~Tara~ Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I need your thoughts. This is all 'hypothetical' at the moment as we are not yet sure we are buying a new house...but...play along will ya? So, say you have a sofa and loveseat in a lovely shade of 'chocolate'. And 2 large chairs in a 'harvest gold' shade. Then tables are a darkish cherry shade. What color wood floor would you choose? What about wall color? And what kind of lamps would you put with all of that? -Signed T, the decoratingly inept :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired_Mama Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 With all those neutrals I would definitely choose some sort of color for the walls, as opposed to a white or taupe. Some of my personal favorites are this club navy shown in the living room here or a deep red. I tend to think richer colors look best against dark wood furniture. Will you be choosing the kind of wood for your floors or just refinishing an existing floor? I think the only two things I would avoid is 1) trying to match the floors to your furniture and 2) since it sounds like your furniture is more formal I would stay away from a too-casual floor, like a wide-plank pine or something. We have a very neutral, lighter-stained oak throughout our house and we have some very formal and some very casual rooms. It seems to work w/all types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIN Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I think a rich deep red sounds wonderful with your furnishings. I think something formal for the floor- some type of cherry perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 I LOVE the idea of red! Actually, I have been wanting red in the bedroom for a while now. If even just one accent wall..I *want* red! I'll have to toss around the idea of red in the living room. Very interesting. We would be putting in new flooring. And yeah, that's what I was thinking...not a good idea to try to match the flooring. Plus...all that dark...just seems too dark and dreary. I love the dark tones, yeah, but, I like some light and bright too, ya know? I don't want it to feel all gloomy. But cherry doesn't have to be really dark though, right? Thanks and keep the ideas coming :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Floors are permanent, so chose something classic, not trendy, and in a mid-tone unless a lighter shade really happens to fit your style of house. That's my two cents, having btdt and chosen (I hope?) well. You're probably going to put an area rug or carpet over it anyway, so that is the main thing that will pull your colors together. Don't chose your wall color till you have your fabric. Ask my how I know... If it's a new build, you'll have a limited number of colors because of the cost. If you're painting the rooms yourself, well you need to take the prospective colors, paint them on white posterboard (NOT YOUR WALLS!) and try them out in various lights, different times of day, etc. I have a red room in my house, a small bath with no windows, and the right red really does pop. I wanted red in my bedroom initially and decided against it. Instead I went with a soft lilac that floats with the morning sun. Violet is considered a contemplative, spiritual color according to color therapy. I figured I could use all the spirituality I can get in the morning. :) Have fun with your colors! You get better at them the more you try. I eventually got a paint lady (recommended by the paint store) to help me pick some of the colors, and that was very helpful. Some of the colors were so-so, but some were right on, so good, and would have been much harder to find myself. But if you're going to do that, and it's NOT expensive ($50 for the whole house? an hour of her time, highly recommend), you really need the starting point for each room: fabric, a shower curtain, whatever. They'll find a color to make your elements pop. Your furniture sounds very neutral, so it would be better to find a rug or pillows or curtains as your inspiration point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I agree with this. Lamp styles would depend upon the style of your sofas and chairs. Are they modern? contemporary? Craftsman? etc.? I would make the style of lamps match the style of the furniture. You can bring in some more light to the room by choosing shiny surface finishes for the lamps, such as silver, crystal, a burnished gold to match the chairs, etc. Cushions for sofas and chairs can also help you bring in brighter, lighter elements. Red need not be dark. There are plenty of bright shades of red, too. Draperies might be the gold from the chairs to bring more light up on the walls, as well..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I need your thoughts. This is all 'hypothetical' at the moment as we are not yet sure we are buying a new house...but...play along will ya? So, say you have a sofa and loveseat in a lovely shade of 'chocolate'. And 2 large chairs in a 'harvest gold' shade. Then tables are a darkish cherry shade. What color wood floor would you choose? What about wall color? And what kind of lamps would you put with all of that? -Signed T, the decoratingly inept :p Definitely wouldn't match floors to furniture. We needed a *hard* wood (dog's toenails) and went with Brazilian cherry which I absolutely LOVE. We have dark leather furniture and I love the Monroe Bisque (Benjamine Moore) - a golden tan - on my walls. I bring in richer color (think falls reds & oranges plus darker sage green) through throws pillows and blankets, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Dark wood floors show dust. FYI! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest janainaz Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I love red, too, but I put it on my wall and hated it. I like color, but in my accents (I've learned after MANY cans of paint). I need light-and-bright in my house. So, just be careful before you put it on your walls. Some people are not sensitive at all in that way, but some are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Thanks gals! Anyone have some sites they could recommend to help me look around, find my groove? Other than HGTV, I popped over there yesterday. And yes...a rug...I'll be searching for one of those too. Thanks for the reminder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I'm another person who has decided to go for light walls and bright accents. We have a few different fairly light (but not washed out) colours on the walls through the house, but with bold accents (primary colours) in cushions etc. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Hmmmm. What about painting the entire room a light tuscan gold similar to what's in this link? If that's too close to the color of your chairs, you could do a similar but darker color, maybe a gingery orange color like this? Or a couple walls of each color? As for the flooring, maybe you could do a lighter cherry color, or one that has quite a bit of color variability in it. We have a mahogany floor that has a mix of plank colors ranging from a deep brown to a light red. It works with our oak cabinets, and our darker furniture too. Here's an example of what I mean by the variability. Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide eyes & laughter Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 is your psyche :D Ie though I love darker colors.... I've found that my psyche does best with a lot of light around me and lighter colored walls as a result. Not white. But how 'bout a tan or creamy golden color or even a gold color that brightens without overpowering? That would lift *my* mood each day anyway! I also think dark walls would lose your dark sofa and loveseat - they'd blend into the surroundings too much if you went w/dark walls. Personally, I love the darker wood flooring even though I think it would show more dust/sand etc. Then you could splash more color throughout the room with accents: vases, throw rugs, window treatments, wall decor, etc. This was fun to think about! Hope you get to do something that lifts you :001_smile:Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Ooo ok, yeah, I'm liking the lighter gold shade. I can see that working. And as the pp mentioned, though I may like dark tones, my psyche must be paid attention to here. Too much dark would bring me down. I do desire some bright and uplifting tones. A few years ago, when we first bought this furniture, we had 'harvest gold' on the walls..it was a near identical match to the chairs. It was fine, I liked it and all. It was bright enough in the room too. But I'm liking the idea of a lighter version of that. I "get" it. I had a 'pumpkin' shade in the kitchen which I always adored. Not sure what my thoughts are for a kitchen right now. That will depend more on the cabinets already in place at the house. Which, as I said, I'm not even sure we're moving yet :p This is all so hypothetical right now hehe But so much fun! Thank you all for joining in with me. So what are some hot kitchen shades right now? Oh...the dual colors in the living room...I like that idea...I'll be thinking on that too. See, y'all are so smart! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Blue walls would be gorgeous with the chocolate and gold. Check out Silvermist at Sherman Williams. Wheat or gold would be pretty, too and very calming. I love red and we painted our powder room in red. I am so glad that we didn't do the kitchen though because it is so intense. For the floors I would go with a basic wood, not too dark though. We had cherry floors and they were so hard to match colorwise. My neighbors put in dark brown wood floors and it showed so much dirt that she ended up sweeping her floors every day. Have fun planning your new home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Oh...I forgot...LOVE the varying shades floor! I will most definitely be looking into THAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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