Sheri’s Design Dilemma
When we heard that Sheri needed some serious color assistance for her open living and eating area, we couldn’t wait to spring into action. Here’s her letter:
LOVE your site, and really appreciate the inspiration. We need help with a color scheme for the living room/kitchen area. It’s very open- you can essentially see everything when you walk in the front door. I love bright colors like a gray-green or turquoise, but I’m not sure how that would fit in. The color has to work with the current couches for now, but be flexible enough to accommodate new seating next year. In the living room, we’d also like to paint the 1970s brick. I think the room’s too crowded, so removing things is an option. In the dining space, we want to keep the table and chairs but possibly replace the chandelier. And we’re planning to add a tile backsplash in the kitchen but need help choosing a tile color. The pendant lights & ceiling fan must stay but anything else is up for grabs. Oh and we like a casual and modern look- we shop a lot at Crate & Barrel. Thanks so much for your help! -Sheri
So without further ado, our fresh and colorful mood board to keep everything in their open space cheerful and cohesive.
Here’s the mood board breakdown.
1. Our color palette is a range of happy blues, from the navy that we see in the existing couches to a punchy aqua color that we’ll bring in as an accent. The pale blue-green tone would look great on the walls of the entire space (try Glidden’s Gentle Tide). Since it’s all one big open area, it makes sense to coat each wall in the same hue and layer in some brighter accents after everything looks cohesive. Sheri will be amazed how big it’ll look when there aren’t different colors breaking up each area, and unifying the space will allow us to be more bold and playful with accessories. As for painting the brick fireplace, we think it will look fab in crisp white, and we also think the back door in the kitchen would look really fun in a bright turquoise color (try Glidden’s Tropical Tides). Of course the brown in the palette represents the deep wood tones, and we have an idea to work the lighter dining furniture in with the darker tones in the living area so stay tuned…
2. Sheri’s counter is actually a few inches higher than average, which makes stool-searching quite tricky. She actually found this stool herself and liked the industrial edge that it brought to the space (along with the price) and we agree that a few of them would look great lined up at the island. And if she’s feeling really daring, painting the front of the island the same bright turquoise color that we suggested for the kitchen’s back door (Glidden’s Tropical Tides) would create a truly stunning background for those cool industrial stools.
3. We thought this classic faux candle chandelier by West Elm would look pretty above the dining table (and the polished nickel will tie in with all the existing fixtures in the kitchen that Sheri wants to keep). We also fell in love with the cutest little burst of sunshine in the form of a yellow pendant lamp, so we thought we’d throw that out there as a brighter and bolder option (the yellow would look fab with all the aqua accents that we’re bringing in). Which one do you guys prefer?
4. This is an existing piece that Sheri already has in her living room to the right of the fireplace. She’d like it to stay (and so would we!) but she asked that we edit a few of the other pieces in that room for a less crowded feeling. We would suggest getting rid of the papasan chair on the left and throwing down a light area rug (maybe a white flokati or a shag for some comfy cozy texture- even a pale jute rug would do the trick) to keep the space feeling open and airy.
5. Initially Sheri might feel confused by my pale blue-green wall color suggestion with those navy couches, but the wall color is almost a neutral if you can believe it (especially once it’s on every wall) and since the lighter wall color is in the same color family as the deeper navy, they’ll actually work quite well together. This discounted blue-green throw pillow will tie everything together on the navy sofa, especially when paired with a striped pillow (for under ten bucks!) with some darker brown tones along with the pale blue color. And of course this color palette will accommodate a new couch down the line, and the current couch can even be slipcovered in white or tan to completely update the space and open things up even more.
6. We think that the deep wood tones of Sheri’s tv cabinet and leaning shelf (see #4) might look mismatched right next to her lighter wood dining table and chairs, so we thought introducing the deep brown tone in the form of a chocolate table runner will keep things feeling balanced and make the different wood tones appear more related. For extra credit, we’d also suggest reupholstering the seat cushions in brown velvet to really tie the two spaces together (if you can wrap a present you can upholster a chair- honestly, it takes like five minutes). Sheri can even pick up a pair of brown velvet curtains which would supply enough fabric to recover all four chairs.
7. Moving on to the kitchen, we thought this fun turquoise colander would look adorable if Sheri used it as a fruit bowl for a playful punch of color (and a place to put her produce).
8. Get ready for the ultimate dose of cheerful color that Sheri’s craving. Her backsplash is just the place for a statement (especially since it’s not visible from the door- you have to round the corner to see it) so it’s great to surprise people and draw them into the furthest area in the space with a bold dash of style in the form of ethereal blue-green glass subway tiles. The shape of the subway tile is timeless and the dreamy glass texture of these will provide the bang that her white kitchen needs to make it the most fabulous feature wall in her home.
9. The icing on the cake that is this makeover is definitely these dreamy Ikea curtains that will finish off the space the minute they’re hung in both the living and the dining area to create balance and add another hit of happy color.
There it is… Sheri’s aqua oasis. What do you guys think? Do you like the yellow light fixture better than the chandelier in the mood board? Any other ideas to throw into the mix? Do tell. And if you’re in the market for a custom mood board of your own, click here to get the ball rolling.
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Comments
I vote the yellow fixture. It’s too much fun and a bit retro. The new colors and pieces sound fun. I love the idea of the door and the island painted the punchy turquoise.
Was keeping the dining table as it is a constraint, or just keeping the table in general? I think a white painted dining table would look fabulous, light and airy with those light aqua walls, and would offer a lot of possibilities for mixing and matching table runners, seat cushions, and adding extra punches of color when Sheri feels like a change. I vote for the West Elm chandelier for the table as it is now, but think the yellow would be fab over a white dining table with that white kitchen in the background.
I prefer the faux candle chandelier; I love that it brings a warm wood element to the eating area. I agree with Emily that the yellow pendant would work better with a different dining table, but I think a warm wood would work better here than a white. I think white would work if the kitchen and dining area were more separated from the living area, but as it is, I think some sort of warm wood is needed to help balance the spaces. The runner certainly will do this, but I just love the wood grains and soft glow the candle chandelier will add! I also love the colander turned fruit bowl. Great color, and subtle fun, quirky touch.
Hi Sherry,
My husband Paul and I BOTH love it – which is even better than just me loving it! In fact we went out last night to buy a quart of Gentle Tide. It looks great on the walls, so there’s step one. :) Quick question, actually: the front entrance and hallway are part of the same space, so it seems we should use the same color there as well to maintain that open feeling?
I’ll be sure to send pix. Thanks again!
Sheri
Wheeee! So glad you AND your husband love it! And we can’t believe how ambitious you are to have already gotten some paint on the walls. You’re a girl after our own heart.
As for your front hallway, we definitely agree that you should go with the Gentle Tide there too. It’ll keep everything open just as you suspected.
Can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
xoxo,
Sherry
Sherry and John,
I know you guys love the look of a white painted fireplace, and I do, too. But how do you feel about painting it darker or lighter than the wall color? I was perusing some pics on Desire to Inspire, and this one got me wondering what it would look like if a fireplace were painted that color with a slightly lighter or darker color on the walls. Do you lean mostly toward white because it just looks crisp and fresh?
Hey Kelli,
Good question. It’s total personal preference, but we do lean towards white because white bricks always look crisp and clean without feeling as much like “painted brick”- while colored brick can often call a lot of attention to the fact that you’ve painted brick. And of course there’s the fact that a color might be less timeless/more dated than white so you might have to repaint in later years if you change your accent color, etc.
That being said, I adore adore adore a deep chocolate color on a brick fireplace (I saw Thom Felicia do this once and I’ve forever been obsessed with the idea). Of course our small house doesn’t have the light or the high ceilings to accommodate it, but we’re always looking for the perfect design dilemma to come along so that we can suggest it. It really looked rich and fabulous. Mmmm. And I also really like the gray-green look of the brick that you linked to, but I worry that over time someone might wish they added that color in more easily changed accessories as opposed to on the brick (which is quite labor intensive to repaint due to all the cracks between each brick). Hope that helps!
xoxo,
Sherry (& John)
I love your colour choices, I think they’ll work great. Also, painting the brick fireplace white will help to visually unclutter the room.