THAT PainterLady.com

Hi there… My living room settee and chair are both burgundy and the carpet is a deep red. I am just wondering what wall color choices I should paint my accent wall?

I was going to go for a deep burgundy but I was told to do it a nice grey color. I don’t have a clue what to do. Could you please help me? Thanks… hope to hear from you soon!

The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors

It is hard to just blurt out a color without seeing the room as a whole. When picking colors, there are a lot of things to think about, such as: your taste and style, how you accessorize, what colors you enjoy wearing, the colors in other rooms of your home.

The accent wall color should not blend with your furniture, but it should stand out against it.

But you can go in 2 different directions:

More subtle (lighter color) or more bold (darker/brighter color)which in my terms would mean “the color pops”.

If you have burgundy furniture up against the accent wall, then maybe a medium taupe with some gray in it.

A gray would like nice, as long as it is not a cool/blue gray. A silvery gray would be better. You can also try a warm beige which would compliment the burgundy nicely.

It would be wonderful if you could send us a picture of your living space so we can better assist you with picking the right color.

If not, and you are completely unsure about which color, then I would try to find a color consultant who can help you make the best choice. You definitely want to be happy and enjoy you wall color choices.

Hope this is a bit helpful… THAT Painter Lady, Dawn

Click here for more : Tips for Redecorating Choosing Colors

I am a sucker for green paint… I think it's just the perfect kitchen wall color if you have oak cabinets. But Jennifer is worried their will be to much green in her kitchen… she already has green in her living room!

Plus… she wants to paint her center island and the dining table… she thinks she will replace the chairs.

So let's see what ideas I can come with for her… 

This is a short clip from her email:

My living room (which has the same oak cabinets as the kitchen) is actually painted green. I like the green just not on every wall, but back to the kitchen…I have included a  close up of the counters. I hope it is clear enough for you. Again, any  ideas would be greatly appreciated.

She has an interesting counter top that needs to co-ordinate with any wall paint color we choose… check out her pictures:

So… here are THAT Painter Lady's ideas for this kitchen.

• First… please change the cabinet hardware to something fresher and more modern. Not White!
• Painting you kitchen island and kitchen table black with a rubbed off finish… You know you have seen this technique in all the decorator stores.
• Get rid of those dining table chairs… go for a more contemporary clean lined chair in wood tone that matches the kitchen cabinet color.
• I'll bet you already guessed that I think you should update the light fixture over the dining table.
• See all those white electric outlet covers under your counters… the ones that look like chicken pox across the backsplash??? At least paint those black or a green/gray that closely matches the backsplash. 
• If it were my kitchen… I would get rid of that scalopped thing over the sink. It is helping your kitchen look dated.

• I love the green color on your living room walls and agree that the entire kitchen should not be painted green. But… I would paint the wall that faces into the living room… the one that frames the entire living room the exact same color as the living room. It looks like when you are standing in the kitchen area… that the wall has a frame that you look through to see the living room. By using the green as an accent color on this kitchen wall it should erase the "frame".
• I know your going to think I'm crazy for suggesting this… but the rest of the walls should be painted Red! See the apples that are sitting on your center island? See how good that red looks with the counter top color? That's the red… it will be very, very cool with the green. I promise if you don't use Christmas red it won't look like the Christmas room. 

Anyone have other suggestions?  What do you think? 

What do I do with that horrible wallpaper in my kitchen? What color do I paint my kitchen? Here is another "cry for help" and my solution:

I have a terrible dilemna in my kitchen. I want to strip the wallpaper and paint the walls.  My cabinets are medium oak, the counter top is gray/sage and the vinyl flooring is gray. Do I have any options that would not require repainting or restaining my cabinets? Thanks so much!!!

I of course asked for pictures and this is what she sent:

She also sent along another note:

Here are photos of my kitchen as well as the LR.  I want to repaint my LR as
well.  I tried some butter yellow on the one LR wall which as a huge
mistake.  Have to stay away from the yellows.  I want to lighten up the
walls in the LR, remove the dark border, and paint the ceiling an off white.
My house is small so the rooms are small.  I'm realizing my furniture is over
sized for the LR, so I want to find a color for the LR wall that will help
"absorb" the furniture.  Does that make sense?   Any help you can give will
be greatly appreciated.  Thank you again.

I'm here to help!

The wallpaper and furniture pattern are both what I would call "shabby chic" in flavor. Or maybe a bit country. What you seem to be striving for is a cleaner look in the kitchen and a less overwhelming look in the living room.

Because your home is small and has small rooms… use the same color in both. Really, you will be much happier with the results.

The butter yellow was defiantly the wrong color choice.  Plus… yellow and oak cabinets are not a good mix for the kitchen. Trust me… I know this from experience.

Green always makes oak cabinets look richer and newer. Really.

I would stick with a green that is in the sofa pattern. You seem to have a nice sage green in the pattern. You would want to match the medium green color. Not to light/pale and not to strong/dark.

Get yourself to the paint store and pick up lots of paint chips that you think might match the color… or take a pillow and have the paint computer try to come up with a match.

You will end up with a nice custom look in the living room… you won't ever get that large furniture to "blend" or "absorb" into the walls… it's just to big. But… the green will be soft and the furniture will feel comfortable in the room. Your carpet color should be perfect. You won't believe how pretty your shades will look with a soft sage green on the walls. 

Be careful in the kitchen… if you need to change the shade of the green a bit to "co-ordinate" with the counters and floor… this is not a problem. It's best to try the wall color you used in the living room on the kitchen walls in patch - paint samples.

See if the color looks a bit too blue or too yellow and correct accordingly.

Good Luck and have fun!