I just looked again at the trap door space, and gave it some more thought. Here's my take: Stain treads a dark shade Match floor color to stain Paint risers white Paint trap door AND bottom stair same as floor Beware! You may need a small colorful rug under the last stair/on floor(hard to see stair at night) For the rails,etc. The most common/best,imo, look is white paint on the rails and stain on post and newel. Oh! New thought re. last stair: Stain it in a light honey and stencil a design in floor color.It will stand out( for safety) and neat effect! Hmmm, you could instead, treat that trap door with that special effect. It's going to be charming, whatever you do.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've been thinking and reading more posts, and I realized the colors I love are everywhere in my life--cars, art, clothing. My favorite color is green, thus the olive green walls and two green vehicles. My favorite artist, Waterhouse, paints in deep rich tones. Kees Lover - your friend's decor is the type I would also admire but would drive me nuts in my home. My failed turquoise experiment was enough to tell me I can't live with that kind of contrast or bright color. ellendi - I hear you! Substitute green for white and brown for beige and you've got my house. LOL gracie01 - Thank you! It's good to know I'm not alone :-). Allison - What a beautiful room, and I love what you've done with your daughter's house! I've discovered if I try to decorate on purpose, I fail. If I go with what I love, it works. I always had a style visitors commented favorably on, and then last year I started trying too hard and ended up with a bunch of stuff that wasn't right. It was a costly mistake and I won't do it again, at least not on that scale. teacats - I'm drooling at the thought of dark plum leather. You're speaking my language :-D. It's hot here, pretty much most of the year, so I too crave cool decor. dainaddele - Yes, the third color is what bothers me, too. One color in various tones (in my case, green) and then neutrals of brown and cream and black as accents. sis3 - I wouldn't want to compete with water views, either. I think in that case I'd probably stick with very muted tones and not even go as dark as I have, though the green color on my walls tends to make them disappear next to a window. When the curtains are open, it looks like the trees and greenery outside are inside. That's probably what you're going for with the water. I know my neighbor, who is a decorator, finds my style very frustrating. I've had the same taste since I was a child. My childhood bedroom was green, cream, and white and my teen bedroom was dark green, cream and brown. regina - I agree, it's easier to go tonal. With my decor, if I find an accessory I love and it's in the right tones of green (more yellow, less blue), I can just buy it and it will fit right in. I had a heck of a time trying to integrate turquoise and red--in fact, I failed miserably.

becktheeng, Can I ask what blue you used? Yesterday afternoon I ran out to the paint store, because I just couldn't wait. We have fluorescent lighting in our kitchen (not my favorite for color) and so picked blue/greens with that in mind I thought all fluorescents looked the same, but these compact fluorescents gray down the colors that I chose. That doesn't make sense to me, because I thought fluorescent light made blues and greens pop more. The BM Bird's Egg is very gray in our light, the Peacock Blue ditto, and the only one which pops a little is the Water Drops. I love the Simply White in our kitchen - it has just the right amount of warmth in it. I am attaching a link I just found - Popular Mechanics posted tests on Fluorescent Lighting and color. They show different bulbs with a grid array of colors. Unfortunately, the color I like, blue/green, doesn't fare too well. I am still going to try changing my bulbs. I looked at your kitchen hoping for some inspiration, and was overwhelmed by the beauty of it. Since your blue is the tile, I guess you can't help with the paint. ps, I wish that I had the windows and view that your kitchen has! Just beautiful. The soapstone is so warm - and the glass tile backsplash is the blue I want. Sort of a greenish blue, like the ocean on a clear day. Your kitchen is looking fantastic. Hestia ps, I think I'll post the link as a new link as well - I hope it will help someone else. Here is a link that might be useful: Fluorescent Light & Color Test

Try the Home Decorating Forum!