The painting looks marvelous. Could you please post a close up of it?

How did you come up with the idea of grey for behind the painting? If you have ever played with colored matts and a picture in a frame shop, you will remember that one or two colors really made the picture come alive, some colors killed it, and others didn't make much difference. Were that my painting, I'd run it into an art store where you can hold it up next to all the colored matt boards to see which colors make it sing. You could even buy a matt board and take it home to play with.

Then I might look around for a wall where it wouldn't throw off the symmetry were it a different color. Will it fit above the mantel? One possibility is painting the brick above the mantel.

Here's another thought. Make a frame on the wall with nice moulding, several inches larger than the painting. Paint the color of your wood trim in the house. Paint the area it surrounds whatever color you've determined makes your painting look best. Then hang the painting inside that moulding. It should be hung slightly closer to the top of the new moulding than to the bottom.

I wouldn't do just the one wall gray but the whole room. Gray really would look elegant & sophisticated in your beautiful room. I mocked up a color but I wasn't sure how dark you were thinking so the gray is very subtle in this image:

{{!gwi}}

What the hey, I just made it a little darker (which highlights my sloppy work!)

{{!gwi}}

I like the idea of doing an accent wall in gray as long as it is not tooooo dark. No charcoal. Oceanna makes a good point about choosing the right gray.

I like kelley's mock-ups and a green/gray could work for the whole room too.

No! No no no. Your husband is right. It will unbalance your beautiful room, advance that wall into the room - and, with your handsome furniture and lovely objets d'art, with the accent of salmons and blues and beiges, why in the world would you want to have the color gray creeping in?

Your painting is perfect as is. It's a great focal point, but at the same time, doesn't steal from the fireplace or sofa arrangement or the outside view. I'm a firm believer in rooms being balanced, rather than having one focal point that everyone stares at.

You have a home that radiates the kind of warmth and taste that I so admire, and I've bookmarked your rooms for inspiration. I would hate to un-bookmark that living room! : > )

The mock up pics with the grey on the walls is very beautiful. I think the picture would look great agnaist it and I think the right grey can add a nice warmth to the room.

It really is a beautiful picture - talented hubby no doubt!

I love kellyeng's mock up--the darker one!! I think it would be stunning in your lovely room!
Go for it! It really makes the painting 'pop' and the whole room very warm feeling--funny
considering I never think of grey as 'warm' but with some green undertone--it works!!!

And, I'd do the wall on the other side of the fireplace in the same grey! Would that conflict with other
areas of your whole space?

When I first read your post, I thought your beautiful room needed nothing- then I saw kellyeng's second mockup. Oh my gosh, it looks gorgeous with the color throughout!

Ditto what cat tail said. That a really neat painting.

I love kellyeng's second PS and would either do that or leave as is.

The mockup sure showcases the elements in your lovely room, including the portrait.

I think the painting could be a bit better-showcased if you would do this: Move both plants somewhere else. Then move the secretary over just a bit toward the fireplace and hang the painting over it. The painting loses focus and impact because of the competing plants, especially the tall one. Now it and the gorgeous wood take pride of place on the whole wall which is the right size to accommodate them. If you still want a bit of greenery for that spot, put a lower, bushier plant on the raised hearth.

Love the room and glad to see someone else with white walls!

I say do it! I don't think it would look odd at all :)

With it being just a small space, if you end up hating it, changing it back won't be a big deal. At least that's the way I would look at it ;)

Before I got out the paint can, I would first put the picture in a larger frame with matting. That may be all you need to showcase it. Oh, and a picture light over it.

Ingrid

I love, love your room the way it is. The mockup with the gray is OK, but I think it highlights your wonderful fireplace, rather than the painting. I love that the room is simply decorated, and I share your love for flowers.
Maureen

I agree with graywings. A mat is all it needs. And yes to removing the plants and centering the secretary and painting on the wall.

If the painting is an original oil or acrylic, as I believe it is, it should not be presented with a mat. Mats are only used with watercolors, glycees or reprinted art, as I'm sure you already know.

The second mock up of the deeper gray on both walls was lovely and added great warmth to an already beautiful room. I thought it also made your lovely drapes even more attractive.

I would paint the whole room in a greenish gray. I love your curtains, BTW. Is it a toile print?

Laurie

It looks like the secretary can only move over a few inches because the hearth extends all the way behind the plant. I agree that the tall plant on the floor takes away from the painting.

A matte would be inappropriate but a light would be perfect.

Love your room - especially love the room painted grey! I agree with earlier poster - move both plants elsewhere, move desk over, center beautiful painting over desk and if you want it highlighted more, put a light on it - over it or a recessed one angled down. I don't think you'll need to though.

I like the darker gray as well, thought it made everything warmer and the anchored the painting on the wall. hard to explain what I am thinking!
I also like the dark gray with the curtains. And think that the plants frame the bottom of the painting and tie the secretary in with the painting very gracefully.

I have forgotten but where did you get your sofas?

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback, conflicting though it may be. I love getting many different suggestions and then gradually coming to a conclusion of what works for me. kelleyeng, special thanks to you for your gray mock-ups. It really does highlight the fireplace beautifully and made me realize that definitely both walls would have to be painted, if any.

I've tried the picture without greenery around it, and in real life it looks flat and two-dimensional. The choice of frame was wrong but expensive since the painting is an odd size, and I can't replace the frame. It's an oil painting so matting would not be appropriate, although a frame that already includes a narrow matting would have been the best choice. We have considered a picture light and will plan on doing that before making a decision about repainting.

I chose gray because it's a color I've come to love in the rooms I've seen, and I don't really care for rooms that are bluish or greenish. The dining room which can be seen from the living room is terra cotta red and another adjoining room is a soft green so I wanted something different and dramatic here. I'll just have to let your suggestions percolate and hopefully I'll come to the right decision. I'd love to hear from more people still and am not at all adverse to critiques. Thank you though for the many kind comments you have made.

Ingrid

P.S. The curtains are toile, from Country Curtains, and I love them. They don't close but there's no need since there are uninhabited hills on the other side.

cooper, all the soft furniture came from a local store which is no longer in existence. They had wonderful, elegant furniture and I miss them but our budget is now much more constrained so it's probably just as well.

The room is beautiful and very serene, but as I see in the second mockup, a darker paint would make it "amazing." That said, I would take several of your fabrics, say a couple of different pillows and arm covers from the couches and side chairs, even a sample of the drapes and go to a paint store. Go when you have the time to really play. Then pull out paint swatches and look at what really looks good with your fabrics. I agree that there have been some beautiful grays on this forum, but the fabrics would enable you to find the right color that works for your room. You might find out gray is perfect, or you might find out it's totally wrong. The painting is wonderful and I think a darker wall is just what it needs to really set it off. Now you just have to find the right color. Pick out a few different colors and then bring them home and look at them in your light, day and night. Good luck! I hope you let us in on what you come up with!

I love your room and everything about it. Just beautiful! I think a gorgeous light gray (try BM Stonington Gray) would be a perfect fit, but I would paint the whole room not just 1 wall

Oceanna makes a good point about choosing the right gray.

The right color (and intensity). It might be gray, might not.
(Oceanna detests gray, as do most Seattlites, and has gone to great lengths to get rid of it, and not just in her hair. lol)

Instead of painting, move that floor plant up on the FP hearth; it's competing with the painting. Also it will fill the "hole" between the FP & painting.

Your room is sooo beautiful but if you'd like, I could see both walls done in a gray-green. :)

With simple cotton in the color/colors you would like to try, smooth the fabric on the wall with heavy laundry starch,(I have used liquid or spray), let it dry and if you don't like it peel off and try again. When you find the perfect color to please you, use either the fabric or have the color copied to paint. It's easy, fun and no harm to anything, all done for pennys. If a spot or corner lifts, just add more starch to the spot. I love doing this for seasonal change and to try ideas before a permenant commitment. It actually protects the wall and it is a fun way to "Mat" paintings on the wall expanding the space in colors that dramatize the art with out the expense of cut matting and huge framing material. Lace and cutouts are fun too.

Another vote for centering both the writing desk and the painting on that wall. You have a beautiful room!

Unless you really need the desk there, what would highlight the painting the most is having it centered on the wall, alone, no plants or furniture, with a picture light above it. As nice as your things are, I think there's just too much stuff on that wall if you want the painting to stand out.

I like the white walls. The gray is nice, but it's too close to the color of the carpet and furniture.

Kelly, what does it look like if the large plant is setting on the hearth, softening the brick to wall, and then letting the secretary and painting own that wall. maybe move the vase to the table for height with the dogs.
Ingrid, I'm fascinated with your Chinese? pieces. Do they have stories? The large lamp on the left looks most interesting, might I have a better look?

I think the painting would look better centered on the wall without the desk or others things. Making it a feature all by itself as harriet mentioned. It's beautiful. That's what will get it noticed.

I've told you before, but I'll tell you again, love your room and especially the fireplace.

I agree with ANDEE above.... what she said. Do that. :)

I absolutely love your wall color as it is; it lets the room breathe and gives it character. Your painting stands out very well. I can't add anything more.

Hi everyone, I'm posting a few more pictures to clarify some issues and fill your requests for a close-up of the painting and another of the lamp.

It's impossible to move the secretary further toward the fireplace because the fireplace base is very wide and the secretary can't be positioned closer. We tried and it looks awful. By the way, the painting is too tall to fit on the fireplace. You can see the other side of the room now and the opening into the dining room. I'm still undecided but both of us are considering painting the two walls around the fireplace a warm gray. We have a red room as you can see, and a green room, and gray is the only other color that interests me for this room. Nevertheless, I'm very open to any further input. Thanks to everyone who has responded and to anyone with further responses. I so much appreciate the input, which is very knowledgeable and helpful.

This first picture looks perfect to me, and please forgive me, not Chinese at all, but lovely as ever. Love the color and the glaze, perfect with your toile.
What a beauty arches create, makes the other room colors even more beautiful through their graceful shapes.

Thought I'd give this a boost closer to the top since I took more pictures. We have decided to paint the two walls on either side of the fireplace and are now looking for suggestions for a warm, soft gray that has some brown tones in it. If I don't get a response here I'll start a new thread because I would really love to have your advice about possible paint colors. I'm a paint neophyte and so many of you are practically pros. It would be pretty silly of me not to take advantage of that.

Oh how I would love this pretty room in gray...perhaps BM Revere Pewter. It's a warm gray with no pink or green undertones (IMO...I'm no expert!). I am not opposed to white walls, and think they can be wonderful. I like them best against lots of dark woodwork and floors. Here, I feel a color would look much nicer next to the bold red of the d.r , the off white in the brick fireplace and the buttery- beige chairs. As for the wonderful painting, it does deserve a bigger frame, but barring that, an art lamp would really be nice!
OT, but do you wish you could put a lamp on the round table between the chairs? I know an electrician could place a floor outlet there. A small one painted the color of your carpet would show very little. I bring this up because I'm just guessing that you share my love of lamps....and the frustration when there is no plug just where you want one. We had this done when I wanted to float our sofa. It was worth every penny.

I'm gonna boost it , too, 'cause I'd love to read others paint suggestions. I somehow missed your latest post...think we were both up late together and posted at the same time:>) Both of us typing "warm gray" simultaneously!("great minds....")
There may be a whole thread devoted to BM Revere pewter. Let's go look for it:>)now. So glad you're going to go for it!

Beautiful rooms! I like the picture with the big plant on the hearth.
Would changing the pot on the coffee table to something blue help, too? It is such a pretty, strong color in the painting that it would be nice to see a little bit more of it used somewhere in your room.

I'm currently a big fan of SW's Amazing Gray and Worldly Gray. I just posted these colors in another thread (see below). They look cooler in the pictures than in real life. They're really warm grays with the beige undertones, and they transition well with my other rooms that are sage green and warm red.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread with pics of Amazing Gray/Worldly Gray

Oh, and I love that painting!!!!

Ingrid, I read two things from you. One was that the whole point was highlighting the picture. The other was that you chose grey because you liked it in photos of other rooms. Those two things are both perfectly valid, but as stated they don't match each other, so I'm confused.

Ingrid, can't really chime in with any useful advice regarding your wall color - I'm forever struggling with mine! Just got to say that I adore your husband's oil painting. My eyes are drawn immediately to it every time I see the room, regardless of the wall color. And I want one! :D

I'm with those who say to move the painting. Don't worry about it being exactly centered over the secretary. Place it smack-dab in the center of the wall and perhaps a little higher, that will really make it the focal point. Then you can do whatever you want with the wall color, either paint it or leave it white.

Oh, and you have a lovely room!

oceanna, even though I've loved certain grays in photos of rooms in magazines and here on the forum, I never thought I would have the opportunity to use it in this house. Walking by the painting one day the idea of gray around that painting just struck me. It was not an intellectual decision but just something very visceral, which I felt compelled to pursue. By the way, I lived in Canada for five years but spent every winter in California which meant I traveled through Seattle quite often. I completely understand why gray is not your favorite color! It's also not a color I would ordinarily think of in relation to my very modest house in the hills of Southern California, which is why I'm using it in a relatively small area for a special purpose. I hope that it will work and want to thank all of you who have encouraged me to to go for it.

I think your desire for the grey wall may be simply to make all the beautiful colors in the painting really stand out. and on my pc it looks like grey is very much a part of the picture, so using the grey shades from the painting should make the selection matching easy.

I think the one with the plant to the left (my left) balanced the picture and the secretary on the wall. The picture is gorgeous. So vibrant. All your rooms, from what you posted, are so pretty. You do a great job at accessorizing.

I think Farrow and Ball Pavilion Gray would be a very effective backdrop for that wonderful painting. I cannot comment on how it would look with the rest of your decor and light, but it is a lovely color.