My house is really dark, with few windows. Back when I wanted everything to match, I painted all walls the same, noticing that the one the only window was on looked much darker when dry, so I simply painted it two shades lighter and it's great. Also, rather than to paint any wall in the house a medium or dark color, I painted it (years ago, needing painting again) the whitest white I could find, ("ceiling white", I believe?), added lightest beige in ceramic 12" tiles on floors, lightest beige carpet, and kept the brick around the fireplace unpainted and it's natural salmon color, letting it be the main color of the rooms. I bought off-white poly/cotton sofa/love seat set, and it has served me for over thirty years! Of course I'd love to replace everything, but I'm cluttered and it doesn't matter so much until I can de-clutter. Yet, The one wall I finally painted a different color was a soft butter-cream yellow, and it has just been wonderful behind my off white sofa set to keep it looking whiter as it ages.
You know, on Extreme Makeover they frequently paint every wall in the main part of the house a bold color, BUT it works mainly because the room is so very large. Remembering that dark colors will make the wall seem closer to you, two dark walls will make the room seem much smaller. Dark ceilings will seem to be falling on you, and dark walled hallways are awful, believe me. My tiny entry was a creamed coffee brown, and I can't wait to make the whole house fresh and light at last with the OOPS paint I got almost for free at Home Depot and the free paints I kept picking up curbside and at the recycling center curb, placed there illegally.
In my humble opinion, a single "decorator colored" wall is nice if the rest of the house is relatively new, but for a really outdated home and furnishings, it's not so great. Yet, I'm truly impressed with a neighbor's toast colored wall trimmed in white as looking the freshest I've seen anyone's. Good luck and God bless and help you. : )
Just for a change. I just painted 1 wall of my living room. The other 3 walls are an off-white and I wanted something to perk it up. I like the off-white but just wanted ...something. The wall I painted faces east and has 3 floor to almost ceiling windows each 4 feet wide. I painted the small part above and beside the windows a pale sage green. Now it looks like the outside is almost in my house. That's why I did it.
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Request: Painting One Wall a Different Color
Archived on 05/11/2009
Will painting one wall in a small bedroom a dark color make the room look smaller? Also, I am thinking of using a peanut butter tan on the main walls, a dark olive green for one wall and a deep red bed spread. Are those colors too far apart for one room?
Sam from Fargo, ND
Feedback:
RE: Painting One Wall a Different Color
I've been thinking about how I'm going to repaint some rooms in my house. I've thought about the wall farthest from the door painting a darker color to give more depth to the room. This may make the room look longer but put in some lighter colors in the darker so it won't look so stark, like ragging or something. Or lighter accents on the dark wall, like pictures or shelves or something. What do you think?
I think the tan and olive would look good. Maybe alternate 3 inch stripes of the tan and olive on the olive wall. I had a friend who did this in a white room alternating 3 inch medium green stripes with the white on one wall and it was gorgeous. I loved it.
The red spread would jump at me, kind of like when I colored my hair red and every time I walked by and looked in the mirror I jumped, just couldn't get used to it.
I think cream is pretty with olive; maybe cream with burgundy touches. I have a light mint satin comforter and cream and burgundy pillows on it are really pretty. (08/20/2006)
I just painted my daughter's old room. One wall is an eggplant color and the other three walls are light, bright green. It is fabulous! (08/20/2006)
By Aline
RE: Painting One Wall a Different Color
Many years ago I did one wall in my bedroom (behind my headboard) a beautiful blue with the other three walls in white. My bedspread and drapes were the color of the blue wall and I used dusty rose and white pillows (in various patterns) as accents. It was really pretty and I got a lot of compliments.
I love the peanut butter and green colors you chose but I'm not feeling that red bedspread so much (might be too strong-depends on the shade). What counts though is you and if you love it then I would suggest using some multicolored and multipatterned (in greens, reds and and peanut butter colored) pillows on the bed that pull the colors together. Throughout the room I would also use a couple of small red accent pieces to tie the red into the other colors. Keep the red accents subtle since the bedspread is a big piece. Good luck. Love to see the results. (08/21/2006)
By Nan
RE: Painting One Wall a Different Color
The main thing to remember is to always keep your ceilings white or light cream. It is having the ceiling painted a colour - any colour - that dramatically optically shrinks the size of a room. Other than that, your colour scheme sounds fab! Enjoy your project! (08/21/2006)
