Question: My husband and I bought our first house and took action without a plan, which has sort of created a financial nightmare for us.

We knocked out a wall that separated the kitchen/dining area and the living room. We installed beautiful maple wood floors and stained them a warm golden brown. Our house is brick with a rectangular layout, and you can now see the kitchen/dining, living, and sun room no matter which room you're standing in. It was a great idea but the problem is that I'm trying to decorate three rooms well on a small budget!

I painted the living room a color I thought would be beige but turned out to be more gold/pale yellow, and the sun room a pale green. All the trim (fireplace in living room, beadboard and cabinets in kitchen, baseboards) is bright white.

We have lots of nice windows, and thrift store furniture, slip-covered in neutral, pale greens and browns. There's an accent area rug (8 by 11 feet) in the living area that's a wine- tone red, terra-cotta, gold, olive and navy. Most of the wood furniture is dark, with a few throw pillows in terra-cotta, wine and olive. I wanted a blend of casual traditional and Mediterranean (we have a picture of Venice above the fireplace). Since my husband is from Albania, we want to be reminded of his home.

What color do I paint the kitchen/dining walls? Daring friends with good taste have shared their opinion that another neutral will be too boring. My mother's fear of color makes her shudder at the idea of terra-cotta or wine all over the walls ("it'll be dark and depressing!"). What do you think?

I originally thought I'd just do a khaki/tan/beige color with a throw rug. So the flow would be brown, gold and green. But will I bore myself and my guests? Is terra-cotta too trendy? Can I do a rag-off paint (like terra-cotta) in one room and not in the other? Could I have terra-cotta as a main color in the kitchen/dining area and wine as an accent color in the living area? Would wine be overpowering next to the neutrals?

Remi R., Michigan

 

Answer: Choosing a color that will be a visual bridge between two areas is always a challenge. Which room's color will dominate? Which color becomes the secondary color? How do you make this transition gracefully, keeping in mind the function of the middle room?

The soft green of your sun room sounds ideal for the space; it's a perfect background color for plants and flowers. The pale yellow living room is another perfect color for the space; it's flattering, soothing and inviting -- just what you want a living room to be.

The two colors, on either side of the view of the middle space, give you the perfect opportunity to bridge the space with a color that will balance both. The question is do you want to stay with a version of either green or yellow as the transition color?

Because the visual space includes both the kitchen and dining room, the room has several functions to fulfill and the color has to be appropriate to both. A strong color will always be a strong color. It can't be toned down or be made quiet. But a neutral color can be enhanced or punched up with accessories that can be easily changed, depending on the season and/or the occasion.

My recommendation is to paint the kitchen and dining room a soft color somewhere between a warm taupe and a deep beige toward caramel. Make sure the color works with both the yellow living room and the fern green sunroom.

Don't forget to consider the wood floors, because they can be seen throughout. Their warm color can guide you in the right direction for your wall color.

Granted, any version of taupe or beige by itself can be a boring color, but I've found them to be ideal background colors for interesting decorating accents. As a neutral, they can complement just about every other color. All the reds, browns, oranges, purples, and of course black and white, look great next to them. In a dining room/kitchen this gives you the opportunity for seasonal accessorizing.

With warm taupe or beige walls, you can make the dining room look cheery for a winter holiday party by adding red or burgundy and shiny gold accessories.

Autumn's brilliant show of colors says let's add oranges, browns and rust to set the tone perfectly. Spring's soft pastels like lilac and pink, and summer's strong colors like red and purple are easy to add to a room with abundant bouquets of flowers and bowls of fruit.

For accessories that easily change the tone of a dining room, think about place mats, table centerpieces, flowers and candles.

In the kitchen, fruit and vegetables add natural, seasonal colors. Remember that the bowl that they're in can also set the tone for the presentation. Brushed stainless steel, white porcelain and stained wood are just a few examples of how to show off seasonal fruit and change the look without much hassle.

Remember too, this is your home and, while everyone else has an opinion, you're the one who will live with it. So get advice, input and ideas, but in the end go with your own instincts. They'll always serve you well.

 

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