C.B.I.D. HOME DECOR and DESIGN: STARTING WITH A BLANK SLATE

YIKES...

I'M SOOO BEHIND ON ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS!!
I'm decorating for clients in Utah again this weekend and

looking over my emails trying to catch up on answers !

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QUESTION FROM A READER

Hi there,

Love your website- ... Just bought a house and it's a blank slate. Really want to paint before I go in. The plantion shutters stay and they are a muted white - more ivory I guess? I would like the paint the front room in picture a shade of green but I'm leaning more toward a mocha like shade of brown. For the back of the pic which is the den - I would like a warm shade of yellow. There is a kitchen attached to den and a hallway you can see to the right as you walk through - I would like to do the kitchen either a slightly brighter shade of the yellow or a blue but not a bright or super light blue. Am I making ANY sense? I do love some color - don't love dark shades or pastels so much. Have already been there and done that.

I've attached a pic of LR looking back to den and then one of the kitchen. We can't rehab the kitchen right away - we will be putting in stainless steel appliances and (eventually) a different more neutral counter top. Cabinets will stay the same but I'll put hardware on.

PS - furniture and rugs have NOT been bought yet. Using an older dark leather sofa in den for now with some mismatched chairs and have some older antique walnut pieces but that's it! Ideas?

Super appreciated!!!

Kerry

Hi Kerry,
First of all, make sure that the colors you do choose all look good together, because some of your rooms flow into each other and are visible from other rooms. I'm not sure green/brown, yellow, blue would flow well.

Homeowners often make the mistake of painting a bright yellow in a space they would like to 'brighten' and while yellow is bright, it doesn't always provide a lighter feel to a room. In fact, warm colors tend to come towards you and are warmer/cozier/smaller feeling in a room than cooler hues.

If you like the brown/gold tones I would go with colors that compliment each other and flow well. There are certain hues of blue that will work with those colors as well.

Dunn Edwards GOLDEN GATE

Another common mistake is thinking each space needs to be a new color. Where rooms are visible to each other painting each a distinctly different color makes your space smaller - more chopped up. My suggestion would be to bring the color changes you desire into the room in fabrics and accessories and let the wall color flow unimpeded from room to room. Nevertheless, you will be the best judge of what you want to live with. Here are a few color suggestions: