Exhibit A:
North Vs. East
I took this picture standing in our hallway. Both these windows face North, however the picture on the right also has a second window in it that faces East and there's not a porch blocking its light. I do believe it's an excellent demonstration as to how little light this office gets.
Which is a bummer because I LOVE light, sun-filled rooms. It's probably what attracted me to this house so much because every room BUT the office receives nice light throughout the day.
This room really bums me out, man. Did I mention that?
Not only is it hard to work with because of the no light situation, but it has three doors in it. I know that's bad for your chi or feng shui or what ever you want to call it. Dilemma's never cease in this room.
Ok, back to the main point of this post. Choosing a color for this room. I've already gotten it wrong before.
Exhibit B:
This color was just too much like a "nursery blue" to me. What I wanted was a light gray with a touch of blue and this color was not it.
After finishing our floors, I started the process of picking a new paint color. I thought I picked a great color. I tested in out on the wall and still thought it was a go. Then I painted the entire room and I think it might be a mistake.
A rare moment with a sliver of light filtering in.
It. is. so. d a r k. I'm still looking for a light gray with a sliver of blue. The problem is that in this room, all grays with a hint of any color just reads gray. And a drabby gray at that. Not even a hint of prettiness. Not what I'm looking for. Maybe grays only work in a sunny room and I'm trying for the impossible here? I've decided to try cutting this color with white to see how it would look.
The middle part of the bead board is cut with white--can you even see this well enough to offer an opinion?
I'm going to ask this question even thought it's hard to see the colors in this picture: Should I cut the paint with white or would you leave it the darker color? Is it too risky to try to mix my own color for an entire room?
Other factors you should know:
*most of the furniture will be white (which should lighten things up a bit)
*the map will be used in this room (yeah, sorry about the glare off of it--I used a soft flash)
*we will be adding additional light: a new over head fixture, two desk lamps and depending on whether we go for a couch or chairs, either two sconces or floor lamps or one table lamp
*no, I haven't picked any fabrics for in here (I know, I'm going about this backwards, but I have to paint it while it's empty)
*my vision for this room was to have a light, neutral color on the walls and have bright accessories (probably in a variety of colors)--something fun and energizing
*I spend a lot of time in this room during the day
I think I may have already driven Bryan to never want to look at another paint swatch for the rest of his life. My incessant worrying over colors for in this room might drive him over the deep end. And he'll ring my neck if I buy more paint. So my only two options are to use this darker color or cut it with white paint.
Guys, am I crazy? Never mind, don't answer that.
Please feel free to leave any advice you might have on any of my ramblings in this post. Do you have an equally dark room that you've made pretty? If so, please tell me how you did it! I think the paint fumes have affected my thinking and decision making abilities.
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Hmm...Keep in mind that I like dark colors (you've seen my bedroom and dining room) but I like the paint you have up there now. It might not be what you originally had in mind but I think with white furniture and bright accessories and the lighting you're already planning on adding it won't seem so dark. Could you test it by bringing in a bunch of lamps to see if it brightens up any?
ReplyDeleteDon't be like me and second-guess every decision you make; you'll drive yourself crazy!
In the last pic one wall looks grey and one wall looks blue? I would use the white on the trim and then bring in the lights that you mentioned and see how the room looks then. My bedroom feels really dark sometimes we have a tree blocking the the window and our bedroom right next door gets too much light!
ReplyDeleteWant to talk about dark rooms? I have a kithcen and three bathrooms WITHOUT any windows! Plus, my bedroom and office only have one window each.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the paint a darker shade, but if you want to mix your own, make sure that you paint an entire wall at a time. If you need more paint, it won't make much of a difference if one wall has a slightly different tint.
This is so tricky without experiencing the space! Yes, though, I've worked in a lot of dark rooms. In fact, our current kitchen is a dungeon (the one I'm working on right now). In fact, I'll be talking about how I'm dealing with the light situation in the next few days...
ReplyDeleteKelly
do you have any of that blue paint left? you could mix the two together. (in sample size first) sometimes that works. i did that for my mom's room with yellows and it worked.
ReplyDeleteif you want an energizing blue (since it's mostly known for calm & soothing), you might want to go with a blue like the previous. just in a different shade so it's not so nursery blue. or you might want to rethink blue all together. i could bring up my colour wheel next weekend for you to borrow.
but you can always use mirrors and highly reflective surfaces like mirrored picture frames, polished silver accessories, those clear lamp bases. and the white furniture will help lighten space.
-robin
I like the blue that's on the walls...I think it looks peaceful. But if you don't like the way it feels, I think you should change it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI have a room like this also. I think you are doing a great job so far! What about using a mirror to reflect the light in the room?
ReplyDeleteIf you read Colour Me Happy, she talks about how light colors will never come to life in a dark room. I suggest embracing the coziness of the room by painting a delicious dark color on the walls. For instance, I used a dark chocolate on our north-facing den walls and I love the richness!
ReplyDeleteI just saw this post in Blogger today and thought of you. And now I see that Sara mentioned this blog to you before, so you may have already seen this. But, it's about choosing colors in a north-facing room.
ReplyDeletehttp://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-choose-colour-for-north-facing.html