Need Help with Wall Color in Living Room

MrBill_DIY

I am about to repaint the interior of my small townhouse, which is just 16 feet wide and doesn't get a lot of light. My sofa and love seat are light green, close to sage green. The oriental rug in the living room has green, beige, taupe, with some dark rose. The living room and dining room are completely open to each other and painted the same color. There are several dark mahoghany antiques in both rooms, and the setting is formal.

I'm looking at various alternative shades pretty near the existing color, Glidden Shell White, a creamy off-white that seems to work with either green or beige colors but is a bit blah. Benjamin Moore's Linen White is fairly close to the existing color. The crown molding is super-white, which seems to brighten up the woodwork better than antique white did. Lighter colors than Shell White don't seem to contrast as well with the moldings. It seems that yellower off-whites look good against the sofa and love seat, but not so good against the beiges and taupes in the oriental rug. I don't know if I should go darker given the lack of light in the house, although it would improve the contrast with the moldings. Maybe I already have the best wall color for this situation.

Does anyone have any color recommendations?

lenozhka

Hi Bill,

First of all, why are you changing the color? If you just feel like trying something different, then I say it's not worth the effort - because the colors you are considering (similar shades of white) will look pretty much all the same in your lighting conditions - you won't really see the difference.

On the other hand, if you are changing the color because you don't like the existing shade of white, then I have a couple suggestions for you:

1. The yellower whites that you mentioned you like may work just fine, so don't rule them out just because they look wrong against your rug. But to check that, don't hold the paint chips against your rug (because you are not painting the floor Instead, pin the colors to the walls and see if the wall and rug colors clash or look harmonious. Sometimes, when 2 different shades of the same color are placed at a distance and on different planes, the eye can't see the difference.

2. Why are you limiting yourself to shades of white only? A white/light color will not add light to the room, and oftentimes it's a wrong choice for poorly lit spaces.

Hope this helps,

Yelena

MrBill_DIY

The paint is about 25 years old, so the house needs repainting. I'm okay with the existing wall color -- just looking to see if something else might look a little better.

The way the walls flow into each other in my little townhouse, whatever color I pick needs to go all the way upstairs, so it's not just the living room that's affected. I have a hard time visualizing how colors will go together beforehand.

When I painted the kitchen a couple of years ago, I found that yellow did not go with my almond-colored appliances and had to repaint the room back to the previous off-white. So I'm thinking that maybe the same might happen with the rug in the living room.

If I did a mid-range color, it would probably be a sage green. At least that would go with everything. But I think that might be too much green for such a small space.

jenrick

Hi Mr. Bill

Try finding a beige color with a pink tint to it which might work better with the rose in the rug. Dont worry too much about matching the rug, pay more attention to the overall feel the color gives the room....too yellow can be unpleasant, too much pink can be too "pinky" and gray tint will not work well in a dark room.

Hope this helps.

Diane
www.onlinefabricstore.com

golfgirl

I would also choose a taupe/beige. It is very neutral, not too dark or light. I would not choose sage green as then the sofa would fade away. Go for a little bit of contrast. Just be sure you choose a tone to match the sage green you have as well as the rose fron the rug. It should be nice and soothing as well as long as the tones are right. it will pull your kitchen in as well since you have almond appliances.