Tuesday 20 January 2009

The Paint's Peeling Off The Streets Again

I started painting our condo back in November. I reached a point where I was happy to stop, so I did. Lately, though, I've been bothered by one wall. I had originally left it white because all of Shawn's toys plug into that wall, guaranteeing a massive headache for anyone who tries to unplug / unscrew / untangle them. I convinced myself that the white wall provided "contrast." I cannot continue to live the lie.

I have decided to paint the white wall.

This has presented a new problem. The wall in question (A) borders another white wall (B.) The wall has a protrusion (C,) which houses our electric fireplace. The problem is this:

Do I paint only wall A? Do I paint A + B? A + B + C? And then there is the question of colour. Currently, our living room / dining room / hallway (our condo is open concept) is painted both a light, neutral green and a dark, olive green. Which colour should I paint A? B? C? Or do we choose a new colour? This screams for a diagram:
Right, so in my diagram:

Blue = dark, olive green
Pink = light, neutral green
Red = glass wall

A, B, and C are currently painted white. C is pretty much a box with a wooden mantel and an electric fireplace housed in it.

I feel like A should be painted the light, neutral green. I have no idea what to do about B or C. I feel like if B is painted, C needs to also be painted but I'm not sure how a painted fireplace would look.

Shawn feels like we should paint A the dark, olive green because he likes it better than the light. He feels like B and C should be painted a "dark, reddish brown." I know, right? Where the eff did that come from?

Thoughts / ideas / opinions are welcome! Especially if yours thoughts / ideas / opinions are of the "reddish brown paint is stupid" persuasion.

(It should be noted that the furniture we have in the space (couch, recliner, coffee table, 2 shelving units, dining table and chairs) is all either black or very dark brown.)

14 comments:

  1. What about the light green for A & B, and the dark for C? Would that work? I can't completely picture what you're talking about, so I can't say for sure. Or, A, B & C all light. Because your furniture is already dark.

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  2. I need actual pictures before I can say anything other than NO REDDISH BROWN.

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  3. Tricky.

    Maybe he's thinking a red-brown will look kind of like brick? That's the only reason I can see there...

    I agree with Adriana. Not just because the furniture's dark, but also because it really lightens up the room to have the lighter colour in there. And if you don't, then the wall that's currently light will be the only contrast.

    Picking colours is not fun. The Boy and I have been painting his condo, and finding colours that work, or colours that we both like is not a happy time.

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  4. Oh, goodness. This is hard. I LOVE colored paint on walls, and I am totally in favor of painting the walls, although not sure about the fireplace...I'd love to see pictures as well, even though you do a great job with the diagrams. And I am definitely in the NO reddish brown camp.

    Also, I assume bathroom's on the right?

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  5. I agree, pictures would be helpful. Depending on how the space is furnished (i.e. if one part is the living room and one is the dining room)how about B in light green and A in dark green? Or the whole wall a light tan to throw in an entirely new color? Don't paint the fireplace.

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  6. OK.
    1) Holy fridge. I need to put the comment box beside the diagram.
    2) No reddish brown.
    3) I think you should do A dark, B light, and leave C. Or else paint C the same as A. Or B.
    4) I really want to paint but can't afford it right now. Apparently I should pay off my student loans first...

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  7. Reddish brown is never the answer.
    I suggest getting paint chips from the paint store & taping them up on the walls for a few days so you can see the colors at different times of the day & in different light. I currently have 3 types of "taupe" in my dining room...

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  8. Even with your awesome diagram I'm still confused.

    But you could always put mirror(s) up because they make the room look bigger.

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  9. Based solely on the diagram and knowing very little about interior design, I'd say A=dark green, B=light green and C=I have no idea. Maybe dark green to contrast with B?

    I have no idea, I suck at this.

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  10. I think that you could paint A either a lighter colour like you're thinking - but I have another suggestion.

    Paint the wall across the room from C that olive colour, and paint A that olive colour too - Paint B a lighter contrasting colour and paint the hearth of the fireplace (if you can?) that same colour or leave it and make sure that B is light & compliments the hearth.

    I think part of what's confusing is that you have a the wall across from what seems like a natural focal point in a different colour so it's stealing focus & making things feel unbalanced. If you tied the rest of the room into the olive colour scheme & punched out the section of the wall with the fire place (& maybe the fire place its self) into a lighter colour they would be the the focal point of the room & could make it feel more balanced.

    Just a thought! = )

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  11. definitely not reddish brown, especially with all the dark furniture!! :)

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  12. adriana is totally right. at the very least, a and b need to be the same colour. and since you already have two colours on the walls, plus a contrasting furniture and floor colour, you should go with the greens you have. also, reddish brown? no! [smacks nose with newspaper] tell him that i've watched WAY more daytime tv than him, and as such, i am an expert in these things now.

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  13. Diagrams hurt my head. Good luck.

    (Haven't had a chance to get the crackers yet... but they're coming...)

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  14. I will be of no help to you. All of the wall in our house are either light tan or off-white. We're exciting like that.

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