# Need help decorating the front room



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

Photo Gallery Wall Idea (Wall C or D)


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Could you do a quick floorplan? It is a little hard to follow you. Having one will help you arrange furniture (it is so much easier to try a sofa in different locations with mouse clicks than for real!), buy flooring/rugs etc. Let us know what colors you have that will not change---flooring and woodwork for examples? Please show flow into other rooms and talk a bit about their color schemes too. 

What time of day are you most likely to be using the room. Since you said you seldom use it, what purpose will it serve? If you liked it better would you use it more?

I use Sweet Home 3D for floorplans. It is free, open source, multi-platform software with a low learning curve. A scaled sketch will work too.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

Sorry about that, I had a floor plan in my original post but I have no idea what happened to it.  

All the trim in the room (baseboards, chair rail, crown, window/door casing) is currently white. The floors are oak parquet and will be changed at a later date - we are looking into 5" hardwood planks that are hand rubbed. There isn't a specific time of day that the room will be used. I'm mostly updating it since it is the first room we enter when we walk in the front door and right now it's a hot mess. It's a blank slate since there isn't any furniture in the room now that we are keeping.


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Just a couple of stark contrasting approaches as discussion points to get us started. I don't know your taste in furnishings and how formal or casual you are. I am still not clear how you plan to use this front room if for anything but show.

Anyhow, I played with the free color visualizer from Benjamin Moore and came up with two color combinations for your reaction in general terms. You have lots of light in that room (and you could augment it at night with some nice firefly type track lighting) so you could go with fairly rich hues.

In any event picture the wall color with the photos on it in the sample photo as your hall wall beyond the space. I think the colors would transition to your coastal cottage soft blue hues (I am guessing) elsewhere? The darker colors may be too formal for you but you mentioned lots of molding which sort of adds formality?

I think these colors would go nicely with parquet or your future flooring. You might look into large plank bamboo as the good stuff comes in just about any color you could want. 

As for the one long wall? Many of my clients were art galleries so I could certainly find you a dramatic piece for a 20' wall but plan on spending $$$$ on something that is special enough for that much space. I think you might be better off with an arrangement of smaller pieces. Or a tryptych or something?

A nice wallpaper might be nice for this room too? Again, something tasteful. But I encroach on territory better served by an interior designer.

I only do color and have had many as clients. I do not get into buying furnishings, fabrics and all that but they do and can provide you with access to things you cannot get off the floor at retail places. Most work mainly on commission they get on things they buy for you and they can get them cheaper. Think about working with one? I think you would enjoy the experience too. I have always benefited from those who have worked for me or for clients. Some retail places may have a few on hand or a list. Ask around. The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has a list of members in your area I am sure. 

Oh well. Let me know if I am anywhere near on the same page with what you have in mind in terms of color. I am happy to spend some time sharing possibilities in that regard. The visualizer is fun to play with by the way and one color exploration tool I use a lot. I have also posted how to grab pixels from any color scheme you like and translate to paint colors if you search other posts of mine. I should post the routine to a permanent section here.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

This is the couch I plan to get for this room, it will be placed on the long wall (Wall B) with a stripped rug and two wicker chairs in front of the windows. Pretty casual. 












Here is a link to my pinterest board where I've been posting ideas for this room, it might give you an idea of the feel that I'm going for. For the long wall, I'd love to do a picture gallery but would it look to 'busy' since the adjacent wall (Wall A) will be ceiling to floor shelves? The shelves will hold various knick-knacks and photos of family, and I wasn't sure how a grouping of prints would look on the long wall. http://pinterest.com/kimmersvb/living-room/

I love the Cinnamon Slate color but I'm not sure if it would work with the coastal blues/greens that I like. Hm.

And you are right that this room will be just for show. Our future plans include a kitchen remodel where Wall B would be coming down, which will create an open floor plan in the living room/kitchen area. But that is many years away - if we ever get to it.


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Your printerest file was really helpful and I will play some more with color flow later today as the morning demands attention elsewhere.

Meanwhile I will post my procedure for converting a color screen pixel to four of the nearest paint chips (and some ink and fabric dyes) of major manufacturers. This may be helpful to you as you explore paint color.

1. Make sure your monitor is set to the industry standard for talking about color which is 6500K. You will find an automatic display profile setting for this in the settings menu. 

2. Load a pixel grabber. There are lots of free options. I use the one in Color Impact, a color exploration tool I use a lot but it cost $40-50 for a license (think it has a free trial period though). I also really like the pixel grabber part of PicPick which is a freeware program. Just be careful loading it as it tries to get you to load a bunch of bloatware you really do not want and that has nothing to do with its functionality or purpose. 

3. Load an image you want to use to grab pixel color.

4. Load the pixel grabber and roll your cursor around the image until you hit a pixel with the color you want to capture. Click to capture the pixel color code. You will have options but what you want is the RGB code or the HTML code. I am just in the habit of working with RGB but up to you. 

5. Go to www.easyrgb.com---a free web service. Use the onboard, one-time monitor calibrator to tweak your monitor. This only takes a minute and if you set it already to 6500K you should be close. 

6. In easyrgb.com select "from RGB to commercial tint" (tab on top of page). Enter the color code you captured. Pick a major paint company color collection (Benjamin Moore Color Preview Collection, for example). Hit start.

7. The system will display the four closest matches to your color code with their color names and chip numbers. 

You can use this information to plug the colors into a virtual painting program like that for Benjamin Moore that I used. Sherwin Williams has one also. With such programs you can either pick a pre-masked room similiar to yours to paint or you can upload actual photos of your room, spend a bit of time masking different paint areas with easy to use tools, and paint your own room.

You can also use the paint codes the easyrgb.com at the paint store as a starting point to gather actual paint chips, sample bottles, or to have a sample quart mixed before you commit to gallons of paint. People like me and some paint stores can order you free giant swatches you can staple to the wall to try out as well. 

Note that easyrgb does not have box store brands. But you really were going to use real paint store paint anyhow right?

If you have an accurate color calibrated printer? You can also use the code you grabbed with the pixel grabber to print out a large color swatch on photo paper. Just make a square in a free program like DRAW (in OpenOffice) or paint.net and fill it with the color code. Then, if you like it after looking at it stapled to the wall for a time you can take it to a paint store with a color scanner and they will convert it to a custom paint formula for you.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

Thank you for the suggestions on playing with paint. I'll have to take pictures of our space so I can get a better idea of how it will look with different colors. This will be my 4th time painting this room and I'm over it.  I might go with something neutral for the main wall color and use color behind the bookshelves (Wall A) and on the accent wall (Wall D)...but I'm not completely sold either way. 

Light is an issue so bold/dark colors may not be an option. Although there are two windows in the room, there is a covered porch on the other side of them that blocks natural sunlight. I have sheers on the windows now for privacy, but even those make the room seem dark.


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

So, with your additional input I took two images from your file that really jumped out at me with possibilities depending on how much color you want to introduce. See attached the source images I picked and color saturation and value explorations of the pallettes I abstracted from them. 

Personally I though the pallettes labeled blue gray offered a special richness or something and some subtle rich grays against which photographs and things would really stand out. So, I made you a blend and added some color "noise" to show you other hues you might add. The blend is a straight line between the start and end colors on the top of the value and saturation explorations. Of course any in the blend could be intensified to be brighter or stronger if you wanted and kept the practice to small bursts of color. 

I also thought natural upholstery colors, whitewashed or lime waxed floors and cabinets, driftwood table bases would look spectacular and you could add just about any temperature of lighting and not shift the color scheme much.

All that said, it is more subtle than what I called beach tints. It could be fun to try the beach tint colors in individual rooms but getting the color to flow through all the spaces might turn a bit loud?

Obviously my prior suggestions did not fit your additional input so scrap them! Use my method to grab any pixels in these charts or the blend (I used the free one part of PicPick for these) and convert to paint codes you can plug into the virtual paint programs via easyrgb. The explorations were all done in Color Impact if you want to try and play with it.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

Thank you! Sorry it took so long for me to get back here, my daugther is changing rooms and I've been busy clearing out 4 years of junk and painting. 

I love the blue/gray color palette, and from what I see on the bottom scheme, those colors will look great with green/teal. Subtle is good...I can bring in bold colors through the accessories that are going on the built ins, pillows, etc. I've realized over the past few days how much I really loathe painting...but love the end result. 

We have a framed canvas harbor scene that was painted by my grandfather-in-law that has similar colors to the blue/gray palette - I might try to talk DH into letting me hang it in the front room. It's a pretty large piece so I think it would go great on the long wall. It's hanging in our den right now and I'd completely overlooked it until you posted those colors.


----------



## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

In looking at the blend I did for you myself over the last days, I am really liking the possibilities too. As you say, you can intensify any of the hues in the blend or the other examples I gave you. I think working with it will give you nice color flow through the house if you want to carry it that far.

Are you comfortable with my method for converting the color of screen pixels to paint names and numbers via easyrgb.com? I hope I explained it in a manner easy to follow.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

We have very similar color schemes throughout our house. The kitchen is still a work in progress, but we painted the cabinets a light tan color and the walls are similar to the middle top color in the second color palette in the beach tints you posted. The den is done in muted colors (sage and beige) and has a nautical theme. The furniture in this room has been replaced since this picture was taken, but above the couch is the canvas I mentioned earlier.

I haven't had a chance to play around with the paint visualizers yet but I'll try to over the weekend. If the weather ever decides it wants to clear up we're going to start prepping the exterior of the house for paint. I only have a two-week break from school and we've scheduled a million projects to do. Too bad I didn't have a two-week vacation from work too, I'd get much more done.


----------



## Albert123 (May 8, 2013)

You can use the color of white and baby pink. It will surely add to the elegance of your home.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

Albert123 said:


> You can use the color of white and baby pink. It will surely add to the elegance of your home.


BRILLIANT idea! Baby pink would definitely go with the other rooms of the house too. I never would have thought of that. :laughing:


----------



## timkitchen (Apr 12, 2013)

There are many accessories available in a market which can help you to give complete coastal cottage look to your front room. You may use pleated fabric shades on your windows to give them perfect look. You may select various types of shelves like, modern shelves and store shelves for your wall and can also use small size picture frames on wall. If you are more confused with your wall and whole room interior design, you may simply hire a professional interior decorator to get catchy look for your front room.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

Yay...I'm finally ready to tackle this room! Below is a picture of the furniture that I envision for the room - I've already purchased the curtain panels/sheers/beads and my brother is making me the coffee table. He is also doing my built-in's across the back wall (Wall A from my previous post about the layout of the room). The bookshelves pictured are only for reference as to how they will look (all white with white beadboard backing). The wall color pictured is more of a light tan, and I still haven't chosen an accent color.

I'd like to do an accent wall (or two) but I'm having trouble deciding which wall. My first thought is above the built-ins. There will be a lot of white on this wall because of the shelves. Another idea is the wall of the windows because there isn't a lot of opportunity to bring in color there. Or I can do both walls. 

I want to keep the main focal wall (behind the couch, first wall you see when you enter the room) in the neutral color since most of my artwork will have the teals/blues/greens incorporated in it. I don't want it competing with a bright wall.

So, am I on the right track or would it look strange to have the non-focal wall(s) as accents? 









ETA: Here's the floor plan...


----------



## alexjoe (Jun 10, 2013)

Room should be settled according to the space of room and your choice of decoration, the way you want.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

I painted it like I posted. It looks really nice and will be even better once the built-ins are done and installed. Crown went up today and I'm going caulk/touch up paint over the weekend. I decided to go ahead and put in new flooring as well. We have old 1960's parquet and being on a slab they like to pop up in the summer. It's past due for a change so we are doing 5' hand scraped engineered wood. We might get it installed next week after I get all the crown done.


----------



## DIYHomefit (Aug 28, 2013)

Where are you getting the bookshelves from? I'm trying to find a similar one to yours, but without the showcase part.

And nearly forgot to ask, how's the room decorating going? Looks like the others got there before me with the ideas lol. But hope you get the cottage look you wanted!


----------



## alexjoe (Jun 10, 2013)

I agree with this guy.


----------



## DIYHomefit (Aug 28, 2013)

@alexjoe haha great to someone's on the same page as me. The cottage look seems to be making a comeback, I personally feel it's home-ier (not even a word) looking than other styles.

@kimberland30 The art comes into blending neutral tones, without making the whole room look washed out. Also, since sheer curtains can look dangerously bear, have you thought about curtain tie backs? I know that most curtains will have them included but ones like these [pictured below] can create a more dramatic look.










Hope you post the pictures soon, I love seeing a finished DIY project!


----------



## henrylarry6 (Nov 2, 2012)

You have some great ideas! I would also look at Brewster Home Fashions to figure out how to execute them. They have a ton of options for wallpaper, wall murals, and wall coverings. Plus they have a really helpful "How To" section. I use them every time my son's room needs an update.


----------



## classyhome (Dec 4, 2013)

what about this 
*Prelude - Champagne Living Room Set*


----------



## alexjoe (Jun 10, 2013)

Give the preference of your own choice colour scheme that will give you inner satisfaction.


----------



## surfboards123 (Feb 13, 2014)

For front room decorations there are many things you can try like 
1. You can use beautiful pictures of nature, or family photographs.
2. Also you can do decoration by making a fireplace as fireplace is the place for cozy conversations.
3. You can also do it by putting different stunning table decorations.
:thumbsup:


----------



## Lizzy21 (Feb 26, 2014)

I love the colors and furniture you are selecting. I can't wait to see the finished project. With seaside there are a lot of simple DIY projects that can help to personalize the space. Like using shells you have collected in a frame, in a lamp, or other accessory.


----------



## kimberland30 (Jan 22, 2008)

I've uploaded the finished room under "Project Showcase"


----------

