough light there for a plant) and just place something calm and simple in the niche itself - perhaps a Japanese style scroll or pen and ink art work set off with a more rounded object sitting in the left corner of the niche; a gorgeous rock, a lovely candle, a calming statue... If you have (my preference) a chest of timber drawers on the left where the current art work is, you'll break up the symmetry, have more storage and have another surface upon which you can place a changing display of objects. This is the area that I would utilise for a mirror.

Hi Suzy, the answer could be both yes it could be and no it may not be. The issue here is you're dealing with two existing "whites" in that you have existing rooms painted in the USA antique and the kitchen which you describe as a vivid white. It depends upon many things. What I can say is that colour is perceived relative to immediate context, elements and light conditions. The same paint colour can vary dramatically from room to room, from wall to wall. Check out this link from Resene that demonstrates how colour works with adjacent colours and our eyes are "tricked"one way or the other http://www.resene.com.au/samecolour.htm . This can be used to our advantage but we need to understand and be aware of what's going on. Sometimes it makes sense to follow suit with existing colour, but sometimes a subtle adjustment of tint is required to balance better against a certain element that may be a more dominant aspect in the specific space. This is ultimately getting into the nitty gritty of interior design and the balancing all elements. The beauty about paint is that you can fine tune it to perfection and you can blend/adjust across spaces. What you need to to work it is what option is the option that is the LEAST noticeable. The question is here if you go Antique White, will it throw too much yellow if it's juxtaposed with the vivid white of the kitchen? And if so is there opportunity to change the colour somewhere without making it obvious. Are you using different colours for the trim for example? Could you make a statement/change feature for the kitchen/living space and do something completely different such as a soft grey wall that will set off the kitchen but the grey will work well with both the antique white and the vivid white of the kitchen? Start with a sample of the antique white and put it up against the kitchen and see how it sits. If it looks OK run with that, if it's obvious/looks yellowish, then you may need to consider an alternative strategy. If all else fails it may pay to seek some professional colour consultation. Hope this helps. Cheers PD :)

First , just some info that may help you or others -- Dulux have a colour called Beechwood , which is an off-white , and Beech Woods ( 2 seperate words , and with an 's' ) which is a sandy colour . Sandy Day is lighter than Beech Woods , and comes in quarter and half too -- as Beech Woods is getting closer to a mushroom tone , I feel it doesn't 100% go with your brick , so personally I'd go Sandy Day half or even quarter . The plinth , at present , is in the buttery colour , and although I don't like that shade these days ( fine in the 70's haha ) , it does break the look and almost underlines the brick . Ordinarily , I'd say do the plinth monument so that it blends and almost anchors the base , but as it isn't all that high , in this case I'd go quite light ( if you have done the gable etc in Sandy Day half , for example , maybe get a 500ml can of Sandy Day full to do the plinth , it will reference the upper level , and look good IMO . As Kate says , its way easier to re-do it in charcoal later if desired , rather than the other way around .