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Paint Home Decorating Design Dilemma

Any advice on painting this living room/loft with wood beams/accents?

3 years ago

Will be moving into our first home shortly and we are looking to do some painting on the interior prior to move-in.

We love the wood accents in the home, and while the current clean white paintjob is nice, we were thinking that an accent color could be a nice touch.

The images show the Living Room and up into the loft, to show that the large wall is continuous up to that area.

There is an image also of a quick mock-up of the areas we were thinking of accenting with a color (currently leaning SW Cascades, just due to how it plays with the color of the wood.)

The third image is the view from the loft, showing how high the vaulted ceiling and continuous wall are.

I also added an image of the wall opposite the entry, looking down from the loft, showing the fireplace in case that gives any ideas as well.

The elevation with the stairs is the southern wall, so lots of light coming in from that side, in the case that affects opinions!

I know it's not a lot to go on, but any recommendations for colors or where to apply colors to accent the space would be greatly appreciated.

I know I don't have a floorplan, but currently furniture is waiting as we figure out the walls!

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (7)

deegw
3 years ago
It's a nice space. I think you have enough going on visually and accent walls aren't necessary. You have three different wood tones, railings, raised dining area, dramatic fireplace, balconies and beams.

The wood trim and white walls are a perfect backdrop to let your decor shine. I would concentrate on rugs, window treatments, lamps, furniture and art.
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I would go with white. Accent walls look dated, and you would tired of it very fast.
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Ah, so you do have another space for lounging/TV watching. If you're pretty much sure you'd rather have a TV here too-I'd be satisfied with a (say) credenza or something to host a smaller size TV, which you can surround with some shelving with books, or maybe art..you can bring in plants-a lot of them..lots of interest since some of them grow like crazy and are virtually indestructible..)) and they always look at home-any style, any room you take, you can't go wrong with introducing plants, Remember Clifford Simak's purple flowers? lol you can paint the walls..you can wallpaper them if you're brave..you can put a mural on-there are some amazing ones. there are many many ways to make this room interesting. also don't forget-you look at it now while it's empty. but when you'll actually live there-you'll have furniture, fabrics, books..now it's a blank slate but it won't stay this way. it will be you and your family plus this room. it will be interesting enough without the feature wall. which you still can decide to do-I continue to think these wood planks are way cool..but they might be too overwhelming..and I would think very carefully about how to incorporate them, and whether it's worth investing in. That's personal of course and you might find that yes, you really want it, TV or no TV. Then I'd introduce more of that wood around..maybe wooden frames on art? maybe woven shades in the window? maybe painting the mantle another color so it'll blend more with the walls? And I'd use this plank wall more heavily then if I decide to put it in..it's a big space, and it might be useful and very very cool to have more on it than just the TV. Whatever you decide-it's exciting. Lots of possibilities here. And yes you're right..you don't need to match the wood finishes. You do need to consider how they will look together..in rare instances mixing just doesn't work. Say red mahogany or similar very expensive woods..)) find it hard to incorporate lol. Passed on amazing nightstands several years ago..the most useful amazing high quality nightstands I ever saw(on Craigslist)) but they just didn't blend in, what can I say.. But I don't think that's your case.
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You know when I was growing up we had a dining room with one door on one side of a wall. It was enough. I love having a dining room but I also love to entertain and I like to eat in the dining room and then "retire" to the sitting room, lol! Call me crazy! Traffic flow isn't much of a problem if the rooms are next to each other. I once had a house with a hallway between the kitchen and the living/dining room area. That was a traffic problem because the kitchen was tiny and if I had to go in there, I disappeared from sight and sound of my guests and had to leave them hanging. Got better when SO moved in and could stay with them while I got stuff from the kitchen. I would be more concerned about the flow between where the food gets cooked and the dining room than between a sitting/movie room and a dining room. On the flip side, if you want to open it up, get someone good and have them save and re-use the wood that gets taken out in some creative way for the new doors. Can be done. Pocket doors rock. I love wood, and such fine stuff as you have is becoming rare. That's why the trend is to paint, so no one knows the difference between fine stuff and cheap stuff. Painted, it all looks the same.
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We lived in Ukla (I may be spelling it wrong) but it was a little town outside Brussels. We didn't want to live in Waterloo where most x-pats live because we wanted to improve our French and we loved that little area. We spent Sat morning walking to the little shops for first Chocolat!! Then breads, then flowers, then meats, etc. etc. It was glorious! Looking forward to seeing more pictures!
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Your idea about the mantel is spot on ! I think your new rug is nice, but....(sorry), I feel like you dont need a rug in here or you need something lighter, smaller possibly even a free form like faux bear or even round. the space is so small the rug is closing you in. recliners will eat up a lot of space here........ you will have to forgo the coffee table I suspect. have you toyed with the idea of an ottoman instead, especially since if you are reclined you dont really face the tv so it might not be as awesome lol. You could do a reclining chair and sofa with an ottoman, might get more function out of that. Leather sofas really only have so many looks, so I would argee that gray is not really great I would lean toward beige if it was me. might I also toss out there the light bulb you have shining on the fireplace is a bit to daylight for my taste and also seems to be very bright! I think diming it down, narrowing the beam spread might high light the art better, its a bit washed out right now. https://www.costco.com/campania-leather-power-reclining-sofa-with-power-headrests.product.100390699.html https://www.macys.com/shop/product/kaleb-tufted-leather-sofa-collection-created-for-macys?ID=2672877
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njmomma
3 years ago
Agree White.
junco East Georgia zone 8a
3 years ago
I like your mock up with the teal walls in the stair area. That would be easy to repaint if you tire of it. I suggest deciding on a wonderful rug before you paint--then choose the accent color from the rug. If you want a neutral rug, then I like your teal. deegw is correct that there is a lot going on but I think it will work. Good luck.
decoenthusiaste
3 years ago
Paint is the last item selected in a decorating plan because it must work the the fabrics and textiles you're installing. Waiting for the furniture is a mistake, as the "set in stone" upholstery, rugs, etc will inform what to do with the walls. While it is tempting to paint before moving in, unless you're going with white, it isn't the best option. Your architecturally interesting home is not in need of any kind of accent unless you wanted to paint all that wood surrounding the fireplace.
Brown Dog
3 years ago
Cool house! Oodles of potential! But you've got a lot going on here with the openness and adding a feature wall colour will not be doing the architecture any favours. I would keep it simple and go with one colour throughout. I would go with a white for the walls and the currently painted trimwork. Let the wood accents be the star of your house. That being said, there are 2 things that bother me in the photos. First, the dining room, why does it have a railing? Looks like a weird adult playpen. I would remove that railing and build wall-to-wall steps on each side of the dining room that go down to the lower levels and that would make your space more open and accessible. The other thing that bothers me is the very traditional furniture and lighting. I couldn't tell by your description if the furniture is yours or the previous owners. I would definitely replace all the lighting with something in a more contemporary style. Your furniture should also be simple lines and more minimal. You have an opportunity to make this a really special house. The architecture is already cool, what you do with it could make it awesomely cool!!
PRO
JudyG Designs
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
The color of the floor what should influence your scheme.

Do not paint an accent wall.

Do paint all other wood trim white…railings, interior doors, any wood trim which is not the color of thefloor.

Fireplace surround, definitely get rid of it. What could you do with those shelves? How could you clean them? I would sheet rock over the entirety.

Wall color?

B.M. Pebble Beach

Rove Concepts sofa

Joss & Main

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