A couple of weeks into the demolition we started choosing paint colors for the first floor rooms. A bit premature? A little -- we won't have new walls until at least January 2009. So why now? Demolition, like most other aspects of home renovation, isn't especially fun. Yes, taking a sledge hammer to a room can unleash your inner savage, but by the fourth or fifth room you get tired of it. We would take breaks and turn our attention to a much more enjoyable aspect of the process -- color. These diversions made the whole process more tolerable.
The architecture and personality of the house really directed us in choosing the colors for the house -- as did our own style. We most appreciate a mix of historical and modern in a pared down, curated way. The house has a dark and somewhat somber feel to it, especially in the front rooms with their all-day shade. Keeping this in mind, we were drawn to warmer colors for the larger rooms and will balance this with shots of color and pattern in unexpected places -- such as overscale wallpaper in the Powder Room and brighter hues for the inside of some cupboards.
We turned to Farrow & Ball as they really are the finest paints available. (Our trade discount doesn't hurt either as a gallon is around $75 at full retail price. Even if you don't want to buy their paints, then at least check out their colors and books for great inspiration.) We tested all our options on various walls and surfaces (don't forget trim) in each room to see how they work with various light situations...a must!
Not finalized, but we are leaning toward the following combinations:
FRONT HALL/STAIRWELL -- Light Grey
- All trim and walls will be painted in one color here, running from the front hall, up the stairs, and into the second floor hall.
LIVING ROOM -- Joa's White / White Tie /Dimity /Bunting
- This room was inspired by a David Hicks interior in Ireland. It will have one color on the main part of the walls; another on the crown and base mouldings, another on the applied "picture frame" mouldings, and another on the inset panels within the picture frame mouldings. We chose to add these mouldings in these rooms to differentiate the walls from the other rooms and add a slight formality, while keeping everything in shades of white to keep it from getting too stuffy and add warmth.
DINING ROOM -- Card Room Green
- In contrast to the Living Room, this room will get only crown, base, and chair rail mouldings. Everything will be monochromatic in one color.
