Keep 'em coming. I am going to make him read everyone's replies tmr!!
igloochic..unfortunately he is not that easily fooled. He does all the renovations himself, so he has good foresight but not necessarily the best taste. I want the house to "flow". I watch all those damn HGTV shows and I want "flow"! I wish I could start all over and buy everything new. Much harder to try and update with 32 years of accumulated stuff!

Any suggestions other than red will also be appreciated. He tends to like coffee/taupe colors, that's why I said RH Flax perhaps.

You could mention that red is a very appetizing color and would give him a legitimate reason to eat more in the dining room! I'm mostly joking of course, but there is something about warm, rich colors that make you want to gather around the table over a good meal in the evening and enjoy each others company. Do you have a "feel" you want the room to embody? It sounds like it's more of a formal dining room than an everyday meal spot. You can do a more striking color in a room that is less frequently used without getting tired of it. What about a russet color or a browner brick or terracotta red, instead of lipstick or apple red? I have BM Mayflower Red in my living room and DH and I love the whole card it's on (Audubon Russet and Georgian Brick are the others). There are so many shade variations of any given color it seems there must be some red hue that would make you both happy.

Tell him red inspires you ummm in in appropriate ways and if you have a red dining room there is no telling how "inspired" you could get...heh heh

How about a gorgeous gold. Pull a bit of gold in from a tan tone so you are somewhere inbetween tan and gold. It's a gorgeous color with woodwork, painted or not (I'm kind of a gold girl though). I know there were some wonderful gold dining rooms in the thread you posted recently. And the gold looks beyond beautiful with red :) So you could work both in! I'm thinking it was mona's dining room I liked so much because of the flow from the gold to the red and then the fabrics with the red, gold and white in the foreground of her pics...I was inspired by those combinations, maybe that would be a peaceful solution?

or go back to the first idea....

igloochic,
Do you remember which posting had MOna's dining room?
I posted 3 and must search for it.

Igloochic- Practice husband?! (LOL)

I think red would look great, especially more of a blue red, but if not, gold would be my second choice. I just painted the kitchen gold and my husband loves it! I like to mix green and red with gold, especially at Christmas :)

I think the molding/chair rail question. I'll see if I can find it.

Ok the link is below. She's not far down in the post. Notice the chairs she has in the foreground of the pic,...I'm always inspired by fabric....then the red walls and the gold entry.

There are actually a few yummy gold rooms in the thread as well to inspire you.

Yes lavendar...practice makes perfect :oP

Here is a link that might be useful: monablair's dining room and others

Can you post some pics of the DR and some pics of the adjoining rooms next to the DR?

I think red DRs are beautiful but JMHO, I think they've been a bit overdone.

Wow, great pictures! I really like the gold walls with the red in the fabrics. They're all beautiful rooms :)

Igloochic- That's where that expression comes from? LOL

I see the room now. I was looking at the bright yellow in the entranceway, not the room in the foreground. Yeah, that looks good with the red chair accents.

I also like Boniee's photos before that..The one with the color restrained gold in the dining room. I like how she used the drapes to bring in the red.

What a timely post for me! We just finished painting my LR raspberry truffle & it turned out so good I think. I have before & after that I will post & the link to more pics. Good luck choosing just the right color for your DR. Oh, thank you scanmike for the compliment on the DR. I love the restrained gold also. :) Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonnie's LR pics at Photobucket

Alittle info on the raspberry truffle color......is not a dark color if you have enough light. We only had 2 full walls to paint....the window wall is has full length windows & most of the gold silk drapes are hanging over the wall so only about 1/3 of that wall shows. The foyer is open to the LR & DR so only a little bitty wall of wall to paint. We are facing the west & get afternoon sun so it is always pretty good lighting in our LR. The raspberry truffle was mixed at SW. It is a dead on match to the drapes in the DR. My cyber decorating buddy is putting the gold/red silk drapes like the ones in my DR in her DR also & she has raspberry truffle on the top part of the walls with chair rail & white below. She has triple full length windows so again lighting is different in everyone's home. If you need any other info I will be glad to help. Bonnie

oh Bonnie..I love it and so timely. I was just about tossing out the red idea and you send your photo. You have the opposite of what I am thinking about doing. Your dining room is a bit more gold tone that the Tobacco Road, but close. Both rooms are so beautiful. The red made such a difference. Wow! Do you find that the DR feels smaller?? Just wondering cause hubby will probably use that against the red. I love both your rooms. Can I ask where you got your drapes cause I love them and that was another option...to find panels like those to bring in the red. Are the living room drapes the same as the ones in your dining room? Also, I am thinking about these three reds- Raspberry Truffle by BM as you used, BM Aura Caliente and Pomegranite. And I have a red that was a SW Martha Stewart color that I loved and my friend used called Barn Red. Did you consider any of the other reds or just knew you were going with Rasp. Truffle? My dining room gets alot of light also, so that's a plus. Thanks so much for your posting and photos..I love them and in red is back in the running!!

Hi Scanmike.......You are very welcome! I am going for a complimentary color scheme now since DH painted the LR raspberry truffle. The LR walls are red & I will accent with alot of gold but for now I have autumn/fall decorating going on in all three (Lr, DR, foyer) rooms, then in DR (restrained gold walls) I will accent with the red . No, the red didn't make the LR seem smaller, just warmer. The DR has always looked alittle longer than the LR to me anyway because of the long table....would love to get a round big table eventually but I have a wish list a mile long -ha! My DH is the best & did a SUPER job with the painting. I will post the LR drapes for you....they were custom done from my former house but I had to use them here in our new house as they were much too expensive to throw out. They are gold silk with necklace swags. I looked at the "red" thread pics in the gallery section & raspberry truffle kept hitting my brain as the perfect match for those red/silk drapes in the DR.(Wanted the paint to coordinate the rooms as this is an open area)I have 2 red/gold silk pillows on the couch in the LR just like the DR red/gold silk drapes. I just felt raspberry truffle would be right with everything else. I bought the drapes in the DR from a lady on a decorating board that bought them off Ebay & didn't match her rug. She pitched in the pillows & table runner also. Fantastic price. I think they came from Tuesday Morning but couldn't swear to it. I picked up a BM paint strip card & brought it home before buying the paint at SW & it was dead on with those drapes.
Good luck with your painting & if you get plenty of light & paint under the chair rail white you shouldn't have a dark room at all. I love the restrained gold too & have mannered gold in the bedroom....another pretty gold. Let me know if you have more questions & hope this helps! Bonnie

Oh, and thank you for your sweet compliments on the paint job & rooms! :)
Bonnie

Another plug here for BM Raspberry Truffle for your DR. We have it below the chair rail w/ BM Bronzed Beige above it.

Warm colors are perfect for a DR, where you want your guests to feel comfy and hungry!

I'm challenged on how to post a link to my album.

Since your DH equates red with dead, I "think" he might be referring to the darker, blue based reds. If you want a red tone (and need to sell it to him!) look to the corals, more brown/orange based reds..maybe terra cottas that are lively and cheerful. I used a hot watermelon tone in my DR years ago and the LAST thing you would have termed that room was "funeral like"!

I think that's probably your only chance of selling him on the red. I think Bonnie's is gorgeous but it probably wouldn't do it for him. And she really only has the 2 walls as she mentioned.

Here's my former DR alcove.

Well THAT'S a strange photo....I think my old camera was dying then. :(

Oh wow, Bonniee, that LR is so pretty, wonderful color.

Thank you Cliff and joann & jant! The raspberry truffle is just a true berry colored red with no undertones of orange or blue. It is probably what you would refer to as a neutral red, scanmike. I think your husband might like it. If not, there are a million other colors to choose from. Good luck!
Bonnie

I thought I saved a better picture, but lauraa used tobacco road above her chair rail and red below it. Maybe she'll see this and post some better pictures.

{{!gwi}}

Laurie

Here's BM Bronzed Beige above chair rail w/ BM Raspberry Truffle below:
{{gwi:1415935}}

Hi,

Well the chair rail and molding came out great. He added in lots of nice details. Now the hard part.
I got some raspberry truffle mixed by BM and tried it on the wall. It looks like it has a pinkish cast, hence the raspberry I guess. I got a bit nervous though since I do have alot of light in the room.My sister in law came over (she has it in hers) and swears it doesn't look like Rasp. Truffle. So I have a swatch of a color I really like with a tad more brown in it. It was a color called Barn by SW (Martha Stewart Collection). Had it mixed and came home. Eek! The girl didn't mix it correctly and it came out candy apple red. Frustration growing. Looked for a color deeper than Tobacco Road and a neighbor said to try Cardboard (2 colors deeper than Camelback (which is similar to TR). It sort of looks like a bronzy caramel. I have part of a wall in that color and parts in Rasp. Truffle. I know the husband prefers the Cardboard color, but we both aren't sure. YOu know as much as I love dark colors in other people's homes, when it comes to mine it's an adjustment. I am not rushing into this decision yet. Question..is SW paints always so runny? They say 1 coat but it looks like even for Tobacco Road, I will need 2 or 3. Doesn't seem like great coverage. Also, how much of a wall should I paint to get a good idea of how the red will look?
Didn't think picking out colors could be so hard.

Hi Scanmike,

I think you said that your DH was not using stock moldings but that he was making his own?

I'd love to see pictures. Did he route his own or plane them?

I'm going to add molding in our LR this winter, and thinking about doing my own as well. I'd reallly love to see yours.

Hi Barb,

How do you post a photo? When he gets back I will ask him how he made them. Not sure cause he did alot of the cuts in the garage, and I was just so focused on picking colors. You get spoiled when you have a husband that can do almost anything.
I am going to just paint the moldings today cause this color choice is driving me crazy. Thinking this new color is too dark, the red too bright and the Tobacco Road too light for the room!! Let me know how to post a photo.

Do you have a photobucket account? That is the way I do it.

Upload your photos to photobucket. Then click on the photo you want to post here, go to the bottom of the page and click on the button "generate HTML and IMG code." That will generate another page, and you click on the second rectangle from the top. Then copy that.

Switch to your post on GW, and hit paste. When you go to preview post, your picture should come up.

Hope this helps, because I would LOVE to see those moldings!

Hi Scanmike........Just checking back to see what you have come up with. The raspberry truffle will look pinkish if you don't prime with a gray primer first. Very important step. Here is my DH priming first. Would love to see your pics also. Bonnie

Hi Scanmike.......We had to do 3 coats plus primer to get a really smooth finish with no streaks or imperfections. My DH used a short handled angled brush at the crown molding to cut in with.......steady hand he has. Then we taped the basedboards & around the windows & columns. Since this was our LR, he took alot of pains with trying to go slow & easy to get it right. My LR was a wreck(pushed into the foyer & DR)for a week. He had to go out of town to a business meeting all week. The following weekend , he put the final 3rd coat on & the room back together. I didn't mind though.......as long as it was done right. We could have have gotten away with 2 coats plus primer but 3 gave us totally smooth coverage & a better look. All our other SW paints we have done 2 coats but red is alittle harder. Hope this helps.....hang in there! It will be beautiful whatever you decide. I have seen the SW cardboard in showhouses in Atlanta & it was pretty too! :) Bonnie

I chimed in before, but no need to do the prime coat if you use BM Aura paint. This is what I was told at the BM store, and I had no problems. It is pricey paint, but it will save you steps and money in the long run. My first coat didn't give me full coverage or true color. It took 2 coats.

Bonnie, I was just thinking about your red living room earlier today and wondering if you had painted it....I think it is absolutely gorgeous....What a wonderful, warm, loving, home you have. It is a joy to look at the photos of your home.

I'm not sure if you've seen these pics elsewhere on the board, but I did my foyer with a grasscloth accent wall and SW Cardboard on the rest. I have Camelback in another room and really like both. Cardboard is a bit dark without adequate light, but it looks really warm and rich at night with lamplight, too. I think red accessories could work with Cardboard or Camelback (if you're still wanting to incorporate red into the dining room), as my living room off the foyer is the BM Mayflower Red I mentioned before and I really like the flow of colors.

Thank you so much eagertopaint! YOu are so sweet & yes, DH painted it.....I taped it off & he painted. I supplied snacks & beverages, ha! Thanks again for your sweet note!
Equest17.......Love your foyer & the cardboard color is so pretty in your home! I love your grasscloth also.
Bonnie

Equest...thanks for the photo. I do remember seeing your photo somewhere else because I remember liking the grasscloth. I didn't realize that was cardboard.
Bonnie- Believe me, I would have loved aura paint but SW doesn't make it and I got the Tobacco Road in their mix. I can see I will need a few coats of paint and that's basically over white.
I get alot of light in my dining room and maybe that's why it looks too bright or perhaps I didn't paint a good enough sample. Most people do like the Cardboard,but I am still thinking it thru. I just need someting to go with Tobacco Road. My husband suggested lightening it a bit but my neighbor and sister in law really liked it as is.
barb..i will get a photobucket account so I can post the photos here. I took some today of the work in progress and the moldings pre-paint.
Thank you all for your help. This has been stressful and it shouldn't be. It's just hard to pick colors that go with eachother. I will need your help when it comes to curtains, etc. I always loved plantation shutters but no that is an expense. So much to do, so little time before the holidays.I will keep you posted and get those photos here.
barb, if you can't wait you can email me at scanmike@pipeline.com and I can attach some photos.

Hi Scanmike........don't let it stress you! I didn't use aura paint either because we had an $80 credit at SW so they mixed our paint. BM sounds like good paint though.
Bonnie
Can't wait to see your pics

Here is my dining room which has yet to be completely finished-I too, used to think red in a DR was overdone and actually originally wanted a chocolate brown, but when I put the area rug in and the furniture, red was the natural choice. We love it and have never tired of it-oh, and fwiw, our living room is green!

I am so stressed. Not loving Cardboard!! It's not even that it is dark, but the color looks like peanut butter (daughter's comparison, pumpkin pie (husband's comparison). Feeling defeated. Maybe I should just paint all 3 rooms Tobacco road. I really wanted something more dramatic to pop the dining room, which is formal. I am at the point where I feel like just painting it the same green as the living room cause I am so confused. You know when you have a plan, pick out the colors, and then it doesn't work out you get disgusted. Is it boring to have the house all in the same hue???Also, can you add white to a color to lighten it. Does it work?????

Scanmike, don't give up. You can buy a CD at HD that allows you to take a photo of your room and then "paint" it any color you want. We played with that for a while before buying paint.
Is your DH still against red for the DR? Maybe you should "threaten" to paint in pink, like mine! This is a small room in a small, 71 year old house. Sorry it doesn't show the whole room.

colorcrazy...you made me laugh and you have no idea what a feat that was. You know the first time I painted I had to pick out all colors so quickly that I was never satisfied. I feel like I am doing it again, feeling pressured that it. I guess with the holidays coming up. I keep looking at the living room and thinking...I really like the green. But am I saying that cause I am feeling desperate?? I am actually thinking of carrying the green to the dining room cause this way I won't have to repaint and right now I never want to make a paint decision ever again! I swear I feel like I am going to cry. Ilook at everyone's photos and you guys get it so right...like a magazine. I want my house to look that good too. And he did such nice moldings...You know if I did it all over I love BM baby turtle. It's just much more olive than my green. Everyone is saying take a step back and leave it be for a few days. Guess that is right. I just am the type of person who loves to get things done quick. Got to upload some photos so maybe you guys can help if you see my rooms.

Can I throw another red into the mix? We used Spanish Red BM in our dining room with BM mayonnaise on the bottom. We have tobacco road in our kitchen, which is right next to it. The colors are very complementary...

Do you think the lighting could be affecting my color choices. The rooms face south most of the day, with the living room having the least light (2 small windows) but it's open to the sunroom which gets south and western light with 7 windows. The dining room has 1 east facing window and 3 south facing windows. The living room is now painted a color similar to Svelte Sage, sometimes looking a bit greyer than I would like. The one wall with the fireplace and the two short windows is painted a shade deeper green. I thought, from looking at all the photos, I would like Tobacco Road. Looks like a warm neutral that would stand out with all the white woodwork. That choice was influenced by my wanting always a red dining room. But when I put the red on, it didn't look too good. Maybe I like more soothing tones in my own home? I seem to always be drawn to the colors more on the taupier side. For example, I like the SW latte/hopsack colors, the BM baby turtle, RH colors. I think I am so opposed to the Cardboard cause of the mustard color in it. I am sitting here with 3 gallons of paint an no color yet. I hate wasting money, but in the long run I want the right colors. My husband did the woodwork for less than $100.00 and I spent more on paint and have no colors!! I really am open to any color except blues for the downstairs cause I have nothign to go with that. I have a expresso sofa, a green upholstered Morris chair , a brick upholstered Morris Chair, both dark cherry and oak furniture (lots of antiques), a nice quality area rug that has dark green in it with lots of neutrals (it works with most colors so not a problem) and an neutral cream loveseat in the sunroom. Why is this so difficult for me?? I want a color in the dining room that will look good and pop against the white woodwork we just did. I have crown molding in all the room and I want a color that will show off the molding. Even the BM version of hte svelte sage is a bit light. I thought I would get bolder and maybe cause I am out ofmy comfort zone, I am stuck. Can't sleep. Upset with myself.

""scanmike>>, I'm sorry you're so stressed about this. I know what you mean about trying to find THE perfect color and being disappointed when it doesn't work out the way you thought it would. Don't give up--but yes, you may need to take a break for a couple of days! I'm with you on that, too--I don't *want* to take a break, I want to figure it out and get it done! But that's not always the best course of action.

I don't have any color advice for you, but did want to mention a couple of things. First, be sure to have your primer tinted to gray if you are using a red color. It drastically improves the color and coverage of the red--keeps it from looking pink/orange-ish. I was amazed at how much using gray helped. Secondly, you mentioned having bought 3 gallons of paint that you can't use. You can buy samples @ SW called Colors-to-Go. These are quart-sized and cost about $5; they can be mixed in any color you wish. I like them b/c the qt size gives you enough to sample a large area. Hope that helps!

Thanks Jbrig.
Lesson learned about impulsively buying without giving it a chance to dry and a second coat. Make it so much darker. The other gallon is TR, which I will use.
I am going to paint all the whit trim and woodwork firt, remove the red area rug and curtains I have in the room, and then step back and see what I should do.

Okay, feeling a little better. Came home and thought something looked different about the Cardboard color I had painted. Turns out my husband lightened it and I like it much better. I just so happened to buy a sample of Tyler Taupe, which seemed to match good with Tobacco Road. His lightened version is almost dead on Tyler Taupe. Let's see how it looks in the daylight. I think this is a good segeway into a possible future red in my life. Keeping my fingers crossed that I like it tmr in the daylight.

Well, after an agonizing and stressful search for a color, I am doing Raspberry Truffle after all. I had patches of every color on the walls...from Cardboard by SW, to Kona by BM. Nothing hit me. Then I decided to paint a larger square of RT. Almost a full wall next to the windows. I painted 3 coats and I am going with it. I also tried Cottage red (nice but almost maroon) and Pomegranite (close second). I primed and painted all the woodwork today. When he came home and saw a chocolate brown swatch, I think red didn't look so bad to him!! Tmr I am taking off and hitting the
paint store early. I will let you know how it comes out. BTW, I asked the Benj.Moore dealer if he could mix Tobacco Road. I figured I would use the aura paint. He couldn't find it on the computer as some other's have suggested. I will use Sherwin Williams recipe since it looks almost perfect to my eye. I was curious given all the hoopla about the "original version".

Good luck ,Scanmike! Got my fingers crossed for ya! I know it turned out well here so am hoping you will be thrilled with the results there too. Keep us posted!
Bonnie

Scanmike, hope I'm not too late. If you take in the color swatch or better yet, the paint stirrer, the BN dealer should be able to mix it to match. We have done that before.
Good luck! You have me thinking of painting my DR in RT as well!

Bonniee,

I don't post often, but I just really wanted to comment on your beautiful room! The before and after photos have inspired me to do something more colorful in my dining room. Could you please give me some info on your blue and red rug? It has all the colors I would like to bring in.

Thank you so sweetly, momtosix! I am thrilled with the paint color also. The rug is actually about 9 yrs. old.....bought from a furniture store in Cleveland, Ms.but it has since closed down. They are still open in Clarksdale, Ms. though. (Levingston Furniture) I just looked on the rug tag & it is a Dalyn brand....Cambridge, BR560 , Navy 8x11size. It is not wool . It has been a really good rug & still going strong.......hope this helps! Bonnie

To Bonnie and everyone..

It's done...and it looks awesome!. Red is a b---h! to paint though. REd primer (even though I told him charcoal) and two full coats. Only used a gallon though of the Aura. It could use a third probably but my husband said " don't ever paint another room red". I did the trim and the primer and cut out all the windoes, ceiling etc. He did the walls. Your eyes go crazy on you though cause you can't see where you missed. It looks so good against the white moldings. Colorcrazy..thanks. I will bring it to Bm and see if they can match it in Aura. Anything to cut down on paint coats. So guys.. do you think the Tobacco Road will look good with the Rasp. Truffle?? YOu know my sage green doesn't look too bad right now, but the yellow tone would flow nicely with my kitchen Restoration Hard. Butter. In some lights the TR casts a greenish hue. Opinions???

Oh, Scanmike........I am excited for you & can't wait to see pics. Yes, red is hard to paint....My husband kept a roll of paper towels & damp sponge handy. He also bought a roller stick that was adjustable in length that he loved & the little short handled angled brush that helped cut in so smoothly. Anyway, congratulations on being thru & know it looks awesome! Doing the happy dance for ya! Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie!!

We had that angled brush for cutting also, and a triangle one that you use for corners. Love those new gadgets! I went around touching up with a fine artist brush, but there's nothing worse than getting white on the red when you are nearly done and exhausted! Yes, I had so many wet rags and paper towels for cleaning up splashes. You were right on when you said you used that third coat. I am sure tmr in the daylight we will see some needed touchups. Thanks for the support. I was so stressed! Now, I have to think about window treatments, area rugs, etc...and more painting. Why do I always do things before the holidays????