Jen's Sunroom

Hi Jen,

Thanks for sending in the video.

I want to start with your wall color. You have a real disconnect with your wall color and everything else. I can imagine the window treatments have yellow in them- but that does not make that paint color work. You can only keep one -- the wall color- or everything else. To really make that wall color work- you would have to go with furniture like this. However- I get the feeling that this whole bright look would then have a disconnect with the rest of your house. Just a hunch- since I haven't seen the rest of your home. But - to assume my hunch is right- we will lose the wall color. I selected Ramie by Sherwin Williams for you. You can see it in the room below.

Yes- I would also take down the valances. Use panels that go to the floor. To keep it light and airy- I selected a sheer from West Elm- in a simple off white. I would not put them on the interior doors- but yes to the rest of them.

Pull it all together with the rug. The rug below is from Homedecorators.com. Get a larger one than your current rug. It should help to ground the furniture- by being at least partially under all of your seating pieces. Pull your furniture away from your walls more- into the room. Remove the bookcase and all the wall decor. It will look better without them. I would move your chairs to another room and use instead a pair of chairs like the one at the top of the post- only $199 each from Homedecorators.com. Without the ottoman- you have room for a larger ottoman in the center. Get a nice large plant for the corner that currently has the bookcase. Your room has beautiful bones- with these small changes it will be your new favorite room in your home. Pull in a couple more patterns- one on your ottoman- and another in some throw pillows.

Thanks again for sending a video! It is so helpful!

Paint for Amy's Dining Room

Christine,
My husband & I are so blessed to be in our new home and now are trying to take it from basic vanilla to warm, inviting and FUN!!! Right now we are trying to figure out what to do with our dining room. There is a chintzy little chair rail and nothing but light vanilla on the walls. Could you send some suggestions? Here's some other info:
1. We are saving for a really great sideboard from IO Metro with mercury glass doors (GORGEOUS!)
2. Our house is pretty open on the 1st floor so every color choice impacts every other room
3. Our entry and living room walls are SW Latte
4. Our Kitchen wall color is Olympic Paint, Applesauce Cake (Warm golden wheat color) with white cabinets
4. The only other color on the 1st floor is the accent wall in the living room (which you see as soon as you walk in the front door) is Valspar "Spring Spirits", a muted soft turquoise.
I love rich mocha colors with fun pops of vibrant colors but I also love soft soothing colors too! I think my problem (other than a lack of funds, ha!) is that I like too many things that it's hard to settle on one style. In my heart though, I keep imagining a glamorous silvery sleek room. I have been buying silvery blue sample paints but in this room, they turn out way too blue. I thought I was going to LOVE SW Oyster Bay, but on the wall it looked like baby
nursery blue! I also tried Benjamin Moore Storm Cloud which isn't bad but I'd love any suggestions you can give. Thanks!!!!
-Amy-

Hi Amy,

What is making your paint selection difficult is the warm/ cool thing. Your rug is a warm color- but your woods and upholstery- and most blues in general are cool colors.

My advice? Go warm on your paint. Your other paint colors are warm- and going warm here will blend your rooms together better- as well as look good with your rug. To have the sleek silvery room you describe would require a new rug. Your rug is great- I say keep it- and go with one of the paints below.

I selected a few more samples to add to your walls- Sherwin Williams Underseas and Sherwin Williams Halcyon Green.

Send us an after photo of your completed paint job!

Check out this post for tips on selecting a great shade of blue.

Carol's Condo Colors

Christine,

-Am I right in remembering a recent post of yours saying paint colors were trending away from dark to light colors? Am STILL picking a color for our Fl. condo which is dark inside anyway. I have a light creamy beige picked out which would go on all the walls and white painted woodwork. Too similar? If you might recall, I have a mottled green ceramic floor to deal with. Hoping this will lighten things up and make it look larger, but now am afraid I'm being too bland.

Carol

Hi Carol,

I wouldn't worry about being too bland. So long as you have good contrast with white- it is in your wall decor and draperies, furnishings and accessories that you will keep from being bland. I think especially when your floor has a color- a nice light neutral is a good idea. Have some confidence with your decision. I also talked about the lighter trend of walls back in may of 2009 in this post.

Go check out Ancient Marble SW6162 by Sherwin Williams. It is light overall when up- but still dark enough to contrast nicely with white woodwork.... I also really like Wool Skein SW6148- it is a little more neutral- Ancient Marble has a bit of a green tint to it- both I think would be nice with your green tile.

Wool Skein is in the photo at the top- and Ancient Marble is the square above.

Thanks,

Christine

Paint Colors for Rob

My sister's friend wants me to select his exterior paint scheme for him. Or maybe my sister wants me to select it for him... I'm really unsure. Anyway- he has an orangish brick home- with white trim. He has a large barn next to it, as well as an addition on the back. (It is actually far too lovely to be a barn- but that's what they call it.) He wanted to do the barn and addition in red- to which I say- heck no. Charming in the photo above- but obnoxious on a large scale. Even if the red were not so bright- I can't imagine it going well with orangish brick.

If I get to choose- it is going to be a shade of green. I love green on the exterior. Especially soft muted olive greens like the bungalow above.

I also like the grayer greens...

And celedon greens...

Green looks great with brick.

And I also am quite fond of the black and off white pallet mixed with brick.

The black is so pretty.

So- Rob- this is what I say-

Sherwin Williams 6138 Artifact for the body of the addition and barn.

Sherwin Williams 6154 Nacre for the painted trim.

Sherwin Williams 6160 Best Bronze for the door.

Anyone have an orangish brick home? What paint colors are used with it? Anyone prefer a pallet from the above photos? Are there any that you don't like?

Rhythm by Alternation

Hi Christine,

I have been following your blog for a few months now and have been plowing through your archives. I really enjoy your posts, think you give great advice and crack up over your sometimes harsh comments! I am hoping that you can help me with our master bedroom. I have learned a ton from reading your blog, but as the pictures show, I have not put your advice into action yet. I know the error of my ways. I have been pattern-phobic and my decorating has been dull, dull, dull. I know this room needs a unifier, it lacks texture, needs window treatments and that there is way too much dark wood furniture everywhere. My problem is that I need more than just rules, I need specific instructions on what to get! We painted the walls a Ben Moore color called "Starfish." I occasionally like it, but often do not. It looks very different in different lights sometimes approaching circus peanut orange! Not a good thing. I'm wondering if with new bedding, window treatments and maybe an area rug, the color would look better and the room would be more pulled together. If not, I am not opposed to repainting. If so, I would want a warm neutral. The room gets a ton of sunlight. I am unsure of what to do with the double window (where the chair is) with the palladian window above. Sun pours through that window in the morning and drives us crazy. The way the ceiling angles you cannot put a rod across the width of the windows including the palladian. I do not like angled curtain rods unless you can convince me that they look okay. Right now we have white honey comb blinds on all 6 windows. Very boring. We recently inherited a bunch of furniture from my mother-in-law. That is why there is so much stuff in there and why it's such a mish mash. The only things that must stay are the long double dresser, the tall lingerie chest and the tall cabinet. Also the bed and t.v. and ideally the book case but that's not a drop dead. We have a funky loveseat that I am thinking of having reupholstered to go into the nook with the window where the chair currently is. I would like that in a funky cool pattern. Maybe that could help unify the room. Not sure how much that would cost and if we might be better off just buying new stuff instead of reupholstering. It is a pretty large room. The main area is approx 18' long (the headboard wall) by 17". This does not include the area where the chair is - that is 3' deep by 7.25'. It also doesn't include the area where the long dresser is (the section of wall is approx 8' long). Across from it is the master bath and our walk in closet. As you can see from the photos the ceiling angles down in spots. This restricts where furniture can go. The t.v. is tricky as the ceiling angles down where we have it so we can't mount it on the wall. If you would like an actual floor plan I can try to get one for you. Our scanner is not working right now but I could try to get you one if you would like to see it. I would love to get specific recommendations on art work (I know what we have is too small), rug, window treatments, bedding and accessories. Basically everything we need to make this room look cool and put together. Our taste is more clean and simple, definitely not ornate and I gravitate towards warm earthy colors. I have attached way too many pictures but it's impossible to get the whole room in just a few shots. Thanks so much in advance for any help you can offer!

Mary

Hi Mary-

I see what you mean with the color- I really like it in the photo above- and don't like it at all in the photo below. I would repaint. Consider Bagel SW 6114 by Sherwin Williams. It is a nice neutral tone- but with a lot of the peachy orange undertone- that I think looks really nice in the photo above. You can see it here.

I thought I might attack your room photo by photo. First- I cannot see your picture at all. It is too small- and the subject matter is too small. When you have art work over a bed- you need to be able to see it from across the room- not have to crawl up on the bed to see it. Replace it with a larger piece- with a larger subject- like the boat at the top of the post. I like your bedding- but I would add another element- fold the duvet to cover the bottom 1/3 or 2/3 and show a pretty blanket- or cool sheets or something. To add interest- consider an area rug. The one above is from Angela Adams. Going this direction- I would replace the throw pillows- with something like this teal one.

Here above you can definitely see that the chair does not go with the paint. Yikes. Add drapery panels on all of your windows- You have a more contemporary bed and bedding- so you can keep it simple- but use an interesting texture- like a linen.

OK- here it really needs help. One principle designers learn in school is called rhythm by alternation. What I see here is case piece, case piece, case piece, case piece case piece. Yeahhh- that's no good. The result of the uninterrupted wood furniture lined up along the wall is a lack of rhythm. It's a room killer. A room that incorporated rhythm by alternation would alternate case pieces with upholstry, drapery, plants, or other items. Move the lingerie to where the the four legged table is, keep the dresser and get rid of the rest- add a nice plant in current locationce of the lingerie. I would do a Roman shade in the same material as the drapes- and replace the white blinds with dark woven roller shades- about the same tone as your wood furniture.

Case piece, case piece, hard chair (almost as bad as another case piece) I would move the secretary- it is too traditional for the bed. (When I say move- I mean to another room). Your room is really off to a nice start- but just becasue this furniture fits- does not mean that you should use it. Your neighbors are going to love your yard sale!!!

Thanks for writing in!

Christine