How to paint an open foyer, dining room, and living room?
This comes from a reader, Ellen, who's stumped about how to paint her front hallway that feeds into other rooms and shares a wall. Here's her question:
Hello--
I accidentally stumbled upon your website last night when looking
for a painting solution/suggestion. My problem is this---our home is a two
story colonial home. When you come in through the front door, you see
immediately in front of you the staircase. Also, there is a narrow hallway
which leads to the kitchen and then down into the family room. Upon entering,
immediately to your left is the living room and to the right is the dining
room. The hallway is painted a somewhat deep tan color (Tobacco Road--I believe
Benjamin Moore or F&H). There is white wainscoating below. I want to warm
up the downstairs level of the house with warm shades of tan, reds, and greens.
I really didn't want all three areas mentioned above the same color. The wall
that the front door is on is one continual wall which runs across the entire
front of the house. We have been able to add a small wall off the front wall to
define the dining room, but on the living room side, the doorbell and light
switch are straight in line with the spot the wall would need to be located.
This is so it is line with the location of the wall that goes up the stairs. My
husband is able to do some electrical work and says it would be a pain to move
the light switch, and we are on a bit of a tight budget, so can't really hire
someone to do the work.
The hallway looks unfinished, like we ran out of
paint. The front door wall remains a safe shade of white, and the door and
sidelight panels are white also. There is a double wide window with deep sills
on the front living and dining room walls, therefore, there is not actually that
much front wall that needs to be painted in those two rooms. Someone suggested
that we paint the area around the front door the same shade of tan as the
hallway and carry it into the living room on just the front wall, and paint the
remaining three a contrasting color. I am not a huge fan of that look, but I am
not sure I have any other options. I do know that the area around the front
door or the front door itself needs some color.
Any suggestions are
much appreciated.
Ellen
See our dialog in the comments.
Hi,
I have been searching and searching for help with my great room. The walls are gold, (more yellowish than brown) and the woodwork is vanilla. My floor is brazilian cherry laminate. I have painted the main areas great room, halls, foyer the gold color. The loft above is khaki and the dining room is red. I use red as an accent in flowers, paintings, etc. in the great room and halls. The problem is I am getting ready to purchase furniture.
I originally wanted red but now after thinking about it feel that this is a purchase I will have to live with for a while and maybe a neutral tone would be better.
What are your thoughts? Should I go with the red sofas or should I use a neutral color and compliment with splashes of red in accessories? Also, if I should buy neutral then what shade should I use?
Provide your ideas and see mine in the comments.