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siasconset

Dining room paint color with a bright blue oriental rug

siasconset
9 years ago

We're starting to get settled into our 100 year old Victorian home. Picking interior paint colors is daunting! The dining room has been a particular challenge because I'm trying to choose a wall color that coordinates with a bright blue oriental rug.

Beige would be the easy choice, but I think I'd prefer some color since the adjoining living room will be neutral. I'm also looking for a wall color that will give a more relaxed or modern feel to our traditional furnishings (which are an accumulation of old family furniture).

I've made several trips to Sherwin Williams and have painted sample colors all over my house, yet I'm still not in love with anything. I'm hoping you all can help!

Here is a photo of the rug in our old house. I'll post pictures of the new dining room shortly.

Comments (96)

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Also, be sure to click on his Facebook page on his site. Wonderful pics of the chandeliers he's made and where they've gone (look at the pic of the pub with all of those chanties on the ceiling! He made all of them!).
    there's one on there i"m trying to find for you which I LOVE. It came out after I ordered mine, but if I'd seen that one, I would have gotten it instead of the one I got. I'll post the pic if I find it.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Found it! Not sure if you'd need a six arm or an eight arm, but I LOVE the curls at the top of this one and think they'd be great in a Victorian house. I love this chandy. It's custom, so certainly pricier. Don't know the price, though.

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, I appreciate the chandelier info!

    Aaaaand my darling husband just unilaterally vetoed dark paint colors, especially brown. Yay.

  • lazydaisynot
    9 years ago

    How about revisiting the idea of a camel? If you opt for a a shade that's a bit paler than the floor you'd avoid the problem of having walls that are almost-but-not-quite the same as the floor. Something like the shade that the Greek key border strip looks like in the photo of the living room in your old house could be nice.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    While the chandy that tibbrix posted is very nice, whenever I see the bare arched arms like that and candles, I think colonial, not victorian...

    When I think victorian chandy, I think of the gas lamp look with some curly cues.

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yep, definitely going to revisit camel, mauve, yellow, and any other color besides those pastel blues and greens.

    Don't laugh, I'm not 100% sure what color camel is. Can you provide an example paint color?

    I'm going to get more samples, this time only colors that are outside of my hospital-scrub-toothpaste-colored comfort zone. And let my husband's veto of dark colors be damned. I'm thinking:

    SW Blonde
    SW Jersey Cream
    SW Truly Taupe
    BM Midsummer Night
    BM Admiral Blue

    Any others I should add to the list?

    As far as chandeliers go, I just can't do ornate. Even though the house is Victorian, it's more shingle style/farmhouse than Queen Anne. Overall I'd like to go for a more Cape Cod summer house feel. I'm just not quite sure how to get there! Or maybe it just won't work with the things I have and I should embrace traditional instead (boring).

    Thanks for putting up with me. As silly as it is, I feel overwhelmed with whipping the interior of this house into shape and should maybe just hire a designer to help.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Oh, helloooooo? Cape Codder here!

    I have to say, you'd be hard pressed to find a rug like that on Cape Cod as it is WAY off the Cape Cod style chartâ¦.like China v. US on a world map off the chart! However, that is the focal point, so let's see if we can get you to Cape Cod on the magic Chinese carpet!

    Cape Cod colors are obviously blue (sea); beige (sand); yellow (sun). (FYI: that kitchen of my broker's with the BM Midsummer Night is on Cape Cod. And the wrought iron chandeliers are staples on CC).

    To make that are (don't say LOOK ,say FEEL) more Cape Cod, this is what I would suggest:

    In this case, stay away from blue for the walls. that rug is SO blue, and not only will blue walls actually detract from your diva rug, but that room will be sickeningly blue, just too much, IMO. Go with either the soft yellow in Peony's pic at the top of the thread, OR a sand color (snore) OR the Midsummer Night presented by moi and get a divorce; there IS a chance you'll like the Midsummer Night brown better than DH, you know!

    Nextâ¦well, not next. Do this first, actually: paint the French Doors white (I think you should anyway to match the wood trim elsewhere);

    Get white cordless wood slat blinds for the windows;

    Reupholster the chair seats, maybe using that yellow of Peony's;

    Get the chandy from Clayton;

    Paint the DR chairs either a strong blue, a la the rug, or black to sit well with the table base;

    Put a vase with blue hydrangeas on the table;

    Some framed posters, or paintings, of seascapes;

    Voila! Cape Cod with a little Shanghai diva thrown in!

  • theclose
    9 years ago

    Go dark! Go dark!! I love it. I am all about boldness though, so take that for what it is worth. Your rug is gorgeous and will be the center stage in a dark room. Love it!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    And at some point, put some crown moulding up there! Crown moulding makes ALL the difference in a room.

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Or, maybe I'm just going about this all wrong and it's like saying I want to go MCM when neither the house nor my furnishings are the right style. Sigh.

    Yes, the rug is as anti-Cape Cod as can be! And so is most of our furniture, so maybe it's time for me to find a new vision for the house.

    I'll try to make a case for going dark. Anything besides the light blue that my husband insists is the only right color. Or I'll just give up and live with random paint swatches on my walls forever! Yeesh. But great suggestions for trying to achieve the feel I'm going for. Thanks so much!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    First of all, stop using the word "dark". "Dark" does not reflect at all what the Midsummer Night does to a room. It does not darken a room. It makes a room/rug/windows, etc. actually stand out.

    When you have little wall area due to windows, doors and paintings, that is an opportunity to use a very saturated, below 50% LRV color on a wall. Your husband is freaking out likely because he's imagining a cave, which IS the case when such colors are used on large wall area. That is, in fact, the thing about those kinds of colors: they are either disastrous or absolutely stunning, no in between. In your case, it would be stunning. Your rendition using the Seal Skin is in fact exactly what it would look like.

    Use words like "rich" instead. You can see from the photo of my favorite MSN pic that that room is NOT in fact dark. It is light and airy and wonderful. But at night, with correct lighting, it is warm and rich and elegant. Your windows become paintings; the gorgeous wood trim of a Victorian is showcased, as it should be; and of course, your rug would really stand out.

    I'd say go bold; live with it for a while, and you can always repaint. But my guess is you won't. OR, you can play it safe. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzâ¦lol.

    NO BLUE. and I LOVE blue walls, but not with that rug. It wold be like living in an Easter egg.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    And if you do get a chandy from Clayton/Ace Iron, I'd get the antique gold sleeves rather than the honey. Oo la la, gorgeous.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    Camel is the color of ... a camel. : ) Sort of golden? Just try to match the border color.

    I can see your rug in a Cape Cod house, easy. IMHO Cape Cod is also very traditional, and your rug is traditional.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    Captain Bangs Hallet House, Cape Cod
    "The parlors are arranged as if the captain was just returning from his voyage to China, likely 16 to 18 months duration. His gifts of silk fabric, toys, porcelain, lacquered pieces and tea are on display ...."

    Maybe BM Golden Tan? It's more yellow, but I think would work with the rug.

    [Paints Stains And Glazes[(https://www.houzz.com/products/paint-prbr0-br~t_505)

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    oh, btw, i reccommended Camel with the rug, but that was before I knew you wanted a Cape Cod feel.

    I might go toward grey for Cape Cod. I think of Cape Cod as sort of a washed out colonial

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Gold and blue are a great combination - see my first post here, which suggested gold - but you will forfeit the Cape Cod feel, so keep that in mind.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Camel color

    Sorry...I couldn't resist.

    Used to LOVE a camel coat when I was a young girl....

    now I'm more into caramel. Yum!

    ;)

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Gray, huh? Well that's one of the few colors my husband will agree to, so I may have to go down that (rather unexciting) path.

    Thanks for the camel examples... funny how I had always thought of camel as a fancy name for tan, but now I see the nuance.

    Nosoccermom, that's so interesting about Cape Cod captains' journeys to China, I hadn't thought of that. This rug was purchased (I believe) in China, and we have several Chinese landscape paintings, plus lots of porcelain and other items. I could go totally over the top on this room and make it into a sort of captain's showcase... but, uh, should probably practice some restraint :)

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    I love blue and white China.

    Honestly, I would go with a more modern color to counteract the traditional furniture. Maybe revisit Maxi Teal or a slightly more muted shade of it.

    Or what about BM Palladian Blue?

  • patty_cakes
    9 years ago

    I think the rug and accessories should 'do the talking ' and keep,the walls neutral. Blue and white pottery would be stunning! I just went thru this with DD who moved into a new home and unlike myself, loves color! I tried explaining you don't want everything competing, and the eyes need 'a place to rest', so keep the walls in the public spaces a neutral color. Surprisingly, she listened to me ! The walls are a deep warm tan, and she 's using red and eggplant for accessories. Originally she wanted gold walls, but I told her to visualize McDonald's. She did colors in the bedrooms!

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    duplicate post deleted

    This post was edited by mrsgomez on Wed, Jul 23, 14 at 16:06

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    Well, how about you put that rug down and take a picture when the room is reasonably lit with day light. Then upload it on the BM or SW web site and play around with various paint colors.

    You basically have a traditional rug and traditional furniture, but you'd like a less traditional/formal vibe. So, you'd probably need to go with a less traditional wall color. I'd also get a less traditional light fixture.

    A direction other than bold/dramatic:

    Neutral paint and new seat covers, and wall treatment that has some blue with it, and blue and white accessories.


    Or grey

    Off white

    Or put the rug in the living room and get a more casual rug for the DR.

    Check out the link below to Phoebe Howard's Blue Beach House

    Here is a link that might be useful: Blue beach house

    This post was edited by nosoccermom on Wed, Jul 23, 14 at 17:10

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    Just came across these Coastal Blues, see link below.

    For example, BM Gossamer Blue

    Here is a link that might be useful: coastal blues

  • patty_cakes
    9 years ago

    Nosoccermom has given you some great choices, and I agree re:keeping the walls a neutral color. Sure makes everything *pop*!

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    A silver color on the walls (from the top of the stylized waves on the area rug) .... and silver accents around the whole room .....

    Here is a link that might be useful: BM -- Silver Lining 2119-60

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    .... and a modern but still classic chandelier .....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellacor -- possible chandelier

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Oh, I like teacats's silver idea.

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    I would love to see a slightly glossy finish to the silvery walls -- with the new chandelier -- and fresh fabric on the chair seats .....

    This same paint color might work well in the living room too .... with silver-and-glass table lamps?

    Here's a Pinterest pin board with inspiration photos of silver dining rooms -- just for ideas and discussions ....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- silver dining room

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    Here's a really interesting color chenille fabric (modern tone but textured solid) that would work with the tones in the rug -- and with the silver walls and accent pieces ....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fabricguru -- possible dining chair fabric

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    nosoccermom, love the coastal blues! SO much better than those bland blues I kept picking out. And brilliant suggestion to actually, ahem, put down the carpet to see what it would look like in the room. I've been photoshopping to my heart's content ever since! The Maxi Teal is pretty fabulous, and I still think the dark brown is cool, too. In the end a lighter shade of teal might be a good compromise.

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Neutral, I like it in theory, but... yawn.

    And yes, the chair fabric has got to go!

  • peony4
    9 years ago

    The neutral only seems boring because the room hasn't been accessorized. None of the colors seem "right" yet.

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    Just for fun and comparison ..... try a photoshopped version with this blue -- but imagine it with a slight sheen to add a modern edge .....

    .... plus the modern silver chandelier .......

    Here is a link that might be useful: BM -- Blue 2066-10

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Don't think the blues/teals work at all and in fact clash with the rug.

    Of course I love the chocolate brown and think it makes the rug look beautiful.

    Can you photoshop in teacats's silver? Also, can you photoshop in, on the silver and the midsummer night, white on the French doors?

    And, try a lighter yellow, more like the yellow in Peony's early post.

    This post was edited by Tibbrix on Thu, Jul 24, 14 at 16:53

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Blue with the modern chandelier... kinda nice! Accessories do make all the difference.

    Yellow... pretty, but not for me.

    The doors have to stay brown -- they match the pocket doors to the living room and the swinging door to the kitchen. I'm open to any other changes though!

  • lascatx
    9 years ago

    Try a compromise -- a softer, greyed teal -- along the lines of those swirls and dots in the edge of the rug or into what I and someone above are thinking is a dragon's tail.

    Was the wall below the window painted a darker grey in the first photos? I thought that was a possibility. I like the lighter grey above, but you could go a little -- or maybe not so little, deeper too.

    Also, did you try the navy blue? I kept imagining navy walls with a champagne gold ceiling yesterday -- about the color the edge of your rug appears in these last photos. And then a pale beige, maybe a paler with a bit of beige or blue on the chair seats. With all those windows, you really might want to at least look at fabrics or materials for WTs before committing to a paint color. Fabrics can be harder to match to paint that the other way around. And it will look different when you get something on the windows, art on the walls, etc.

    If you go cocoa or navy, I would definitely want glass or crystal in the chandelier. The wrought iron works with the lighter colors, but I'm not sure if the white or beige candles would be enough to brighten it up for mew against the darker colors on the walls.

    I feel what you are going through. I have taken all the pink out of two houses. This one even had the DR walls painted a mauve rose on top of all the floral and paisley wallpapers. All the other walls had a light mauve wall paint (previous house was similar but with a little more lavender in the color) The master had rose carpet and my son's bathroom had 3 different rose tiles an 2 shades of rose grout. Once you've done that, it's very hard to think of living with the color again. But at least it didn't have pink laminate and tile in the kitchen like one house we saw. I have two boys, but if they someday give me granddaughters, I will pick my pink things very carefully. ;)

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    lascatx, I think a silver chandy would look nice against the chocolate, but I just wanted to say that, I have friends who have the Midsummer Night on walls just like this - dining area with large windows, and they have the wrought iron chandy with the antique gold sleeves, and it's gorgeous against the brown. It's counter-intuitive, because it does seem like it'd get lost amongst the brown walls, but it doesn't.

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    Here's a round mirror for the wall next to the doors -- AND it has a Greek Key detail that matches the one in the area rug ......

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellacor - silver greek key mirror

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    Not feeling the yellow -- and I have a lot of yellow in my house.

    I like the chocolate and the lighter blue/aqua. The first teal isn't really the maxi teal is it? The MT seems greener.

    The neutral would probably look nice with different seat covers and drapes, etc.

    The darker blue looks too purple on my screen. How about this:

    And can you photoshop gray? I also wonder if a very dark blue would work.

  • pokyhoky
    9 years ago

    mrsgomez, I know I'm responding late in the thread - like this is SO yesterday :) .....

    I painted my family room SW Sealskin last year. I LOVE it - it completely transformed the room. But just so other posters know, it's definitely not a chocolate brown, it's a dark charcoal grey. My black wood stove almost fades into the background now! It is dramatic but neutral and did I say I love it?

    Dayna :)

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Midsummer Night LRV = 6.93

    SW Sealskin = 6

    Teacats's blue is 5.08, which is surprising that it has a lower LRV than both chocolate browns.

    Midsummer Night and Sealskin are pretty close, but the Midsummer Night does have more chocolate brown in it, and yet I know that it is a very dark dark brown, so the Sealskin really must be closing in on black.

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    Maybe this artwork next to the door?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellacor -- possible artwork

  • teacats
    9 years ago

    Another artwork ..... many of the colors in the area rug

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bellacor -- another one

  • lascatx
    9 years ago

    I like the mirror teacats found. That's fun.

    Definitely not yellow, and that blue isn't right either. I think that if a blue is going to work, you need to go deep. Is the border of the rug actually darker than the center or is that the way the light is falling on it?

    But going back to the grey/brown ideas, take a look at the colors on this blog page --

    Here is a link that might be useful: Best 6 Dark Paint Colors

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It's true, the Sealskin paint is almost charcoal gray. I'm using it on the (formerly mauve) staircase railings but it's a gorgeous wall color in the right room. Alas, one that my husband won't even consider. Or any shade of dark brown for that matter.

    These are his two top choices. I hate the camel-brown, don't mind the navy, although it seems extremely formal to me.

    So we're at an impasse. Although I'm not sure he gets a say anymore.... A few days ago I painted a bedroom wall green (it was a hideous salmon color) and he has yet to notice, despite being in the room several times and looking right at the wall. Men!

    Maybe I'll just paint the dining room chocolate brown and hope he doesn't notice :)

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    You know, I've painted my son's room Gray Owl from stark white and he didn't notice for about three days.

    Don't like the camel, either. I do like the navy, especially if you add some lighter curtains, blue and white pottery, mirror, art work.

    Is this kind of color out:
    {{!gwi}}

    What about this chandelier?

    It seems suspiciously inexpensive at Overstock but has very good reviews.

    Here is a link that might be useful: navy dining rooms

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    I'm sorry, but I have to say I don't like the navy (or the camel). The rug color is more a royal blue, i.e.: a warm blue and the navy is a whole other blue, and IMO, they clash. I also, again, think it is just too much saturation of blue.

    Like NSM's chandy and think it would look great in your dining alcove.

    I do think you should paint those French doors the same color as the trim, regardless of what color you paint the walls.

    If you go with the chocolate brown, consider painting the chairs silver. If you go with a light color, I'd paint them black. The silver will compliment the glass top, and the black will go with the base.

    Btw, it is sounding to me like you have made up your mind and that you really want to do it in the Midsummer Night. It's not a lot of wall area, so you're not investing a whole lot in paint here. You can paint it in the color you want, get it all set up with the new chandy, painted chairs, artwork, live with it for a month (or some agreed-upon time limit) and if your husband (or you, for that matter) still really doesn't like it, you can always repaint it.

  • siasconset
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm glad you agree that my husband's preferred colors are no good :)

    I don't really have my mind made up. At this point the only two colors I can get excited about are some shade of green/blue/turquoise/teal (definitely not off the table, nosoccermom!) and dark brown. Honestly I do prefer some color.

    One reason I'm hemming and hawing is that we planned to get the room professionally painted, so we don't want to have to re-do. Maybe I'll scrap that plan and just paint it myself, then I won't feel so bad if I want to re-do it later. Maybe I'll do half teal, half brown and see what wins :)

  • peony4
    9 years ago

    You'll notice the colors that have been posted from Houzz or otherwise from Internet show *other* spaces with very different features than what you have--and certainly different flooring and rug colors (with the exception being NSM's gray wall photo above).

    Disregard, for a moment, the color of your rug, and consider its tone, which is dark and dramatic. A balanced room will have light, medium and dark tones. Just like a room with white walls, light flooring, and neutral furniture, can be too bland, as a former discussion noted, a room with dark walls, dark flooring, and dark furniture can be bland, too. You already have the latter 2 in your space.

    Your best bet is to keep plugging colors, as you have been doing, into *your* space, but experiment with lighter colors, too, that don't compete with your rug, which, as someone so rightly put it, is the "diva" of the room.

  • lascatx
    9 years ago

    To be honest, I have a blue bias, but I do like the darkest blue the best. I gives a backdrop and a reason for the blue in the rug without fighting it or making all the colors too bold. Pull a lighter color from the rug (I'd go gold or a soft aqua) for the chair seats. White or pale, pale gold for the curtains.

    I think it is possible you can find a light or dark grey or possibly a brown, and I think there maybe a champagne gold or pale peach/apricot that might work on the walls if it didn't go too pink for you but I like the dark blue the best -- but maybe not that exact shade.