Paint choices - north traditional dining room big window these curtain
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Hi I have these red William Morris Granada curtains. I dont dislike and can't afford to replace. In north dining room in traditional old house. In decisionis kiling me....need collective help on paint choices.
Ceilings will be P&P Stone II as per rest of house. Can you give me some colour ideas for walls. Cosy not too bland.
Thanks!
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Lounge/dining room blank slate
Comments (37)Thanks for the comment. I never did get around to updating this. Thanks everyone for your input. Here's some photos - nothing like the amazing professional photos on Houzz I'm afraid, just taken on my iPhone with the room lights on as its very dull today. In the end I managed to convince my wife to go for a light/dark theme. She was worried the dining room would feel very dark but it really doesn't. We love the distinct feel it gives both the living and dining room. Open plan so a feeling of space but feels like two distinct rooms in their own right. For those who like detail... Paint wise we have used Earthborn clay paint. The living room is Feather Pillow (a very warm neutral grey which reminds me a bit of Skimming Stone). It can look very grey in the north facing daylight but not too cold and warms up beautifully in the evening. I love having the ceiling light dimmed low with the table lamp on. The dining room is Damson Mousse. I love how this changes colour through the day. Sometimes it's more purple sometimes it's very soft and warm, almost aubergine. We also used Earthborn in our bedroom (Cupboard Love). In hindsight it was a poor choice for the dining room because it has almost no durability. It will take a brush against the wall but any liquid splashes ruin it (except for pure water which just evaporates out as its so breathable). It wouldn't be so bad if it touched up nicely and the lighter colours in the living room and bedroom do touch up well but the purple touches up terribly unfortunately. All woodwork, including the shelves which I had made by a local carpenter and the alcove cabinets, which I made myself, are painted in Loft White Intelligent Emulsion by Little Greene. You'll notice I did successfully paint the brown uPVC window frames and have had quite a few compliments. The black rubber gaskets were removed for painting and the frames had two coats of Zinsser BIN, a coat of acrylic primer undercoat (I used Leyland) and a topcoat. The wood grain effect on the frames makes it look very realistic. I also replaced the gold coloured handles for chrome ones. The floor is QuickStep Impressive in Soft Oak Natural and continues into the hall. We found a very good local fitter who also fit all of our new skirting board and architraves. The shutters are from a company called Shutterly Fabulous who are on Houzz I think. They supplied, measured and fitted and were a very reasonable £1200. We bought a set of their DIY shutters from their sister company California Shutters which I fitted myself in the bedroom. A few other details...the living room chimney has a false stud frame around it which conceals the wiring down to the left cupboard which contains all the AV gear. It also allows the TV bracket, mounted to the real chimney, to be recessed to get the TV right up to the wall. The room has hard wired 5.1 speaker terminals run under the floor and buried in the walls, all terminated at a 5.1 speaker wall plate in the left alcove. There is also 4x gigabit Ethernet ports in the left cupboard which terminate back at my network cabinet under the stairs. Most of the house lights are remote control and can be controlled by physical remotes, iPhones etc. Using LightwaveRF technology. Both radiators were replaced and the living room radiator moved under the bay window (the love seat does not stop it heating the room). Fitted with decent chrome valves and pipe snaps and chrome roses to conceal the copper. Sofa and love seat are from sofa.com. Both are part of the Isla range. Ceiling lights and lamps are from John Lewis. The dining room light was off centre which I realised after we decorated but I'm a bit OCD about things like that so I moved it over (fortunately the carpet was already up in my daughter's room above fit plastering and decoration and there was plenty of slack wire). Rug, throw, cushions and dining chairs are from Next. Plant and pot were a bargain in Homebase. New oak doors were bought online. Finally, the sideboard is from Cotswold Co and the side tables from a local shop. Both are far eastern imports to save money. The side tables are excellent quality, the sideboard less so but you get what you pay for. We invested a bit more in the dining table which is solid European oak (from Lithuania I think). Anyway I think that covers it. Hope you like it. Any questions please ask and sorry for any typos as I wrote this on my iPhone....See MoreNorth facing dining room - what colour?
Comments (20)@ensignaccesories no, I meant Dulux Natural Taupe, it's available on different tones. I've seen the taupe you mentioned, but I found it too dark. I've had a change of hearts about the wallpaper after I was told that that one is actually a very old design and Laura Ashley no longer stocks it. Also talking to the lady at LA I realised that trying to force my idea of grey/beige is probably not the best for this particular room, but what I need is something more cheerful and bright, like the green colour I already have in my living room (accessories) . So with this in mind, I headed to John Lewis and took a few samples of green wallpaper. When I stuck them onto the wall next to one I had originally liked, I could see a big difference in the mood of the whole room, it didn't feel as gloomy as with the other grey colours. So, what do you think? Using something like these examples on the front wall? i still need to find what colour to pain the other walls, though. Thanks!...See MoreWarm white paint for a dark North facing living room in England
Comments (37)Hi Evie. The reason I've been slow to post photos is because my house is very much still a building site and work in very slow progress. I have flung paint on walls a relief from 1927 plaster and peeling wallpaper that went up decades ago. I haven't hung pictures yet as the walls are so hard - picture hooks break - and the friend who is going to do the task hasn't yet been. So, none of these photos will persuade you to use colour - the walls are bleak. But I'm posting them in the right spirit. As for feature walls, I have never liked them. For info, Kate Watson-Smyth said, in a recent post, that they are "so ova". I associate them with the 1970s, which is when I believe they first emerged. I like all over colour; I find it much less intrusive than one wall that stands out awkwardly. As for my furniture, it's mostly interim - on loan as I had nothing after chucking out my two sofas which I bitterly regret. Anyway, with all those embarrassing provisos, here we go. Terracotta sitting room: Caravan by Paper & Paint Library (it's not a current colour; my local independent paint shop keeps records of previous colours and identified it for me); it goes up to the picture rail; I haven't yet found the colour I want above it and on the ceiling; the picture rail, window frames, doors and door frames will all be Caravan, too; the room is really bitty (four doors, jutting out bits, fussy door and windows into the garden, a big fireplace, original tiles around the fire area that I wanted to complement but tone down, and a busy stained glass window) and needs blanket coverage to make it seem less busy. .Green bedroom: Sanderson Laurel below the picture rail; Goblin Green above it and on the ceiling; picture rail and all other woodwork not yet painted; I might do them in a linen colour to tie in with the bed frame though I hate the bed frame and am desperate for a new one. You can see that I'm work in progress by the undealt-with and unpainted grille covering the hole where the fireplace was. Hideous and offensive; longing to put it right. Lots of pictures/paintings to be hung all over. Blue bedroom: This blue is a bit flat but it was only after painting it that I discovered the colour I really want - Abigail Ahern's Bowery Blue which despite being intense has a real lift to it giving it life and vibrancy. The ceiling in here is the wrong blue (bought in haste); I will use a lighter blue. The unhung painting on the right (sorry it's not more visible) is so much more vibrant against this blue than it was against the pale yellow of the wall it was hung on in my previous home. I will have mirrors above the bedhead and a gallery wall opposite plus a mirror near the small window to throw a bit more light in this seriously dark bedroom (dismally dark before I painted it interestingly dark). Bronze shower room: Impossible to photograph this as it's a tiny room; the tiles in the shower area are subtly jazzy and moody. I love having it open (I grew up in India where all showers were in the middle of the room so I've never understood the closed-in box version or the fiddly over the bath option). The bronze tiles are much richer in colour than the photo conveys; the walls are Sanderson Brick Light which looks pale and peculiar in this photo; it is a lot more interesting than on the paint card and picks up on colours streaking through the tiles; it's not such a stark contrast as the photo conveys. That's it. The bedroom that will be a mustardy yellow isn't painted yet so I can't show the walls in there. And, again, apologies for the really unsophisticated furniture and mismatched upholstery, etc. Lots still to be done!...See MorePaint for north east room
Comments (69)Carolina that was my inspiration picture! I think it is further up this thread somewhere. I love it. I think I am just a bit concerned about the texture of the rug being almost exactly same as Sofas and footstool whereas this pic has a bit more variation with the coffee table. But seeing the mock up that celery girl has posted definitely reassures me (thank you!)...See More
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