I have a tan carpet in livingroom with brown couches. I can't seem to find a color that looks good.
2007-03-02 06:34:54 · 11 answers · asked by Lisa 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Decorating & Remodeling
I had exactly the same problem when I was picking my paint colors. All the colors I really liked looked GREAT w/ white trim and doors.... but we have beautiful 6 panel wood doors and wood trim (stained a nutmeg/cinnamon color) and I found that a lot of the colors didn't look that hot w/ the trim. In my kitchen I went with a pale greenish yellow that kinda looks like artichokes. It looks great. And the color changes through out the day with the sun which keeps it interesting. I'm in the process of doing my office in Behr 'warm muffin' which looks great also. The living room we chose a pale-medium greenish brown .. can't remember the name but its similar to behr 'winter mood'.
When you pick your color take into consideration (1) the shade and intensity (dark/light) your trim.: if lighter I'd say to go with a little darker paint color, (not really dark but a shade or two darker than you might usually do.. if you typically lean toward light colors). If your stain is darker you might want to go with light-medium color so you can still have some contrast. It also depends on (2) the MOOD you want to invoke. Different colors invoke different moods. Red is stimulating.. I love red but could never have a red office becasue it would stress me out.. it would work for the dining room.. but not for a room i'm in 8 hrs a day. Golds and greens are usually relaxing. My mother in law recently redid her home and used a beautiful pumpkin color. Her sofa and ottoman are chocolate brown and she has ligher oak trim. There is also some darker wood furniture and it looks beautiful. Personally I find the pumpkin color very inviting and relaxing. My sister in law had darker wood trim and used various shades of cocoa, kahki, green and burgendy and it looks wonderful. The cocoa and kahki are medium toned.
I'd recommend going to home depot and lowes and walmart (the kilz brand paint was just rated #2 in consumer reports) and getting a number of paint swatches you like and putting them up on the wall right next to the wood trim. Color changes a LOT throughout the day so it's important to look at them at different times of the day. Good luck!!!!
Oh, one final thing.. i find when you have a lot of wood trim having crisp white/ivory curtains helps to show off the color. Also having some accessories that are black/espresso and white such as sconces, picture frames, wall ornaments, shelves, lamp bases or shades, pillows...etc. really help make the color pop. Sorry for being so long winded but I had the same concerns and I'm addicted to HGTV and I wanted to share what I've learned. thats it :) Happy painting.
2007-03-02 08:36:16 · answer #1 · answered by ptwooton 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well brown is not a color it fits into yellow-orange, so if you are not changing your furniture then you want to base it off that. So one thing you can do is go with blue violet, however also of men believe that violet is a female color so, may not be interested in that. you can also stay within the warm colors, that would basically leave you with oranges, yellows, and green. Analogous Colors would be the 2 colors around yellow orange, so a example of that would be a shade of green on the walls, and a beige. To make more of a impact for the room when using this color wheel, you can choose a wall treatment, not wall paper, but a texture of some kind. Also some people don't like this idea, but it can give a great deal of personality to a room, try vertical stripes of green and a lighter shade of green. I have went to school for interior design, just so you know I'm not just some 12 year old kid making stuff up, lol, good luck
2007-03-02 06:54:19 · answer #2 · answered by jessica d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The trick is too find a color that wont overpower the room (especially if it is a smaller or tight space) because that will make it seem very small. You might look at a terracotta or a paler version of that. It will match the wood trim, the carpet and allow you to access with potted plants or just tiled or colorful glazed pots. It is also a calming color. Stay away from pink based colors because the tan and wood make it look really pink!
2007-03-02 06:39:57 · answer #3 · answered by Chillyboy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Red!!! Orange!!!! Yellow!!!
Get some color in your life. Start watching home improvement shows. Look in catalogs, magazines, home improvement books for rooms that appeal to you and duplicate them.
There are so many places on line you can look as well.
Buy a brightly colored pillow and throw it on your sofa. Leave it for a few days then go out and buy something in the same color family for the other sofa, or the floor, or to put on a table---a throw, rug, pillow, vase.........
I think you will have fun once you get over your fear of colors.
Good luck
2007-03-02 06:44:19 · answer #4 · answered by ceetee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd say you have more options than you realize.
brown, tan and wood trim are all neutral.
I personally like brown and true red together.
it's easier to find accesories and rugs, too, if you stay close to the true colors.
2007-03-02 06:44:02 · answer #5 · answered by vicarious_notion 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Navajo
2007-03-02 06:39:07 · answer #6 · answered by Kenny Ray 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow that is a lot of neutral colors so you can go crazy with color!!! LIke dark colors? try Burgundy or burnt orange...for paler look...peach...soft yellows...lime...
2007-03-02 06:38:50 · answer #7 · answered by sw-in-gardener 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Use a nice terra cotta, not orange and not red, a real terra cotta. Your accessories can make it masculine or feminine.
2007-03-02 08:10:54 · answer #8 · answered by struth 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what I think would look super awsome is a light green i think that green always looks really nice with browns ;)
2007-03-02 06:42:37 · answer #9 · answered by Mushroom_cake 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the new colors are brick red, yellow and green.they look wonderful together
2007-03-02 06:39:48 · answer #10 · answered by whateverbabe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋