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What Color Should I Paint This Room?
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Q: I am looking for an opinion regarding wall color for my apartment. I have chosen and love the Agave Blue wall color I chose for my living room. When you walk into my apartment, the layout allows for an immediate view of the living room, dining room and the bedroom. I was contemplating a nice orange, warm gold or pear green. I don't get a lot of natural light, but I am not opposed to a dark color just not sure what to do. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

 
 

111009atlagoodquest1.jpg

Michelle's current unpainted room.

Sent by Michelle

111009atlagoodquest01.jpgEditor - Opinions? We've mocked up an approximation of the colours Michelle mentioned, alongside a gray hue, but we'd love to hear what you'd paint Michelle's currently all white room.

Got a good question you'd like answered? Send your queries and a photo or two illustrating your question, and we'll see if the Apartment Therapy LA team or our readers can help answer your question.

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Comments (30)

I really like the white. I'd add a rug that ties in the blue.

posted by h144 on November 10th 2009 at 8:19pm
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The orange color picks up the wood in the shelves along the right side nicely.

posted by Junobeth on November 10th 2009 at 8:20pm
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I love the pear green - fresh and interesting with the blue.

posted by bridmw on November 10th 2009 at 8:21pm
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I like the apple green or the burnt orange color. Cool place.

posted by mrsbsc on November 10th 2009 at 8:24pm
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LOVE the pear green as long as there's some overflow of green into the LR( like some brighter green toss cushions on the green sofa, or a blue/green print)- I love that combination and it works with the character of the house- try painting the back of the glassed in bookcase in the blue for fun!!
...they grey is nice but safe and much more traditional( but matches the cat...)
...the orange is more daring then the others and will dictate orange accents in the LR to work overall, very mod sixties maybe a bit of a stretch in a character house although it picks up the tone of the wood bookcase and floor.
...the yellow/gold, not so much!!

posted by bgball on November 10th 2009 at 8:27pm
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i kinda of like the grey.
i am usually a fan of color, but the blue you have is quite bold.
but i m not too sure if you wanna paint the room with colors like orange and green. its quite comical and sorta remind me of Ugly Betty's house.

posted by jK_ on November 10th 2009 at 8:41pm
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I think I'd use a gentler yellow -- but what I really want to know is what is that green? It's exactly what I want.

posted by LizzieD on November 10th 2009 at 8:48pm
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i love the orange. i am probably biased though.
the view from the entry of my house:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/creaturegods/4089724283/

posted by ewilde on November 10th 2009 at 8:48pm
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ORANGE!!! not on the yellow or rust side, a golden orange

posted by keroleeen on November 10th 2009 at 9:01pm
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I love the orange! It will make the space feel rich and inviting even though there isn't a lot of natural light.

posted by Lindsay171 on November 10th 2009 at 9:22pm
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I, too, love the way you currently have it. The blue color is beautiful.

posted by lcast on November 10th 2009 at 9:28pm
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Love the green, but also agree with the previous poster about bringing it into the front area with accessories or art.

posted by Jennifer 42 on November 10th 2009 at 9:28pm
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I would go with the green. I just painted my apartment with those same color tones, a great turquoise and on the opposite walls a lime green multi-toned striped band around the perimeter of the room.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gPtViNYYTKw/SvmwmMD6uOI/AAAAAAAAAHc/BmPT7jYNgwY/s1600-h/DSC05590.JPG

posted by philly19103 on November 10th 2009 at 9:48pm
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I love the gold best, with green being the runner-up. I think the gray looks a little pale and washed-out next to that strong sky blue. Another option might be a clean, cherry red.

posted by slowdown on November 10th 2009 at 9:50pm
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As the space is a mere workspace/nook off the living room, I'd paint it the exact same color of blue as the living room so that the overall space appears larger and more cohesive - and so that the nook will not stand out so much.

Besides which, Blue is a very good color for a workspace - both calming and soothing, yet inspiring creativity.

posted by bepsf on November 10th 2009 at 10:07pm
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I like the green.
The yellow and orange both seem to overpower the blue.
The hue of those colors seems to dark to me for the lighter blue that you have.
(Although I do like the orange with ewilde's blue, it is a darker blue so they don't overpower one another.)

With your hue of blue, I'm going with the green.

posted by zoee on November 10th 2009 at 10:09pm
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I love the orange. Warm and beautiful

posted by BrandiCandi on November 10th 2009 at 10:39pm
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With your dining table, gray (though I'd do it true gray and just a touch darker than in the photo) goes best.

posted by montoni on November 10th 2009 at 10:55pm
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The pear green, but perhaps a slightly more yellow shade.

Michelle should also consider painting the back of the bookcase a darker shade of green, or papering it with something that contains elements of her colour scheme. I'd lean towards papering myself. Either way it'll finish the room nicely.

posted by Blandwagon on November 10th 2009 at 11:09pm
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i like the green too - although a bit *more minty* than the green pictured. I like the idea of bold color inside the bookcase too.

posted by SydneyBristow on November 10th 2009 at 11:29pm
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Green. I too think it would be good to paint the back wall of the built in cabinet to match the wall color. Nice details and wood work, I bet they will pop beautifully.

posted by thorndale on November 11th 2009 at 2:02am
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The colors are all fine (personally I would keep the white), but the book case really doesnt match. Paint it or move it.

posted by Evergirl on November 11th 2009 at 2:59am
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Thank you to everyone for your opinions and sharing your photos. The green would match my living room chair quite nicely. However, the wall in the dining room you can't see has quite a bit of art work that would pop with the orange.
I think I am going to have to go beyond painting the dining room one color and do something funky on the wall with the art and keep the others solid. My bedroom still hasn't been painted so I may opt to use a soft green in there to transition from the dining room. So many options at least it's only paint.

posted by mek8004 on November 11th 2009 at 5:34am
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I like the way the orange fits with the book case, and I love the blue-orange color combo... although personally I'd go with a different (more gray) blue.

There's no cohesion between the rooms as is, so I definitely think paint it... otherwise it seems unplanned for one room to have so much color and the other so little.

posted by yiyehtov on November 11th 2009 at 5:45am
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I like the yellow.

posted by mirandabee on November 11th 2009 at 5:53am
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Definitely NOT the grey.

I think the yellow, but a slightly cooler shade so that it's not too strong against the blue. Failing that I think the green is the proper "strength" to go with the blue, but the shade is not enough of a contrast.

I do love your blue, it's fabulous.

posted by idontdobeige on November 11th 2009 at 6:47am
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I think I like the grey too. Then any decor would match...plus it leaves it looking open instead of a huge pop in the face.

posted by ChrisGal on November 11th 2009 at 8:28am
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The orange, will complement the blue and bring out the color in your shelves. Maybe just a little lighter than the color you have now, but definitely not the yellow, make sure it is ORANGE.

posted by Rolen the Great on November 11th 2009 at 8:41am
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The orange! The grey and green make it too cool, I think, and you'd need a darker yellow than that if you did yellow.

posted by ereuyi on November 11th 2009 at 12:19pm
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I like the green — It makes a fun color combination without looking too comical. I'm not big on the orange, simply because it would look like you're forcing complementary colors together. A softer yellow would look pretty nice, too. That gray looks drab, but depending on your decor a deeper gray could look really nice.

posted by ameliepoulain on November 11th 2009 at 11:33pm
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