Adding color to a contemporary white family room in high rise
We are looking for advice to accessorize and add a pop of color who are mostly neutral white and gray family room living room kitchen great room. Art and chatchkis and bar. top Photo is inspiration photo. Randi.rosen@showmgr.com
Comments (12)
PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoArt easiest way to add color and BTW you need a lower T.V cabinet that one has the T.V too high you could do something like this from Ikea called Besta
Randi Rosen thanked Patricia Colwell ConsultingRelated Discussions
Finished white small open contemporary-Thanks to all
Comments (43)In response to emailed question-- posted here for others who might be interested -- The light from the hood is NOT glaring and I believe that I can be trusted on that because I am very sensitive to light. Never out without sunglasses. How is this for an explanation, the LED light from the backsplash is silk and the light from the hood is sateen cotton :) Noise? subjective. It's definitely not the Bosch dishwasher, which I might not know it's running if it weren't for the light, but I think it's quiet. The wok -if I have more than a pound and a half of beef or chicken cold from the refrigerator, I split it into 2 batches so that the wok temperature won't drop too much, too long. Otherwise, with vegetables, it's great....See MoreStruggling with adding color to a room - what do you think? (pics
Comments (34)luckygal - Wow, so many great suggestions, I don't know where to begin! Thank you so much! I like the idea of marrying the colors with the fabrics, and carefully bringing in the secondary colors - I have a feeling it's going to take some trial and error to get the right balance of color, but that's part of the fun - right? The blue mason jars, fabric valance, and wood blinds all sound lovely! I'll play around with fabric prints and colors some more too. As for my style, as I look through my inspiration photos, it seems to be simple, clean traditional (lots of white kitchens), with some cottage and french country touches - nothing too fancy, fussy or rustic. I think modern traditional/cottage would be a good description. The rest of our new fixer upper house is a blank slate right now, so I think I need to be careful to keep the same feel in our fairly open first floor. Thank you again for your fantastic ideas! :) nosoccermom - That is a Very good point! My mockups were probably not very fair to H and I. I've added some "beadboard" to the mockups below. (Well, to the best of my ability!) Fun2BHere - So glad you like it! I'll definitely take a trip to the fabric store before committing to anything. And thanks for the ikat link! lavender_lass - You changed your vote! So, green walls/backsplash with tiny touches of blue - got it! :) I have so many different combinations of colors to try! (The key for me is going to be keeping it fun instead of stressing about it!) I'm 99% sure we're going to keep the butcherblock. :) Thanks again for your suggestions! andreadeg - You are too sweet! Thank you! :) I agree with you completely about the beadboard width. I think we definitely need a wide beadboard or v groove plank since our cabinets are so chunky. Do you think the width of the backsplash planks should match the cabinet stile and rail width exactly (3.5") or should be a touch bigger or smaller? That's a great idea to get the lighting installed and let things "brew" some more (I am itching to get the chandelier hung!). I think we'll definitely do that. Ah! Painting the inside of the glass cabinets! I love that! Thank you!!! The windows trim is Definitely getting painted, either Simply White to match the rest of the trim in the house, or Cloud White to match the cabinets. (The trim around the sink window will touch the cabinets, so I'm thinking maybe the kitchen trim should match the cabinets...what do you think?) Thanks again for your wonderful ideas and kind compliments! :) work_in_progress_08 - Thank you for your advice and vote! I too am a lover of soft colors. I'm strongly leaning towards keeping the kitchen palette light (with the exception of the black, of course). I think we will keep the butcherblock. The black counters are temporary (and budget driven), they are butcherblock that was stained black with india ink and sealed with poly. I want to eventually change them out with soapstone or granite. loribee - Thanks so much for your vote! teresa_nc7 - Thank you for your advice! I will be sure to visit the fabric store before making a final decision on the fabric. Where can I find examples of cottage geometric prints? That sounds intriguing! geokid - Thanks for your vote and that rug is very pretty! It might be a bit too saturated for the kitchen, but I'm going to keep it in mind for the den/living room. :) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * You are all so wonderful! Thank you again for your terrific ideas and advice! (I am so relieved and grateful to have your help to figure this out!) Some decisions made: 1) We are keeping the butcherblock! 2) I don't think I have the guts to go for the blue backsplash (my apologies to the G lovers!), so it will be green, or....perhaps even white (see below) 3) Green will stay as the main color, and I'll try my best to carefully weave in some blue (plus tiny touches of something in the red/pink family for a bit more warmth) 4) I think we need to go for a wider beadboard or v groove backsplash to balance out the chunky cabinets, instead of the traditional skinny beadboard. Backsplash width example: A great point was made that the white backsplash needed beadboard to get the true feel. I tried to add beadboard below ("try" being the key word!). We will be sure to try Both the green and white in real life before deciding. What do you think? Very rough Beadboard Mockups: If we go with "I" below, I think I'd like to have green beadboard for the butcherblock counter, and paint the back of the glass cabinet blue so the kitchen isn't too white: Thanks again, everyone!! :)...See MorePaint for Kitchen and Family Room Driving me Crazy! Please Advise
Comments (34)Ms222 Oh my, what a great house on the water. You love modern...really nice table and chairs. If you go all modern and plan on keeping the same kitchen floor plan you will have to replace all the doors top and bottom, eliminate the two short staggered cabinets on top and add cabinets in their place on the same line as the others. Eliminate the upper moldings style and backsplash; the countertop would work fine as is. Eliminate the chair rails and replace all interior doors. I would paint your walls in a flat paint and see how you like it and then decide when or if to eliminate the texture. When I painted my son's textured walls in Behr porpoise gray flat paint we had to touch the walls to even know the texture was there. However, it's hard to see how much texture you have in your pictures and we don't know if there is texture behind the chair rails. Anyway, after all that you'll have a good start on transforming it all to a completely different look. I know it might seem overwhelming but once you get a start on it it will be fun. I almost envy you because I'm a gal who needs projects and mayhem; I'm in limbo now just fixing things up to sell for a future downsize. Not fun! In my next house I'm hoping to do a completely different style. I want to buy the little stinky 60's house across the street from the waterfront mansions. Then I plan on becoming their very bestest friend and ride around in their yacht lol. Jill, please post after you go to the NY store and tell us of the quality. I have never actually touched Lillian August furniture. I really love so many things on the online site though and like the fact that there are a few things in my price range. Of course all the sofa's and chairs I really love are at the highest prices... boo Looking forward to your report!...See MoreThe "Evan" High School Romance Ad
Comments (21)As a mental health professional who works with kids, my experience has been that unfortunately even when there are neon signs about a child's potential for gun violence, it can be very challenging to get anything in place to ensure safety. Here are two examples from my own work in the past few years. A high schooler is referred to me after he was found by police to be skipping school, firing rifles in an abandoned house. This boy has had multiple referrals to mental health services since elementary school, due to a history of learning differences, impulsive outbursts, poor social skills, and being bullied. Over the course of working with him, I learn the following: he was named for a famous Nazi commander and his parents have raised him on a diet of "white pride". He attends a majority African-American high school after moving from an almost all-white community in another state (where he was bullied throughout elementary and middle school for social skill deficits and for his looks). He states he is uncomfortable at his school because of all the minorities and has no friends. His house is full of guns and his parents tell me they believe that he will make good decisions about using the guns and refuse to limit his access. They hope that hunting will help him be more manly, says dad. The father is often out of the home for days due to work, and the mother is so afraid of the young man's aggressive meltdowns if she tries to get him to do anything other than play video games that she no longer interferes in his daily activities. Are you worried yet? I sure was. But parents were only concerned about him skipping school because they did not want to go to truancy court. So, nothing was done. I reported everything I could in an attempt to force the parents to continue mental health treatment. They responded by moving to another state. Wash, rinse repeat. Not a shortage of mental health services, but a refusal by parents to utilize them. Second case: A young man was referred to me because he reported to another therapist that his goal was to be a school shooter. This boy had a high IQ and a long history of negative behavior at home and at school. He had no friends or social contacts outside his family and had not since elementary school. Significant mental health history on both parents' sides. This family had lots of financial resources and used them to remove the boy from trouble by changing schools, going/sending him abroad for long stretches of time, and manipulating which school he attended by pretending to live where they did not. He was hospitalized more than once because his parents were afraid to remain in the home with him when he was angry, and due to his victimization of younger brothers. My recommendations for treatment were brushed aside by the parents, and this student had no regular treatment provider during the years he was at our school, just prescriptions from his hospital stays. Parents felt like his diagnoses were not correct but would not take him to the service most likely (in our area) to provide an in-depth evaluation and diagnosis. My belief is that parents did not want in-depth therapy to delve into other issues in the home and this was the rationale for the constant shifting of services. Again, not a shortage of services, not a case where nobody noticed. I liked the Evan video, but I feel so discouraged that even when we do see the young man with the rejecting attitude, problem with bullies, and gun obsession we can't get anyone involved to do anything about it unless parents will take it seriously....See More- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago loobab
6 years agoThe living room rug needs to be the size where at least 6 inches of it needs to be covered by the front of the sofa and chairs. If you turn it around, will it accomplish that? If not, get a new one.
The photos are not very well lit-
I can't tell if the pillows on the sofa are taupe or grey, so I don't know if the accents you want to use are grey or taupe. Is the coffee table black or dark brown?
Your new rug can have color, or not, it's your choice. If you want something more neutral with something as large as the rug you can get another cream rug, or you can get something cream with minimal pattern like this one
https://www.birchlane.com/rugs-windows/sb1/10-x-14-area-rugs-c1805524-a95050~314307.html
Or these rugs, which are in the same cream-taupe-brown-grey color family but much bolder in color saturation and much bolder in pattern.
And of course, you need to get them in the right size.
This-
Or this-
With the above rugs (or with the rug that is already there) you need more interesting throw pillows with not only color, but interesting material and texture, such as velvet, woven silk, interesting trim, leather, and suede.Here are some examples-
Velvet pillows
These are basketweave silk
Put a large tray on top of the coffee table for serving drinks and snacks.
On the lower shelf of the coffee table, put a basket with high sides to hold magazines and the remotes out of sight.
Remove the big round glass table behind the sofa in the corner. Find an end table to put in between the sofa and the cream chair, you can use the rectangular table if you like.
Where the large round table is put a large live potted green plant such as an areca palm or a kentia palm. You could put it on a pedestal if it is not tall enough.
Buy another live plant, such as an orchid, whatever type of orchid you like, There is enough room for it on the long side table as you enter the living room.
What is that chair to the left of the television, and that rectangle on the floor to the left of the television?
Where are you planning to put the bar?
In front of the windows where you have the rust-colored chair you could put a table to be used as a writing table or informal desk. It can be a lucite table or wood with a gorgeous grain with no drawers or just one drawer, and the rust chair can be used with it. A black campaign-style desk would work, too. It should be appropriately sized for that nook, with only one thing placed on it, off to one side.
Get rid of the lamp, and put in a chandelier, it's easy enough for an electrician to install a junction box, and if you don't want to do that, hang a plug in chandelier in that little nook.
If the small writing table idea doesn't appeal to you, you could use that corner for your "bar" and get a bar cart, and stock it with a beautiful ice bucket and the other necessities. Although that space isn't large, on one of the walls perpendicular to the window before the living room starts, you could put up glass shelves to hold the liquor bottles and glasses. And if you really want glamour, you could put mirror on the wall behind the glass shelving!
Get rid of the etagere/ladder. It just becomes a place to load up on knick-knacks and clutter and the place soon looks like an old lady's house. A few larger, well chosen and well placed objects make a better statement than a whole lot of little things all packed together.
The room definitely needs art work and interesting objects hung or placed on brackets.
It also needs three dimensional things of interest to be displayed in the room.
Some examples are:
Juju hat (feathered ceremonial headress from Cameroon)
Large specimen seashells, coral, butterflies, and fossils.
Pieces of sculture (not just anything, something really good or that has meaning to the occupant.)
Pieces of architectural or archeologic interest.
Ethnic textile art from anywhere.
A vintage globe. It doesn't even have to be vintage. (It doesn't have to be those ridiculously expensive ones with semi-precious stones.) Have you ever been anywhere with a globe where someone, an adult didn't go over and start looking at it, and say "Lookey here, I was here or there," or "Look, so that's where this place is, I wondered where it was." It's a great conversation starter.
A vintage orrery. (You know it's old because it will still have Pluto.) It's a great conversation starter, too.
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lazy_gardens