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krelavie

Going dark...

krelavie
9 years ago

So, I am going to attempt to spruce up my master bedroom. It is about 350 square feet, and has good old fashioned popcorn ceiling and random chair rail. Bonus is the crown molding.

I am going to paint the bottom half white, and eventually install board and batten, but the top half is what I'm debating. I guess I hesitant to go dark...and I don't want to buy another 10 color samples. So, I am torn between the gray painted on the left (Glidden Wood Smoke), and the one just under it (Valspar Skyline Shadow). There is a Woodlawn Colonial Gray from the National Trust for Historic Preservation that looks pretty similar to both. I definitely am trying to modernize my 80's house...I will NOT be taking down the popcorn (way too much work). I have the Ikea malm furniture for right now, in the light wood color. I'm thinking about doing some Monet prints in gold or black frames...

Now that I have rambled a bit...my overall inspiration was (of course) from Pinterest.

Has anyone else painted their room dark? Suggestions? Words of wisdom? Should I run screaming?

Here is a link that might be useful: My Pinterest Inspiration

This post was edited by krelavie on Sun, Jul 6, 14 at 17:29

Comments (13)

  • emmarene9
    9 years ago

    I would use white on top and the dark on bottom.

  • krelavie
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I guess I didn't consider that. Would I keep the chair rail white in this scenario?

  • jaynes123_gw
    9 years ago

    Nice inspiration photo although appears to have a lot of natural light so dark uppers dont make room look dark.

    Do you feel your room allows adequate natural light to go with similarly dark gray. If not, you might want gray not as dark or maybe as dark but with a white accent wall.

  • krelavie
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I do have a large double window on the other side, but to be honest, the curtains are closed unless I know the bug man is coming to spray. I am thinking about installing plantation-style blinds so I can keep the curtains open and allow some natural light to filter through. I'm having trouble finding a light gray shade with some brown undertones that I like. I was hoping white bottoms would keep it from being too dark.

    This post was edited by krelavie on Sun, Jul 6, 14 at 19:23

  • lemonlime
    9 years ago

    I like your inspiration room, and I really like the Wood Smoke color. The one below looks too lavender or mauvey, at least on my monitor.

    Really it depends on how you like your bedroom to feel. We sleep and watch tv, along with being very light sensitive, so I like my bedroom to feel cool, calm and on the darker side. I find that combo soothing.

  • krelavie
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    @lemonlime: good eye - the bottom one does have a bit of a muave undertone. I love the look of these bright calming rooms in magazines, but in all reality, I watch a little tv before bed and sleep in the bedroom...that's it. I don't have enough hours in the day to hang out in there. Even though my furniture is a bit lighter, I'm hoping it won't be too dark and depressing.

  • louislinus
    9 years ago

    I just painted my living room navy blue (SW Naval) and I LOVE it. It looks awesome. So I say go dark or go home. :) If you are looking for a lighter gray with brown undertone (greige) I just used SW Amazing Gray and Worldly Gray and like them both. Amazing Gray is my favorite.

    I vote to do the white on the bottom and dark on top. If you can swing wainscoting on the bottom that would be nice. Or remove the chair rail and just do all one color.

  • valmooreinphx
    9 years ago

    I like the gray on the left the best and the grey on top, white on bottom would be lovely!

    I'm in a similar spot - going between Martha Stewart cement gray (similar to yours) and Bedford gray which looks warmer and more greige to me. So there are a few more suggestions in case you aren't finding the perfect Grey. Good luck!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Do a search on LRV...fun colors has mentioned this a few times and it will help you select a color that doesn't absorb all the light....

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    BeverlyFLADeziner
    9 years ago

    I have added the Malm light finish chest to your picture along with the wall color from your inspiration room. They really look great together. I have also posted your inspiration photo with the Malm chest so you can see how that works. Really have to have all the elements together to figure out what to do. IMO, it immediately knocks out a few of your paint choices because they are not the right contrast. If you use the dark color from your inspiration room, the rest of the room must be light, floor rug, bed, linens etc.

    Why is there a chair rail in the room? Why not have it positioned like it is in your inspiration room aligned with the top of the door frame. Will make the room look taller and a bit more interesting.

    Your inspiration room is a combination of greys & natural fibers with white and bronze as accents. Not sure adding Monet prints furthers this design concept. All the art in the inspiration room seems to be in black, whites and shades of grey.

    BTW, I'm told you can simply dry scrape off the popcorn texture and be left with a light texture on the ceiling underneath ready for a coat of ceiling white paint, but I can't swear that will be your particular situation.

  • krelavie
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the pictures! I decided to go dark and use the Wood Smoke, went out and bought the paint to get to work today. Not sure why there is chair rail...but my eventual plan is to make it like the picture wainscoting. Eventually I would like to get some darker dressers...but not in my budget right now. I am debating on painting my current dressers. As much as I want my room to look like my inspiration, I know it will be pretty far off for practical purposes. I have to have my ceiling fan, I already have carpet, and I would not dare to have a white comforter with two dogs. :)

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    Lots of cool Malm dresser transformations online.

    {{!gwi}}

    Using overlays

    I like the picture with wainscoting, but if you want to go more modern, I'd just get rid of the chair rail like in your inspiration pic. with dining

  • krelavie
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I have been eyeing the Ikea overlays, but looking at the website they are about 30 for one...and I have 12 drawers in total. Haven't made the leap into that yet!

    Just finished the painting and it does seem to brighten the room and give it some visual interest. Had Lowe's match the Glidden Wood Smoke in a Valspar so in some light it looks a little gray/olive...but hey - the DH likes it, which is incredibly rare. Definitely going to consider removing the chair rail. It was a ton of work just painting it, so I can't even imagine any type of wainscoting!

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