Q: I am looking for colors to paint our living/dining room. The family room runs parallel and is open with only a two foot column separating them. As you can see, the furniture in the living room is teal, gold and red and the family room furniture is red. Everything coordinates very well but I don’t know what way to go with paint colors. I was thinking creamy/yellow behind the fireplace with a lighter shade on the other walls. I would like to put a light shade of the teal somewhere but don’t know where.
Sent by Tressa
Editor: Let Tressa know what you think in the comments - thanks!
• Got a question? Email yours with pic attachments here (those with pics get answered first)
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
What Drink Do You Order at a Bad Bar? 25 Food Writers Share Their Safety Drinks
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
I have to admit, I kinda like the white. It helps the furniture stand out, like a piece of art.
I have a similar layout and we painted our room neutral yellow and we love it.
We have a brick accent wall and we painted medium forest green and i think it looks great.
What about putting teal on the back of the bookcases?
I think aqua or a turquoise would be terrific! The reds would pop and so would the floors.
I like the white too maybe it could be more buttery warmer white like BM French White. I don't see teal. The room beyond the living room looks like a kitchen that could be a color, I love when you see a room beyond a room with color preferably darker maybe that could be a teal blue/green.
I too, agree with jelouise that the teal, which such strong colors throughout the rest of the room would be good as an accent on the backs of the bookcases, but I don't know about teal on one of the walls. I think the furniture and art provide too much (beautiful) distraction for a loud color on a wall.
We have a big open space and we painted our walls Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray. It's a gray/beige and it looks great with our red window boxes.
don't think i would go all the way to yellow, maybe a very creamy white. i like the light teal for the book case interiors. i wonder if a just barely blue-green on the ceiling would give it some lift?
White or ivory. I think it would allow your furniture and other objects to stand out. Too much more color could be distracting and feel like clutter.
I vote for white or ivory walls with pops of teal behind the bookcases and/or on the fireplace mantel.
I'm not getting where the teal is coming from - Is that the antique sofa that appears to grey to me?
Personally, I'd use that pale grey/teal color for the ceiling and leave all the walls white.
I would go with a warm cream/light yellow color, but not too strong; something that picks up the color from the chair and the rug. I think the white you have is just too cold for that furniture. And I agree with whoever suggested teal on the back of the bookcases.
It does need some colour. Bright yellow would look great.
You might like this recent post on paint colors from Remodelista.
http://remodelista.com/date/2011/06/14
i love the white--i think it complements the bright furniture. like the idea of keeping color to the inside back of the bookcases. i would experiment as well w/ lighting to add drama and at the very least have dimmers installed, esp. in the track lighting which appears in the photo to be too bright. nice space btw!
I think dark grey might look nice.
Have you thought about creamy yellow/ivory stripes? I think they'd be nice and echo the patterns your books create on the shelves.
I'm really into tonal grays right now. Its amazing how much subtle variation you can find not just in value--but in the color temperature of the gray, warm or cool. That said, might I suggest a dark and warm gray on the fall wall, and you can carry that color behind the books, only leaving the shelving white, or possibly a lighter or cooler gray.
Experiment with contrasts, playing with each wall and how it would contrast with other planes in the room.
I second trying a color on the ceiling - it will be an unexpected color addition that will lighten the space a lot (I love the furniture, but it does look a bit "heavy").
I know the good folks at http://www.younghouselove.com have done this to a couple of rooms with awesome results. Good luck!
Live bold.
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/dining-room/picture/art-inspired-dining-room?room_colour=green&room_style=modern&featured_in=livingetc
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/living-room/picture/bold-living-room-with-fireplace?room_style=traditional
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/jul/12/sam-roddick-homes?INTCMP=SRCH
I agree with all of the commenters proposing colour on the back wall of the bookcases - that's a no-brainer.
Have you considered wallpaper? In a charming room like this, a subtle print wallpaper, mostly neutral but with little bits of blue and yellow, would look very elegant, especially as there's plenty of unwallpapered balance in the adjoining rooms.