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aggierose_gw

How do I make a purple dining room look classy?

aggierose
12 years ago

I haven't painted yet, but I am going to paint my dining room purple. This is our formal dining room so I want to make sure it looks classy and sophisticated and not like a little girls room. I have narrowed my color search down to a few colors, all of them are dark purples, but I just haven't been able to make a final decision yet. Any suggestion as to what to do to keep it looking classy? I don't have any furniture yet in this room so I don't have to worry about matching that.

Comments (38)

  • yayagal
    12 years ago

    Here you go, pages and pages of purple dining rooms.

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

  • beekeeperswife
    12 years ago

    Add a chalkboard and desks. Sorry, I couldn't resist. The word "classy" is a hot button here. So get ready in case a firestorm erupts.

    I was in a dining room while on kitchen tour this past spring, I even went so far as to send a letter to the homeowner requesting the wall color. It was simply gorgeous.

    It was BM Dark Purple. I plan on using it in my future house. sigh....

  • aggierose
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Oh no. I'm sorry if using the word "classy" was a bad choice and I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone. I'm new here so I didn't know. Beekeeperswife, you are the one that got me on the purple bandwagon with your post about the purple dining room. I have a sample of BM dark purple on my wall right now. I love it, but my dining room doesn't get a lot of natural light (it has 1 large window that faces east) and I'm worried it will be too bright and almost look black at times.

  • rosesstink
    12 years ago

    First things that came to mind were crystal and silver for lighting fixtures and accessories.

  • suero
    12 years ago

    To make it classy, don't call it "purple;" call it "aubergine," she says, with tongue firm;y planted in cheek.

  • Jody
    12 years ago

    Or you could call it Eggplant ;)

    jody

  • beekeeperswife
    12 years ago

    It did look almost black. And quite frankly, I think a black dining room can be very sexy......

    The homeowner in that BM Dark Purple house said she received an unbelievable amount of compliments and inquiries about the room. I think you can pull it off. It's not how dark the purple is, but what you do with it...You need to own it and make it shine!

    I was actually looking at a set of 12 aubergine (ahem) plate chargers today at the consignment shop. Thought I'd have to bring them home and hide them in the basement and have them "magically" appear one day in the new dining room! :o

  • aggierose
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    This is funny. I had seen aubergine mentioned here and I had no idea what color it was! Now I know! I'll have to think about the dark purple some more. Right now I'm liking BM bonne nuit, but I still want to try kalamata. I'm hoping whatever I choose will look good next to the BM shaker beige walls I just painted. The samples all look good with it. I'm planning on painting the ceiling purple too. I figure if it's too much I can always repaint it. The ceiling isn't that big.

    beekeeperswife, I think those plate chargers should show up under your x-mas tree from Santa!

  • beekeeperswife
    12 years ago

    aggierose, that would be nice. But I think Santa is bringing me a really big and expensive present this year....

    A flippin' new Septic field that I get to give to the future home owners.

  • blfenton
    12 years ago

    We have a purple or aubergine or eggplant accent wall in our DR and we get a lot of compliments on it. Our DR faces west and so little day light and I wouldn't want the whole room in this colour but the colour we used is BM raphael or CC-2 and the other walls are BM florentine plaster or CC-520 and we have mid-tone stained maple floors without an area rug. We are in the process of buying side panels for the sliding glass door and the designer has suggested that we play up the accent wall.

  • gracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago
    12 years ago

    Someone on this board painted their DR in a semi-gloss purple, but she never came back on to show it furnished. I believe she had a lot of white trim in the room. Does that ring a bell with anyone? Would love to see it finished.

  • patty_cakes
    12 years ago

    For some reason when anyone mentions doing a room purple, I always picture eggplant or the more sophisticated aubergine in my mind. Since it has tones of purple, I guess you could call it purple.

    Anyway.....use lots of metallic gold or silver~~mercury glass would be fancy-smancy. ;o)

    Here is a link that might be useful: wowsa!!!!!!!!!!!

  • teacats
    12 years ago

    Let's see:

    A sleek look:

    -deep aubergine walls with crisp white trim and ceiling
    -ceiling medallion with silver-toned chandelier
    -darkest wood table (maybe round?) with a long dark buffet
    -side chairs upholstered in plain aurbergine silk fabric
    -host chairs in white linen with aubergine trim
    -white sheers for the summer months on the windows
    -dark silk curtains that match the walls for the winter months
    -tall mirror above the buffet; a pair of silver buffet lamps
    -large low dark bowl filled with several tall white silk orchids on buffet

    Here is a link that might be useful: bellacor chandelier

  • treasuretheday
    12 years ago

    Ok, what time is dinner? I want to "dine" in the room that teacats just described! (You see, it's far too classy to just "eat" in the room!)

    I'm so loving purple/eggplant/aubergine these days! It's going to be my accent color for my new masterbath. (Baby steps!)

    Aggierose, please promise to post pictures so that I can live vicariously through you!

  • PeriwinkleBlue13
    12 years ago

    You want to use a brown based purple - Pittsburgh Paint Carob Chip or Sherwin Williams Black Bean are 2 great ones. It will look much more purple when painted, so find one more brown to begin with. I had a dining room turned office painted in PP Carob Chip and while the photos I have online do not show the true color...it was stunning. So many compliments. I regret not being able to accurately portray the color online. SW Black Bean tempts me today.... (new state, new house).

  • pps7
    12 years ago

    As suggested by others, I would choose a tones down purple because it will look much brighter on the wall. And add alot of pretty silvery sparkle ( mirrors, chandeliers, sconces). A mirrored buffet might be pretty.

    A few pics from houzz:

    [modern kids design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kids-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_24653~s_2105) by boston interior designer Rachel Reider Interiors

    [traditional dining room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2107)

    [modern dining room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2105) by boston interior designer Rachel Reider Interiors

  • tracey_b
    12 years ago

    My dining room is SW Soulmate. I like it in most lighting, but sometimes it can look a bit crayola purple instead of the Eggplant I was after. Actually, I DO like it---I just don't think it complements (compliments?) my antique furniture very well. My ceiling is SW Blonde but wish I'd gone to a darker gold.

  • aggierose
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Periwinkle, Carob chip looks like a gorgous color, but I'm wanting to choose a color that will definitely look purple. Just not too bright of a purple. Was it a definite purple on the wall or is it a color that people may think brown before they think purple?

  • caminnc
    12 years ago

    I have always thought this Eggplant DR is pretty.

  • ttodd
    12 years ago

    Beautiful DR's all! There is/ was a member here who had the most beautiful color combo in her home. I recall that there was white wainscoting (maybe throughout?) and the DR was a beautiful eggplant color. I think that it was a BM color if that helps anyone remember who it was.

    Anyone recall who that might be? They'd posted pics.

  • tracey_b
    12 years ago

    Here's mine just after painting, before moving in (SW Soulmate):

  • antiquesilver
    12 years ago

    If I only had a formal dining room, Teacats, I'd steal your game plan in a heartbeat!

  • pricklypearcactus
    12 years ago

    This is just my opinion, and I'm no decorating expert. I love purple, especially dark purple. I have a dark purple accent wall in my living room that was there when we bought the house. We fell in love with the purple so we kept it. In my opinion, keeping with a dark purple that has very little red/pink in it will help it from being too "little girl". I think using dark, classic, stained furniture along with sophisticated fabrics and patterns will also go a long way. I love the combinations of purple, white, silver, and even gray or charcoal. I hope you'll share pictures as you progress, as it sounds like your dining room will be lovely.

  • luckygal
    12 years ago

    Purple is known as a "royal" color as purple dye was very expensive and monarchs robes were often that color. I think if you use elegant furniture and accessories such as teacats suggested you will have a classic, elegant, and stylish room. Again, if you plan to use a patterned fabric choose that first and match the paint color.

  • Patricia822
    12 years ago

    I LOVE purple and painted all the walls in my bedroom and bath a nice purple...not eggplant...a true purple. My trim is white...I have a brass bed, antique furniture and green accents...I receive so many compliments. Go for it!

  • teacats
    12 years ago

    Perhaps this artwork might work in a purple/aubergine/eggplant dining room?

    Here is a link that might be useful: art.com -- artwork featuring aubergine color

  • teacats
    12 years ago

    And just for fun:

    Gustavian look:

    -pale gray lilac walls with washed gray trim and silvery ceiling.
    -ceiling medallion with "gilt" chandelier
    -gray washed furniture with slightly curvy styling -- long buffet
    -side chairs upholstered in creamy white linen with monogram in darker lilac
    -host chairs in checked lilac/white
    -long wood shutters (the long Old World solid plank-style ones) on the windows. No window treatments.
    -a grid of framed old botanicals above the buffet. Maybe a very old portrait? A pair of buffet lamps on each end.
    -silk upholstered bench in the window area. Pair of tall stands with gray/weathered urns on each one. Filled with winter branches/rosemary trees for the winter. Filled with ferns for the summer months.
    -old weathered mirror tiles in a row on the buffet with grayed low urn filled with a mound of gray moss for the cooler months and silver balls for a party.
    -cool gray stained floor -- or a worn faded area rug.

    Here is a link that might be useful: bellacor -- chandelier for Gustavian lilac/grayed dining room

  • beekeeperswife
    12 years ago

    teacats, have you been over on the Kitchens Forum? There is a series of "Design Around This" threads going on...you should go. They are fun. There are story boards presented, you explain your client, very imaginative.

  • patty_cakes
    12 years ago

    We all 'see' colors differently. Which do 'you' see as purple and which as eggplant/aubergine?

    Here is a link that might be useful: purple

  • patty_cakes
    12 years ago

    Plaids can also be 'classy'. ;o)

    Here is a link that might be useful: pretty!

  • tergar
    12 years ago

    In response to patty cakes link, I think

    Purple is the one the one that says purple3- (and I would have said that even if it wasn't named purple;) )

    Aubergine/egplant would be ultra marine violet 5.

  • lala girl
    12 years ago

    Our dining room is a greyed out lavender, and I really like it. It is a bit different and people always comment. I love the aubergines also (but am a light colored wall girl in my own house), I don't think it will be hard to make your room look sophisticated - lots of great suggestions in the thread, a wonderful chandelier will get you off to a great start and classic, elegant furnishings. I think fewer items of higher quality will help convey the posh tone you are looking for - definitely post photos when you have painted!

  • User
    12 years ago

    "How do I make a purple dining room look classy?"

    You can do purple at any formality level and pretty much any home style, but it needs to match the rest of the house in tone and atmosphere. You cannot just take a single room in a home out of context of the rest. If dark purple and crystal and silver isn't your style, then it will just look like a bordello's waiting room got transported into your casual country home. If the rest of the house has similar formality and style then it will look cutting edge elegant.

  • aggierose
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I took Periwinkles suggestion and got a sample of Pittsburgh Paint's carob chip. I love it! I only have a sample on my wall right now, but I'm going to buy a gallon tomorrow and start painting! Hopefully it turns out just as I have it pictured in my mind. Thank you for all of your suggestions and pictures. I'll definitely be back to let everyone know how it turned out.

  • patty_cakes
    12 years ago

    I would call that Raisin, almost a brown, not anywhere near purple.

    I couldn't copy/paste the sample. Click on *purple*, and type 'carob chip' in the search bar. ;o)

    Here is a link that might be useful: carob chip

  • aggierose
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Patty cakes, it does look a little more purple on the wall. I almost didn't even buy a sample because the paint chip looked so brown. I can definitely see purple on the wall though. However, it has a lot of brown in it and I'm sure some will see brown before they see purple. I think I'm going to like it, but if it isn't enough purple for me then I'll have to choose another color.

  • patty_cakes
    12 years ago

    Why don't you use a color that already has a bit more purple so you don't have to re-do? Remember, when you have a whole room full of a certain color, it tends to become overwhelming, and if the color swatch looks brownish, you're gonna have a whole room full of 'brownish'. Sorry, just trying to save you the agony of disappointment. ;o)

  • aggierose
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I also think that carob chip is a good choice because the brown in it will play well with my other colors. The walls around the dining room are BM shaker beige and browns look really good with it. Carob chip is dark enough to make a big statement, and still has the purple in it that I love without it looking like my daughters room. I'm so excited to paint it! We're repainting our entire house and I'm going to paint the dining room last. I want my first impression of it to be the way it looks with all of the new color around it. It will clash with what is currently on the walls. Hopefully by Sunday night or Monday I will have it finished.