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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Playroom Paint Color?
LittleScholars 07:13 AM 09-22-2016
I'm moving to a new daycare space (yay!), and I can't figure out what to paint it. We finished the basement, so no need to worry that the color will look silly during non-daycare hours. Does anyone love their color scheme?

I want something calming, but not sleepy. We cut a large window and installed a walk out exit that allows in some good light, but it is still a basement so it is on the darker side.

My husband is a general contractor and has so many colors leftover from projects, including some of that bold primary paint. I don't think I want the entire space to have that much color, but maybe an accent wall or two or three? I'd love to see pictures if anyone loves their colors!
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LittleScholars 07:16 AM 09-22-2016
Also, I have all white furniture with the exception of three primary colored tables/chairs (one green, one blue, one red). So, primary colors definitely do make some sense.
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laundrymom 07:25 AM 09-22-2016
Mine is orange. I LOVE IT!!!!
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Controlled Chaos 07:30 AM 09-22-2016
Mine is a very very pale blue high gloss. I wanted it almost white since I rotate out a lot of different things on the walls. The super high gloss makes it easier to clean. The name of the paint is Gentle Slumber" The name sealed the deal for me lol
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Baby Beluga 07:40 AM 09-22-2016
Mine is a pale blue with white board and batten on the bottom. It is nice and calming, and makes matching easy.

My main colors are pale green, light blue, brown and cream. Anything that is primary colored that comes into the room seems to flow well with those colors.

If you would like I will send you my FB page in a PM, I have classroom pics in there you can see.
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LittleScholars 07:45 AM 09-22-2016
Originally Posted by Baby Beluga:
Mine is a pale blue with white board and batten on the bottom. It is nice and calming, and makes matching easy.

My main colors are pale green, light blue, brown and cream. Anything that is primary colored that comes into the room seems to flow well with those colors.

If you would like I will send you my FB page in a PM, I have classroom pics in there you can see.
Yes, please!!
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LittleScholars 07:45 AM 09-22-2016
Originally Posted by Controlled Chaos:
Mine is a very very pale blue high gloss. I wanted it almost white since I rotate out a lot of different things on the walls. The super high gloss makes it easier to clean. The name of the paint is Gentle Slumber" The name sealed the deal for me lol
OH!! High gloss is so smart. I wouldn't have thought of that!
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LittleScholars 07:46 AM 09-22-2016
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
Mine is orange. I LOVE IT!!!!
When I picked up paint samples I was drawn to the super pale oranges, which is odd because I generally really don't like orange. I thought that might feel so nice and sunny! I bet your room does!
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Baby Beluga 08:04 AM 09-22-2016
Originally Posted by LittleScholars:
Yes, please!!
PM sent
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MrsSteinel'sHouse 08:40 AM 09-22-2016
Mine is a brown. My downstairs is all variations of this color. Curtains are a blue stripe with the brown in it. I love that it is a nice neutral backdrop for whatever I put on it.






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MrsSteinel'sHouse 08:42 AM 09-22-2016



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daycare 08:49 AM 09-22-2016
I have an off white with all earth tones. I chose the simple on the counter off white that I can grab and go, so that when I have to repaint the walls every 8months or so it's not hard to just do touch up or color match.

very cute pics....love the fall decor
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Pestle 08:57 AM 09-22-2016
Color has a big emotional/behavioral influence, so I'm glad you're thinking hard about it! I chose a pale peachy orange, because orange is stimulating and recommended for early education but I also wanted the walls to read neutral--not to overwhelm/overstimulate. There's plenty of color in the furniture and toys, anyway; no need to make it a busy mess of contrasting colors. Think about how hard it would be to concentrate if YOU were a toddler trying to focus on a challenging project but surrounded by huge walls of bold color.

I used Valspar's Cinnamon Foam. Depending on the light (natural, artificial warm/artificial cool), it goes more yellow or more peach. If I were doing infants only, I would have gone with a cooler, less stimulating color--a grayish purple or green, probably.
Attached: BB4.jpg (57.2 KB) 
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Pestle 09:03 AM 09-22-2016
Oh, and I used satin, also, since it's easy to clean but not as shiny as a semi-gloss, which is more appropriate for a wet space like a kitchen or bathroom.

Blue is recommended if you have kids with behavioral problems. It's the same reason hospitals and mental health facilities use blue--helps you settle down.
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jenboo 09:16 AM 09-22-2016
I have one wall with a big window that's a light blue. The other walls are a very light gray/almost white. I wanted calming and light. The room looks huge now.

I would stay away from primary colors on the walls. Way to stimulating
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Blackcat31 09:28 AM 09-22-2016
My furniture is either all white or neutral.

My wall colors are pale soft yellow in kitchen and main room, soft pastel blue in the entry way and the infant room is one gigantic Winnie the Pooh and friends mural. The figures on the wall are bigger than the infant~toddlers and they love to get up close and talk to or "pet" them.... lol!

Also my DH is also a contractor/woodworker and he has always suggested using a satin or high gloss on all trim around doors and windows. Makes it a 100X's easier to wipe clean.
Even if we paint the room and trim the same color, we use a flat tone on walls and gloss on trim
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LittleScholars 09:47 AM 09-22-2016
You are all the best! I'm soo glad I asked! These are awesome suggestions! I'll definitely go pale colors, and I'm looking forward to trying out so samples!
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Ariana 09:53 AM 09-22-2016
My upper playroom is dark beige (similar to sand colour) and my lower floor room is mossy green. I prefer calm earth colours
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Pepperth 10:09 AM 09-22-2016
Mine is pumpkin orange. I love it...so bright and cheerful. We have a lot of dark and dreary winter days, and I think it helps the mood.
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AmyKidsCo 01:07 PM 09-22-2016
I have a light tan with white trim. I wanted something neutral that would fade into the background.
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Mike 05:58 PM 09-22-2016
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
My furniture is either all white or neutral.

My wall colors are pale soft yellow in kitchen and main room, soft pastel blue in the entry way and the infant room is one gigantic Winnie the Pooh and friends mural. The figures on the wall are bigger than the infant~toddlers and they love to get up close and talk to or "pet" them.... lol!

Also my DH is also a contractor/woodworker and he has always suggested using a satin or high gloss on all trim around doors and windows. Makes it a 100X's easier to wipe clean.
Even if we paint the room and trim the same color, we use a flat tone on walls and gloss on trim
Yup, and gloss can take more wear and tear which trim usually gets the worst of. Main reason walls are rarely done in gloss is because gloss shows imperfections, and no walls are perfect.
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ColorfulSunburst 06:40 PM 09-22-2016
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
My furniture is either all white or neutral.

My wall colors are pale soft yellow in kitchen and main room, soft pastel blue in the entry way and the infant room is one gigantic Winnie the Pooh and friends mural. The figures on the wall are bigger than the infant~toddlers and they love to get up close and talk to or "pet" them.... lol!
why am I not surprised that I have the same color and decoration?
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DaveA 04:03 AM 09-23-2016
I stink at describing colors, but my classroom is kind of a light tan/light yellow color. Since we have a bay window in the classroom, so it gets a ton of light. I wanted something bright but not so bright you needed sunglasses in the classroom.
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Unregistered 04:28 AM 09-23-2016
A celery/light pear in one roo and Avery pale color that is called bamboo in the other room.
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midaycare 05:15 AM 09-23-2016
We live in the woods on acreage, take kids for hikes on trails, etc, so I have a woodsy theme. I also live in a log home.

Our basement (where the daycare is) has wooden 2 walls like you would expect in a log home, and on my largest wall I painted it light green like leaves or grass (with a large tree mural with woodland animals) and on the opposite wall is a light brown wall meant to reflect the color of a tree limbs (but it's lighter) and has a large wall mural of woodland animals.

Everything pretty much reflects my woodsy theme in my decor, right down to the light grassy-like shag carpets I bought at IKEA for my craft room (Parents have commented, "I get it! Grass!")

I have 2 rooms in my basement, the craft room does not have carpet, hence the big green shag rugs, and the large play room does. The carpet in that room is beige/neutral.

I would say to think about your theme before choosing a color scheme.

If I had my way, everything would be purple . But it wouldn't make any sense in my home.
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Febby 06:14 AM 09-23-2016
I absolutely hate the color of my classroom at my center; it's a 90's mint green. Overall great center, but a couple room have hideous wall colors.

If I could choose a new color, I think I'd choose either a pale blue or a sand color.

My dad used to work in construction in finish drywall and he always told me that he hated whenever the final paint color was going to be high gloss black. Apparently it shows more imperfections than anything else. His explanation was that higher gloss shows more imperfections more and even more so if you combine with a dark color. We always did trim in either a high gloss or semi-gloss. Walls were usually either a satin or semi-gloss in our house.
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midaycare 06:30 AM 09-23-2016
I wanted to add that if you have a smaller wall or a spot you can't figure out what to do with - make a chalkboard wall. I did this in my craft room.

Also, paint looks different on cement (I can't think of the right word) tiling than on walls. They look industrial. Found in centers often, or buildings that are remodeled to look chic, or even basements.

I have had to paint these types of walls a few times, and paint never shows up how I would expect it to.
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Controlled Chaos 07:29 AM 09-23-2016
Originally Posted by midaycare:
I wanted to add that if you have a smaller wall or a spot you can't figure out what to do with - make a chalkboard wall. I did this in my craft room.

Also, paint looks different on cement (I can't think of the right word) tiling than on walls. They look industrial. Found in centers often, or buildings that are remodeled to look chic, or even basements.

I have had to paint these types of walls a few times, and paint never shows up how I would expect it to.
I love my chalk wall!
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midaycare 07:34 AM 09-23-2016
Originally Posted by Controlled Chaos:
I love my chalk wall!
And chalk walls can be any color nowadays! So fun I went with boring normal chalkboard green, but when I repaint I will be bolder.

*You have to repaint every 3 years or so, for anyone who doesn't know. I've had mine 3 years and it's still working great, though.
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MrsSteinel'sHouse 09:13 AM 09-23-2016
I can't have a chalk wall due to my allergies But we do lots of sidewalk chalk outside and I also have an outside chalkboard
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daycarediva 10:02 AM 09-23-2016
Mine is blue/green outdoorsy.

I took out my chalk wall paint, the dust clean up was driving me nuts.
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knoxmomof2 01:41 PM 09-24-2016
We bought our house a year ago and plan on keeping the current paint for as long as we can before repainting (less $$ and work for now). We have a medium tone wood trim and doors throughout the house and the paint color they used was a medium sand color. It goes great with the wood floors and wood trim/ doors. I have mostly white furniture with primary colors for storage bins and such. I just love the natural tones of the house and since I have 2 large picture windows in the daycare room, it's very fitting. I think I will stay with a warm tone when repainting (probably something very similar, but not a flat finish like it currently is) and I do plan on decorating/ accessorizing more with natural colors and textures in the long run.
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Lil_Diddle 10:50 AM 09-25-2016
Mine is a pale neutral yellow, it's calming and not overwhelming and by the time I put up kids artwork and all the colorful toys it work.
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