I already have strong ideas of what I want to do in my kitchen, my upstairs bathroom, my bedroom, and the library.
But I need some input on the other three rooms on the main level of my new old house.
The main level is laid out in a unique way, with the dining room at the center. You have to walk through the dining room to get anywhere else, so it's important that the dining room color look good with everything I choose.
Here are some labels, for reference.
The dining room has a lovely chandelier, and I serendipitously found a bag of faceted prisms in a kitchen drawer that I'd like to use at some point.
In the dining room will go a round oak dining table with high-backed mission style chairs (the finish is like a cross between a walnut and a mahogany -- medium brown with a touch of red and gold). I also have a beautiful antique hutch that I bought at an estate sale for a ridiculously cheap price. (Awesome discovery: antiques in this area are about 1/6 of the price of vintage stuff on the East Coast.)
You can also see that the dining room has plenty of light from the surrounding rooms, but no windows of its own.
I want to paint the dining room a shade of brown that is not beige, not taupe, not mushroom, not mocha. Something a little richer than that, something warm. My thinking is that a brown will look cozy at family dinners, and will also not clash with my plans for any of the other rooms.
I need suggestions for the shade of brown. Brand of paint doesn't matter -- Benjamin Moore, Behr, Sherwin Williams, etc. I can get the color matched. Remember: warm, cozy, inviting, not beige. Something in the medium-dark range.
I know the library will be a viridian green.
I know that I just found a green and white floral club chair that I want to put in the living room. Leafy green on a white background.
I know that my couch is a camely-tan.
I know that it's cold here much of the year, and that I don't want any colors that are too icy or too tropical. With nine foot ceilings, huge windows, and hardwoods, I'm concerned that colors that are too pale will look washed out by the bright sun, and that colors with too much grey will be depressing in the winter. (The less depressing your house is, the better, I'm thinking? Yes?)
I know that I'm more comfortable with color in my home than the average person is. My studio would be blindingly bright for some of you.
I know that my favorite colors are blue-greens, green-blues, blue, green, brown, and pink.
What colors should I paint the living room and family room? I'm trying to think of the main level of my house as a colorway, with a medium/dark brown, viridian green, jade-ite green, and now I need two other colors that don't look too juvenile or ridiculous.
(I love purple with brown and green, but don't think I can do bright violet on the walls of my living room.)
The family room was an addition to the house -- perhaps in the 1980s. It needs some TYT = The Yarnista's Touch. I have no idea what that is, I just made it up. But the room definitely needs it.
Indoor cedar shingles. Interesting.
Should I paint the beadboard in here white? If so, what color should I put above it? Should I paint the ceiling beams magenta?
Just kidding.
If you read this far, here comes the good part:
I will give away a $25 gift certificate to anyone who can help me pick a brown color for my dining room, and who can offer a winning suggestion for the living room and another for the family room. (Three prizes total.)
You can enter as many times as you like.
Leave the links in the comments section.
Think about the main level in terms of a colorway -- everything has to look good together, but not necessarily match.
Nothing even remotely close to beige.
Warm and inviting.
You have until Friday, June 4th, at noon central time to send in your suggestions. If I use yours, I'll send you a gift code.
Go forth and swatch surf!