Color me!
When I moved into my apartment two years ago, it had been painted top to bottom in Benjamin Moore's Linen White paint. In flat. (Right. Try cleaning that once it's scuffed by a ton of garden materials dragged through the apartment.)
I'm a big Ben Moore fan, and particularly like linen white, but I changed a few things—periwinkle blue in the bedroom, a red wall in the living room, apple green in the kitchen, and seafoam blue in the bathroom. But I left the entry hallway and most of the living room white, mainly because I wanted to go for a pared-down modern look and I just didn't have the energy to paint the whole place.
Well, white just isn't going to cut it anymore. So I need your help.
The photo above is of the biggest uninterrupted wall in the living room, showing how it connects to the hallway. I'd like to make the whole living room a richer color, maybe some sort of beige or sandy color that has a warm undertone. But I'm wondering what will happen to those paintings that are hanging on the wall. I don't want them to blend into the background. They're painted on whitewashed plywood (by my friend, Jim Sperber). Also, the intended color scheme of the room—not yet accomplished—is chocolate brown and slate blue with pops of red (imagine the gold chair is reupholstered in gray-blue).
I won't touch this one wall, because of the red, because the bookcases are painted in oils to keep the paint from peeling off onto the books in the hot weather, and because I eventually plan to build more bookcases on the right side. So whatever color I choose has to play well against linen white.
I also want to do something different in the front hallway, maybe something that coordinates with the living room but is in a different color range.
Anybody have any radical ideas?
Posted by Alex Bandon | Categories: Colorfully Fearless | Permalink
(6) Comments
Since you like the Ben Moore paint line, which, btw, I do too, please take a look at their new line of Aura paint,the Affinity colors. This paint line is my new best friend. The coverage is absolutely wonderful, particularly for the dark tones. It covers easily in 2 quick coats and dries very fast. I always recommend eggshell for the finish. Very washable, a little sheen, but not a lot. For the Living Room, well... you know as a decorative painter, I could not, in good conscience, tell you to just roll on some paint! ;-) Now, being the handy gal that you are, I am sure you must possess a level in your tool closet. I suggest you look at the Affinity color deck, particularly at Safari AF-335 and soleil AF-330 as choices for warm beige/tan tones. I'd love to see one of those colors on ALL walls in the Living Room, leaving the Red Wall, as is. Next...here's where the level comes in: make the Sofa Wall your accent wall, which looks like it is opposite the FP wall, right? Over the newly painted beige/tan wall run 3 horizontal stripes from wall to wall, maybe starting 6"-8" down from the ceiling line or more if you have 10' high ceilings or higher. End the bottom stripe maybe 6" below that lowest hung picture. For the stripe colors I would pick a slate blue from the Affinity deck, such as Instinct AF-575, a deep chocolate brown, maybe French Press AF170 and then I do one stripe in the Red that you used on the opposite wall to tie it all in. The slate grey and the brown look awesome together. I'd make the Grey and Brown stripes wide, maybe 15", and run maybe a 2" Red stripe in between these two. It's just a matter of using a level and that 3M Faux Finisher Blue tape. Done. Those 3 pictures hung back up, on the stripes will pop! If you want something more glitzy.. use the same color palette and layout, but use Ben Moore's Metallic Glaze line. They call it a glaze, but it's very opaque,more like a paint. 2 coats covers well with a shag type roller.
The hallway... can you post a better pic of it? Is it very long, lots of doors/openings, or more wall space. I'd love to see you bring in some of that great green you used in the kitchen! Let me think on this one a bit more. Email me if you need more specifics. Happy painting!
BM colors we have used and loved for our living areas in the warm sandy/beige genre: Barley, Bronzed Beige (those two are extremely similar), Vellum, Standish White (not white at all).
good luck!
This may sound obvious, but I like to look at layouts in magazines for inspiration on color combinations. I know I've seen that color red and bookcases somewhere before, perhaps a french cafe style (use golden tones like french bread) or an italian bistro (more biscotti color). I could also see the old english library with dark browns.
Just splash some samples on a few walls and live with it for a few days. Don't worry about having friends over - ask for their opinion!
Don't worry about the pictures. In fact, they kind of blend in right now (at least in this photo). By making the wall darker than the background, they will pop immediately.
I think a tan color with strong pink undertones would look great with the couch and the art!
I have an idea to paint my family room with two walls flip flop stipes in blue and the opposite walls in red. Any other ideas or thoughts?