Looking for color advise

wfischer

My wife and I are undecided on what color to paint the living room, once I finish removing the paneling. We've each suggested a few colors, but each has its own problems. Here are some of the criteria for our choice:

1. After the walls are painted, all the trim will be painted in an off white. I'm also going to be adding crown molding, which will also be off white. I was hoping to paint the ceiling a lighter shade of the same color as the walls, but off white is also an option.

2. We like our curtains! They're light green, as shown in the attached photos, although the photo doesn't quite catch the shade of green accurately. We're in the process now of trying to find identical curtains (or material) for the other windows in this room.

3. The plan is to eventually install some sort of hardwood lookalike flooring, so we're trying to keep that in mind when choosing wall colors.

4. The kitchen, which is adjacent to the living room, is dark red (with a hint of purple to it), so the living room shouldn't clash.

5. Lighting: The living room has a small west window, 2 north windows, an east window, and the door, which has glass in it, faces east. However, we keep the curtains closed most of the time. Besides, in Alaska, it's hard to base color decisions off of lighting, because of all the odd sunrise/sunset times... not to mention that Juneau is usually cloudy most of the time.

So far, we've considered (and turned down) several colors: light blue, light green (too much green in the room), white (not enough contrast), mocha brown (too dark, can't find a lighter ceiling color to match), and beige/tan. My wife's latest suggestion is to paint the walls the same color as the paneling that I'm tearing down. I don't think it's a bad idea, but it's not my first choice either. Also, after recently watching some home improvement shows, I'm curious about shades of orange - not caution tape or Home Depot orange, but maybe something peachy, or maybe a darker sorta burnt orange.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. I'd appreciate any suggestions!

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kimberland30

Are you keeping the furniture, and if so, are you going to cover it? The reason I ask is because you have a lot of color in the room as is, and if you add color to the walls it could come out looking more like a crayon box in your room. Know what I mean?

wfischer

Good point. The sofa is still in the room (after having been repaired), and may or may not be reupholstered at some point in the future. The purple futon and the coffee table have been removed, and the bookcase and red chair are now in the "office" which is just a nook off the living room and will be finished the same color. In the living room now we have a cream colored recliner and a dark blue recliner, and dark stained wood furniture.

DepotDweller

I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of a light salmon or coral-ish color may go nicely with the kitchen color and the curtains. It's close to a neutural but has enough color in it to bring out browns/earth tones, and goes well with brighter colors as well.

kimberland30

I agree about going with a coral color, but it's a hard color to get right. You could end up too peachy, too pink, or just *yuck*. A friend tried to get the right color coral for her bathroom, and ended up painting it blue. LOL

Since you have the couch, two chairs - one blue and one cream, and dark furniture, I'd go with a neutral color on the walls. I know that "taupe" seems so blah, but it really is a nice color. Or a sandy color - but not beige.

movado

Connecting Open Room Colors


Picking colors can prove to be a very stressful part of a seemingly exciting time in painting your home. How do you pick those colors? Many clients of mine ask me to please pick their colors. Unfortunately as a painter that is something I cannot do for each individual will have their own tastes. Nor do I know what other décor they may be buying or planning on. My suggestion is to get sample colors and paint a decent size block in the right spots to see how well they work.

There are some items to consider when picking colors however. Repeating the same hue throughout open spaces is a good way to cohesively join connecting rooms. An example of that would be to paint the same color molding and ceiling throughout the different rooms. Another way to blend open spaces would be to select the same tone of two or three colors on a palette that represent the same intensity of hues for each adjoining area. Using these concepts will keep the flow looking natural.

movado

Those are great color combos. Ever since pottery barn has teamed up with Benjamin Moore there has been a much better color selection solutions. Benjamin Moore also has a chart that has a couple of colors then a slot to stick a color chip underneath to see how well they go together. Love the colors and the link!