Decorating and Design - Need color help for FR
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Kathy-in-NE
10-30-04, 11:01 AM
I just read the 'how to pick paint' thread and hurray! I started right! LOL We moved here in May and left most of our LR furniture behind as it was not worth moving. It took us 4 months the find couches we liked. Comfort was the number 1 priority then durability/color/style (we have 9 children). Blue is out and that is my color so it wasn't easy but we finally decided on two large dark blue couches. The blue is slightly on the 'purple' side and goes great with the medium grey carpeting. It is not a flat color....micro fiber fabric so it has texture to it. In one corner of the room there is a woodstove with dark grey tile flooring and half way up the wall (just behind the stove). On the wall adjacent to the stove there is a large window (74" wide) and on the next wall french doors to the side yard. The views are great but the afternoon sun makes things hot so I want window treatments that are easy to open and close and will block the light when needed. NO BLINDS! I hate blinds. Actually, I hate dirty blinds and find them impossible to keep clean. LOL Other furniture includes a dk blue recliner, 2 large upholstered chairs that I will recover, wood rocking chair, and a large TV armoire stained cherry but there's not much red to it. The wood trim around the windows & floor is a medium to light stain. There is also a wood 'mantle' along the top edge of the grey stone tile. I'm not opposed to painting the wood.
Now my dilema. I painted the walls a medium to light smokey blue and bought drapes a couple shades darker. I don't like it! Dh is not happy with the idea of repainting esp. after paying nearly $40 for paint! I went to every department and fabric store in town looking for curtain and chair coverings with blue in them. I found one dark blue fabric with a large dark red floral pattern that would look lovely on the chairs and the dark red looks fantastic against the blue of the couches so I could do accent pillows. But I couldn't find anything for the windows that had blues & reds together and I'm just not sure about how red will look with the grey. And what can I do with the walls? Pale grey maybe?
Please give me some ideas! I'm not stuck on the idea of red. The couches and armoire are classic in design....not too fancy but not cottage style. We spend most of our time in this room and it needs to be comfy and not fussy. Help me please!
Now my dilema. I painted the walls a medium to light smokey blue and bought drapes a couple shades darker. I don't like it! Dh is not happy with the idea of repainting esp. after paying nearly $40 for paint! I went to every department and fabric store in town looking for curtain and chair coverings with blue in them. I found one dark blue fabric with a large dark red floral pattern that would look lovely on the chairs and the dark red looks fantastic against the blue of the couches so I could do accent pillows. But I couldn't find anything for the windows that had blues & reds together and I'm just not sure about how red will look with the grey. And what can I do with the walls? Pale grey maybe?
Please give me some ideas! I'm not stuck on the idea of red. The couches and armoire are classic in design....not too fancy but not cottage style. We spend most of our time in this room and it needs to be comfy and not fussy. Help me please!
Annette
11-01-04, 12:00 PM
hi!
blue is out??? dang! i guess i missed that memo! :confused: ;)
well, you're off to a good start, but i'd say you're still lacking your "inspiration" item! all you've got are a lot of solid colors, and they're all in the same color family (grays-blues). you still need something that's multicolored that you can pull the entire color scheme from. keep looking for draperies, or an area rug, or a large piece of artwork, or better throw pillows that will have more useful colors than just red. actually, i think i'd focus on finding a fabric to recover those chairs, and then pull a paint color from that. i don't like for all the upholstered pieces in a room to be solid anyway, so try to find a print of some sort (paisley, plaid, tapestry, stripe, floral, whatever) that has some good colors in it.
i'm thinking that the problem right now is that all the blues & grays (dark blue furniture, medium gray carpet, dark gray tile, light to medium smoky blue walls, dark smoky blue draperies) are just too drab & gray & monochromatic. you need something that's cleaner & brighter & that will pop. maybe more of a lighter, warmer color on the walls, but it's hard to say at this point. i'd keep looking for something that can inspire you. you don't even have to buy it, just use it for reference. think golds, yellows, peaches. greens, tans, etc. anything NOT in the gray or blue family!
also, take a look at the colors in the rest of the house. or is the beginning point for the decorating? maybe if you pre-plan for those other rooms, it'll come together easier.......what's going to happen in the kitchen? or the bathroom that guests will use? sometimes it helps to look ahead like that & then you can build backwards from those rooms.
blue is out??? dang! i guess i missed that memo! :confused: ;)
well, you're off to a good start, but i'd say you're still lacking your "inspiration" item! all you've got are a lot of solid colors, and they're all in the same color family (grays-blues). you still need something that's multicolored that you can pull the entire color scheme from. keep looking for draperies, or an area rug, or a large piece of artwork, or better throw pillows that will have more useful colors than just red. actually, i think i'd focus on finding a fabric to recover those chairs, and then pull a paint color from that. i don't like for all the upholstered pieces in a room to be solid anyway, so try to find a print of some sort (paisley, plaid, tapestry, stripe, floral, whatever) that has some good colors in it.
i'm thinking that the problem right now is that all the blues & grays (dark blue furniture, medium gray carpet, dark gray tile, light to medium smoky blue walls, dark smoky blue draperies) are just too drab & gray & monochromatic. you need something that's cleaner & brighter & that will pop. maybe more of a lighter, warmer color on the walls, but it's hard to say at this point. i'd keep looking for something that can inspire you. you don't even have to buy it, just use it for reference. think golds, yellows, peaches. greens, tans, etc. anything NOT in the gray or blue family!
also, take a look at the colors in the rest of the house. or is the beginning point for the decorating? maybe if you pre-plan for those other rooms, it'll come together easier.......what's going to happen in the kitchen? or the bathroom that guests will use? sometimes it helps to look ahead like that & then you can build backwards from those rooms.