Help! Paint color for small/dark 1939 living room!

10 years ago

We just bought a really cute 1939 home and want to paint before we move in. I'm agonizing over the paint color for the living room and dining rooms. I want it to look light and bright and was thinking of painting a light color, but everything I'm reading lately says that for dark rooms, you should go with the midtones, not pale colors.

The current paint colors are peach and a maroon color for accent walls. I don't like either color and would prefer to use one color throughout. We want to do something eventually with the brick fireplace (replace with stone or maybe whitewash and add a wood mantle), but that's further down the road.

I'm leaning towards a tan or taupe color with white trim. Some that looked interesting were: BM Lenox Tan, Manchester Tan, Springfield Tan; RH Cappuccino Tan; SW Latte, Tony Tan.

We have a black/tan/cream area rug that I really like and want to use. We have cherry furniture. I plan to remove the curtains.

Any suggestions for paint and trim colors would be greatly appreciated!

This post was edited by karin_sj on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 12:35

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karin_sj
Original Author

10 years ago

Thanks for the tips! I have noticed that the grays seem to be getting more popular. And that's interesting about the full spectrum paints. I'll definitely have to look into that.

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Lori A. Sawaya
10 years ago
I want it to look light and bright and was thinking of painting a light color, but everything I'm reading lately says that for dark rooms, you should go with the midtones, not pale colors.

Why. Why are midtones better than pale colors for dimly lit rooms. Dollars to donuts those who give advice like that are working from bad and or misinformation about color and light.

Same thing with stuff like white will never come to life in a dark room. Ridiculous.

What colors work or do not work in a space depend on the specific characteristics of the light and *reflectance aspects of the paint color.

White can indeed 'come to life' in a dimly lit room if you know to choose the right white.

And you can use lighter colors in your dimly lit rooms too.

*Reflectance aspects include tone. Or in other words, how grayed down or knocked back the color is. When you look at a paint color consider how light/dark (lightness value) it is and also how grayed or toned it is (intensity).

Light/dark and grayness combined is called a color's nuance.

To loop this whole thing together, the answer to choosing paint color for dimly lit rooms is to partner the dim quality of light with with perfect pitch of nuance. And for low-light, dim rooms that means you want to look for colors (light, midtone or dark) that are clearer vs. grayed.

Might sound complicated but it's not. But the fact that the right way to do it sounds complicated is why stupid stuff like white will never come to life in a dim room and/or don't use lighter colors in dark spaces is perpetuated.
graywings123
10 years ago
Painting before you move in sounds like a wonderful idea, but it would be better to make sure you get the color right. And sometimes that involves living with the room before choosing the color. If you don't have a lot of heavy furniture, it is easy enough to push it to the center of the room while you paint.

You need to figure out how those various tan colors look in the room and which works best with the lighting. It would be a good idea to put a primer on the red wall. That's something you could do before moving in.

I have an older house with a new addition. The beiges and tans look fine in the new section, but not the old. That might be why you are seeing peach colored walls. Yellow works well in my house.
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lazy_gardens
10 years ago
before you move in, paint it all a very, very pale creamy yellow (seriously pale, baewly yellow). Your floor appears to be red oak, and it has a strong yellowish cast.

Beiges and tans can clash badly with the floor - you either have to take your time finding the right one with the right undertones or repaint several times.
CatarinaLoves
10 years ago
It seems like the tans are you thinking about are waning in popularity. I would try a paler gray. Get a sample first and paint it on all your walls to be sure that you like it before you plunk down money as good paint is so expensive. You can also paint sample boards that you move around the room in different light to see how it will work.

It looks like your trim is painted white which will just pop with gray walls.

Good luck.
Vertise
10 years ago
Check out full spectrum paints for a dimly lit room. BM has a line (Color Stories) and you can get a swatch set from Ellen Kennon for, I think it was $11? Wasn't bad, if there's a location fairly nearby to purchase from. There are some other companies; C2 and Kauffman come to mind.