Country Living Keith Scott Morton
I have lived with mostly white or pale walls with color in the accessories look for years and years now (my entire 23 years of married life, actually!). It has always been the look I felt comfortable with, I love the idea of the color in fabrics and accessories being in focus with neutral backdrops.
But, even so, in most of my houses I’ve had at least one room with colored walls. Even if the color is brown, I love it.
Mary Jane McCarty–Country Living
I particularly like white or neutral walls if the walls are wood or plaster so they have some existing texture for interest. We have always lived in older houses, so I guess I am used to walls having a little personality. I really miss a lot of the texture that our older homes had already built in.
Now that I am living in a new house with plain ol’ drywall, I am really tempted to add a cozy color to give them a little more “oomph.”
I’m thinking about painting my bedroom and bathroom a pretty color and maybe even papering my powder room walls (yes, wallpaper. Hush. Don’t hate me because I like wallpaper).
For sure, though, I can.not.keep the swine walls. I still dislike them. Really really dislike them. No one should have under belly of a pig walls if they don’t like them. I cannot stress that enough.
I have never felt totally comfortable making my own home VOID of color. Our life is lived in full color — I would have a hard time with all neutral because my kids backpacks and lunch boxes and sweatshirts laying around would always ruin my decor. Having color makes real life fit in to the decor, and that is important to me.
Other than knowing that I must have color in my home, I can be so all over the map as far as what I like. So much so that sometimes I have trouble deciding what to do in my own home. Never enough rooms in my own house to do everything I love. Now you know why I had to be a decorator…it was either that or buy six houses to play in.
How about you? Are you ever indecisive and easily confused by all the color options in decorating?
And let’s talk about colored walls, neutral walls and what everyone likes. Are you tired of neutral walls? Ready to see color? Or are you trying to get rid of your color and craving something neutral? Let’s chat. I’m curious about what you are thinking!
I go back and forth with colored walls and neutral walls. The great thing… paint is a very inexpensive way to most dramatically change a room! When I get bored, I break out the paint brush and get excited about choosing a new color! I think it’s fun to try new techniques with colors you already have at home as well!
LOVE color but have also realized that I love a more neutral palette- but one with color. But the idea of some bright colors in mostly-hidden places is fun (laundry room, storage closets, etc). Cannot stand plain white walls in my home. That said, when I see all-white rooms in the blogosphere with lots of great textures… I’m tempted!
.-= Aspirations of a Southern Housewife´s last blog ..For the Love of Lemons =-.
as soon as we took down our christmas decorations,we decided to add a dramatic colour to our very neutral lounge -AUBERGINE ,we painted the breast wall and added a few purple cushions,the room looks a lot warmer but im loving peacock blue /teal and olive green ….maybe next month…
Great post Melissa. For years I have had color and talked others out of being afraid of color. But I think I need to go neutral now. Of course I’ll still have some pops of color in my accessories, but I need to get rid of my red dining room, mustard den and green kitchen. I’m thinking (hoping) by having some neutral walls, it will calm things down a bit in this hectic house! We’ll see how it goes. I realized I needed this when I looked at my inspiration folders and all of the photos were in shades of white. Have a great week!
.-= Dawn-Hydrangea Home´s last blog ..NYC and Martha =-.
Twitter: AnnieDavie
says:
Each and every one of these rooms are absolutely gorgeous – I love them all! well picked!
.-= Annie@A View On Design´s last blog ..Daylesford Dreaming =-.
I’m always confused & indecisive about my house. That’s why it takes so long to get a project done. I’ve always been a fan of color but am trying to neutralize the palette a little in this house. I am planning on color in the kids rooms & in the accessories in the living spaces. We’ll see what actually happens when I get to painting (if I can ever make the time). Thanks for all of the inspirational pics & I’m also a fan of wallpaper when it’s done right.
.-= duchess´s last blog ..A Quick Trip =-.
I am bringing most of the walls to a neutral. I tend to have color in accessories or a pop of color…like a door, a hood vent. Our Foyer has always been a big blast of color…and am thinking of neutralizing it, too. But I’ll leave the powder room off of it the little colorful jewel box that it is.
.-= linda@LimeintheCoconut´s last blog ..And…since we didn’t win the lottery… =-.
Oh, I am craving some color on my walls! We rent, and painting isn’t worth the hassle at move-out. I’d love to splash some blue all over our bedroom and bathroom and some sort of green in the guest bedroom or kitchen. But I do think I would stay with some neutral tones – a soft brown of some sort – in the living room so it doesn’t overwhelm me too much!
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Welcome to the World =-.
Kristen, it was suggested to me that if you plan to be somewhere for 3 years plus, it’s worth the investment of time, trouble, and cash to paint in a rental. You might consider these alternatives: A large square of paint–allowing a 12-, 18-, or 20-inch border of the landlord’s color along all edges of a focus wall, framing the color of your choice. This method gets some color up while eliminating all the “cutting in” hassle of painting and is easily covered. Secondly, a wall of dummy panels from floor to ceiling in your favorite shade. This creates a focus wall of color somewhere in the room–just remember to sprinkle the color throughout the rest of the room! Last tip: if you do paint, choose a color that looks good with the trim paints throughout, that way you’ll only have to cover with flat and skip doing the trim too!
Rosie — that idea of having a 12″ border to avoid having to cut in and therefore avoiding purchasing the tape and spending the extra time to tape and then cut in is genius for a renter!
We rent and are finally staying in the same apartment for 3 years. Knowing that we would be doing that, the first thing we did was paint our living room, kitchen and bathrooms…I could not handle the idea of white walls for 3 years! I just wish I would have thought of this terrific, time-saving technique you suggest, especially now that we are coming up to the end of our lease and will have to paint back to white! Baa!
In our previous homes, I’ve had LOTS of STRONG color on the walls, and when we moved into this house four years ago, I knew I wanted to go more neutral. And I have, in the hall, our living and dining room, and the family room– those rooms that are “busy.” I also want to put a warm cream in my craft room. But now, warm golds and camels are creeping in– maybe I’ve found my happy medium. . . ?
.-= Missy K´s last blog ..Today I loved. . . =-.
Personally, I went with color when we moved into our home a few years back. It is a simple ranch structure and the rooms are fairly small. Also, most of our furnishings have simple lines . So, for our situation, I decided color would be what would create the personality and warmth without trying to fill the space with a lot of other “stuff”, if that makes sense.
.-= Karen H´s last blog ..Is Your Decor In Tune? =-.
I am in the process of changing all my colored walls to a grey tone of neutrals. I just couldn’t get the colored rooms to flow from one room to the next.
I will say that I did see the post about the Nester wanting to go neutral and I commented that I could never do it. I LOVE color on the walls. I love neutral rooms too but in other peoples houses. Not in mine.
I usually pick out colors that I love (golds, greens, taupes) but this new house we bought, I went with a tan because we have a two story great room and I won’t be able to paint it by myself. I am not really happy with it but I am adding color through the artwork, rugs, and pillows. I say paint a nice warm color!
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..This is why I love blogging. =-.
I love color! There is not a single white wall in my whole house. My living room is red, and I don’t think I’ll ever change it. My kids’ rooms are various shades of green. The rest of the walls are various shades of taupe (is that a color or neutral?) that serves as a great backdrop to pretty much anything. I couldn’t stand white walls.
.-= Shelly @ Life on the Wild Side´s last blog ..The Birfday Boy =-.
I just love the calmness of neutrals. With so many different neutral colors available you can create a different feeling in each room. I have used bold color in the past. I enjoyed if for a time, but I tire of it much more quickly than with a neutral.
I think that whatever we have lived with for years, it inspires us to try something new. Do I have trouble choosing color? Yes! Right now I am trying to choose a color for the dining room and kitchen and it is so hard! I see so many beautiful rooms in magazines and on blogs and I love them all. Right now my kitchen has been red for about 6 years, I am ready to go much lighter but neutral pastel or white? and what accent colors am I ready for? It can be maddening. I love so many colors and styles, the tough part is just choosing one!
.-= Kathleen Grace´s last blog .. =-.
Interesting post Melissa. I see a lot of neutral rooms that I love but I know for me, I have to have color, especially because we have very gloomy weather here in Ohio in the winter and I need to see pops of color everywhere. I have however toned down my paint colors. I used to be quite bold but now more subtle and neutral and bring the color out in my accessories. I’m sure whatever you do will be beautiful!
LeAnn:)
.-= LeAnn´s last blog ..Beach Cottage Tour….Part II =-.
Our walls were neutral (read faded, dingy white) when we moved into our house. We’ve been slowly adding color over the years. The kitchen is now terra cotta, the foyer is merlot, the family room is a warm and cheery Caribbean Sunset. Our next project is our livng room – from dark paneling to a cool, relaxing Eucalyptus Leaf.
.-= The Working Home Keeper´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday – January 25th =-.
You know how much I love color and have been trying to tone my walls down a bit, so I am trying to find the balance between having some color, but not too much…thanks as always for your inspiration!
I have colored walls in every room but I’m always looking at white walls wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake! I love the clean, uncluttered look that white walls can help create.
I am completely schizophrenic about my decor. I like so many different things. But…in the end…I think I’m happy with my colored walls.
I have yellow in the living room and dining room, brown in the bathroom and the office, blue in the guest room, and gray in the “master.”
.-= Lesley @ TheDesignFile´s last blog ..Giveaway: Inspirational art from Red Letter Words =-.
Loved all the pics. I recently went out on a limb and used a color by Benjamin Moore called ‘Robin’s Nest’…loved it. Now the play/sewing/school room is so bright and cheery, I can’t seem to stay out.
.-= Jessica @ These Are The Days´s last blog ..Life – Charlotte Mason Style =-.
It’s time to paint the main rooms around here. I have Duron Plantation Beige which is a warm golden color. I’m thinking of toning down the gold to a more neutral beige or a slight bit of sage in the paint. It’s hard to make a big change b/c of all the fabrics and accessories.
.-= Sandy´s last blog ..winter white sales =-.
.-= Myrnie´s last blog ..Meal Planning Monday =-.
I live in a neutral world. I want colored walls soooo bad but the fear of choosing the wrong color has paralyzed me. So the walls are still builder beige. I want to be brave. I just need to know how to choose the right color. Are their rules or guidelines?
.-= Christi´s last blog ..Girls Day and Tidbits… =-.
We are color, color, color here at Creekside Cottage! We lived with mostly white walls at our old house, and I did really love it. When we moved into our current house, I did a bit of color but softer. The main thing was to just get it painted and move in! After a few years, wanting to freshen up the place, I asked my husband what he would like to see in our house and he said ‘bold color’.
We have wood floors, white trim on the walls and warm and welcoming color on our walls. I tend to go neutral in the sofa colors – the high end furniture. Paint is cheap. Easier for us to change the color of our walls than to buy a new couch!
It works for us! Hey this sounds like a blog post!
.-= Mrs.Rabe´s last blog ..Felling Trees =-.
After MANY years of off white wall colors I decided to put up a bit of color in two of our bedrooms. I love it! The color is called Vanilla Latte by Valspar. I do think it is about comfort levels for each of us and there is no right or wrong answer. The pictures are wonderful.
As a decorator, I see color all the time, so I’m more apt to go neutral. However, the two smallest rooms in my house – both awkwardly shaped – are painted in deep colors because this helps to “erase” those lines that make the room look awkward in the first place.
I also love to play with texture and color with removeable items like textiles and accessories. This way I’m never bored and it cures my need to change things without spending a lot of money.
There are a lot of beautiful medium to dark colors that actually can serve as neutrals so you can get your fix and not be stuck in one color palette. I love BM’s Maple Syrup and Creekside Green.
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Coffee vs. Coffee vs. Tea =-.
i have been a painting fool lately! I too had lived long enough with the ugly bright white now gone dirty cuz of kids walls. Actually last night I made a late night run to Home Depot for a color sample of the new Pottery Barn color-Wedgewood Grey- I.LOVE.IT! looks like my dining room will soon get a makeover. When I start to fret about paint colors my husband always tells me “honey, its just paint, you can always change it”
.-= Amanda-TheEckLife´s last blog ..Happy Birthday to me!! =-.
I SO enjoyed these photos… beautiful, beautiful!
.-= 31everything´s last blog ..Love at First Gasp #3 =-.
I had to laugh at your comment about “being all over the map” and how your kid’s backpacks “ruin your decor”. I share your thoughts as well. I’m so random…I like old mixed with new…bright, cheerful colors…in a house with 5 kids…calm, peaceful, neutral doesn’t really match our lifestyle. (although I like the look of it and appreciate the serene feeling it gives me.)
I just painted my spare bedroom tart green apple and it makes me so happy, I turned it into my craft room.
I think some people just crave color and some crave calm neutrals.
I love your blog. It’s one of my favorites. Could you please send me your e-mail address. I’ve started a blog and I wanted to ask you a few questions about yours without it appearing on your blog. Thanks.
.-= Mary Habres´s last blog ..Let the Staging Begin =-.
Most of my walls fall somewhere in the green-blue-aqua family. I can’t get away from the cool colors – so soothing and serene! Sometimes I feel the pull toward neutral and color-less, but I think I like that idea more in theory than in practice.
.-= Flower Patch Farmgirl´s last blog ..Garden Dreaming =-.
I love a mix of neutral and color, depending on the room. My dining/living and bed rooms are really serene neutrals but I have a bold orange kitchen and I love it! Orange is a great energizing color for a kitchen and it just makes you happy to be in the room…plus it’s a little different from the popular red kitchen. Not for everyone but we get lots of compliments.
.-= Katie @ Haute Apple Pie´s last blog ..DIY Window Chalkboard =-.
I LOVE your orange kitchen! I’ve picked a bright yellow for mine, but am trying not to chicken out now that my brother is coming to rip down wallpaper and paint for me!
.-= Abbie´s last blog ..Chicken ‘n rice =-.
Stick with it! You’ll have a whole new reason to get up for breakfast
.-= Katie @ Haute Apple Pie´s last blog ..DIY Window Chalkboard =-.
We have a 3 bedroom rental with vaulted ceilings in the kitchen and living room. We’ve had all white walls for over a year now and I just couldn’t take it anymore. We went to Home Depot and bought a gallon of warm yellow paint and painted my daughter’s room. I love it. I don’t care if we have to paint it all white before we leave, I can’t live without color.
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Outdoor Fun =-.
I have always had plainish walls until we remodeled. My husband chose a green for our dining room–our contractor was hesitant which made me nervous–but it turned better than I could imagined. I can’t imagine it being any other color now! Great examples!
.-= desiree@lookiloos´s last blog ..Original artwork adds zest to decor =-.
Anyone that knows me knows i LOVE color on walls….great post…all of these are great examples…love the brown and red!!
.-= Stephaine @ Geezees´s last blog ..What to put on OUR canvas bus roll art?? My kitchen is done! =-.
I agree about having to have color as the backdrop; every room in my house is a different color and we love it. A real estate agent would tell me to paint it all back neutral before we sell, but I would refuse. It shows the house in a very cozy, creative, inspirational, interesting light! And I love wallpaper, too, and wish it weren’t so expensive to order and have hung…I have a kitchen and 2 bathrooms in dire need of a re-do!
I love color, too!! I have an older home, one in which all the rooms are VERY individualized. There is no flow from one room to the next in my house, and I love that b/c of our 4 boys, 3 cats and 1 dog. We just painted our living room {FAMILY room, actually} a pretty grey~ish blue this weekend. It’s called Skipper and it’s my favorite Behr brand paint. Thanks for reminding us that neutral is NOT always the most fashionable! {BTW, I did all of this much to the HORROR of my sisters and mom, but we LOVE IT!!!}
I wish we could paint our walls. However, the rules in our current place makes that a big no no. So we are stuck with stark white everywhere! Once we get our first house I’m sure there will be color in every room.
I’ve been asking myself this question recently. I love color on the walls, but our rooms are so small I’ve been leaning towards just carrying a light neutral throughout to keep the space feeling open. Hopefully this strategy works!
.-= The Tiny Homestead´s last blog ..Starting the New Year with a Splash =-.
Over the years I have developed a fearlessness about wall color. I am not sure where it came from, because I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly courageous person, however, I decided that the worst that could happen when painting a wall, is that I don’t like it, and paint it again. We recently redid our master suite http://www.containchaos.com/?p=122 and although our pictures don’t do it justice, I love the result. And that is what it boils down to. What feels right for you!
I think I like a nice balance between the two. Most of the rooms on our first floor are a nice khaki color with white trim/molding. The Dining room is red with the chair rail and everything below it in white. The Kitchen is soft yellow with the chair rail and lower in white.
I like colored walls, but after a few years, I’m ready for change! I think it’s easier to have neutrals and change up accessories. My husband isn’t the guy who’s most inclined to mix things up, so repainting can be difficult. Luckily, a friend “owes” us some painting time after all the help my hubs gave him with his new house. I am planning on getting a new look in my kitchen.
.-= Amanda @ Serenity Now´s last blog ..The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly =-.
I’ve never been one for plain white walls, especially in houses with drywall. It feels bland and personality-less to me, but, ironically, I almost never get around to painting the walls in my house. I think it’s exactly what you described, I become frozen with indecision over all the choices. I like so many different styles and colors, I can never decide what I want. Thankfully, in this house, I painted my living room a warm honey yellow (cheerful, but still pretty neutral) before we even moved in. Now, I have to do all the other rooms.
I love color and must have color on my walls. My living room in 4 different places has been yellow!! Love “Beeswax” by Sherwin Williams…they don’t have it on chips anymore, but the color is in their computers.
I also love the color “Blue Smoke” by Olympia paints at Lowe’s.
And my little boys’ room is now painted “River’s Edge” by Behr…a fun turquoise-y color! I use yellow and orange and red accents in there for a children’s vintage feel.
.-= Aimee´s last blog ..A Cup of Sanity =-.
This must be a connumdrum for most of us. Loved seeing all the color above, but I know that there is no way that I’d ever paint using any of those colors. Obviously, I like to play it safe. One thing I really get in a lather over is when some decorator (not you…you’d never say this ☺) says, “It’s only paint.” Ackkkkk! Not in today’s economy. Not in today’s time spent economy either.
.-= Vee´s last blog ..Up to Somethin’ =-.
Connundrum…some days I can spell… others not so much… ;>
.-= Vee´s last blog ..Up to Somethin’ =-.
My husband is a builder and we never stay in one house too long. We have always thought “resale value” so my husband wouldn’t let me put a hole in the wall or use any color paint except for builder beige. We think we will stay in this house for a while, so I got the go-ahead to paint!!! I like neutrals, but I needed color after that long in a neutral world. So far, two walls in my living room are a “foxfire brown”, my kitchen/dinette is a faux painting that looks like aged gold venetian plaster, the kids rooms are crazy colors they picked out, and my powder room is gold – like shiny gold (scary at first but it worked out!) .
.-= Marci@OvercomingBusy´s last blog ..Be Clutter Free =-.
I’ve tried to go neutral with my new house. That lasted for about 5 min. I’m all about color. I have chosen some neutrals, but they’re balanced with colorful accent walls. I’m on a deadline, but still had such a hard time deciding. I agonized over every color choice I made. A whole house all at once?! Way out of my comfort zone. FYI–I have swine colored tile in my master bath. It’s on the counter, shower, floor, and (OMG!) the ceiling. Shoot me now!!!
I was terrified of colour. I’d live in a white-walled house for 25 years. Then, I moved out, decided to be daring and adore my turquoise feature wall. I wish I’d been more daring in the other rooms now.
You can see it here:
http://libertycottage.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-theeye-of-peacock-its-cream-not.html
so funny you brought this up! just last week i posted about this dilemma i am having about the wall color in our kitchen renovation…
http://hishouseherhelp.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/design-inspiration-color/
.-= micaela @ hishouse;herhelp.´s last blog ..big news… =-.
I told Nester how much I love color, too. That SL kitchen is my exact color (one of my greens). I love color – Yay for color!
Fun post, Melissa. Happy Monday!
.-= Sandy´s last blog ..Intentional Family Time: Can you say No? =-.