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Paint colour suggestions for open plan kit/dining/living room

2 years ago

I had some helpful advice before on paint choices when we first moved in to our new home but now that we have our new kitchen nearly finished and the rest of the area nearly ready to paint I wondered if anyone with a better eye could inspire me as to the best colours to use. I don't know if it is better to do the living room a different colour to define the space a bit and keep the kit/dine area white (any recs for North facing would be great, kit North facing and living room south) or paint the whole area in a light sand/taupe type colour? Or whether I should go bolder and put a deeper colour somewhere. I'm conscious that the rooms are long and slightly narrow as opposed to square so don't want to draw attention to that too much which is why I thought keep it light with colourful rugs, accessories etc. Our new sofa will be tan leather and our flooring will be Amtico Dry Cedar.

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Comments (5)

User
2 years ago
Great view, shame about all those spotlights. Sorry, not very helpful. I tend to stick with white.
Sonia
2 years ago
Hi Fi, it is hard to suggest decor for an empty room but I would go with one colour throughout and perhaps have a feature wall in the living area? The tan sofa would be a starting point so perhaps an off white or very pale grey for all over and then a navy behind the sofa or on the tv wall. Here’s some ideas for decorating around a tan sofa.
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Thanks, I wasn't sure where the 9'4 measurement came in. If you're buying all new furniture then look for items on legs, as you can see the floor beneath it will make the space feel bigger. You can also use glass ie a glass coffee table or Louis ghost chairs for example. I'd also go for a large mirror over the hearth or not knowing your style could also have a ŵall of glass tiles for the same effect which will also bounce light. I'd go for a pale tone sofa and use warmer/darker colours for cushions if wanted. If you want a rug then I'd keep it in the same tone as the floor else to visually maximise floor space. I've drawn a very rough plan (not entirely to scale and obviously not knowing where doors etc are!). I assume you're wanting to buy furniture before you move in? If so do you have a similar size room where you could cut out paper templates of all furniture to see if the space works? I would mount the tv on the ŵall if you have one. Hanging it over a slim console (or slim cabinet for storage) means you can add art on the ŵall and accessorise the console so the tv doesn't become the feature of the ŵall. You could go for a coffee table or a small footstool which can double up as extra seating and table. I'd go for a round dining table, 3ft will seat 4 and you can pull it away from the corner when entertaining. i'd go for a 2 seater sofa (c5f?) but try and get a slim one. I don't know the size of the windows but blinds, shutters may also be an idea so curtains don't encroach on the floor space? In terms of decor do you want light and neutral or dark and moody then people can suggest paint colours?
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Hi minnie101, Thanks so much for your detailed reply. Great to know what colour that grey is. It may be a little dark with our floor. We will definitely update the handles - I hate the current ones. We'll probably go with wood to keep within budget. Your non-tiles pic is lovely. We'll probably keep some tiles and try to keep the kitchen a little more modern than country kitchen, which might be a challenge with wood. The room faces south. I like your idea of dividing it with paint. We probably will go with white in the kitchen and then 1/2 slightly darker tones in the tv-couch area. The 'other' entrance into the dining area is narrowed by a non-structural wall, so we should remove this to open it properly or like you say, close it off. Maybe not close it off entirely as we'd lose a lot of light, but maybe put in a counter or breakfast bar if space allowed. I love your pendant light suggestions over the dining table. Details like this and a rug in the couch area will really help divide the room as at the moment it is one big cavernous space. I really can't decide yet what way the couches should face - into a tv in the corner, or out into the room like you suggest. We'll have to draw out some chalk outlines on the floor and see how much space there actually is. Colour-wise we like the idea of keeping walls and cabinets quite stark, the wood counter will add a bit of warmth, and then adding colour with couches, rugs and possibly dining chairs. I've attached a couple of pieces of furniture I like. Some may not work, but we'll figure it out.
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Fi Mo
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for your helpful comment Sonia 🙂 that's what I'm struggling with, doing the whole thing completely from scratch with new furniture etc sounds fun to start with but I don't want to make expensive mistakes and it's hard to picture in an empty room like you say. Thanks again for the pics, I might do a darker feature wall on the short end wall of the living room which isn't seen from dining area and may help to reduce the narrow feeling.
Juliet Docherty
2 years ago
It depends on what sort of 'feel' you like. I like quite neutral spaces with lots of texture so stoney colours, natural leather feels very relaxed to me. Little Greene have some new colour cards out with 'Stone' colours on, all sorted in warms to cools, it may be worth ordering one. They do light and dark versions of each colour so you could select specific ones for each room. They also specify 'accent' colours for the odd wall so all round a good choice.
Fi Mo
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks, will take a look, stone colours are what I'm looking for I think 🙂

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