Post # 1
Member
1338 posts
Bumble bee
Hello Bees! I should introduce myself – I was married this past May and just honeymooned in October. During my engagement I browsed the wedding related section of the site, mostly looking through the recaps because it was assuring and comforting to hear from happy & beaming recent brides during my own stressful planning phase.
Now that the wedding/honeymoon/new home dust has settled it’s time to start decorating our house! We are painting now and pulling up carpet to refinish oak floors in the spring. I need to choose paint color(s) for our modest sized family & dining rooms. I’m struggling with the cool/shadowy northern exposure light we have in our living room. Hubs wants it to be in the whites, but that would take some skill to get right in this lighting. I would love to know what other bees have done in their north facing living rooms! We have don’t have much that we must consider other than lighting. We do not have a tiled fireplace or any built ins or anything really that we must consider. Our sectional sofa is a medium-dark woven grey. Our TV console is http://www.crateandbarrel.com/marin-43-media-console/s625861. Other furniture will be replaced as we go.
I keep being drawn to shades of navy/teal/forrest green, brow/beige/grey. Here are some pics I saved a while back http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-collection/color-forecast/2014/curiosity/ and this http://settlingwest.com/?p=5041
Please share your north facing rooms and/or suggestions! Thanks 🙂
Post # 2
Member
46965 posts
Honey Beekeeper
lim3: Can you post a pic of the shade your oak floors will be? They can range from a yellow undertone, to red , brown or black.
I think you can choose a wide range of colors and shades of those colors. You can create whatever lighting you want with layers of lighting in the room- overhead, wall sconces, table lamps etc.
You will want to have the lighting plan in place before you choose your colors. Then, get small sample pots and paint 3×3′ squares on several walls in the room to see how the color appears in your room with your lighting.
Post # 3
Member
496 posts
Helper bee
lim3: Our living room is north facing and is quite small and dark. We currently have dark wooden effect laminate down, but we’re carpeting in a few weeks.
We painted it with Farrow and Ball’s ‘Joa’s White’, we also put it through the dining room and stairs/landing – rich cream but can be white, caramel, green depending on the lighing.
Our spare bedroom is north facing too and even darker. We used Farrow and Ball’s ‘Dimity’ for that – really beautiful neutral white/cream colour.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by RhianfaHW.
Post # 4
Member
1338 posts
Bumble bee
julies1949: The wood floors were already refinished in the dining room when we bought the house, they are quite yellow – orangey-golden in fact. I had thought we would just finish the living room in the same color to keep the project simpler. But since then we decided to keep the same wood going through the kitchen. There is a seam between the d.room & kitchen though so it will depend on if they can cut that seam out & blend the floors together in a seamless look on whether we keep with the warm golden tone throughout. If we have to redo the dining room & we can go with any shade we want then I would like something a little bit ashier. Not anything dark, or red.
lighting is another variable! Right now the family room is COVERED in recessed lights, it’s the weirdest thing. We plan to get rid of them when we paint. i am considering hanging one ceiling lamp. Otherwise the lighting will be floor & table lamps. I’m not feeling sconces in this room.
After talking with husband more, he really wants a shade of white. So maybe I need to find the right white & just do one accent wall in color. This would be much simpler if it were only up to me!
Post # 5
Member
450 posts
Helper bee
What about a really light shade of grey? You could warm that up or keep it cool depending on the undertone? If you go to the Behr website you can pretend paint rooms with colors you choose and get an idea of what the colors will look like on. That’s what I did. Good luck with decorating! It gets to be a little overwhelming.
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