Interior painting, decorating

[KD]

OK, so this isn't exactly a home repair question...it's more a decorating question. I am somewhat lacking the decorating gene that is apparent in most women, so anyhow...

Our house is mostly painted in neutral, safe colours that go with pretty much everything. In other words, blah. I am not a beige/white/offwhite walls type of person, so I've got some plans for painting. Adding some COLOUR, as well as some texture to the walls with some vibrant paints and glaze.

I rarely see homes that have deep colours on the walls. My question is, am I opening a big can of worms here? You can always paint over colours you don't like of course, but with the deeper hues that I'm thinking of, it's probably going to take some work to restore it to something safer if we decide we don't like it.

Do any of you have experience using dark colours on walls? Did you like/dislike the results? How difficult was it to return a room to its original state if you (or someone else) couldn't live with it?

Thanks,

KD

[HA HA Budys Here]

Try adding color first, and work with textures after you're more comfortable and confident making "drastic" changes.

After years with "eggshell" and "antique whites" I painted 2 Livingroom walls with cranberry. Took 2 days to fall in love with the warmth and the contrast but it brought out the oak floors and oak baseboards and actually compliments a green couch.

Don't be afraid of color it's easy to change if you don't like it.

[*rosie*]

dear KD, how about a trip to your local HOME DEPOT and take a look at the painting suggestions that are found there................ GREAT COLORS!

[KD]

Yes, I've seen some awesome colours...I've got more paint chips than I can count. I've had lots of recommendations for Pittsburg paints, and that's what we've been using. We already did our bathrooms with a deep green colour applied with sponges, and I love it. It did make the rooms look a bit smaller I guess, but we were very pleased with the results. Fortunately I have a husband who is not afraid to live in a brightly coloured home!

The technique I'm contemplating next is 'ragging off.' Put one colour on the wall and let it dry, mix another colour with glaze and apply on top, then remove much of the top coat to let the bottom show through. I'm thinking of using contrasting colours for the base and top coats, the end result will be rather dramatic. I'm going to give it a go on some foam board or something first though and see what it looks like.

KD

[Terry & Diane]

I painted a bedroom - with satin in a cinnabar color - and did not care for it - the paint was too glossy, which gave it a blah feel and not the warmth I was looking for from the color. I repainted with a dark flat cranberry color - it took about 1-2 days to get the feel for it and now I love it. It does take two coats (with a darker color) and it is a bear to trim at the ceiling, but it looks great and was worth it.

[xymergy]

Excellent. You won't regret going wild with color, but do take a look at the various matching palettes the different manufacturers put together. Good combinations can be found from Polo (don't buy the paint, just look at the big brochures) and other fancy names.

For best results, don't do the actual ragging off alone. One of you (perhaps your husband?) should roll on the paint, properly thinned with Floetrol or similar slow-drying agent (I didn't use glaze, but that's another option), and the other should follow immediately and rag off. You'll love the results; I think it looks a lot better than sponging. For your first time, try two related colors, one darker than the other. See how that looks before adding a third. I tend to go light base with dark emphasis, but others do the reverse. That third color could be the contrast you want.

[Jeff Buck]

We painted our bedroom orangem and our living room (light) purple (we were also tired of the neutral/beige look).

We put in new moulding in the bedroom and stained it dark. It sets off the walls and carpeting very nicely.

We haven't tried painting over either room, so I don't know how hard it is to cover them up,

-Jeff

[Suzie-Q]

I finally got around to painting and did use some colo(u)r. I got the nerve after watching hours and hours of Christopher Lowell, While You Were Out, and Trading Spaces, along with other similar decorating shows.

I painted my living room a sort of moss green. (I always paint the ceiling two shades lighter than the walls. Makes it look higher.) Since the living room, dining room and kitchen all connect, I painted the dining room wainscoating the same moss green and the dining room and kitchen walls a shade of peach. (Probably too pastely for some folks.) I also painted my kitchen cabinets the same moss green and used a dark green glaze on the cabinet doors to jazz things up a little.

I love it! I, too, was stuck in the off-white rut and hated it.

Before I did too much, I painted a corner of the dining room and looked at it for a few days until I decided that I liked it. Then, and only then, did I continue to paint the rest of the kitchen/dining room.

I recently finished painting my master bedroom a medium blue that would probably be too dark for most people. I figured it was safe because it's a very large room. Again, the ceiling is two shades lighter. I'm very happy with how it turned out, too. It's not completely finished. I'm going to add some accents using a sort of taupe shade of paint.

If you're worried that you (or someone else) won't like it, just do a small space and look at it for a day or two.

As far as returning it to its original state, well, you'll just have to paint over whatever you painted. (Another good reason to test a small area!)

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions.

BTW, I don't have that decorating gene, either, but I recently took some art classes and, as I said, have been watching a lot of decorating shows!

[Suzie-Q]

There is an excellent and cheap tool for "trimming at the ceiling." In fact, it's my favorite painting tool. I don't know what it's called, but it's a flat pad in a plastic holder with two little wheels on one side. If used correctly, it makes trimming at the ceiling a breeze.

[Frogleg]

If you get BBCAmerica, watch a few episodes of 'Changing Rooms.' Their web site has a *lot* of colorful examples, too. These people are *not* afraid of color!

Not everything appeals to me, but if an episode description mentions "Moroccan," take a look.

You might also look up some references to "Williamsburg" color schemes. These feature rather strong dusty blues, greens, and rose colors.

It may take 2 coats of 'light' to cover a 'vivid', but paint decisions aren't irreversible.

[Eric Scantlebury]

Well, I've painted most of my house in "darker" colors. I think it looks great - I get sick of looking at bland neutrality (I had a hard time convincing the wife - but after it was done she really liked it). My house is a colonial so perhaps it is more conducive to that type of painting? Anyway - my living room has a dark blue horizontal paneling to the chair rail (The paneling is tongue and groove pine) and a darker red from there to the ceiling which is white. I stick with semi gloss paints as the more glossy the paints get the worse I feel the darker colors appear. At night the room just "feels" real warm with the lamp light not being really reflected off a glossy wall. I also utilized a border atop the chair rail around the room which, I think, greatly adds to the transition. The border I had picked before the paint and had the paint store match the blue to the border blue.

In my son's room I painted the bottom portion of the room dark blue (A different shade then the living room - and painted from the floor to the bottom of the window sill. I had the paint store match the blue to the blue in the paper) and then papered the top with a white paper that had red, yellow and blue squares, triangles and circles. I then put a sesame street border between the paint and the paper.

In my room I did a similar treatment I painted the bottom portion of the wall red (Different then the living room color - I had the shop match the red to the roses on the paper), up to the chair rail. I then papered the top with a rose patterned paper with a backing that is sort of a dark tanish. I then put a rose border around the chair rail.

All in all I am really pleased with the use of more "vivid" colors. The one thing I would recommend is to definitely stay away from glossy paint.

[norminn]

clipped

No dark colors in my home, but I've seen others that are fantastic. First experience was a friend who had a deep, vivid red dining room. Very large and light, so's it didn't look like the inside of a lipstick tube :o) Next was my daughter's deep purple dining room. Fantastic! Would you believe green and orange trim?

Hubby and I got brave and got an oriental rug with mainly tomato red, and beige blue accents. Tomato red went on the chairs. Walls, tile off-white and taupe. I'm a beige/blue person :o)

The room itself should be considered - a place where you spend a lot of time you may not want a deep color. Color supposedly affects mood, too. Long winters with little sun may be tough, with a dark blue or green room it may be depressing. Red, orange supposedly are stimulating. The size of the room and amount of lighting, as well as other components in the room, make a difference, too.

Go for it. You can paint over anything. Some deep colors, especially red and blue, are tough to cover with (label will say so). They can also be tougher to cover. Count on needing more paint when using a very different color.

[KD]

Thanks for your input everybody! I'm going to give it a go in the living room, give it a nice warm colour...but as a trial, I'm going to do the coat closet first! I'm thinking of a yellow base coat, then ragging off a nice PEI mud colour. (that's sort of a brick/terracotta colour for those of you unfamiliar with the colour of mud in PEI) :) It should be interesting! I have tan chairs in there with a print that includes a bit of that shade in it, so it should work out pretty well.

KD