Decorating Tips

Svara på: Given the tones in the kitchen, I think you are right to be concerned about the advice you got. I see a lot of samples, and while I like popular gray and perfect greige, we have to find something warm enough to deal with what is. You have dark wood floors, warm creamy off white tile entry floors, and travertine tiles/ st.cecilia type gold granite. You can go gray through the front rooms and use something truly yellow back here and do a new yellow and gray color scheme, with off white cabinets .. but the way it flows, I wouldn't do that unless I saw a great photo of the different dijon tones and off-whites you might use in your kitchen up against the stone and splash. That seems to be a bolder approach than the neutrals you requested. So, if you don't want these things to come off yellow, using some green based neutrals might be the warmest cool alternative. I didn't ask what your upholstery tones are .. but these greens are such fresh neutrals that they work with most things. In kitchen and room adjacent, test sw cargo pants - http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7738-cargo-pants/ and on remaining walls - the lighter shade sw canvas tan http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7531-canvas-tan/ I would recommend some sage tones for your cabinets if you are painting - white is too stark with the tile/granite combo and high ceilings . . green will feel custom, neutral, warm without being cutesy .. these lovely olive tones - test sw garden sage, sw san antonio sage, more olive - - or lighter yet, sw koi pond http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7736-garden-sage/ http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7731-san-antonio-sage/ http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7727-koi-pond/ The trick here is that the yellow in the green resonates with the gold and creams and yellows and so colors sort of sing together even though the green neutrals are technically cool colors. Also, must advise trim and ceilings be a warm white. Don't allow painter to dictate unless he is experienced (if he asked you twice about the grays, i'd trust him more) a bright white would have been right for gray but is bad with your things . . something warm like sw ivory lace will make a major positive difference Until you change your entry flooring, backsplash and stone, bright whites will only clash.

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Svara på: I have a question Lori. I am thinking of using Alabaster for Trim, and Dovetail (Gray) for most of the living room walls, and Olive Grove for hallways. Do you think I should paint the doors in the same color as the trim or should I go with a different off white shade?

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Svara på: I have Alabaster on all trim, doors and cabinets and am considering SW Natural Linen or Canvas Tan for all main living areas. SW Natural Linen and/or Canvas Tan are both perfectly fine wall color choices to work with Alabaster trim. Because NL and CT each have almost double the chromaticity (or colorfulness) as Alabaster. Which means Alabaster will look white next to those colors. Also, in terms of hue family they are very close. So, it's the combination of correct proximity in terms of hue family AND the right ratio of chroma that makes NL and CT good wall colors to go with Alabaster trim. Of course the wall color needs to relate to something in the room in order to make sense. A rug, a textile, something. I'm sure everyone knows that but mentioning it just in case. (and, yes, it has taken this long to get the whole computer nightmare worked out and I am just now catching up on posts here)

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Svara på: What does your analysis say about combining SW Alabaster trim and kitchen cabinets with SW Wool Skein on the walls please? Very nice. Both in the same yellow hue family neighborhood. Wool Skein has more than twice the chroma of Alabaster. Which means WS will make Alabaster look like a nice clean, crisp off-white. Contrasts and harmonizes in all the right ways.

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Svara på: In a room this size, you can't get away with small stuff. Your lamps are too small and so are your little picture frames. I even cleared the bottom shelf on your end table and replaced the stuff with a simple stack of books. If you want to display family photos, do a gallery wall--a grouping of photos that add up to more than the sum of its parts. Rules: none of those little collage frames for snapshots. Make sure the photos are compelling. No school pictures. Candid shots are best. I moved your sofa out, added a sofa table, a large square canvas and taller lamps. Also a rug to help define the space. That keeps it all in this room and separates it from the dining area.

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Svara på: 5-5-75 is a good general rule of thumb that will get you by in most situations. Hang pieces centered 5' above the floor or 5" above furniture. Pieces should be no wider than 75% of the width of the furniture they hang above. Decorate below the 8-9 foot level where the people live.

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