Phaythe ([info]a_darker_shade) wrote in [info]ourapartments,
@ 2008-07-18 14:55:00
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Entry tags:advice, apartment, bedroom, paint colors, pictures

Color question!

My two roommates are moving out, and my boyfriend and another person are moving in. I'm moving from my current room into another room, and want to paint.

The room I'm moving into is a deep blue.

My room now is a pale green that I love and want to keep.

But here's my question...


I kinda want to keep one wall blue as an accent wall. The thing is, this room is one of the most bizarre shapes I've ever seen, so I'm not really sure whether it would look good or just silly.

This is the layout of the room (a la Photoshop):

The building is three apartments in a big old victorian-era house, so there's all kinds of funky fireplace details, as well as HUGE! windows. The windows are 73" tall by about 32" wide. Don't even ask me how I'm going to afford blinds for THREE of those bad boys (plus TWO MORE of the same size in the bathroom!)

The two walls I was thinking of leaving blue are the one on the "fireplace" wall (not actually a fireplace anymore, but used to be), or the wall back in the kind of alcove-space between the door to the hallway and the closet.

I worry about the second option because I feel like it might make that area recede even farther and feel kinda cave-ish.

Here's the color the room is now:

Ignore roommate's stuff still sitting around plz, and excuse graininess - I took this without flash to try and capture the color better.

Here's a more or less accurate representation of the color my room is now (it doesn't photograph terribly well):


I like these colors together, and here's a quick Photoshop mockup that my boyfriend did of how the "fireplace" wall would look in blue, with the room green:


So I guess the question is, with such a strangely-shaped room, would having an accent wall like that look weird? There's so many little bits of wall everywhere that it feels like there's a million surfaces, so I worry a little about whether it would make it look chaotic.

Thoughts?




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[info]teknikolour
2008-07-18 07:58 pm UTC (link)
i'm sorry, but i think that particular blue looks out of place. but it could just be the mockup, it looks like he put in a starburst or whatever and that's throwing me off.

green's my favorite color, and i don't really like blue against it. but i'm all for change :)

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:44 am UTC (link)
Yeah. The blue is a little deeper/more saturated than it looks like in the picture, but as I've said to some other commenters, the more I look at it, the more I feel like the colors won't quite go together. So I think I'll do it all in the green that my current room's in, hahaha.

I'm not terribly adventurous with paint, lol, I found a color that I really like and I'm stickin' with it. x)

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[info]_ravengirl
2008-07-18 08:11 pm UTC (link)
Hmmm. at first I was going to say paint the fireplace wall (like that whole wall across) but I'm not a huuuge fan of JUST the mantel being painted, or the wall being painted from looking at the one mock-up image you posted.... I think I might change my mind if it was a different blue though... like just a slightly lighter blue or maybe a more blue/green. Also of course it will look better with pictures/shelves up and decoration (esp if you have a green/blue theme running without).

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:46 am UTC (link)
Yeah, the blue that it is won't really go with the green... but I'm a liiiiittle too lazy to find a good blue that does, and then to do MORE painting... I think I might've done it if I could've just left a wall the blue it is, but if it requires buying TWO cans of paint, that's just more effort than I can make myself put into it. Painting's a bitch enough as is, hahaha. Thanks for your input! :)

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[info]helenatroy
2008-07-18 11:21 pm UTC (link)
I go with one color

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:46 am UTC (link)
Yep - that's how I'm leaning now. Thanks for your input! :)

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[info]lunasebg
2008-07-18 11:45 pm UTC (link)
I would either go with all one color, or do a paler shade as someone else mentioned. With the color that it is now against the pale green, it looks kind of surreal, like the fireplace is jumoing out at you, which I'm not sure is what you're going for. I'm jealous of the room though!

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:43 am UTC (link)
Yeahhhh... I've been looking at it, and the more I do, the more I feel like you're exactly right - the fireplace would kind leap out if it's in that blue. And I don't really want that, hahaha... that would only make those walls seem more hectic! If anything, I want them to fade together and look more like a squarish room so it's not so... crazy. x)

It's a really cool room! All gigantic windows and huge white historic trim, plus that cool fireplace... I'll be posting pics of it once it's painted/moved into! ^_^

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[info]hrabak
2008-07-19 03:20 am UTC (link)
If the green is has a lime tinge and is brighter than it looks in the 3rd picture (more like it looks in the top left corner of the 2nd picture), I think the blue could look OK. I would consider doing something like just a square/rectangle of blue over the fireplace, or over the head of your bed, or on whatever wall you choose--AND put a framed picture of some sort inside it. I've seen photos of this in decorating magazines, and it always looks really good. It seems like it might be a good compromise since you think your wall layout is funky.

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:41 am UTC (link)
It's sort of limey (like I said, it really doesn't photograph well), but the more I look at it and then at the shade of blue that's in there, the more I feel that they won't go together. So I think I'll keep it all one shade of green. Thanks for the idea though - I'm looking forward to picking out something cool to go above the fireplace! :)

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[info]great_dame
2008-07-19 06:02 pm UTC (link)
Instead of the blue I see a light cocoa/beige or lighter/complimentary blue. In my opinion the contrast - all this soft green with a big blast of blue - isn't relaxing.

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:39 am UTC (link)
Yeah. I've been looking at it more, and I think I'm gonna go with all the one shade of green. The blue is too saturated/harsh to go with the green, really.

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[info]honestbee
2008-07-19 10:39 pm UTC (link)
with the odd shape of the room, i would go with a different green color for the accent walls if green is the general color you want. 2 completely different colors just doesn't seem to look right to me.

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:40 am UTC (link)
I agree... I feel like with that many walls/surfaces, it's gonna make it look funky. Thanks!

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[info]onmyradar86
2008-07-19 11:42 pm UTC (link)
i would paint the wall that holds the fireplace (only the part that sticks out) a pale blue instead of the deeper blue that it is now because your pale green doesn't really go with the blue now... considering it is in the pastels family. i like when fireplace walls are painted like that, they often do that on decorating shows. hope that helps!

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[info]rueishness
2008-07-20 02:30 am UTC (link)
I like that idea, definitely!

To the original poster - I'd go with this idea, and either keep the blue, or repaint the whole room in the green that you like (but going with a slightly lighter or darker shade of green for the fireplace area).

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[info]a_darker_shade
2008-07-20 06:38 am UTC (link)
Yeah... the more I look at it, the more I think I'll keep it all one shade of green, hahaha.

Thanks to both of you for the advice! :)

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