apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Since your rooms don't appear that large, I'd certainly suggest keeping to the same color - or at least different tints of the same color.

Colour schemes are, of course, a matter of preference, but in situations like this I've often chosen 2 main colours and an accent for the trim.

Some methods I've used are:

1) stand in one direction (let's say "north") and see what the most visible walls are that directly face you. Paint those colour A. Then stand south and paint those colour B. Essentially, this makes one direction one colour, and the other another colour. Remember, the edges of your colour do not have to be at a corner...

2) Use the height of the pony wall as a global "wainscoting", painting the lower halves of the other walls in that colour *(or at least 1 other wall) thereby wrapping the colour around the room. Leave 1 wall a single colour and make the trim work throughout, tying the two colours together.

3) Rather than thinking of the walls as containers to the space, think of them as physical elements of a single colour. By this, I mean draw a floorplan w/ the pony wall included. It will most likely make something akin to a sideways "T" connecting into a bracket "]". Choose one to be one colour and another to be the other colour and fit them together like blocks.

4) choose an analogous colour scheme - ie; each shade of paint on the colour swatch, from lightest to darkest. Using the mid-range colour as the trim, start at one end with the light colour and paint that wall. Use the darkest at the far end of the room for that wall. Choose walls in between for the other tones, making sure to paint each side of the pony wall a slightly different shade. This will fade the space from front to back. The trim will be consistent across, being dark-on-light in the front and light-on-dark in the back. (or vice versa).


don't be afraid to experiment. it's just paint.

I'm actually having the same problem, but I don't even have a pony wall. The divisor between the living room and dining room is ceramic tile.

Just go for it--with the pony wall and the soffit you have pre-established boundaries that separate the kitchen from the living room.

Painting them different colors (one dark, one light) can also help separate the rooms.

You definitely do not need to keep one color but then again you don't want to go too color happy. I wouldn't put any more than maybe 2 main colors and possibly one accent color. When choosing your colors be sure to make sure that they go well with the wood tones in your room, the color of the trim, your furniture, the tile around your fireplace, etc. Picking color is such a fun process but be sure to choose wisely according to the items and features in the rooms. You can always repaint if a shade doesn't happen to turn out right. Live in it a few days before you decide either way.

I have an open floor plan, too. And yeah, it seemed troublesome when I first looked at adding color to the walls. I wanted to use color to define the kitchen, dining, and sitting areas, but didn't want the walls to look like stacked legos.

I decided to use on color the non-continuous walls and keep a warm white on those that connected the rooms. For example, that "pony" wall in your kitchen is an excelelnt opportunity to define the kitchen with bright, bold color in a small, but dramatic dose. Then marry the adjacent rooms by using colors from an overall palette in your accents and upholstery.

For example, one wall in my kitchen is a pale celery green (almost celedon, but warmer because of the yellow undertone), and the dish towels & small accents are bright pear green. One item is a brilliant poppy red. The counters and other walls remain white. I repeated the red in my dining area, but in a bold swath on the chairs. Thus the kitchen is "green" and the dining area is "red", but the space also feels unified.

Using the same palette throughout my space in textiles and accents in varying proportions helped me define the overall color of a given area, but still kept the large space unified. I carried poppy and green into the sitting area, but added a verdegris hue (greyish blue green) as the anchoring color. Also, I used the same drapes in the dining area that I did in the sitting area. The rooms, in my opinion, aren't singing the same note, but they're all playing in the same scale.

I am *still* looking for the right warm taupe-ish neutral paint for non-continuous wall in the sitting area, but I'm confident in the overall strategy (lotta folks here said go blue, but I think it's wrong and would argue with the couch color).

"celery kitchen" (with red cup in the window sill)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2932285042_deea19650c_b.jpg

"poppy red dining area" http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2931430801_5751f2ed58_b.jpg

"poppy and shades of green repeated in the sitting area" (cat, pillows, art, sofa)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3226/2932288530_b0610e7016_b.jpg

Painting it all one color will open up the space but it's not a must. If you want to go with 2 colors, then make one an accent color and the other mor neutral. I would recommend the accent color in the kitchen.

Good luck in your new home!
~Lorrie @ MyDesignSecrets.com

Painting two colors will make the space look like two separate -- and smaller -- rooms. It's up to you whether you want a cozy feel or the spacious feel of a large open room.

I've seen spectacular results with black and white in a similar space, but that may be too graphic and dramatic for what you have in mind.

I like the idea of using different intensities of the same color. I think a nice apple green if you want a fresh look or a persimmon color if you want to warm the place up. Both of those colors look great in lighter and darker shades and can add depth to a room with out making it look busy, like using multiple colors would.

Be careful with the colors you use. I live in Seattle too and my bedroom is painted ballet slipper pink. Some days it appears to be true pink, but most days it looks like light lavender. That doesn't bother me but keep in mind with all colors that Seattle light is more blue. When you pick a color, think of it lit with a blue gel over the light source. Would you still like it then? Colors most affected are those that are less saturated, like celery green or pink, but it will also make grays and purples seem darker. Good luck!

kimg924-

Thanks for the pictures! It was very helpful!