NAME: Tim
LOCATION: Turks & Caicos Islands
PAINT USED: Benjamin Moore | Caribbean Blue Water (2055-30) & Winter Solstice (1605)
For my bookcase and TV wall, my inspiration came from where I live. The ocean here in the Turks & Caicos Islands is made up of an endless amount of blue shades — every day it's many different colors. I had the couch and FLOR tiles already which had two similar shades of blue. So, I searched through my Benjamin Moore fan decks to find just the right blue to go with what I already had. There's no need to pick the same blue — actually I hate doing that. Mixing shades of one color is always more pleasing to the eye.
Ironically, the color I chose is called Caribbean Blue Water (2055-30). When I moved into the loft, everything was stark white — window trim, walls, wood floor upstairs, ceiling, stairs, handrail, etc… So, the blue was the first color I painted since it's the wall I stare at the most with the TV and added some "life" to the apartment.
The base coat for all the walls is Winter Solstice (1605) which provides a clean, modern, muted base for the entire space. It warms up the otherwise stark home and makes the stairs and trim really pop.
The blue wall took me just one weekend to paint. The most challenging part was taping out all of the back panels so I didn't get paint on the part of the bookshelves that was staying white. Craning your neck to get into a little cubby is quite difficult. When I was doing this project, I wished I had taken up yoga.
Thanks Tim!
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It looks great! I like the all white look at first but the blue is nice, definitely reminds of the ocean. congrats!
That is an amazing color of blue paint!
gorgeous. very chic
WOL (wow out loud)
Wow, I really like that. Here's a question...I have the cheapo Billy bookcases from Ikea in white, and they're soooooo bland. I was thinking of measuring out some fabric or wallpaper and using double stick tape to stick it to the shelves for some pop of color. Do you guys think this would be nice, or really tacky?
The blue against the white shelving is mesmerizing. Love it.
Pi: Are you planning to put fabric on the shelves themselves or at the back of the shelves (so they look like the photo above)? As long as your job is neat, I don't see why it wouldn't look good -- just beware if you're a city person that glue is a bug smorgasbord (a little - very little - IKEA/Swedish humor).
@citipearl - Either, though I'm leaning more toward putting it on the back of the shelves because I'm afraid the shelves would look too busy with the color from the books and the wallpaper/fabric color under them.
go for it, Pi - if it looks tacky you can always take it off! :)
Love it!! Thanks for sharing Tim.
am i the only one thinking ouch my eyes hurt?
Love it! It will even look better with more things on the shelves, and the blue peeking out behind!
Wonderful job, so well painted! I love the grey and if the caribbean area would be just a little bit smaller I'd consider it too. I know what you mean, kaya26.
Not a big fan. Looks too busy. Like sissy said, love the colour, just not there.
I like it alot...
...but then I just painted the insides of my kitchen cabinets "Bermuda Teal"
;-)
I like "before" much better
I LOVE IT!!! it's beautiful. love the blue, love the grey.
I like it. I think it looks great!
I thought the blue was the before and the all white the after.
Great, if the goal was to make the tv stand out!
I think a softer more transparent version of the color like faded beach glass would have been easier on the eyes. But what I want to know, Tim, is what do you have to do to live full time on Turks & Caicos? Lucky dog!
@ Pi
Love the idea. Have you thought about using something other than double sided tape? Although I am sure someone will correct me, I think modge-podge would do to adhear the fabric and if you wanted something slightly less permanent, how about watered down water-soluable glue? At least in my experience, spraying Krud Kutter can get rid of any remaining, uh, crud, without touching the white laminate on the IKEA-esque wood.
Oh, I want to like it. It's a lovely shade of blue. I just liked the clean, spacious look of the all white so much better.
Too busy for me. Makes the room look smaller, too.
I'm with zazzu. I really do like the white better.
But I have to say, I felt torn looking at this. On the one hand, I love that someone was brave enough to go for a really lovely blue like this. And I do love the color and I totally get what the vision was, tying in the ocean with the indoors.
But I just felt the white was cleaner and showed off the interest of the shelving better. I will say this though: bravo for being brave. I could probably never decide on a color like this let alone put it up, even though it's just paint. And I do think the chairs in particular are shown off a bit better against the colored background.
Thanks everyone for all the compliments! For those that like the all white, I guess you have to live in the space. It's an open loft and the entire place was white when I moved in. Walls, ceiling, trim, wood floors, stairs, etc... It is one big space that was just too lifeless. Don't get me wrong, I love white, but it was just too clinical. Plus, with the constant sun here, the white becomes too "in your face" all the time. When I left all the window blinds open, I had to wear sunglasses indoors. So, I needed to warm it up with gray and splashes of color here and there. It is a rental (my landlord allows me to paint and leave it), so it was my way of making the space "home" since personal belongings aren't really something you collect on an island (there's not much shopping here and importing things is cost prohibitive!).
This development is the first "modern" housing on the island, so I wanted to bring some funky colors to the space to have some fun and because it could handle it. Also, the blue appears more intense in the photos because of the Caribbean sun. It's really not that bright in person - it's a tough one to photograph.
To "FengShuiByFishgirl", I'm a designer and project manager for a large resort that just finished construction here on Providenciales.
Halltd, I do love that you were brave to do this at all.
And what a place to live!! Wow! :-)
I like it! I did this with built in shelving, but I painted the backs of the shelves the same color as the walls. It was hard! I did it free hand. But after all that work I wondered if I was crazy. It does make the surrounding woodwork pop. If mine looks as good as this, I'm satisfied. It's hard to judge your own work. This is beautiful.
Just one thing. I think I would have gone with a slightly smaller tv that actually fit into the bookcase.
I'm with those who like the white better -but then I don't like any of the loud blues that don't have some black/gray in them.
I like the white but this is very striking!
The blue paint contrasts remarkably with the white bookcase. I love the placement of the plants on the bookcase too! I agree with Team Decor, the tv is a bit big for the bookcase. Perhaps you could cut the shelves a bit so it fits inside.
It looks great except for the TV...eww!
maybe a tv cover would help the feng shui, i really like it and remind the commenters that should the colour wane on them they can always change it to what is fashionable five years from now, but for now, its great!
I like the blue. The white gives it that 'builder's grade' look that cheapens a space, to me.
What I love about this before and after, is that the paint truly is the only change. The placement of all the items on the bookcase, chairs, rug, etc all are the same -- so it really shows the power of color! Great job!
I see Tim reads the Young House Love blog too!