Hello AT,
My apartment is in serious need of therapy and I am hoping you can help. When we moved in 2 years ago, we loved the peachy walls in the living room.
But today I can't wait to change the color.
The picture is a little old and we have made changes since but the color is still the same (and the blue couch is on it's way out!)...
Here are my thoughts:
1. I'd prefer to not have white/cream etc, just so boring and blah!
2. My living room is more long than it is wide so it's hard to pick a shade for such a long expanse of walls on 2 sides so close together.
3. I am thinking of a light color for the 2 long walls and a olive'ish green for the kitchen wall (where the kitchen opens to the living room) and the entry foyer.
4. I was planning on putting some wall graphics i.e. silhouette of a tree on the kitchen wall as well.
5. Would love to use some wall art maybe even ceiling art
6. I would like 2 colors or more so that it breaks the monotony of the long walls and gives the room more definition.
7. Definitely changing the window blinds (don't know how I lived with them for so long).
I would love your thoughts on:
1. Color for the living room
2. The big painting on the wall
3. Any other random thoughts and suggestions..
Thanks! Vidula
Dear Vidula,
You've come to the right place! Because it's Fall Colors month here at AT we've got tons of good examples of color to show you. The first one that comes to mind in looking at your home is this home from last year's contest: Finalist #3: Geninne's Modern Mexican Abode.
• Fall Colors 2006 - Main
• Fall Colors Contest - East
In general, to change your color scheme, we'd recommend the direction you are thinking in. Go with one accent wall per room and then a lighter off white on the other walls. In this way, three walls will be lighter and one will be darker than what you now have.
In addition to gaining inspiration from others in the contest, here is our best advice on choosing color:
• Apartment Therapy on Color 101: Cool Colors & Warm Colors
• How To: Add Color to Your Home Over White Wine
• How To Match Your Favorite Color
Anyone else??
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
What if you carried the kitchen color out into the dining/living room area by painting just the top part of the wall where it juts out and then paint your lighter color on the wall itself? I would also get some area rugs in there to kind of set off the different areas of the room.
view ladybug5's profile
If you love bright color you may want to try matching to either one of the reds or the greens that are in that very large flower painting. Looks as if your apartment gets a lot of light, so the intense color could do very well in the daylight or in nice warm interior light in the evening.
view mattplantguy's profile
It's hard to tell what the blinds are like since the pic shows them from a distance, but they might look completely different once you change the wall color, so you might want to do the walls first and then see how you feel about the blinds.
view Pixie's profile
A nice green: pale sage, lichen or melon would be nice with your floor.
view Lady J's profile
Love the painting! Where is it from?
view Laren's profile
I would stay away from using an "off-white" and try a warmer, but still neutral, color for your "lighter" walls and pull the accent wall colors (as well as the neutral) from your painting. Also, I suggest painting the soffits the same color as the wall to create height (like currently shown) rather than using them for accent color. I am a big fan of not doing plain white on ceilings, and you might consider painting the dropped ceiling in your entry a slightly different color (nothing too bold or dramatic, but something more enveloping than white). I think the tones of the peach just tint everything in the space and once you address that, every object in there, including the window treatments, will appear differently. Good Luck!
view design.is.good's profile
Definitely two or more colors. I'd separate the kitchen with a color that is slightly darker than the living/dining area, and enhances the counters/cabinets, if possible (not sure what colors those are, since it isn't in the picture). I'd pull that color out as an accent along the soffits (disagree with design.is.good on this one, but I like of visual stuff going on) and the part near the window that also seems to be extended from the deeper part of the wall, and possibly the part of the kitchen wall that faces the lr/dr area. Then use a lighter color in the same family for the recessed parts of the wall. As for color schemes, since the picture is so dominant, I'd try to match some of the colors in there. Maybe the greens (if you go green, go light), or it looks like there's a little yellow in the corner. Sometimes picking a color that is barely there in a painting for a wall really makes that color "pop," and you see it a whole different way.
I'd also wait for the blinds until you get the rest done, I like them, and you may decide they're okay when everything else is done, or you may have a better idea of what you want.
view josie's profile
I agree with MattPlantGuy - you should pull a couple of the colors from the painting, maybe the dark yellow, grassy and olive greens and go with those. Throw some red accents around, red ceramic pots for your plants, red pillows, and you're set.
view Sisero's profile
You should give serious consideration to revamping the floors as well while you're at it. Oh yeah, and the blinds and ceiling light fixtures as well.
You could go with just about any colors in that room. You should try to use more than one color though.
view orangejuce's profile
Thinking along matt's lines, if you already want olive -- which seems to be in the big painting -- how about picking one of the more neutral colors from it (there's a yellowish color, right?) for most of your walls and one of the orange/red tones for an accent wall?
I see why you originally liked the peach -- it works with your other colors, but your style seems to have diverged from it. If you're heading into MCM territory, as the clocks seem to suggest, life will be easier with more MCM colors.
view wende in the twin cities's profile
Thanks everyone!!
Laren - The painting/print is from Crate and Barrel, picked it up at one of their sales.
Can anyone suggest how to fit a big book shelf in there? I'm removing the current one but I'll have to replace it with another HUGE one.
I'll put up more pics when I'm finally done!
Thanks - Vidula
view sunshineNYC's profile