What color to paint my livingroom dining room kitchen open floor plan?

Question

I just purchased a house in Mexico that has an open floor plan. Kitchen and living space open with a partial rock wall defining the dining area off the living room. Builder used lots of brick, stone, (set in gray cement) and huge wooden beams over the counter separating the kitchen and living room.(I have hung my stem glasses on lattice,attatched to the beams, and an iron hanging pot rack from the beams) The ceilings are very high coming to a pitched point at the top as the house previously had a palapa (palm leaf) roof The color now is a dark taupe and all walls are a swirly, pitted,bumpy cement finish. As it is now..it appears dark and dirty even with the high ceiling and lots of windows covered with black wrought iron on the outside. The use of sooo many different elements, red brick,stone (yellows,grays,beiges,they are actually big flat rocks!), wooden beams, stones framing the doors and the partial wall ..all stone..make it a definate challenge! Any and all ideas..WELCOME Thank U

Answer 1

I think a bright warm coral color would look great in the space. Not a neon coral, but a more subdued hue.it would really brighten things up and would work well with all the different colored textures.
check out these 2 colors from Glidden: "dramatic coral" and "heat wave".
All the stone youre talking about sounds like a multi-colored slate. There's some great colors in it: mustard, rust, sage, tan,cinnamon. Take one or two of these colors for your accent pieces.
A couple of great Diego Rivera prints for the walls would really fit nicely into the decor--there's fantastic bright bold colors in his work( very Mexican). I'd use a few large terra-cotta pottery pieces as accents. Maybe put a yucca or aloe vera in them, and backlight them.

Answer 2

Sounds like you need some cremes and or beiges that are more lighter in there, if there is anywhere to paint. Otherwise introduce the lighter colors in accessories, like in fabric, candles, vases, etc. Get some good lighting in there as well.
Maybe some pendant lights hanging from those high beams to bring light closer to eye level or some track lighting.

You can paint over that "swirly, pitted, bumpy cement finish", just make sure you get the right kind of paint.

Some lighter greens would work well with all those more earthy tones from the brick and stone. The greens can be introduced in the same ways as above and/or through plants and/or planters and baskets.

There are also stains available for changing the look of brick/stone. Might be something to consider.

Answer 3

I would go with a orangey red, to offset all the other colors, if your looking to blend everything together. If your not looking to highlight the interior I would go with a sandyor light yellowish color to warm it up and pull it all together. Being an open floor plan you do not want to overwhelm your spcae with a color that will take over, and wash all else out.
I would try something like a reddish orange to match the woodwork and also take some of the umph out of the stone, if you prefer to highlight the stone but, blend in the wood.

Answer 4

How about considering sky lights for lighting and dramatic effect. You need to be careful with the paint color and accessorizing. You have a LOT going on with varied, rigid textures. Consider adding some greenery, either real or silk to soften the elements. And keep your pillows and upholstery very neutral and earthy, celery green, pale yellow would work well with wood..