Paint my house please!

[Sarah428]

Help! My head is spinning with color choices and I need help!

Now that we're settled in from our move in July we need to make the house "ours". My dilemma is the fact that you can see the dining room and kitchen from the living area and there is no real division between them, so I'm struggling with color ideas that will flow while making each room individual.

I will be changing the window treatments (goodbye 80's!)
I love red in dining rooms and not afraid to use color anywhere
It is painted paneling on the walls in the living room & dining room

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid184/p28465d11b4883bd7433a56bb64530f80/f2919b35.jpg
Looking from the couch to the left into dining
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid184/p076a44f6b840bd685152ba6dd7159128/f2919b36.jpg
Looking from the couch to the right to backdoor & kitchen
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid184/pd78a5e6a9c4bbe51cfa2a4abf058dd8d/f2919b37.jpg
Dining & kitchen
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid184/p8d912b56f858360e159b7d4f95cf2578/f2919b34.jpg

[MISSINDI]

What about a nice taupe or suede color, and then using different accent colors in each room? I'm doing something similar in our house. Our LR and DR are separate rooms, but visible to each other, so I'm using the same suede-ish color in both rooms and then in the LR, the accents are dark chocolate and a lime green (trust me, it works) and then in the DR, the accents are seaglass and dry to wet sand colors.

You might want to pick up the special "Decorating" issue Martha Stewart just put out. She talked about using the same color pattern throughout to keep it flowing. She goes into detail about it in her opening letter.

Hope this helps!

[donleyk]

Well first I want to say I am glad it all worked out for you! Your pics are nice and you will do fine picking out colors and painting, I'm sure. That said I think I would decide which room I just 'know' I want to look a certain way then tie the rest of the rooms in. Since you like the red that might be the best place to start. Your furniture is certainly neutral enough to do about anything you want. Good luck!

[Natasha]

Okay, so maybe the last thing you need is MORE colour choices, and this doesn't really answer your questions, but I thought I'd mention this site if you're interested in giving it a look: http://www.paintcafe.com . It's a French Canadian site and I love it! If you click on "Welcome" you get taken to a page which has an option called "Colour Game". Colour Game asks you questions and shows you a variety of paint schemes. We had fun with the quiz and did get a good idea or two when we painted most of the principal rooms in our house a couple of years ago.

Have fun!

Natasha

[Peweh]

Are you opposed to painting the fireplace bricks white (and maybe the kitchen cabinets?) If not, you're wide open for lots of great wall colors and the white accents will really 'pop' as they say on TV. I have mixed opinions; I rented a place that had the bricks painted white and loved giving them a fresh coat of paint and contrasting the walls; but now that I own, I don't want to 'ruin' the brick...

[Sarah428]

Are you opposed to painting the fireplace bricks white (and maybe the kitchen cabinets?) If not, you're wide open for lots of great wall colors and the white accents will really 'pop' as they say on TV. I have mixed opinions; I rented a place that had the bricks painted white and loved giving them a fresh coat of paint and contrasting the walls; but now that I own, I don't want to 'ruin' the brick...
I'm not opposed to painting the kitchen cabinets (in fact planning on it) but not confortable with painting the fireplace. We want to "cheaply" update the kitchen because we are planning on a major renovation in about 5-8 years.

Here's a kitchen (http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_kitchen/article/0,,HGTV_3375_3808081,00.html) from HGTV that I like. There was another one with cabinets painted cream and the walls were red that I feel in love w/ months ago but forgot to bookmark :mad:.

Natasha - That color quiz is great. I love this color combo (http://www.paintcafe.com/en/couleur/harmonie/alfresco/h207.asp) that it brought up for the living room.

[NewMrsG]

that combo you pulled up from the site Natasha recommended is great!

We were also trying to pull together complimentary colors for 3 adjoining rooms and a hallway - although they're not nearly as open as your space.

We painted our living room a nice buttery yellow, then the dining room - of which there's a pretty open view from the living room - is a muted reddish color. The stairwell, which is between the living room and dining room is a mustardy color. Our living room furniture is a taupe color and we have red and burgundy accents. Our kitchen is a sage green - which works nicely with the yellow, and although it doesn't match the red really, it's sort of a nice contrast and I really like it. We left our hallway neutral - sort of a sand color.

And we painted the trim a linen white througout all of the rooms to add some continuity.

Just throwing out another idea!

Now can someone help me figure out what color to paint our bedroom?? :)
(just kidding - don't want to hijack your thread)

[Sarah428]

I started this thread almost a year ago and there still is no paint on the walls! :o

MISSINDI - You mentioned the lime green and browns. I had a lady from a local interior design store come in she recommended the same thing. Do you happen to have any pictures I can see so I can visualize it?

This is one of the fabrics she picked out for pillows (choose "fennel" under color name and click enter). (http://www.robertallendesign.com/ra/servlets/SearchName)

[acb11]

We went with fall colors in our house--don't know if they are "in" or "out", but we love them. They all work well and can be seen from one room to another. They are all Benjamin Moore colors. Dining room is Dorset Gold (most people think of it a more pumkin than gold), hall is Giant Sequoia (sort of a brick color) and the living room is Adams Gold (more yellow/green) and has Giant Sequoia accents.

We have Sand Fossil by Home Depot in our bedroom and we love that, too. It is a beigish color, with a hint of sage. A bathroom is also Home Depot, Parisian Taupe--everyone comments on the color in there.
Good luck--we went for color because it's the cheapest way to change your house. In a few years we might decide to change it, but we love it all for now.

[jellyben]

It looks from th epics that your furniture is quite neutral, so you have so many color options! There is a great green from Ben Moore called Baby Turtle-looks similar to the one you liked above. My DR is one shade lighter, Flowering Herb. Lowe's carries a line of Laura Ashley colors-Pale Gold, Gold 3, Gold 4. They are also quite lovely and worth checking out. I have Gold 3 in my hallways, and it works with all the colors in the different rooms.

Good Luck! I have about a jazillion paint chips, so I love paint threads!!

[MISSINDI]

I started this thread almost a year ago and there still is no paint on the walls! :o

MISSINDI - You mentioned the lime green and browns. I had a lady from a local interior design store come in she recommended the same thing. Do you happen to have any pictures I can see so I can visualize it?


Yup. This is the fabric I used for curtains that I had made. Our couches are a warm chocolate brown and the walls and a pale, pale coffee color. Hope this helps. :D

http://www.hancockfabrics.com/images/us//local/products/detail/1150010N_dt.jpg