Design Question

My husband and I just purchased our first home and we would like to change the color of the walls to match our floors and furniture. Right now the colors of the walls are white. We like earth colors but we can’t decide what colors to choose.

The first floor has three areas. First the den; we will convert it into an office and are going to close the den with glass doors. The furniture that I have for the office is a black leather chair and a glass and black desk. I would like to keep the vertical blinds.

The second area is the living room, is a big rectangular space and I would like to have suggestions of how to set the furniture. Right now as you can see on the pictures there is a big empty space between the TV and the couches. That’s why I placed a rug in the place so it doesn’t look so empty. I’m also planning to hire an electrician to change the lighting in the living room. I want to install two chandeliers in the living room; one by where the TV is and the other one in the center of the furniture area. So I need suggestions for the lamps too.

And the third and last area is the dining room. Here I only want to change the lamp and color of the walls.

We would like to keep the same furniture but within a few months we are going to buy a new dining room set, which I also would like to get your opinion about what kind of furniture I should buy. Please give me your ideas about the colors and some decoration items. We want to buy plants or pictures to decorate it. Thank you

Design Answer

Congratulations on the purchase of your new home! This must me an exciting time for you.

Since the space is open – you enter through the door and are immediately in the living room – you will want to choose a color that is warm and inviting. Earth tones, depending on the color family they are from, can be “cool.” I would definitely choose warm earth tones for this space. The floors are beautiful and deserve to be shown off. I would also take this opportunity to bring color into the room; not too much but just enough to give your living space some punch. Because you intend on enclosing the den/office area, you could choose two colors, one for the office and another for the living room/dining room. However, since the furniture you have selected is neutral (black leather office chair and black desk), you could very easily use one color for all three areas of the first floor. Just to give you some idea of your color choices, these shades are from Benjamin Moore.

The problem with the second area of your living space, the living room, is that currently it has no real focal point. The eye wanders around the room. I can see why you have arranged the furniture the way you have, because the shape of the room doesn’t give you many options. You will have to take measurements to see if this will since it is hard to judge distances from a picture.

If it will fit while still allowing you access to the home office, I would place the sofa in front of the glass doors and toward the center of the living room. Then I would move the loveseat to the wall where the sofa is now. This will make the television a focal point. Having the shorter sofa against the wall will allow you to add an end table or a floor lamp. I would select lamps that match or complement the chandeliers that you plan on adding to the living room. The shades of the lamps should reflect the color palette you have chosen for the walls.

You mentioned that you will be purchasing a new dining set in the next couple of months. Since you didn’t specify, I am assuming that you are not replacing the china cabinet. If this is the case, then I would select a dining set that either matches the china cabinet in style or in color.

Since the china cabinet is predominately traditional, I would suggest either a traditional or transitional dining table and dining chairs. Something like the Tradewins French Classics Dining Table with Two 18″ Leaves, which is transitional, would work with your china cabinet.

Plants are always a great choice when accessorizing a room. House plants typically improve air quality and they also add “life” and color, especially they are flowering plants. Pictures should have some meaning for you personally and be in keeping with the spirit of the room. For example, abstract artwork in this particular living space would not be as effective as a landscape picture or painting.

Thanks for writing in. Stay tuned next Monday when we tackle another interior design question. Keep sending me those emails and don’t forget to include pictures if you can.

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