hey bichon,
I have a low light family room in this house (1/2 of it's below ground, two windows on either end) and at our other place I recently wanted to paint two BRs and bath. I learned that bumping up on the color swatch helps. So many colors in high light rooms that I loved just turned ruddy or gloomy or really funky in the lower light rooms. So I went up some on the swatch and got exactly what I was striving for. Tho almost washed out in high light rooms, the lighter colors have much more depth in low light rooms. Just wanted to toss that tip out there, maybe trying a sample of something lighter will get you where you want to be?

bichonlover,

This is your second post on the subject with the same inspirational photo and both times you said you love it but you're being a bit indecisive so I'm going to step in again and try and be decisive for you.

You found something you love. You're already ahead of many other people that are right now sitting in front of half a dozen photos scratching their heads. Not only that, to get the look you want just requires some paint, stain and accessories.

Stop thinking, start doing. :)

Removing the wallpaper was tough so you can do the rest. It's a great looking picture and you can have that in your home. Don't kinda do it, do it right. The difference between almost doing it and doing it is minor in terms of work but huge in terms of impact.

Wall color, SW Interesting Aqua or whatever it's called. You can always change it later. Like I said in the other thread, the wall color is the least important part of that room. I like that color though and I couldn't find anything in BM's swatches that matched it. Go with it it's a great color.

Beadboard and trim. I took a look at SW Alabaster and it's nowhere near white enough. You need to paint the beadboard and all the trim in that room white. Plain white. No thinking involved, just get a can of semi-gloss white off the shelf and ask them to shake it up for you if you're painting that day. You probably just painted it and don't want to paint it again but you NEED white to pull off that look. The look you love. If you don't, it will not be crisp like in the photo. You may like it and think it's ok but I'm pretty sure you won't love it. Some people may say it looks fine but they'll be wrong. It'll be blah instead of WOW. Remember contrast is the key and you NEED white. White and black are the two most important colors in that room. You can't have the room you love without white. I hope I drilled that into your head :)

Before you go crazy darkening the table, start with the seat of one of the chairs. Do the whole prep, clean, sand, degloss and then the gel stain. After the stain dries, apply another coat to half the chair to determine if it needs 2 coats. If you still not dark enough after 2 coats, try one more coat on half of the half you applied the 2nd coat to. Brown black is fine as long as it's very dark.

If the gel stain isn't doing it for you, just paint it. Start out with zinsser BIN primer tinted and then black paint on top.

Slip covers I can't help you with other than they should be white. I really like the short length but full length wouldn't be horrible. You want to at least add a seat cushion. If you don't have any, quick and easy would be some spray adhesive and 2-3" foam then cut it on the chair to get the right size. Some foam on the back or at least some cotton batting to help soften it and fill it might be nice. These are all things you can do later though.

White accessories you might have some, you can get them anywhere cheap. Some nice white silk flowers in a white vase. In the summer you can plant something appropriate in your garden so you can have fresh cut white flowers.

Skip the cage and dove though.

I'm really looking forward to see how it turns out.

That dining room belongs to Pat at Back Porch Musings. I did a quick search to try and find her posts about the makeover but don't have time to really dig into it. She's a doll and will answer you with specifics if you ask, I'm sure.
Back Porch Musings

organicnoob - I need a director like you in my life! Are you for hire??? I'm only half kidding. Maybe I'm not kidding at all......

Here's the direct link to info on the dining room and accessories. It's very detailed.

Snap that whip, organicnoob

Bichon, I feel your paint pain! I'm moving into a new old home and had to make decisions for every room in the house while also dealing with things like tearing down walls, etc. It's a happy problem to have in the scheme of things, but I ran out of steam when I got to my last decision (the kitchen). I came here and got great advice.

I love your inspiration picture. I just painted my dining room a blue that is very similar to that color, and I'd tested an embarrassing number of blues around the house. It is called BM Wythe Blue. I had to buy a pint because it isn't sold in sample size. My dining room is now painted in it, and I love it! I have a chair rail painted off-white and the blue looks so pretty with it. If you haven't painted yet I'll take a picture and post it for you tomorrow.

If you do a search here you might see a couple of examples of Wythe Blue. Not to confuse you with yet one more paint color! ;)

I remember when Pat redid her dining room - not too long ago. I'm glad someone posted the blog, I was thinking she listed her paint color when she did the re-do.

Have you seen the re-do of her Master BR? She is a sweetie for sure.

tina

I see Dlm2000 and Organicoob found the color for you. It's right on the site! The wall color is indeed SW Interesting Aqua.

Isn't this board great?

Good luck, bichonlover. Can't wait to see the room when you're done!

"SW Interesting Aqua (looks robins egg blue)"

Bichonlover tried this one already; when I read her comment, I thought to myself, " the robins egg blue seems to be what I thought she wanted"

In my experience, a discarded color is sometimes worth revisiting, once you've gone around with many colors......
have you tried painting big posterboards with some of the colors ?

Listen at organicnob, would you? I like a person who speaks her mind to your face.

....Jane

Did I read the bead board is a creamy white. How creamy? It could be what is causing the blue/greens to not work so well. They tend to work better with a more crisp white from my experience of looking for one that works.

Bichonlover, have you looked at the Valspar colors at Lowe's? I found my new LR and BR wall colors and ceiling colors from Valspar. So many of their colors "pop" while BM are just blah. We do love the quality of BM paint so I took all the Valspar color chips to my BM paint guy and asked him to match them. Took him 3 tries on each but he did get them right and I love them. I never understood what people were really saying about colors that "pop" but now I can see the difference. If you buy most of your paint from your BM store they should be willing to match other brand colors for you. Look at the Valspar colors and see if there's something there that "pops" out at you. (And you can buy a sample Valspar can for $2.97 and try it on the wall or a sample board. I bought several before finding the right one. I figured $15 or so in sample jars to make sure it's the right color is better than spending $38 per gal and not loving the end result). Good luck with your re-decorating!

This thread is too funny. Who woulda thunk that you guys would track down the original inspiration pic, confirm the exact paint color, break the projects/parts down to manageable chunks, etc. I am so impressed!

I'm also so pleased. I have a burgundy red DR (doesn't matter, right organicnoob?), with stark white trim, oak floors, cornice molding on the door frames and built-in china cabinet, no curtains on the multi-paned windows (I know I posted about that, never could decide), new black iron chandy with candles, botanic prints ie all of the elements!! Except the DR table and chairs. I've been drawn over and over to a round pedestal and parsons slipcovered chairs, but could never decide on a rug.

Now I Know It's Fate.

I am even inspired by bichonlover's old table, so wipe your tears honey. I'm not intimidated anymore, this one room is going to look so good, LOL.

I do disagree about the birdcage, spray paint if you have to. Can you tell I have that too? :D

Hi, Bichonlover

Gee, you really have a following now!

When I said "The beiges are so opposite the blue in your photo" I was referring to the list of colors that you tried. But if you didn't show the paint guy your photo, that explains it.

The others are right - you need a brilliant white to set off the blue. Have fun!

PS - The chairs and table will be more tedious than painting the walls and wainscotting. I would have fun painting and when DH comes home, you can work together on the chairs and table.

Not to rain on the parade, but the first inspiration photo shows a lot of architectural detailing which adds quite a bit of depth and shadow to the whole room. Yes, the walls are stormy blue and the woodwork is white, but the white is shaded by those panels and cornice.

Your beadboard is going to be a lot larger expanse of plain white, unless you want to add more moldings.

North light is truer than southern light, but it does tend to grey down colors. Personally, I'd look for a slightly warmer blue-gray, but YMMV.

dlm2000,

"organicnoob - I need a director like you in my life! Are you for hire??? I'm only half kidding. Maybe I'm not kidding at all......"

Will motivate for beer. :)

Thanks for providing info on where the room came from. For some reason I thought it was a photo from SW's site or advertising. Would be perfect for introducing a new color since only one color is really featured.

newdawn1895

"Listen at organicnob, would you? I like a person who speaks her mind to your face."

Or his.

lyfia,

"Did I read the bead board is a creamy white. How creamy? It could be what is causing the blue/greens to not work so well. They tend to work better with a more crisp white from my experience of looking for one that works."

That was my thinking exactly and why I keep saying the trim should be white. Another issue is that the real room will not look like the photo in real life. The photo has more contrast than it would have appeared to the naked eye due to the nature of photos as well as the time of day the photo was taken. Since this room is all about contrast, the photo accentuates that. That's not to say the room won't look nice, just more reason to push the contrast to the limits with white paint.

prairiegirlz5,

"I'm also so pleased. I have a burgundy red DR (doesn't matter, right organicnoob?),"

Right. In fact if you had the energy you could paint the walls every few months to match your mood or seasons. I think this room looks better without a rug. It would detract from the light feeling. Plus wood floors are easier to keep clean and food/wine will always hit the floor at some point. In an open plan room a rug can help define the dining area, but in an enclosed room I think you can go without it.

"I do disagree about the birdcage, spray paint if you have to. Can you tell I have that too? :D"

In the photo above I thought it was a live dove which I thought was unfair to keep in a small cage, plus it doesn't have nearly enough meat for 4 people. :) In other photos I saw it wasn't real.

ideefixe,

You're right, it won't be identical. The window cornice and crown molding are important elements. The beadboard will not look the same but that's a bigger project and we're already throwing a lot on someone's plate that was just looking for paint advice. It will still have the same general feel though.

Hopefully we haven't scared bichonlover away and she's just too dizzy from all the fumes to reply :)

No, I'm not scared away but I am a little dizzy thinking through all of this! :)

I'm a bit overwhelmed on all I have to do to achieve this look. I was just looking for an inspiration photo that had white wainscotting or beadboard. Didn't realize how complicated it would be.

To achieve this look I'll have to paint my furniture, have no rug, repaint my beadboard a bright white (the beadboard is in my kitchen also that would have to be painted) and buy lots of all white accessories. Whew!

I think I need a new inspiration.

organicnoob, I knew you had to be HIS and not HERS, you sounded like my DH as I agonize over my kitchen backsplash! Why are men so decisive? It's a gift!

bichonlover, you have to decide what it is about your inspiration pic you love. For people who do not have the natural inborn design gift, it can be difficult sometimes for them to verbalize what it is that they like and don't like or what they are trying to achieve. I agree with organicnoob, if you love the total look of this pic then you know how to proceed from here, but if the pic was just one of many with blue/green walls and white/creamy trim, than post a few more inspiration pics before you have to repaint the beadboard and kitchen and purchase all new accessories.

Maybe we can help you to articulate your inner vision.

I can't help with paint color, but agree that your room with beadboard (informal) will never look exactly like the inspiration pic with wainscoting (formal). Paint the beadboard the same color as the rest of the trim in the hall so you don't have a creamy white and a bright white meeting somewhere. Then take a sample of your white to the paint store, pick up some chips that you think go well with it. Once you've narrowed it down to a couple, get some sample pots and paint some boards, set them on top of your beadboard in a couple different places in the room and look at them at different times of day. Swap the one(s) you like best around so you can see how it/them look in different light in different parts of the room. Post pics of *your room* white the white trim and sample board(s) here and people will help if you want. Paint the room the color you like best. *Then* decide if you have the energy to paint/stain the furniture. If you have wood floors in good shape then removing an area rug is no big deal and at least you'll have that contrast b/t the floor and the white beadboard, even if you decide you're too tired to tackle the furniture.

You have done all the hard work, the rest is easy. I agree with painting the beadboard white ... don't be overwhelmed, you can get two coats on in less than a day. As for the walls, are you sure you want a cool color in a North facing room? If so, consider BM's "green tint" - it's just a wash of a light blue (should be called blue tint in my opinion). A decorator chose it for me and I absolutely love it ... a watery, light-but-not-babyish blue that you'll never get sick of. Good luck!

I'm not opposed to painting our table but just don't see having the time before the spring.

You're right. I'm not gifted in the area of design but I do like being surrounded by beautiful things.

Maybe you CAN help me articulate what I want. My house is Cape Code, 4 bedrooms, Small LR and DR, larger FR that opens to kitchen. We live on 3 acres with lots of trees, etc. My master BR is on the Main floor and other BR's/office/bath are upstairs. It's not a formal house. It's about 2800 sq. ft. I want it warm and inviting and I want the downstairs all tied together and cohesive. I want my DR to stand out. I picked blue or green because I've had Red and I'm tired of it. I don't want a cool color so I was looking for a warmer blue or green. I want something that really looks good with the beadboard. I have oak floors that are in excellent condition throughout the entire downstairs. There is no carpet except upstairs.

So tell me oh great gifted ones, what is my inner vision? :)

I feel your pain - I'm struggling with picking color for my main area of the house and have been working on it for over a year now. Squirrelheaven was kind enough to ps several hues for me and I keep looking at them and still can't decide. Of course I don't have the time to paint or anything now either so it isn't a big deal, I can keep being indecisive.

Do you have any other inspiration pics that you like as well? I'm thinking you can achieve what you want out of the room with another paint color and have it be yours. I would look at all the inspiration pics you have and pin point what exactly it is you like about it. What are the feelings you get and are there particular elements you like?

I don't think your intention was to do a complete copy of this room, but there is something about it that you are drawn to so once you figure out what that is - you can probably achieve the same for your room with things that work with what you have.

Do you have a pic of your painted beadboard? Is it the same color as the trim around the door opening and hallway? If so it doesn't appear to be too creamy, but just an undertone.

I'd look blues/greens that have a hint of a yellowish undertone to it and see if that works better rather than a gray or clearer blue. I think that would give you less of a clash. Sorry don't have my paint decks available.

To me, blues are cool. Consider a dark yellow or mustard that would look great against the white. Here's a link, I'll try to find another.

Here is a link that might be useful: warm beige/white dining room

I still think you can hang on to your original inspiration picture, knowing you will not be reproducing it, only your own personalized version.
Cool is not a bad thing, it can also mean fresh and elegant ; specially for a dining room where you go for festive occasions.

where are you on the color ? how creamy is your beadboard, you should post pictures of the actual state of the room, and pick a blue/green already, lol.....

Ideally, I think the beadboard should be an ultra bright white, not creamy white. You can buy that premixed at one of the big box stores. You need a really crisp very white white imo and painting white on white isn't too bad as far as painting goes.

Perhaps you could paint the beadboard and trim in you dining room a bright white and leave the trim elsewhere as it is. In the past, I did that in my bedrooms and bathrooms (and then gradually painted all the trim ultra bright white because it looked so crisp and the contrast was attractive). I don't think it looked bad and I'm doubtful anyone noticed.

Your inspiration room is beautiful and I think you can pull it off in your room. It's mainly about contrast and color, which I think makes it a little easier than some rooms to duplicate in style.

BM Soft Chinchilla is a nice blue/gray color you may like. It changes color, but it doesn't look too baby or robin's egg blue. (I was going to paint a room this color, but the paint formula apparently was wrong and what I got didn't resemble the sample.) In any event, I gave a lot of consideration to different colors and this one was really a winner, I thought.

Here's a link to a big sample of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: soft chinchilla

not to hijack this thread but how do you know when to use a bright white vs a creamy white when painting trim?

I'm not gifted in this area either, but I'll give a try in helping you to clarify your inner vision. LOL.

You live in an informal Cape Cod with nice oak floors on 3 acres. You want to paint your DR which has northwest light and a creamy beadboard wainscoting. You are tired of red and saw this picture and loved the contrast, but you say you do not want a cool color and blue and green are cool colors.

This is from apartment therapy, a decorating site:

1. There are warm and cool colors

The interior palette is roughly divided between these two groups of color and they are pretty self explanatory. Reds, yellows, oranges and beige or creamy colors are WARM. Blues, greens and grays are COOL. If you look at the color wheel which you may remember from elementary school the warm colors are on one side of the wheel and the cools on the other. Where they meet, they mix forming some hybrids. Green and Purple are the hybrids, and they can be warmer or cooler depending on their mix. For example a lime green has a lot of yellow in it and is warm, whereas a Kelly green has more blue in it and runs cool.

2. Warm colors are stimulating

The reds, oranges, yellows and all the off whites that tend to this direction possess all the qualities of warmth in that they are hot, stimulating and soothing to our emotions, which crave warmth. This is the reason red is the most successful color in our consumer society and found in such icons as Coca-Cola, Ferrari, and red lipstick.

Warm colors are therefore best in social rooms of your house, such as the living room, dining room and kitchen.

3. Cool colors are calming

The blue side of the spectrum along with cool browns and grays and the cool off whites possess all of the qualities of coolness in their ability to calm our emotions and focus our thoughts. While our heart may crave warmth, our head and our thoughts crave coolness in order to its best work. This is why the cool blues are the most popular color for men's business suits and shirts, as well as police uniforms, why the old time bank teller wore a green visor, and why the Yankees are considered gentlemen in their blue pinstripes, whereas the Red Sox are emotional barbarians (not this year).

Cool colors are therefore best in the rooms where concentration and calmness are most important, such as the bedroom, office, and nursery (and I would throw in the bathroom as well).

4. A short note on black and white

Thought both black and white do not count as colors per se, they do have warm and cool properties, which is sometimes surprising. White is cool and black is warm. Therefore, remember that when you paint a room straight white, it is going to need a lot of color or other warmth element to make it physically comfortable, whereas black is instantly warm and needs to be used sparingly so that it doesn't overwhelm. A little black will go a long way.

5. A short note on neutral colors

Neutral colors are like mutts; they are mixes where no strong color is evident. Since all colors tend to make brown, neutrals cover a dizzyingly vast landscape of browns that run from the warm, red brown of milk chocolate, to the cooler taupes and stone colors, to the light beige off whites. Neutrals are rarely exciting in their own right, but they become very exciting and sophisticated with put together with one another and with a starring color in their midst. I recommend getting to love the wide array of neutral colors and using them liberally as a base for any room.

6. Putting color to use be consistent!

With all this in mind, when you design a room, you need to decide in advance what kind of an effect you want in the room, whether it is going to be predominantly warm or cool and then stick to your guns. Don't paint your kitchen green (cool) when you have a terracotta floor (warm) and gold finish hardware (warm). Don't put down a blue carpet (cool) in your living room if you have brown couches and off white walls (warm). Don't mix warm and cool palettes unless you want your room to be purposefully funky or off beat.

Hope that little summary of color helps. So once you decide if you want the feel of your DR to be warm or cool than you can narrow down which cool or warm color. I think beadboard can look great with either stark white paint or a more creamy white. Here are some pics of beadboard wainscoting in both. Decide what you like and whether it is worth it to you to repaint your kitchen and other areas to have the trim match. The trim should match.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/remodel/msg081707267057.html

Also, check out this Colour me happy blog by Maria Killam. She has great pics and lots of good color advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Colour me happy blog

Plucky, I read, with interest, your post on color, but have to disagree on one of your comments~"Don't mix warm and cool palettes unless you want your room to be purposefully funky or off beat."

I had a room where I used a sage green and a warm pink~it was beautiful, and very feminine in the warm/cool tones. Burgundy and Hunter Green was a popular color combination for years, as was navy blue and burgundy. The popular trend now is brown and blue. ALL these combinations are a mixture of cool/warm colors, and are considered more traditional than "funky" or "off-beat"

Maybe i've mis-interpreted your post so you might need to explain it to me. I've also been told your best combinations are colors opposite the color wheel. ;o)

patty cakes, that advice was from Apartment Therapy. I would agree with you regarding the best combinations being opposite on the color wheel. I think the writer probably meant that using a warm brown with yellow in it with a cool blue with gray in it would not work. More the clashing of tones rather than the contrasting of opposites, if that makes sense. Creamy yellow toned white paint isn't a good trim color for a cool gray wall.

Well, I finished my painting of my DR. I ended up using the Interesting Aqua. When I got it up on the wall I loved the color--especially at night. Before you look at the pics below remember I AM NOT FINISHED! The pieces I have sitting on the buffet are just pieces I pulled from my house that I already have in my house. The china is what I inherited from my Grandmother.
Also, I'm going to darken up my table. My DH said he'd help me paint it or gel stain it but we'll have to wait until after the holidays due to his travel schedule. He also suggested we get new chairs instead of trying to paint/stain those. I didn't object to that!
We also be adding will be adding crown molding.
So my questions are:
What kind of chairs to look for?
Should we add a rug?
Should I paint my chandalier or get a new one?
The beadboard is Alabaster, do you think it needs to be whiter?
Furniture placement?
What on the walls?
What else can you see in this room?
Other ways to warm up the room?
Thanks all. My DH loved the color and was pretty impressed I got the wallpaper down and wall repaired!

So what do you think?

Wow, I LoVe the wall color! So glad you impressed the mister, you impressed me too for sure. Try painting or staining the chairs, since he's agreed to replace them anyway. That'll impress him even more if they turn out. You can find people at JoAnn Fabrics that'll make slipcovers, if you don't sew (I don't). Then you'll know more how to proceed with the table. :D

Don't forget, when you do the crown molding, try to match the same height/style as the china cabinet, since my guess is that its staying.

I don't think the bead board is the wrong color at all, it looks nice! Now I can't tell what kind of windows you have behind the blinds, but the blinds are not going to stay, right?

Also, love the chandy, but you may need to lower it, just a bit, so it is right above your tablescape. Are you going to paint it or leave it white? Lose the placemats (not really, YKWIM). Add some glass or crystal pieces, I spy some things in the china cab that might work. The sideboard gives you even more room to play (and is really the more practical spot); I would love to see a beautiful hurricane lamp there, or some white candles, or white candles under a hurricane.

Things I would edit, too modern: white basket with handles, framed print. Botanic prints are pretty inexpensive, easy to find at Kohl's, Target, TJMaxx. No rug necessary, for reasons stated above.

Your room looks lovely! Love the wall color and the white beadboard. You did a great job. Your grandmother's china is perfect in there!

Do you have a Craigs List in the area you live? There's so many people selling nice furniture at good prices these days. If you have a CL, it would be worth checking on there for chairs.

Love the colour of the walls!

Agree with lowering chandelier, thinking you might consider staining the china cabinet same colour as the table.

Some nice parsons chairs might be nice, could add slipcovers to change it up.

Lastly, saw that window and was thinking a nice soft roman shade or something like that would be nice.

Looking good, you're making good progress!

I am completely bowled over by what you did, Bichon......from the wallpaper removal to the complete surprise of going for the color you were drawn to in the first place! My jaw dropped.

You have so much done and so much looking beautiful already. I agree with either the slipcovered chairs or maybe some dark wood chairs in a bit more formal style than what you started with. Darken your chandelier.
Oh my........you are doing so good.

Red

I LOVE it....especially with Grandma's china!
Good for you~

I think you nailed it! And I love your china. :-)

Thanks everyone. I really love the color but need to pull the room together. Hadn't though about Romand Shades. Do you think I need any other WT?

Yes, I had planned on lowering my Chandy. It was lower and for some reason last year we raised it. It's original with the house and it is brass. I have the crystals that go on it somewhere. I may paint or just purchase a new one.
So what do you think--paint or stain the table and buffet? In the original picture it's black.

Beautiful job!

I just thought I'd weigh in. Krylon makes an Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. It's #51254 in their brushed metallics line. I forget where I saw a demo, but to achieve the finish you spray with a black spray primer, followed by a copper undercoat, and top with the oil rubbed bronze paint. Or you could just spray it directly.

I'm planning to do this to an old shiny brass chandelier that is currently in my dining room.

Or if you want an iron look, you could go with a matte or satin finish in black. Either way, you'll achieve the look of your inspiration photo.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: oil rubbed bronze spray paint

Wow! I love it and love your decisiveness and go for it attitude. You made a wonderful decision and did a great job as well. Way to go. Now I'm inspired to make a few paint decisions myself!

Beautiful color. It looks great. I'm so impressed by all your hard work. Love the color with your floors and beadboard.

I vote for painting your table and china cabinet. I think it will be easier and will look better than staining.

Then get some Parsons chairs with slipcovers. I will let you know if I find any great deals-- I am looking for some myself.

:) Jen

Kathec, thanks for the link for the paint. That looks like a good idea.

Jen, if you see any good deals on chairs please let me know. Thanks :)

I'm still looking for ideas for my walls. I already have botanticals hanging in my family room (matted in red) and I have some in my bedroom (matted in green). So I'm looking for other things to decorate my walls.

Thanks for all the advice!

Absolutely spectacular paint job! I would paint the chandelier as well as the table and china cabinet and maybe the sideboard if it isn't an antique. I love your white pieces and I think the one with the built in handles looks great in the room right where you have it. I definitely wouldn't edit it, but I like having a modern piece thrown in with traditional pieces if they work together and this really does, IMHO.

Wonderful job, Bichon.

Cynthia

Just wanted to jump in and tell you that I painted a gold chandelier with Rustoleum Hammered Bronze spray paint. I didn't have to prime it, just taped off the electrical parts and sprayed. It actually looks more like a dark pewter to me. The hammered quality of the paint gives it a nice finish I think. Very subtle. My friend had done hers and that gave me the push. I kept looking at it and saying, "it kind of looks like charcoal, no, maybe pewter, maybe bronze?" I love things like that. And remember I also told you about my daughter staining her oak table ebony. It looks great! There is so much that can be done with what we have that doesn't cost too much. Good luck with your projects! Debbie

Debbie, is that Rustoleum paint hard to find? I had my DH look for it yesterday when he was out but he said he didn't see it but he didn't ask for help so it was sort of a glancing look LOL! He was in a hurry to get home to watch a football game :)

I have 3 pieces of furniture in the room:table/buffet/china cab. The buffet came from CL for $20. The china cab. was a gift from my DH when my grandmother gave me the china. Not sure about painting it. How would it look just to paint/darken the table and buffet and leave the china cab. as is?? The china cab. is not valuable I don't think but not sure if my DH would be ok with my painting it. I'd get a new one if he werent' so darn sentimental!

Hi Bichonlover. I bought the Rustoleum at Home Depot. Just finished spraying another chandelier today the same color, hammered bronze. Funny thing is, it doesn't look bronze to me. More grayish pewter looking than brownish. Does that make sense? Anyway, I think it looks charming, especially if I can manage to hang some crystals on it. I saw an idea in a magazine, if it works I will post. Good luck with your project. I have a dining room with similar wall color.

I think the color looks nice. Try taking a photo during the day when there's a lot of natural coming into the room. Turn the electric lights off as well. Set the camera on a hard surface or use a tripod if you have one and use the timer. That way you'll get a more accurate color rendition.

"The beadboard is Alabaster, do you think it needs to be whiter?"

I think you already know my answer. The difference between alabaster and white is too subtle to judge based on photos but from comparing your trim to other whites in the photo I would suggest (again) that you paint it white. It doesn't quite pop. It looks a bit like old oil based paint that has yellowed. It's not crisp. I would also paint the shoe molding as well. It looks odd to me. The shoe molding and baseboard should be the same color so it looks more like an intricate baseboard than a bump around the perimeter of the floor.

What kind of chairs to look for?
I like the look of the rounded back chairs. 90% of the time you see slip covered dining room chairs they're parsons style chairs. The chairs in your inspiration photo are Lexington Long Cove Summerville Side Chair with Beige Fabric in Midnight Brown Finish. Not cheap but they come with the slipcovers too. I think you want to look for an upholstered back and seat, rounded back and dark brown/black finish. Surprisingly that's not so easy to find. I ran across these chairs which have a similar feel minus the upholstered back. Maybe a slice of foam, wrapped in cotton batting and slipcovered might look very close at 1/3rd the price. A scalloped top could also work and match your cabinet.

"Should I paint my chandalier or get a new one?"

Paint first, buy if you don't like the results.

"Furniture placement?"

On the floor. :) The pictures really don't give a good idea of the size of the room and placement of window, door etc.

"What on the walls?

I really like how in the inspriation photo the prints on the wall are mostly white which break up the wall color. If you want to go for something similar look at some of these botanical illustrations. Try and find a selection with the same light background and as for colors, in addition to green (they're plants) some blues and red/orange to pick up on the color of the sideboard and china cabinet. If you don't go with the botanicals, look for something light that doesn't fade into the wall color.

"What else can you see in this room?"

Don't add too much. Keep it light and simple.

"Should we add a rug?"

I wouldn't. Too heavy and ruins the simple elegant look. It's a pain to vacuum it, food/drinks always spill.

Bichon, it looks lovely! You sure have a lot of energy. I love your grandmother's china - very pretty. My suggestion would be to wait until after you have done the table and chairs before you decide on making the buffet or the china cabinet darker. Don't want to get DH upset :)

You really did an excellent job in such a short time. Be careful - your DH will expect a big surprise every time he comes home from a trip!

I love the color! it is spot on. I would track down the crystals to the chandilier and see how it looks hung lower. I wouldnt paint it first, but see how you like it now with the room.

Thanks everyone! Colorcrazy, Not so sure about having energy! I'm pretty tired now! My DH travels alot so hopefully he won't expect something like this everytime he goes out of the country!

Organic, so glad you commented. I agree about the shoe molding. I didn;t know what to do with it. It looks awful. Wished the floors had been differently but can't do much about it now. I'll be painting them though!

I'll take another photo in daylight. I want to get the beadboard paint right.

What do you think about the window? What should I do with it? It has to have some sort of covering because I don't like to feel that exposed to those that may come up on my front porch.

Yep! Those chairs are too pricey for me! So you don't think parsons chairs will work?

What are you thoughts on painting or staining? Black/espresso?
What about the china cab and buffet?

Thanks for the link to the botanical prints, too!