"Problem is I'm a light & airy girl at heart, and wonder if the deep colors will feel claustrophobic."

Yes, you will probably get very tired of heavy color everywhere. You have the pumpkin, why not let your one room really rock and go with warm but soft shades in other rooms. Brown is a hard color to live with if you don't adore deep dark colors. My friend Natasha painted all of her house brown. She has very high ceilings and big spaces/good lighting. When I first saw (Behr New Chestnut) on her LR and entry walls, I thought it looked amazing. But every time I came over, I liked it less. It became a little oppressive. She just sold the house, so I don't feel too bad saying this now.

Red

Interesting comments, Red, thanks. I love the chocolate brown rooms in magazines, but living with them is probably a whole 'nother ballgame. Plus, you can never duplicate that great lighting in the magazine pictures (skillfully placed photographer's lights bring out the color & eliminate shadows).

That said, I'm so enjoying the pumpkin/burnt orange in the LR, that I wonder if maybe I need a change after 20 years of light & airy. Maybe we have enough compensating factors that a deep LR/foyer/DR combo won't feel so heavy. I need to spend another three months looking at pictures, LOL!

I have to agree with redbazel. I am in the class of loving dark colours (original started with eggplant as in the first pic)and tried to live with lighter ones(as in the second pic). At first I really liked the opposite change and then a little at a time I started to get uncomfortable to the point of absolutely hating the lighter colours. I had to repaint at once(presently on walls as in the third pic) to finally feel happy and comfortable. I most likely will not use light colours again. It was okay for a change but for me it didn't last long enough. I just find something soothing about dark colours in my home. It could have something to do with all the pine and oak surroundings.

mistyb, that's a very sophisticated color on your wall in the final pic, very nice. What is it?

Hey, mistybear. This is a fabulous use of eggplant, don't you think?:

Wonder how it was tied into the remaining rooms. Rooms are too often shown in isolation in these professional photo shoots.

I have lots of rich dark colors in adjacent rooms. We have lots of large windows and wide cream moldings so I never feel like it is oppressive. Here are the pics...I have the varied terra cottas in the Master Bedroom and the foyer of the MBR and the Master Bath. The kitchen is Thyme and the morning room is Belgian Chocolate. The DR is New Navy. Hope this helps you decide.

kitchen w/ MBR foyer to left:

Dining room :

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Morning room :

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Master Bath ( don't have pic of bedroom but it is darker I can take a pic if you want )

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1/2 bath in back hall:

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awm03-

I'm going to paint our DR-turned-game room that Donald Kauffman color this fall (changing from a deep roasted red pepper color), I absolutely love that shade. The LR, which is adjacent, is BM Pine Grove, a dark and muddy green, the kitchen is F&B Print Room Yellow (I think, in our construction madness my F&B chart is awol, in any event, it's a deep yellow) and the den is BM Bittersweet Chocolate and BM Black mixed in equal proportions. The den has a door on it, the rest are open to each other and what we have so far works for us.

As to the "light and airy", it's not only paint color that gives light and airy, lots of windows, bright prints, pillows and splashes of color can make a room light and airy despite the wall color (IMO of course).

Perhaps it's the brown that's not working for you, the pumpkin color of your LR (which I remember and love) and the brown may be saying "fall" to you, so maybe another color that isn't so emblematic of the fall season; green, purple, deep red or a vibrant blue would work and not give the harvest vibe.

Good luck-

sandyponder

Oooh, trailrunner... Yes, those pictures help a lot. Thanks!

Sandyponder, what Donald Kaufman color? Now you've got me dying of curiousity! May I see a pic of your den? Re the autumn vibe thing, I have a lot of blue & white pottery that tones down the autumn-ness. That's my summer trick. I think it could work across 3 rooms, but not sure.

I just ordered "Mood Indigo: Decorating With Rich, Dark Colors" from Amazon. Maybe there will be some good inspiration pix.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mood Indigo: Decorating With Rich, Dark Colors

Trailrunner, in looking at your pictures again, your house doesn't look overwhelming or heavy. Is that because of the scale or the white millwork, do you suppose?

Yes! The painting was finished just yesterday, I'll show pictures later when the floor guys leave, they're installing the wood flooring and tile right now.

I LOVE the contrast from dark to bright.

Oh great! It's starting to come together for you, isn't it oakleyok! Looking forward to the pix.

awm03-

I think the Donald Kaufman color is #66, that pic is from a recent House Beautiful or Traditional Home, I have it somewhere, will find it and let you know for sure.

Here are the pics of our den (TV room), I first tried Bittersweet Chocolate, but it was too brown, and since I had a whole gallon, decided to, ahh, customize, and added BM Black to make a 50:50 mix. It turned out a sort of compost color, which we like. The trim is C2 Milk Mustache and the floors are white oak oiled with Bush Oil.

I'm going to paint a hutch we have BM Navaho Red, and the TV will sit on that. I have a funky red striped fabric (with apple green, slate blue, pumpkin and yellow fabric for curtains, necessary as this room doubles as our guest room) and the red chair that's in there plus a couch that will hopefully soon be recovered in a wide cream and taupe stripe and that's will be that.

The door to the right is a closet:

This door goes to the "wetroom" bathroom:

sandyponder

Oh sandy I love your home ! I would like to see the wetroom...we have 2 in our home and I always like seeing others. If you have shown it before I am thinking I missed it or old age has set in as I don't remember. The decor you plan sounds wonderful. I hope you will post when it is all finished.

awm: I think the reason that it isn't overwhelming is because we have 12 ft ceilings with very wide moldings and painted the area between the picture mold and the ciling all the same as the moldings so it looks very wide. Also our baseboards are all 12". That plus I don't have a lot of stuff in the house ...not too much furniture and very very little sitting around...almost nothing on tables etc. and then the 6ft x 3 ft windows as well and only lace on them so the light really comes in. I guess that is all. Of course you can see that the entry foyer and the piano room are Belgian Waffle as is the sun room by the kithcen so that is a light contrast. The whole upstairs is also light as is the stairwell. I like the movement from light to dark and back. I think the eye adjusts and accepts it rather than all dark.

I hope you will post when you decide. Would love to see what you come up with. c

sandy, your den room plans sound great. Can't wait to see the finished pix. Love the black/brown, especially with the white woodwork and that wonderful sconce in the first picture.

awm03: The colour used on the wall was obtained from mixing a couple of paints. I liked the colour chosen for the family room but it was a little harsh. I toned it down by adding a little colour from the brown paint bought for the living room. The colour chosen for the living room had too much brown in it and it clashed with the couch. By taking the family room colour and adding the living room colour and a little paint in a lighter version of eggplant used previously, I was able to come up with the final colour. I ended up mixing paints in the same way to get the rest of the colours for the house both inside and out. It is the first time in my years of painting that I have acheived the colour that I could see in my head.

I do love the pic that you posted. I think what makes it so elegant is the white cornice and trim.

These were taken shortly after we moved in, before the trim was installed and doors were added and/or stained. The upper kitchen cabinets hadn't been installed, brackets weren't stained....etc. I could go on, but I'm sure I'd forget something and you can see how much is incompleted anyway. It's all changed so much in the last five plus years, but right now it's my sewing room and I'm not taking new pictures until I get my sewing back from being turned into a storage room until the attic is finished.
I hope they help in some small way. Oh and that funky color in the Gentlemen's parlor you can see in some of the pix was just the base coat for a paint technique.
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Thought of two more sources for inspiration:

Dorothy Draper WWDD?

and Draper's protege & successor Carleton Varney. Love his color combo in this picture:

Sandyponder I have not seen your name before but I LOVE your room. It just screams style and you have great taste I must say. Is your home old? It's really really good looking.

I have a decorator friend (acquaintance) that has almost done her entire house in black and white. It is absolutely gorgeous and was on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living and she gave a tour on HGTV. It does not look dark at all with all of those big gorgeous white windows and big crown molding.

Am I going to look for those magazines they can only be in the one box I never unpacked six years ago. (lol) I would love to show her rooms and they don't look dark at all. When I get home next week I am going to find those mags I would of never thrown them away.

Trailblazer what is the name of your paint color in the dining room? I love that room and it does not look dark. I bet you and hubby have served some yummy meals in that room, huh? I know ya'll like to cook.

Barefoot Contessa (the cook) loves orange and always incoporates it in her rooms. In her Manhattan apartment she had orange velvet drapes made. Sounds ugly but it looks great and when I think of orange I think of her.

Gosh I am talking away and I need to get into the shower, this place is addictive. (lol)

.....Jane

Hey Jane...it is New Navy. It is an old Devoe paint color. It isn't even on their fan deck anymore. My painter knew of it and had used it before and had the paint made for me 7 years ago. They have it in the computer so it is still available.

The colors in the Varney pic are exactly what I have...really looks good :)

I think as mentioned above the White trim makes a big difference. I loved it in my last house.

DR

Guest Room:

I never got to finish the house before we moved but I think I would have continued with the dark colors. I was going to go for a dark orange in the MB, but changed to a light green instead when we decided to sell.

I wish I had white trim in the house I have now. I love the deep colors.

Lovely houses, all!
I think the white trim, and lots of it, and the large pictures to break up any big masses of color, are the key.

If you are a light color girl, perhaps you want one pale place as relief? One way to think about it is to paint the foyer the richest, deepest color of all. Most foyers have lots of doors and doorways to break up the paint, and the effect is that you enter a sheltered space enveloping you in deep color, and then you are "released" into the lighter space. That sense of entry and progression draws you naturally into the next room.

In my view, if you want one pale room where most are strongly colored, painting the whole room the color of the trim, and using bits of the other room colors (in the rugs, and as trim on pale curtains, and pillows on soft neutral upholstery, for instance) can give you that pale fix without introducing another element into your otherwise richly toned palette.

You've seen these before... but to the point here, everything but the living room had rich color.

Looking from the library through the front hall into the LR...

The LR...

Thanks for weighing in, bronwynsmom. Interesting concept: pale room as relief. Every other room in the house is white or a light color (kitchen, family room, upstairs). Wondering if I could consider the LR/foyer/DR area as a suite of rooms, all the same color intensity, then use the remainder of the house as "relief." But maybe I would need the middle room (the foyer) as the visual relief room. It couldn't be the most intense room because the LR is already painted pumpkin, which is pretty intense. Here is a rather bad picture of the enfilade from the pumpkin LR (please excuse mess in foyer; picture was taken right after painting the LR -- residual holiday mess there too):

I used the MS Paint applet to play with the colors. I kinda like it! I think this could work! That IS winter light, though, with 2 feet of snow on the ground on a sunny day. I plan to switch out the oriental in the DR for a sisal-look rug. So all rooms will have light flooring.

boopadoo, I meant to tell you those colors are wonderful, especially that green bedroom with the red bedspread. I *love* red & green.

justgotabme, what a cheery, fun home!

Here's the reverse view. The red's not right, but close enough:

boopadoo...I love the blue in your foyer. Do you mind sharing the name?
Patty

AWM, I think it looks wonderful in all three iterations.
And I love it that you said "enfilade."
Even in a bit of a jumble, your house is lovely. I think you should choose the scheme that resonates with you, once you are clear about which one that is.

Oh awm that reverse view makes my heart beat fast...that is stunning. I could look at that forever.

Bronwynsmom...your home is one of the lovliest I have ever seen. I think the placement of the pieces and the lamps...well every thing is gracious,,,best word for it .

boop...that guest room is wonderful and I dearly love the turquoise on the wall in the next pic. what was going on in the room with the fireplace?? c

Thanks, bronwynsmom. I learned "enfilade" from the regulars here! The pictures were taken during our renovation & repainting, hence the jumble. The wide trim & 4-panel interior doors replaced 60's skimpy trim and flat hollow core doors. And the light is courtesy of new BIG windows and glass double doors.

BTW, I love, love, love the sheers in your living room. What a wonderful textural change from the white wood walls to the soft white windows. And the vertical folds of the fabric echo the vertical lines in the paneling. So many beautiful things to look at in your home.

Teacats and awm, thank you...

I loved those sheers, too. They came from a lucky find at someplace like Calico Corners...the yardage came in the perfect shade of ivory for my walls, and was railroaded on the bolt with a ten-inch hemstitched hem already in. They were a soft, un-shiny polyester, and they came down, went in the washing machine and the dryer, went right back up on the rods barely damp, and looked perfect for fifteen years. I tried to find the same stuff several years later with no success, but I imagine it's out there somewhere.

I think I have to stop posting those photos. We sold the house two years ago, and I am still a little homesick for it, despite my enthusiasm for the life change that came with it. The people who bought the house also bought all the wall lamps, all the curtains, half of the rugs, and most of the furniture that wasn't coming with us, so a lot of what is in the photos isn't ours any more. All in all, a very good thing...but still... :>\

Thanks Patty. It is Bungalow Blue from Lowe's Eddie Bauer Paints.

Trailrunner - that splotches were of the color I wanted to paint the room. Then we decided to sell and I went with a light green as shown below. I would have loved to have seen that room in the dark orange color.

boop..that is an amazing room. What was it? I can't get over that fireplace. Was this an older home? You are right the burnt orange would have been really stunning. thanks for showing me. c

Ohhh. Thank you. :) I misunderstood the question. That was the Master Bedroom. It was an old house that had been redone by the PO. They did it all to sheetrock/primed then sold. It had 5 fireplaces. 3 marble ones, one brick and one missing the mantle. I did love that house, but it was huge, and we did not love the upkeep or the location. It was so fun to decorate though. We only got to finish the MB, DR, Foyer, Den/bedroom, 2 of the 5 baths and study inside before we sold.

A pic of the study fireplace..

Here is a link that might be useful: more pics under the rooms listed above

Great house !! The kitchen looks wonderful and I love the pool area. Those mantles...wow. Beautiful. Thanks for posting this. c

Trailrunner, I love your shower tile. Can you tell me what it is? Also, the New Navy paint in your dining room, who makes it? Thank you.

In your pics it looks like you have a light of nice natural light and a lot of great white millwor. You may very well be able to pull it off even though you are a light and airy kind of girl. The trim in my house is too dark to pull of the deep colros that I like. I think I too am a light and airy kind of girl but I still like rich color, somhow, someway, somewhere.

There is somebody here who pulled off a great purpley DR, brownish hallway and I forget what else. She had lots of white woodwork. It looked fabulous. I recall that they were all BM colors. Maybe one was Blackberry something and I'm wondering if the brown wasn't Cabot Trail?

Anyone recall the house and poster?