Color Conundrum
>> Tuesday, August 17, 2010
My cute husband and I began discussing paint colors and such for this new house before we moved in. We even picked up a bunch of paint chips at a home improvement store while we were scouting out fun things like new fridges and washers and dryers.
Right away, we noticed a difference of opinions when it came to paint colors. I was all over the "tan is neutral, and you can add color with accessories" argument, while my husband (who by the way, on multiple occasions has told me that brown is not a color, silly boy) said tan is boring, and why don't we paint the walls colors like blue, green and red?
I tried to tell him that the main reason was to avoid having our house look like the inside of a circus tent (or something to that effect--probably more like "we don't want it to look like crazy people live here") etc, etc.
Anyway, we ended up choosing to paint the living room and adjoining family room/dining area a couple of nice neutral tans. Just like I wanted, and still what I think is the best choice for these areas. So I moved on and started thinking about what to do with our bedroom. And all I could think of was TAN. Same for our master bathroom. And even I started to think that that would just be too much tan!
Anyway, it got me wondering, was I choosing tan because I really thought it was a great design choice (ya know, since I know so much about that and all...) or if it was just because I was afraid of choosing the wrong colors. Yes, friends, it turns out that the reason I was afraid painting colors other than tan is that, though I have seen lots of design shows and blogs, I don't really know what I'm doing (and chances are good that it would look like a circus in here).
And if you're still reading what has turned into a long boring post about nothing of consequence, I will tell you, I still feel that tan is a wise color choice, but maybe not in every room of the house. So we'll be painting mostly tan in the main living spaces with a little green, blue/aqua, and maybe yellow and grey (the last two being kids' rooms) thrown into the mix.
Whether or not it ends up looking a little too circus-y is yet to be seen. I hope not.
What's your opinion on using color on your walls? Would you play it safe with tan or add some punch with color?
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9 comments:
I'm a firm believer in accent walls. Just about anything goes with tan, and you can paint just one wall a more exciting color. If you hate it, one wall is easier to re-paint than an entire room.
I'm also loving our new apartment, which has white doors and white trim, etc. but the walls are . . . not white. I don't know what color they are, and if the whole place was the same color I might think it was white, but they're not. It adds a nice touch, having the white trim.
I think accent walls are great too. I also like a fun color for bedrooms though. You'll be there for at least 4 years, so you can always repaint a room if it needs it. I like your Mom's red bedroom.
I've never lived anywhere with more than a hint of color on the walls. Really, light, light blue, white and cream is all. So I frequently ponder the same thing. I think color is good. I really can't tell you how sick of cream I am. So I vote go out on a limb and repaint if you hate it...
I am NOT repainting my tan living spaces (even though it is a little dark for my taste)...that would take ten years! It is nice that it can go with just about anything. But obviously I painted my bedroom green and my daughters' room pink, so go with whatever you like. We get compliments on that sagey green in the living room all the time.
P.S. Red is really hard to paint(many coats) and to paint over...just FYI.
Thanks for the input everyone.
Emily--I think white trim is so great. Our last apartment had the walls, ceiling, and trim all painted the same off white color. There was even crown molding in the living room, and I always thought it was such a waste to not have it painted white so that you would actually notice it!
Nicole--I think we're going to go with green in our bedroom. That was Trent's idea.
Tarmy--We're going out on a limb! I'm going to get some green paint this weekend for a couple of walls in the kitchen!
Caroline--I'm not painting anything red. However, I am NOT looking forward to painting over the red walls in my bedroom, bathroom, and little boy's room. Do you think pink will be hard to paint over?
COLOR!! :) Wow Painting seems a daunting task for a new house. But, I think that color accents are great! Good luck!
I am one like you. I like the neutral wall colors and then add bright, fun accessories, like decor or furniture.
You can even do stencils. I have seen some great ones on line lately to add color. I think the remodelholic blog had something about stencils!
Our walls are tan with white crown molding. I like it because it goes with a lot and you can accent with different things- like you said. But if i had the choice, i would paint our room with color. and the kids' room with color too. That way people would think we are normal, then when they really got to know us then they would see we were nuts-o. (my sister painted her walls a chocolate brown with a minty green stripe through the middle, and it turned out so well. plus i always feel like I am eating a little mint they serve you after dinner. its a win win.) Good luck!
Obviously I wasn't afraid to paint our walls bright colors :) But tan is a good choice, just maybe not for EVERYTHING.
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