Overwhelmed By Decor Decisions

by Michelle
(Caledonia)

I have a dilemma. I want to paint my living room/dining room but I'm not sure what colour. I dont like really washed out colours, yet I dont want to go too dark.

I like a bright, cheerful room with lots of light but at the same time I'm not a boring person and like colour!

I have cream carpet and gray furniture and dark brown wood trim etc.

I would like to do a different colour or tone of the same colour in the dining room area and the walls in that room continue to the front hallway and upstairs hallway.

The only thing I can think of is to buy a nice piece of artwork and cushions that will look nice on my furniture and then pull out a colour to paint the walls with.

The house is decorated like the 70's from previous owners and I'm tired of it and have a low budget to work with.

Help Please!
Michelle

Andrea's Response

OK, so we have cream, gray and dark brown and we want to add in a colour that isn't washed out but isn't too dark?

You actually have lots of options really Michelle as long as you do exactly what you have already said and introduce some art and/or cushions or other accessories that bring everything together.

A colour that I particularly like that may suit you is teal. I think it is fresh and strong and quite contemporary without being too dark and the fabric I have pictured above also brings in the dark brown of your furniture.

If it were my living room I would make some simple cushion covers for some throw pillows for the sofa in this fabric and also add in a few in a plain teal fabric for some added 'oomph'.

I'm sure you don't want the expense of a new carpet if it is not really necessary so you may like to consider an area rug to liven up the floor space in front of the sofa.

I personally really like an accent wall and in your room I think this may be best suited to the dining room area although it depends on how you use the space.

If you like to entertain and would like to create a more intimate space with candlelight and so on then the richness and warmth of the teal would look lovely.

From the picture it looks like you have plain brown curtains at the windows which look very nice. You may like to consider making padded pelmets for the windows in the teal/brown fabric but if you do, be sure to hang them high and make them narrow so as not to lose much light.

Given that you have a lot of lovely natural light in the room which - understandably - you don't want to lose it is hard to suggest a colour for the walls which is much different to the colour you already have.

I think that adding coloured accents to the room and an accent wall (or two?) is a better option than using a strong colour for all the walls.

Of course this is all just a suggestion and you could substitute teal with any other colour you really like - bright red for example - it just depends on your personal taste. The principal remains the same though - good luck!

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