Well I already have something similar to the fugly fainting couch and I need help decorating around it. Right now I have new construction white walls with nothing hanging on them. We have been too scared to nail any holes in the wall even though we plan to be here for 20 years. I also have no sense of style and I have never painted anything before in my life.
The Good Husband hates what he calls fun houses - where every room is a different color. So the plan is to paint all the common areas - living room, dining room, guest bathroom - all the same color and paint The Good Baby's and our bed and bathroom separate colors.
This is how our living room looks now (click to enlarge)
To the left of the armchair (and notice our super fancy tv tray end table) is the kitchen and dining room. To the right of the couch is the hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom. The tv is out of frame, opposite the sliding glass doors.
The couch and the chair and ottoman are a tan-ish olive color. The drapes are a khaki color and the carpet is grey.
I was thinking about painting the wall with the fireplace and the half wall a dark grey color and all the other walls in the house 2 shades lighter. I think the grey would look good with the carpet but I don't know if it would look good with anything else. I can move the couch and chair and into the basement and buy something more compatible with grey walls if I had to. The curtains will have to stay for now since we just bought them and you know TGH is too cheap to let me change them.
I like the Colonial Cobblestone and Family Tree colors of Dutch Boy paint. I don't know if I can get them in a low VOC however and that is important to us.
The fireplace is another issue in itself. I want a large sliver frame mirror over the fireplace and only a few photos on the mantle. The rest of the photos I want to move to floating shelves on a wall - either the one next to the arm chair or the one opposite the sliding glass door (more decisions!).
TGH is not fond of mirrors over the fireplace but I don't know what else to put there.
So any suggestion would be great, whether paint colors or mantle ideas. Anything is welcome.
My suggestion is to find an inspiration piece, a piece of art, fabric, throw pillow, a bouquet of flowers, etc and then pick colors from there. That way you are not just picking colors out of thin air....
ReplyDeleteIf your curtains are natural materials, you could dye them a color that would work for your new room.
good luck!
Ok, some ideas:
ReplyDelete1 - Define your seating area bit more by using a colorful and patterned area rug - just put it over the carpet. Voila! Instant definition.
2 - I'd take all of your photos and do some sort of photo arrangement on the wall either a) to the left of your fireplace (if you want to do a mirror above the fireplace), or b) above the fireplace - make that your visual interest). Something like this: http://myinspirationlounge.squarespace.com/mistys-blog/2010/3/17/inspiration-for-hanging-wall-pictures.html
3 - I'm all for painting walls different colors. Just be careful to think about where the colors END. If you paint that back wall AND the half wall, you're going to have two paint colors meeting at an exterior edge, which sometimes make for a tricky transition. If I were you, I'd just to the wall behind the fireplace.
4 - Get rid of that folding TV tray, and use something that makes more use of that space. Like this: http://www.belfortfurniture.com/Item.aspx?ItemID=-1173667247&ItemNum=T1297-03
or this: http://www.coffeetablesgalore.com/end-tables/rectangle/keywestendtablewithwickerdrawer.cfm?TID=LFI420-1&source=channel_intelligence_nextag&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=24-98768606-2
And can you sew? Since you want to keep the curtains, you could just sew a large stripe of a colorful fabric to the bottom, to jazz them up a bit.
Ok, the end. :)
I suggest a bold color for where the fireplace is and then a netural for the rest of the walls. Since your furniture is also netural, some pillios that pop. I'd take the photos on the mantle and arrange them in a photo collage on another wall and then put a mirror or piece or art work over the fireplace. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeletenice post!
ReplyDeleteWow! You did great with your living room interior. I am actually looking for painting contractors (Alexandria VA) to land a simple but elegant concept with my house interior and my office interior paint. Searching blogs stories helps me generate an idea of my own. It is good to land in blogs like this, very helpful to person like me. Keep posting!
ReplyDelete