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what colour scheme to change to to brighten open plan living/dinning a

9 years ago

i have just moved into this house last week and want to paint throughout. am struggling with the downstairs living space it is an open plan living room/ dinning room ( these pics are as the seller i bought it from sold it to me) any imput on how to make it less plain, light and airy but cosy at the same time?

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Comments (4)

mrsmcee74
9 years ago
It's crying out for some curtains to soften the look and make it more cosy. The walls are a bit bare, so plenty of colourful artwork and I would get shelves built into the alcoves to display books, photos and decorative accessories. I would paint your fire surround white. Use big colourful rugs to bring in texture and cosy up the space.

I love pic below how they've used white paint except for the olive and they've added copper touches and bright accessories. The White will give you that airy feeling but the deep colour on the other wall will feel cosy in the evening. Other pic demonstrates how shelves make a room feel more homely.
minnie101
9 years ago
I agree with all of mrsmcee points. Use a cool colour on the wall (pale blue, green,purple, cool grey or cool white) to make it feel airy and then choose a warm accent colour for your accessories as per images above. As it's open plan I would treat the room as one but you could use different colour accents for each area to define them. You could paper both chimney breasts in the same paper to add pattern. Try the bookshelves or either console tables or cabinets with lamps and decorative accessories. You could even add a couple of occasional chairs by the fire. I'd look at how the furniture is arranged in the lounge, you need to bring furniture into the middle of the room which will make it cosier. Floor lamps will also help, the ceilings look high so you want to add height to the room. I think I may have spent a fortune by now!
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Thanks for the ideas all, certainly given me some food for thought. @Rinqcreation, your house looked amazing! Can I ask how you changed the colour in the photo posted? Was it via some flash autocad software or something easy I can do myself? Looking at your photo i'm thinking maybe that shade is a bit too dark as you suggested. Maybe a few shades lighter would look good; going to have to put some test shades on the wall I think. Good idea about waiting through the seasons, but the thing is we have a very young family (2 year old twins + 6 year old) and if we don't get the decorating done before we move in we never will!!!!!!!!
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It's really hard to have an opinion on a screen............uinfortunately, colours just look different to people as the colours on their screens differ from one another.......does that make sense. I can tell you however, having used Dusted Moss 2 & 3 on many occasions, that it is a lot more green than it looks on your chart above, which looks grey. It has grey tones, but as the name suggests it is a green. Dulux is for sure, lovely paint,. The colour charts however, aren't so accurate and the paint mixing compared to the colour cards is also not that accurate. I always suggest to people to go get colour cards and testers and paint at least an A4 piece of paper with 2 or 3 coats. Move the paper around as the paint changes with the light in differing positions. Probably not what you want to hear, but you can't choose paint from a computer screen and hope for any accuracy at all. I now prefer Valspar ( B&Q ), used to be Crown. The colour matching is phenomenal. The accuracy to the cards is spot on, and the paint is good. I used to be a Dulux everything fan................but since discovering Valspar I have been converted.
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irenecb
8 years ago
YOU HAVE GOT YOURSELF A LOVELY HOME AND IT CLEARLY HAS CHARM AND POTENTIAL FOR YOU TO CREATE YOUR DREAM HOME. I THINK ITS EASIER TO PAINT THE WALLS A WARM OFF WHITE OR CREAM. THEN FURNISH IT WITH THINGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL HAPPY. DON'T WORRY ABOUT FASHIONS AS THEY FADE. JUST LIVE IN THE SPACE FOR A WHILE AND SETTLE IN. AFTER A WHILE YOUR INSTINCTS WILL GUIDE YOU AS TO WHAT COLOUR WILL SUIT YOU AND HOW YOU LIVE. READ UP ABOUT HOW COLOUR AND LIGHT AFFECT MOOD. AS A GENERAL RULE IF I GO WITH WHITE WALLS THEN I MAKE THE FURNISHINGS DARK OR BRIGHT. IF I GO DARK ON THE WALLS THEN I MAKE THE FURNITURE LIGHTER WITH COLOUR POPS ON THE ACCESSORIES. A GOOD IDEA WOULD BE TO LOOK ON RIGHTMOVE LONDON, THEN LOOK AT WHAT YOU LIKE AND WHAT YOU HATE. HOUZZ IS AMAZING, FULL OF AMAZING IDEA'S THE MOST DIFFICULT TASK IF WORKING OUT WHAT YOU LIKE BECAUSE WE ARE SPOILT FOR CHOICE. THE MAIN THING IS THAT YOU HAVE A FAB HOME READY TO LOVE. GOOD LUCK.
crowningfashion
8 years ago
I'm sorry I can't add anything - the advice you have received is spot on. I just wanted to say that you have a great home, the rooms are so light and spcaious. Enjoy designing it. What I find helpful is to take photos wait a day and then look at them (not the room itself) to see what works and what doesn't. Quite often I have moved furniture or added art. If I do, I take photos and repeat the process the next day. It really helps one to be objective. Have fun!

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