graywings and sandyponder, I was too slow typing!

graywings, I hear you on the saturation. That's a classic problem I have, I listen to all the warnings about graying something down on the wall, then I go and put the world's most screaming color up and hate it! I am also highly lazy and despise re-painting so it's a high stakes situation for me.

sandyponder, thanks for the color idea! Your thoughts completely mirror my initial thinking for sure. I googled medieval times and landed on your entryway - I love your style! And that green. Really love your choice of contrasting trim color, too.

palimpsest, I tried forever to paint my entryway orange, thinking it would be good for a "brief stay" room. I couldn't find a shade that didn't look awful and I tried like 10. I think it was largely because I was limiting myself to Ben Moore (the paint store I have an account at that's closest to my house). I've heard their oranges are relatively weak compared to other lines.

Lighting - how do we feel about the lamp on top of the hutch?

Sconces above the painting?

Table lamp on the dining room table?

Floor lamp in the back corner?

Love love the green. For me it is the winner, hands down!

I love your style, too. I remember your dining room from previous posts, but hadn't seen your kitchen before. Can we see some other rooms??

My first instinct was that I like the continuous wall color through the dining room, but now I think Annie's suggestion is just right. An accent wall will really make the Twister art...okay, I have to say it..."pop." I like the blue or the green.

What about replacing the big lamp on one end of the cabinet with two smaller (but well-illuminating) lamps at each end?

Thanks so much for asking for a tour, that makes me feel good! The thing is I am so slow I only "do" one room a year, and we've only been in this house three years...so I only have three rooms to show you :) I'll see if I can clean enough to get some photos.

I like the idea of two small lamps!

I have two table lamps similar to this floor lamp in my family room, but they might be too kitschy.

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That hutch is perfect for your room, great find!! The little bar cart, however, looks smooshed into the the corner to me. Have you tried placing it to the left of the hutch?

I think the green accent wall that Annie posted is perfect.

Well, I like black ... just feel like there should be some black in that part of the space ... but will be the first to admit I'm design-challenged. Maybe paint the door black? I love your kitchen.

Errant, I agree the cart looks smooshed. I'm thinking of moving the whole hutch over another 6" or so to give the cart a bit more space.

To my shame I have to admit I keep an extra bar stool in the dining room for when company is over and it usually lives to the left of the hutch...but I'm considering banishing it to the basement. I also considered switching it and the bar cart but DH prefers cart in corner for whatever reason. And it's his bajillion bottles of booze. And he barely even drinks any more (so my hopes of weaning them out by attrition are fading).

What about dark blue?

Love the floor lamp. I'd move the bar cart to the left and put the floor lamp in the corner.

The twister art is really so large that if you wanted to light it, you'd need a ceiling mounted fixture to do it.

The green is still my favorite.

I totally understand about all of the bottles of booze. We rarely drink hard alcohol, but SO insists on having a bottle of EVERYTHING on hand, should company prefer a drink. Our liquor cabinet has glass doors and faces the living room... we look like total boozers ;)

I was actually considering doing wall-to-wall cable lighting mounted very close to the ceiling to spot the Twister, but I started looking into it and it seemed super complicated and pricey and I got discouraged.

(not my house)

This post was edited by robotropolis on Thu, Jan 15, 15 at 12:06

Since you have the pantry storage right behind the DR, is there any way you can move the mostly unused bottles there and remove the bar cart?

I understand the issue as my DH is the same way...but we do keep some in the store room and a bunch of the seldom used liqueurs in a place that is hard to reach...

I liked the green accent wall best until I saw the dark blue. Now I'm torn. What a fun, lively space?

Did you buy your bar cart new or used, and if new, from where? Thanks.

jujubean, new, on sale, and from West Elm!

I really wanted something vintage, but round + vintage + not $$$ was hard to find.

It's gone back up a bit in price I think (or else I was deluding myself on the 1/2 price thing).

It's not the most expensive looking thing in the world. My contractor said he could put round teak inserts in if I wanted. But I think it might look strange with the nickel.

Here is a link that might be useful: Round cocktail cart

This post was edited by robotropolis on Thu, Jan 15, 15 at 12:20

If you want to add color, I agree with picking up a green that works with other greens in the area. If you aren't sure where to stop the color given how open the space appears to be, limit yourself to an accent wall were the Twist game is hanging. Keep the wood work white to match the kitchen's wood work.

While I love jewel box rooms, I just don't picture that concept flowing with the other rooms nearby. It would work if the room was more closed off, perhaps with just a door into the room but this one has large openings to adjacent rooms as appears to be connected to your beautiful kitchen.

I vote for green, because it won't be butting right up against the green in the Twister art, like the blue would be. See what I mean? On the bottom of the Twister, the blue doesn't have white all around it like the green does, so if the blue wall color is slightly "off," it could clash a bit. I'm saying this because that last mockup with the blue looks like not quite the right blue...

I adore your new hutch. And, I adore the blue. I preferred blue from the beginning; however, since the consensus was for green, I didn't post my opinion.

I don't know whether it is from my past school days, but yellow-green is very unappetizing to me in a dining room.

Also, have you thought of a pulley light for over the table? We had one growing up, and it made doing homework so much easier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pulley chandeliers

I love this chandelier (from your link)

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It would absorb a lot of my wine money though. But it's so pretty!

I love the backsplash in the kitchen behind the range and since it also can be seen through I would use one of the colors that is in it as well. That blue would be a good choice to tie it in with the rest of the room. Love that dark blue!

I had picked that one for your room.ð Wine, schmine. Just leave before your round comes up.

less greenish blue?

It doesn't quite make sense with the rug or the turquoise chairs. But it does make sense with the kitchen blue.

Robo, I love your dining room! I even love it more with the accent wall, and I'm not usually a fan of accent walls (or blue), but it works in your space. The deep blue looks great. Another green to try might be BM dried parsley. It's a little less yellow-green and more, well, parsley. And your hutch is perfect!

I love what you're doing with this room! I'm a blue vote.

I keep kind of wanting some kind of funky colorful fixture over your table, like this Stilnovo chandelier from the 50's (I think.)
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But since I can't find anything similar online (that a normal human being could actually afford) I tried playing with this orange Astron Tri Chandelier from Rejuvenation. It would eat into your wine budget too, sadly. Personally I would not be above attacking some poor defenseless light fixture with various colors of spray paint, if I had to...if you like the idea of a fun colored fixture.

Although I do like the idea of deep jewel box colors, I think you could also play around with a less saturated, grayed out version of the cobalt blue. The one I grabbed below is Benjamin Moore Amsterdam. Then you could add brighter colors with the light fixtures, dishes, etc. Maybe a pair of cobalt blue lamps, for the top of the cool hutch? Or, try those kitschy orange table lamps you mentioned, from your family room. Is there really such a thing as "too kitschy"? (Please say no...) :-)

Somewhere there's a blue that would play nicely with your cobalt accents in the kitchen (and in the Twister painting.) I grabbed a shot of the wonderful Morroccan tiles you used in your kitchen backsplash, just to be able to squint at those as well.

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Like everybody else, I love the sense of fun that you're working towards. It's gonna be great.

Robo I LOVE this room and your kitchen! And everyone who shops pictures! I have to learn to do that...
anyway this last grouping Mudhouse did - Yep the wall should be blue now that we see the fabulous tile from your kitchen.
I cant remember the brand -Tech lighting maybe, that has the cable lighting that's easier (cheaper?) the transformer goes where your ceiling chandy over the table is, in the junction box. just a thought. I do like that light fixture you were cleaning up in one of the pictures. And yes do the teak in the bar cart! Too cool!

Put my vote down for one of the greens. Both walls-- the right hue will look good behind the art as well as behind the wood (love that piece.) But if it were me, I would end up testing about a half a dozen shades to make sure I got it right (it's a sickness and I still don't get 100%). The Benjamin Moore store by me sells those giant paint chips and they will let you return them if you keep them pristine. Also, I never get tired of that photo of your kitchen, I just love it.

how about a green closer to your chairs for the wall?

I like the darker blue. I think it goes well with the kitchen and your orangey-golden wood would look amazing against it. I do love the acid green family in general, but I don't think I would like it in a dining room, and I don't think your furniture looks as good against it as it does against the dark blue.

Personally, I would do all the walls though - a dark colored accent wall against the rest of the room white kind of looks to me like you ran out of paint or got too lazy to finish the room (just my own opinion...based off the time in college where I painted one wall dark green and left the rest white because I ran of of paint and was too lazy to get more, LOL!) I think you could go really jewel-box with the dark blue on all the walls and the right lighting and really make a statement, whereas just one accent wall is merely kind of "eh." Again, just my opinion, but I think your quirky style could handle color on all the walls -- just make sure it isn't a screaming blue!

I asked the boys and had one vote for green (husband) and one vote for dark blue (roommate).

I think husband would come around for the right blue...which means I need to find the right blue.

I'm still not done thinking about a dark warm grey either.

Or black?

I kind of like the black! Balances well with the black lower cabinets in your kitchen!

It's interesting you posted that, because I was thinking that I like your chandelier, but a chandelier with black arms would look awesome.

Something like in this link-- It reminds me of playing jacks!

Here is a link that might be useful: starburst

I'm still in love with the green, although the black is nice. How smooth are your walls? I ask, because I did a black wall once and the small amount of texture caught dust and drove me crazy.

I think your room can handle lots of color. I'd like to see the back wall with the twister art painted the green in your pretty tile and the two side walls a blue that coordinates with a blue in your tile.

Fun room! I really love your "pantry/laundry room"!

I might consider the door too.

No black...way too dark and that will absorb every ounce of light....

Originally I liked the green wall but then I saw the dark blue wall and I like that better. Leave the door white, it really pops when the wall is painted and it's a pretty door.

Dark blue looks the best, IMHO. Not black please.

I like how that color brightens up your room and ties in with the rug. As far as your painting, I hadn't realized it was a painting! When I first saw it I thought it was a real, folded Twister mat ;-)

I think the warmer color is a great idea. But what stands out for me in the room is everything is angular, straight, hard lines. There's nothing soft and curvy (except the archways, which I love). Even your chairs have square backs; the rug has some curves, but overall reads geometric. For me, that makes the room feel stiff and uptight, not a place to linger and relax.

Maybe lose the lamp and collection of little stuff on top of the sideboard and put something large and curvy up there--either on top or hanging on the wall behind. That would help incorporate the archways into the design, too.

Robo I think your color choice is perfect! I was worried you would go ahead with an accent wall in that room. It's so open to the others and the colors considered such stark contrasts, combined with that great Twister art made the room look more preschool than sophisticated MCM interpretation.

I love the Concord Ivory, which is a lovely background for your colorful furnishings but also a really pretty color on its own. It looks great and is another good reminder that wall color doesn't have to be pulled out of existing furnishings to make them look good! Great job!

I like that color the best of all of the proposed colors. It really brightens the room. I didnt know twister was a painting! Pretty cool! I cant wait to see it all finished. Great choice!

Oh! Oh! I was going to say the same color as your base cabinets but I see I am too late! Please post your results.

Well, I liked the blue, but I also love the yellow. I have several yellow rooms, and they always make me happy when I come home.

Yellow is such a happy color. You should put in the floor lamp from the living room - it really goes well with the art and MCM buffet. (I LOVE MCM!)

Thanks all!I really tried for the dark blue but couldn't find one that satisfied me with all the different elements, especially the painting. Then the boys started complaining vociferously about their workspace and the die was cast. Am now thinking dark teal for the powder room...and light greenblue for the living room..

Twister decoration looks marvelous!

Check out BM Lucerne. I love that color!

Check out Dot and Bo for lighting. They are all under 300.00, e.g.

Robo, I really, really, like it! I was a fan of the blue or green but this is a great color. It's going to be so warm and will be perfect to tie in everything with your kitchen and bright accessories. Another who didn't realize Twister was a painting!