apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I was thinking exactly the same reading this post - I would go warm rich colors as well and I LOVE the colors in the ralph lauren paint collection. i just used cottage green on a wall in my place and it looks amazing (it's a dark grey/army green). I think you should embrace the richness of the wood and play off that. I worry that a powder blue will be too greatly juxtaposed against the rich grain of the wood.

don't forget that with orange based wood tones, cooler wall colors will make the woodwork pop out dramatically; however this may not create a flowing cohesive look as wood walls and painted walls might fight against each other- for a more flowing and cohesive look use a pale tone picked from the wood itself BM 2160-70 or BM 2158-60 for the majority of the spaces, and cooler blue/greens wherever you want more drama or contrast BM 2051-50 is a gorgeous color with wood-even the kitchen painted in a tone like that , then pu the tone in fabrics/accesories in the rest of the home- keeping the color scheme monochromatic will make the space feel larger as well!!
BB

Considering how relatively inexpensive it is, I think it would be a big old giggle to get some of that photo mural wallpaper stuff with the outdoor woods theme.

It would fit perfectly into the "natural" idea, and yet it wouldn't be boring at all, because the pattern wouldn't even repeat! And yet, since it's really just forest, it would be perfectly fine to cut it and fit it above the doorways, and/or in that triangle below the stairs, etc.

I think I'd at least do one wall, but I'd be really tempted to to either 2 walls or everywhere that you have sheetrock. But I think that if you do, I'd be tempted to go ahead and prime the walls with a bright apple green first, because if someone ended up tearing a little piece off, it wouldn't look as bad if a bright green were showing through like some of the lighter tones of the mural. Just a thought! But think about it. Really. Could be insanely cool.

I might be tempted to sand the beams and pickle/whitewash them. The grain will still show through and you'll have a brighter, more neutral look to work with when you're painting the rest of the room. We did this in a very rustic house with a wood interior similar to yours and it really transformed the place. It's a bear of a job, though.

I LOVE that paint job you refer back to...but maybe you could somehow kill those spam comments (especially if folks are now being directed back to it).

I am in the process of buying a small row home in Philly and have a great deal of the seller's "personality" to overcome color-wise. That patchwork idea might be fun to try in a guest room.

I'd love to see how this cabin turns out - and would love to see the exterior.

You mean I'm not the ONLY upstater on here?!?!

A blue/grey/dove would look beautiful...imho.

David - a muted green would make your dark woods "pop".

I'm a big fan of Devine paint - low VOC, super easy to work with and great palette. I did my home-office /den in Devine "Olive" which is a relatively light muted green :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7878321@N03/500088392/

http://www.devinecolor.com

This is my place. Thanks for all the comments!

curtis: forest wallpaper--very clever! But we get a forest view out of every window, so maybe forests on the inside would be too much.

daruma: Sorry for the limited pics; I'll post more to a flickr account when I get a chance. The exterior is a dark brown stain that looks great in the woods.

boomer: the walls we have already painted are almost exactly that olive color! We used it in a sun-room off the back, and a slightly darker version on the walls of the sleeping loft and in the tiny patch of wallboard above the logs in the living room. It works great in the space, but I think it would be nice to have something different in the guest room.

I think I agree with most of you that the blue isn't right for the space. It seems like something warm would be complementary, but I want to avoid beige and I'm afraid an orange or yellow would make us feel jaundiced!

I would like to maybe use a more dramatic color in the kitchen or living room where the space is more open, but the small guest room is really dark. I didn't mention in my post that the ceiling is only 8 feet high (to the top of the beams).

Thanks for all the suggestions!
David

Cabins in the woods are usually dark inside - you are, after all, in the woods. I wonder if the paint color is going to make much of a difference with the gloom of the woods. A room with white wills is still going to seem gloomy. Artificial lighting is, of course, key to the success of any of your rooms in this cabin - I would err on the side of too many lamps than too few.

In terms of the guest room - this is one room you can go dark as it really is only for sleeping and will serve as a nice contrast to the rest of the cabin. A dark color could seem rich, enveloping and cozy which would be lovely in the woods. Good lamps places in appropriate locations will make your guests feel welcome.

In terms of the wall surrounding the stair - reusing a color you are already happy with in another public place (i.e. the soft green in the sunroom) would help visually tie the place together. It may be the same shade or one or two shades darker or lighter.

if you want warm but are afraid of beige or yellow...try BM 2028-50 or 2027-50
warm greens abound everywhere in nature( think opening leaves in the spring) and what goes more naturally with wood then green leaves!!! I use greens as backdrop color all the time; works with orange red or blue accents beautifully!!
BB

Curtis you're amazing. Now I want a cabin so I can paper the inside of it with forest.

David,

Great minds think alike. ;->

But seriously though, if you can get samples of Devine "Straw" or "Ale" you might like either of those. "Straw" is the brighter of the two. I painted my guest bathroom in Straw (there's a picture of it on my Flickr page).

If you want a lot of drama, the Devine " Sangria" is a nice wine color for an accent wall or two, it can be dark though, you'll need good lighting. But Sangrina is definatey dramatic (I have an accent wall of it in my dining room (see the Fickr page) - originally that wall was grass cloth and the Devine painted over it in one coat and now you can't tell the grass cloth is even there unless you get really close).

I love the way blue/grey looks with orange/red tones, but if you're not leaning that way then why not go for a really creamy whitewash on the walls, as an old-fashioned cabin/cottage would have had (the Arts&Crafts look -- w/o the Morris wallpaper)? the "thick paint" look -- which could be charming & comforting in a small, dark, low-ceilinged space.

Where in the Catskills? my father grew up in Margaretville.

boomer: I was looking at your photos, and I kind of love your wallpaper! I bet it would make Curtis happy!

Thanks again for the suggestions, everyone! (Keep 'em coming!)

You can get the wallpaper here. They have some other cool designs too.

http://www.creativewallcovering.com/pc/12-sl092273/silhouettes/Winter Trees in Silhouette Wallcovering.html

t

I would also go with a light yellow-green. Something in the family of light sage or celery. This will brighten the room and add the splash of color you need, but it will be more harmonious (and therefore calming) than the contrast of a blue or gray against the orange wood. The Devine olive is close to what i was picturing, but you could go significantly more yellow and a bit brighter. It would feel spa-like and fresh in an otherwise underlit room. Think about something that looks a bit brown and almost mustardy on the chip - on the wall it will look much more intense.

I would go a butter color - somewhere between an antique white and yellow. If you want a splash of color - go with a warm muted orange on one wall, like behind the stove. It would flow with the wood grain color and the olive nicely.

For some reason, I am thinking of a sort of midnight blue for the bedroom... something about the idea of the night sky, etc.

I would go a step futher than Sisero, I would go a terra cotta (but with more orange tones) in the kitchen, am thinking old world italian colors. You could do a few shades lighter (pale orange/yellow) for the living area since there is so much green outside, I would play my colors off that, especially if you have dark furniture. I would go a nice spring caribbean green in the bedroom, to bring more of the outdoors indoors, plus if you get sun in your bedroom in the morning, it's a nice soothing color. Cream is also a nice option as I see you have solid wood ceilings, it may help in feeling less claustrophobic. Just an opinion.

i like the idea of a brick red in the kitchen. where i live there's a lot of iron ore so the mud is VERY red and i find it very natural looking. and dramatic. beautiful....