My overly brown dining room needs paint color help
Katie S.
5 years ago
My dining room is currently accessible beige, as is every room in my house. This room does not get a lot of sun and the color is very drab. I am looking for a paint color to add some life.
Here are some relevant facts:
The room faces northwest and northeast. So in the summer it gets early morning and evening sun. Other than that, very little direct light. It is also surrounded by a porch.
We we want to add a chair rail and paint white below it.
For the color on top, I am considering a gray blue, but not sure if that helps the dull feeling this room currently has. I like Van Courtland Blue and Jamestown Blue,
I do not really like any colors, but if forced to pick, would say I like white, navy blue, and barn red.
I would appreciate any suggestions you have!
Here are some relevant facts:
The room faces northwest and northeast. So in the summer it gets early morning and evening sun. Other than that, very little direct light. It is also surrounded by a porch.
We we want to add a chair rail and paint white below it.
For the color on top, I am considering a gray blue, but not sure if that helps the dull feeling this room currently has. I like Van Courtland Blue and Jamestown Blue,
I do not really like any colors, but if forced to pick, would say I like white, navy blue, and barn red.
I would appreciate any suggestions you have!
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Comments (17)
Elle
5 years agoI think gray blue would indeed look dull. I would go with a rich navy blue, but one that isn't too dark. Maybe BM kensington blue or phillipsburg blue. When there's not a lot of light, there's nothing to pull out the color in the paint. A gray mixed in will make the paint fall even more flat. If you go with something a bit bolder than you'd pick in the store, it will calm down nicely on the wall. I would also do faux wainscotting rather than a simple chair rail. And potentially swap white to above the chair rail since you said the room tends to be dark.
beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRelated Discussions
Help, Need Paint Color For Dining Room????
Comments (2)Whether red is a dated color for dining rooms is a personal opinion. How did you like the look of your window treatments? I think that a color along the lines of Raspberry Truffle would look great in a 1900 home, deep but not staid...updated traditional....See MoreNeed help on paint colors for dining room and kitchen
Comments (19)Hi again Bixa -- Thanks for giving us additional info! Sounds like you have a great neutral palette that just needs to complement all the brown and golden tones vs adding more of them since you are "gold-ed" out! As others have said upthread, those complex shades of green-grey, yellow-green-grey, blue-grey, grey-brown, etc can work so well with your colors. Totally makes sense that you are repainting the DR at this point, but if you like that general color it's probably a good one to test in your kitchen/FR! From here it's really a matter of testing samples in your space and seeing how they work technically and how they make you feel. Not sure if you're in a place that's sunny year-round but if not -- it can be a little tricky to test in summer because the light is SO different than winter. Yes, the sun is higher in the sky everywhere but....For instance, I find I'm drawn to paler and/or greyer shades when it's warm and bright and then when the cold grey light hits it's "aiiiiiiii, no!" unless certain conditions are in play. So I change out accessories and leave white walls to others. ;) Obviously you can't change the season, but I'd suggest really paying attention to your test colors first thing in the morning when the sun's still low. [In addition to other times, when your lights are on, etc.] If you find yourself very "meh" about it then move on (maybe to a shade 1 or 2 deeper on the strip). Because you have a lot of deep colors you'll have to figure out if you're more of a "stew of rich shades" type or a "brighter to add pep" type or a "light/dark muted" for each of your rooms. [treating kitchen/FR as one, DR as another] To add to what folks have already posted upthread, here are more color combo ideas that include the tones you already have in your house:...See Moreneed help with my dining room color/ceiling color in living room
Comments (1)Are you saying light comes from the north until late in the day, or are you saying there is a window facing north and a window facing west.? The reason I ask is that light that enters from a north-facing window is bluer and lacks intensity. Subtle color is washed out to gray. The Inchyra Blue is very dark, looking more charcoal with a green tone to me. I would choose the Cooks Blue. Here is a comparison I put together of those two colors with some blues from your rug.While the actual colors may be off due to how color can vary from monitor to monitor Cooks Blue is brighter and won't fade as much in northern light. Also, having a brighter blue on the walls should bring out the blue in your rug. The only way to know how it looks in your room is to buy a sample and paint a board as you did for other colors. Keep in mind that the color temperature of light bulbs you use will also affect the colors of your walls and furnishings. Color Temperature is expressed as Kelvin but is not a measure of heat. Warm-white bulbs have a color temp of 2700K which is kind to skin tones but gives a yellow light. Daylight bulbs have color temperature of 5000K to 6500K, but are harsh to skin tones and emit a blue-white light. Both CFL and LED bulbs come in various color temperatures. I recommend you choose bulbs with color temperature between 3500K and 4500K for a more neutral result. HERE is a photo of how different K-value lighting affects the appearance of color. You might have to visit a lighting store or light bulb specialty store to find neutral white bulbs. As to ceiling colors, people seldom look up. Unless your light fixtures are dramatic or the ceiling color is distinct I doubt anyone will notice if two adjacent rooms have different ceiling colors as long as there is a Framed Passageway between them....See Morehelp!!! I need to choose a colour to go in my living-room /dining-room
Comments (25)Sounds like a fireplace re-do might be a longer-term fix. In the meantime, I'd paint the mantle a dark brown, a similar colour to your end tables. It's not trim and shouldn't be white. It pops out too much in the white colour. Another idea that doesn't involve any ripping-out is to go right over the existing mantle using a mantle slipcover in wood. Here's one of many how-to's on the internet. If you stained your brick as well, you could have a whole new look. https://www.fwmadebycarli.com/2011/01/making-of-slip-covered-mantel.html...See More
Bri Bosh
5 years agoKatie S.
5 years agoElle
5 years agoElle
5 years agoKatie S.
5 years agobeckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
5 years agoKatie S.
5 years agobeckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
5 years agoKatie S.
5 years agoI just wanted to update with a few pictures of my dining room.
I did go with Woodlawn Blue, and I love it! In low light situations (most of the day), it is a quiet gray blue that still livens up the room:
In evening and early morning it goes much greener:
It is NEVER baby blue, thank goodness.
The chair rail and white portion of the wall are Chantilly Lace, which I chose because it kept its crisp whiteness even in the shadowiest times of day. (And... I liked the name.) BUT it doesn't match the trim at all. I will repaint it to match but couldn't quite face the task of doing it once I was done with this project!
(You can see here how the original trim color looks dingy next to the Chantilly Lace.)
I can see now a dark blue gray would have been a big mistake! Also, when I looked at pictures online of Woodlawn Blue I really disliked it, but it seems completely different in my space.
Thanks again for all your help!
beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
5 years agoKatie S. thanked beckysharp Reinstate SW UnconditionallyKatie S.
5 years agobeckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
5 years ago
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
5 years agoKatie S.
5 years ago
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Elle