Complementary Paint Color to Red Brick Fireplace and Oak Floors
It's been a difficult time for myself in this home renovation. We've literally tried close to 50 paint colors and still haven't found something that works!
- We first tried shades of grey, but found that they were all too cold/dark/blue
- We then tried going for the classic beige colors, but they look yellow/dated
Points about this living room:
- has a red brick fireplace
- has oak floors
- also has a slanted wood ceiling
- windows face North, and so the corner of the room you see with the shelf gets little light even in the daytime
How can I modernize this space?
Comments (9)
freedomplace1
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoBeautiful with the brick and wood.
You don’t have to modernize space. The space is already modern. It is timeless.
To show the space in its best light, and fitting in with current color trends, as well - have you tried Benjamin Moore’s Simply White? A warm white is your best bet.
Light sage green could be another option.
mikeybebe thanked freedomplace1Related Discussions
Complementary colors for adjacent rooms - one is red
Comments (6)You could go a couple shades deeper on the Pumpkin, or do the entire room in the red (which would be lucious). Family rooms should be rich and comfy at the same time. You have a lot of light in there, so going rich would work well. Now I'll go totally opposite on the trim. I used to like "crisp white" but everyone has crisp white trim. It's frankly too stark against rich earthy colors like yours. I'd do the trim (if it were my house) in a Tint de Nigre' (which is a brown/black mix). It looks fabulous with reds and golds...I've just done my whole house in it and even my skeptical contractor now says he sees why. It's rich and unexpected, and wonderful. But if that's too much for you...how about dropping down to the lightest of that camel shade or going with a soft tan that flows well your favorites. It's so much prettier than pop out your eyes white :o) (my opinion only...not intended to offend, just to assist) :oP...See MoreRed oak stair and white oak floors
Comments (63)Beth H. : - thanks so much for sharing those last two images. I'm working on a staircase in an addition to our old house and I've been using Houzz images to help the staircase maker understand what I'm seeking and hadn't seen those. And I agree, Houzz has chronic "control issues" when it comes to sharing images easily from other sites. I really think the owners have ambitions to take over from Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, let alone all the also-rans, ugh. It's a sharing world, Houzz - get with the program! Anyway, about those images you've shared; are they from Houzz? I tried clicking on them to see if they'd open a post, to no avail. Thanks!...See MoreChoosing paint for south room with exposed red brick, hardwood floor
Comments (10)before painting the walls, what kind of furniture are you doing? hopefully blacks/whites, some warm woods, creams, soft greens,,,, I love the exposed brick w/the wood floors. being they are on the warm side, if you want white go with a creamier white. You see how that current blue/gray just doesn't work well w/your brick? it's too cool. how about that light fixture? the boob light never looks good in any room. maybe something like this^, or if you do white walls, consider doing a black trim around the windows. (not the baseboards) this just gives you an idea of how it could look. imagine soft white walls though. (and no ceiling fan!)...See Morerefinishing red oak floors in southern greek/georgian revival home
Comments (1)I'm going to point out the elephant in the room: The cherry stained cabinets and built ins. These wood products are DRIVING the colour of the wood floors. So long as the cherry stained wood cabinetry remains, your hardwoods are going to be forced to play nice with them. The INSTANT you cover up/paint these items you will be able to do whatever you want in this house. So the REAL question becomes: What are your plans for the cherry cabinets and cherry built-ins? As soon as you answer that question, you can decide on floor colours....See More
PROSilvermine Painting
3 years agomikeybebe
3 years ago- PRO
Silvermine Painting
3 years ago 
PROBeth H. :
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoI think the reason you can't find a decent color is your lighting (and your choices. you're picking cool grays when you should be picking warm grays)
but your lighting is very warm and yellow, so it alters the hue that you see. Given that you have north light, that brings in a cooler light, but not enough to really brighten up the room.
as suggested, get some bulbs over 3500K. 4000K is natural day light.
I'd start w/some of these
Honestly? the red brick isn't all that. I'd paint it. white, black, gray, and bring in a large wood beam for the mantle. Paint the bookcases white too.I love this one. same floors as yours. do a matte black on the brick,
paint the walls a nice, bight white (BM Simply White is neutral that leans just a tad warmer. I used it on my own walls.You can leave your ceilings as is, paint the beams, or paint the whole thing
little diff as they kept the mortar joints a pale gray/white. you could choose to redo the shelving and do some built ins
or, just paint them white and the brick either white or gray.
ignore the fireplace, but these built ins are Ikea. It's an Ikea billy bookcase hack. super easy and looks great
White brick, white walls, and bring in some cool furniture.
I also love this mcm redo White brick, white walls, white ceiling.
I don't like this color brick, just showing your the cabs on the sides.
Romabio. look into Romabio (home depot has it) I'd do the masonry paint and not the lime wash. lime wash is too 'farm-y'. you want more mid centuryThis stuff is super easy to use. Look it up and you'll find a ton of tutorials
unless you want more of a country look:
The masonry paint gives more of a solid coverage and can be tinted to any color
mikeybebe thanked Beth H. :
MarleneM