Decorators, please?

Question

I have recently moved into a home which is outdated with old gold wall paper and just ugliness. The entire house has a "rustic" feel to it, as there is real wood panneling (not shiny) that is very dark throughout. Its a good sized home at 3500 feet or more. I would like to know how to paint and what colors and what to decorate with in this house. Specifically the dining room, which oddly enough is the entry room from the front door. There isn't a lot of wall space, as its mostly in the dark horizontal wood. I have a few pieces of wrought iron wall decorations that are black, but I have considered painting. The floor in the dining room is hard wood. The trim in the room is dark wood, just plain boards. Any thoughts? I'm sort of stuck here.

I think I should be more specific, I want to paint the parts of the walls that are not covered in wood...there are not many, but for example in my dining room, there is one large wall which frames a door, and is horizontal wood pannels. But the other three walls are plaster, covered in ugly wall paper. I just want to paint those walls and keep the wood as is, only cleaned up a bit. But what color? That's my question.

Answer 1

Choose A light neutral color (not white) for your walls ,paint out all the wood in the house except for the wood floors and if the wood trim is of A high quality refinish it to match the floors,if not paint it A lighter contrasting color to the wall color.
If the wood wall panels have very pronounced grooves you could fill them with wood filler prior to painting although this is very time consuming.
As for the dining room /entry In A home this size could there be another room or space adjacent to the kitchen that could become the new dining area? there by freeing the room by the front door to become an "entry hall" of sorts , A place to welcome guests . furnish with A hall tree with mirror for coats and hats, round table with flowers, possibly A small seatee.
After you paint you will see your house in A different light ,thumb through some decorating sites or magazines see what style sparks your heart from there you should be able to pull it all together

Answer 2

Wood cabinets. Perhaps a good cleaning may lighten them plus add decorative knobs/handles to liven up the cabinets.
Wood floors. A cheery area rug.
Wood wall panels - - not sure what kind nor how much you have. Perhaps a gold strip in an occassional groove every 6".
Paint walls light shade: peach, mint green, etc...
Being of a 'rustic' nature, you may consider a narrow wallpaper border toward top of wall that would tie colors together (perhaps with small red flowers).
Ceiling if already a white shade, maybe hand paint very few green vines (varied greens) to add interest.
Room to room opening. may add draw back curtains.

Answer 3

One naturally hates to replace or paint over wood. Wood is beautiful and good wood is in short supply in newer homes. On the other hand, it sounds like your wood is very dark and causing your enjoyment of your new home to not be what it could. Have you tried cleaning the wood? Sometimes years of grim will build up making the wood so dark. If cleaning will lighten it, then you could recondition it with some good furniture polish. If that doesn't do it, you could consider having it bleached. Another option, possibly the easiest other than paint per se, is to use a light glaze wash over the wood walls. That will lighten it a lot but you'll still have that lovely grain, texture, and even warmth that is uniquely wood.

Answer 4

Try light and bright shades to open up the house.
What colors are already in the dining room? [ that you do like ]
Consider:
dusty rose
peach or coral
custard or lemon yellow
mint, sage, or light grass green
aqua, powder, or sky blue
lavender
ivory
Then add:
a] lace, eyelet, or light sheers that match wall color [ light and breezy ] with neutral shades [ ivory ]
b] a beautiful [ scotch-guarded ] rug, with some of wall color in it - flowered, geometric, or oriental
c] make the painted wall the art focus - a trio of paintings, collections of family photos, collages of vacations.
ALSO: I like to keep a color flow going - if you use same paint in living room and dining room, and same curtains or floor color as kitchen, the color progresses thru the house.
No need to do this in bedrooms - they are private space, not 'public'.
Pick your favorite colors for rooms you spend the most time in: bedroom, kitchen, office.
Get a favorite color choices from spouse, too [ example : I love yellow, my husb. likes blue, and we both like green, so that's what we used for our house.]
Pick one metal you both like - either brass or chrome - for frames, mirrors, etc., so they can be moved around.
Add a plant or flower arrangement in each room, as well as at least some art work.
All walls should have something decorative if no window or door on them.
Candles are also nice in most rooms -and come in handy when lights are out.

Answer 5

Yeah thats pretty funny

Answer 6

it does sound very dark gloomy. light light and more light, and i talking about colors and electric lights