Today seems to be my day for green. I just took a few minutes to post a couple of recommendations in the Makeover Gallery at Roomvues and in two cases was replacing green and in one case recommending it.
I recommend Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum paint Edgewood Green for this great room that I thought would look even greater in green. Below is an spectacular stairway painted in this color.
I also thought that this dining room in icy green would be so much lovelier in a palette of sophisticated neutrals and suggested a few flattering new colors for a currently green powder room.
Check it out and add your own suggestions…
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I love Mount Vernon and it is on my ‘dream places to live’ list because:
- It is on the water with a spectacular water view! Thanks to some smart folks with the foresight to buy the land across the river and turn it into a park it will always remain that way.
- The grounds are gorgeous and expansive. Keep in mind that in my dream life I can well afford to have someone else maintain the many acres of grass, flowers and trees.
- The home has incredible architectural details both inside.
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Today’s color dilemma…
I have more of a question than a comment. I have an open floor plan with all white walls that are making me crazy. I NEED color!
I want the rooms to flow, but be distinct. The front room gets a lot of sun and has oak colored bookcases, and a little darker piano. I would like to do a sage(ish) green, pale yellowish and raspberry-reddish colors. It flows into the kitchen with one wall that connects via a vaulted ceiling. The kitchen has med. wood cabinets, black countertops, and stainless steel appliances.
The current decor is sort of country(ish) with black, red and goldish yellow. The living room shares the same wall as the front room and kitchen, and currently has a reddish leather couch that will have to stay and is sporting and “Americana theme” which could stay or go.
Most Pictures that will stay as part of the decor are framed in black. All rooms receive a good amount of natural light Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance! -Mindi
Barbara suggests…
Your preference is for sage green, pale yellow and raspberry-red colors, although you did not indicate where you would like these colors to be used. However, colors of the type you mention that could do well together, depending on their location, combination and proportion. I’m going to propose a couple of ways to do this:
From Benjamin Moore: (more…)
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Today’s color dilemma…
I’m looking for help with natural oak trim and wood floors. Pretty good light and great artisan wood side tables and hutch. Anything but yellow? Anything bolder? What about something in a green?
2nd question– I’m interested in some ideas for color for living room and dining room with beautiful natural oak trim and molding. There is no way we are going to paint this wood, but we would like ideas for a natural match. Help!!!! –Eileen
Kate suggests…
Green would be great choice with your oak floors and trim.
When I read your question I immediately thought of Edgewood Green from Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paint. This is a (more…)
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Cottage Magpie is a delightful blog that chronicles Angela’s quest to add charm to her 1950’s ranch style home. Stop by for a look at how she has created a charming home with thrift store finds and cottage style.
I dropped in on Angela today to check out her round up of reader’s blog post inspired by her call for ‘Spring Green’.
The entries were so creative that I decided to go back and visited each blog again and chose a favorite item to share with you. It wasn’t easy but here are my picks. (more…)
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Today’s color dilemma…
I just painted my family room with Lush Sage by Valspar with yellowish/goldish curtains and roman shades from Pottery Barn. Now my living room looks so unfinished but picking a colour to work well beside the family room seems rather tough. The only colour in the living room is the brown furniture. I don’t even have curtains up it this room. Any help would be so appreciated. Thanks.
Kate suggests…
We only get a glimpse of your lovely living room but from what little we see you can tell how well the Valspar Lush Sage and the Pottery Barn window treatments work in this room. I’d continue your scheme into the living room.
Since you’re pleased with Valspar I would recommend their Earthen Sienna. It works well with Lush Sage and picks up on the color scheme from the family room so that schemes in both rooms would flow well from one to the other.
You don’t mention what accent colors you have used in the family room but using the same or similar accent colors in the living room will also help to tie the rooms together visually.
Resources:
- Valspar paint is available at Lowe’s. Type in your zip code to find your local Lowe’s
- Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.
**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.
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11th Feb. '08
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Design & Decorating Resources
, Living Spaces
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Tags: blue, color-schemes, cream, full-spectrum-paint, green, interior, neutrals, orange, paint, purple, red, yellow
Authored by Ellen Kennon
The designers, architects and color consultants who have given me such support and inspiration over the years have inspired me to put together my new Full Spectrum “Designer’s Palette”.
I created these new colors with some of the countries most talented designers, architects and color consultants. The Designer’s Palette includes (more…)
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Today’s color dilemma…
“We are moving into a new apartment soon, and I am creating an office and work room for the family, which includes two boys.
I want to pick an accent color that will be stimulating, but mentally stimulating, not physically stimulating. At first I thought I would use orange (with grey/beige/white) but I think that may be a mistake because orange is thought to stimulate appetite. Yellow? Red?
Or, should I keep their work area in their bedroom, which is indigo and a mossy/celeryish not dull not bright medium green - that’s the furniture, bedding, and the rug - walls aren’t painted yet.What do you think for an accent color for the work room, and would the boys be better off working in the room that is green and blue?
Many thanks.
-Wendi
Kate suggests…
You are on the right track by beginning with thinking about the functionality of the room and the mood you want to create.
The main color in you decorating scheme sets the mood of the room. Other colors are added that enhance that mood. The gray, tan and white color scheme you mention is a good choice for a family workspace and would go nicely with red or orange accents.
A color scheme of grey/beige/white can work well for kids too as shown in these two workspaces from Pottery Barn Kids
Yellow might be another good choice because it instills optimism and sparks creative thought.
Since an accent color generally occupies less than 30% of what is seen in a room it would not cause your boys to be more hyper plus red, orange and yellow all have the positive effect of being mentally stimulating.
A shared workspace becomes “family central” with spaces to display kids latest school work and keep track of activities.
You could set up their work area in the bedroom however if you have the ability to create a workspace that is shared with your kids this is what I would recommend. It gives you the ability to each be working independently yet be together, and allows you to keep an eye that they are actually working without having it seem as though you are checking up on them.
This solution would also allow you to keep their room focused on rest and relaxation rather than work. The color scheme you have chosen already is ideal for this because cool colors like blue and green have been known in color psychology to promote relaxation, which is why they are often a popular choice for bedrooms.
Architecture for beginners wall decals
If you want to allow your boys to help decorate their space a fun option would be wall decals like the ones shown here.
I hope you find these thoughts helpful as you decorate your new apartment. I’d enjoy seeing pictures of how it all comes together.
Resources:
- Wall decals available at kidsmodern.com
- Furniture and wall organizers from potterybarnkids.com
- Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you could be the next reader to have your color question answered on the Color For Your Home blog.
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Today’s color dilemma…
I would like to know what color might expand this space visually as I would like to make this room seem larger.
Thanks, Sylvie
Kate suggests…
Small spaces often appear smaller as a result of the simple mistake of having too many contrasting colors present. To help broaden your sense of space in a cozy room, there are a couple of solutions you can incorporate when decorating.
First choose a monochromatic color scheme. That means to choose a main color for the room and then keep the majority of elements in the room in varying shades or tints of that color.
Colors that are neutral or just a shade or two apart from each other will help create an open, airy feeling. For example you may chose a light, refreshing, green color, such as those shown below.
Greens from Pittsburgh Paints
On left top to bottom 209-3 Aloe Vera, 309-4 Quaking Grass, 410-4 Olive Sprig
On the right top to bottom 308-3 St. Augustine, 310-3 Pickling Spice
Another way to make a room seem larger is to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls. This allows your eye to expand and flow freely within the space, whereas contrasting ceiling color forces your eye to stop at the edges where the walls and ceiling meet placing more focus on the size of the walls.
Keep in mind, while furnishing your room, that too much texture can also make a space seem smaller. Smoother surfaces help to open up a space especially when they are in the same color family.
Transparent elements and objects add sparkle but “dissappear” into the scheme because their presence does’t totally obstruct the view of what is beyond or under them. This is why a designer often chooses a glass top table for a small dining space.
Resources:
- Do you have a color dilemma? Post it in the Makeover Gallery at RoomVues.com and you be the next reader to have your color questions answered on the Color For Your Home blog.
- Type in your zip code to find your local Pittsburgh Paint dealer
**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint colors. Please refer to an actual sample of the paint for an accurate rendition of the color.
Do you have an idea for the accent wall? Please share it with us in the comments.
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Today’s color dilemma…
We are having our dream house built and the builder asked us to choose our exterior paint colors. We love the older home look and would like to have forest green shutters but can’t decide between “vintage cream” siding, which has a hint of soft butter yellow in it or “linen” off white.
We selected the Rocky Springs model from Poole and are having it built on a three-acre lot. Which would give the older home look? We appreciate any advice you could give. Thank you, Dana
Kate suggests…
I can see why this is your dream home. I’m already envisioning you all settled in with enough time to sip ice tea and browse through a magazine on your inviting front porch.
In looking at your builders design options I think the choices you have made so far are perfect. The forest green is a classic color for the shutters and the green will keep the house tied to the surroundings.
The weatherwood color shingles for the roof would go with either of the exterior colors you are considering.
The good news is that whichever color you choose your home will have the look you are after so you can’t make a wrong decision.
Both cream and off-white have always been popular choices and it would be unfair of me to say that one is going to make the home look older than the other and leave it at that.
My first instinct was to say that you might find the Vintage Cream makes it appear older however because I can never help but to think of the entire scheme rather than individual elements I started to think about what color might work for your front door.
Linen Off-White or Vintage Cream??
In considering the style of the home, the choices you have already made, and the knowledge that you wanted it to look older the color that kept coming to mind was a red but not a bright red but rather a more muted coppery red.
This is an intrguing red by Sherwin-Williams. The color is reminiscent of the Roycroft pottery glazes that was inspired by the hammered copper of early Roycroft metalwork. It is very warm and welcoming which is perfect for a front door.
Because I place such importance on the front door I want it to stand out. If I was to go with Roycroft Cooper Red for the door and the forest green shutters so the linen white would set the red off nicely but the vintage cream with this color would also be lovely just a slightly different look.
So think about your door color. If you were to lean toward a cooler hue such as a historic blue or dusty eggplant the vintage cream would surround it beautifully but if you want to set off a warmer color you might lean towards the vintage cream.
I hope that help by giving you some things to consider as you make your decision but based on what you have told me already I feel confident that whichever you choose the end result is going to be stunning.
Enjoy your new home!
Resources:
**Please note: Due to individual computer monitor limitations, colors seen here may not accurately reflect the paint or material color. Please refer to an actual sample for an accurate rendition of the color.
Which color do you prefer: Linen Off-White or Vintage Cream? Please share it with us in the comments.
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