Paint the bookcase out to either match the trim or the wall. Get rid of the gold.

Paint the walls, the shelves, and the back of the shelves all one color. It will give more of a built in look. Also paint the wall of cabinets and the cabinet doors the same as the walls.

I'd lean on the slightly darker side of a sage green rather than a dusty lighter shade of sage green. With a lot of light in this room, your walls can handle a slightly deeper tone.

You gave no clue as to what you plan furniture wise for the room so I really cannot suggest a wall colour. Just showing how a simply all white bookcase, lights above would look in the room, even nice with the yellow walls and bamboo roman shades.

This room has lovely windows and door.

Start by priming the colorful yellow and red parts with two coats of the best high coverage white primer. Vivid colors often need three coats, so don't be discouraged if the second coat doesn't make perfect coverage.

Carefully store the custom (expensive) red blinds while priming and painting until you have finalized your new color scheme, then select new window coverings.

Thanks all. I am leaning towards painting the shelves the same as the walls. Perhaps a BM Saybrook Sage, Louisburg green or a neutral like pashmina or edgecomb gray. The adjacent room is a very light gray blue almost the same as the current book shelves. Will one of those color combos work better or worse with the adjacent room?

Here's a room with a bookcase in BM's Saybrook sage.

A lovely shade if aiming for soft and it‘s versatile when adding accessories and futniture.

https://thecolorconcierge.com/sherwin-williams-quietude-color-of-the-year-2025/

Also works well with the blue/grey as shown by the dot above.

Louisburg Green

HC-113

“Gray undertones give this medium green a cool, muted quality.“

Yes to Louisburg green. Purchase a samplize swatch and hold it up mext to the blue grey room next door.

I love Healing Aloe from BM but some of the greens already mentioned cn also work. IMO wall color is more about choosing the furniture then the wall color usually.That book case is awful as it is both the gray and the red.. Some much better lighting is also a must when choosing wall color. Afternoon sun can be a real intense light that can fade wood and be glaring . So I would invest in some solar shades to control that for sure. I sure would invest ina much nicer and larger desk too.

Picking colors for a home is akin to picking an outfit. It isn't about choosing a blouse - it is about picking a blouse that goes with the pants, shoes and jacket and looks attractive with your skin tone, eye color and hair color.

This one room is the blouse. The rest of the home is the rest of the outfit. To make it harmonious the colors need to flow from one room to the next. They do not all need to be the same color, but they have to relate to one another.

When I work with someone to choose a color palette I start with the colors that have to stay.

Usually the colors that have to stay include those things that are expensive to change and things that you love and have no intention of changing. Flooring, cabinets, countertops, backsplash, furniture, art.

The second thing we discuss are your favorite colors. Often furnishings, art and decor that you already own gives us some hints. This step is not about finding the wall colors, but knowing what wall colors will be the best backdrop to show off the beauty of the things in your home. (Part of the issue with this room is that the colors are so bright and bold. They aren't the backdrop, but have become the main attraction.)

The next step is to determine if and how the colors you love and the colors that have to stay will live with one another and discuss options. One of the limitations in your home may be the flooring. It is lovely, hard wood flooring. It will look wonderful with cream, blue, gray and greens, and will easily work if your favorite colors were any of these color families or if your favorite color was orange, which would pair well with the cooler blues and green. It would be more challenging if your favorite color was red or purple or pink. Not saying there are no solutions if this is the challenge, it would just take more creativity to to find ways to bring those colors into the scheme.

After we know the colors, it is time to select a neutral that works with the colors that must stay and the colors that you love and the last step is to pick a white that works with everything.

Can you help us understand if this project is just the first of many repainting tasks or if you plan on painting this one room and leaving the colors of the adjoining rooms as they are?

Can you share some insights on the colors that are in the home and won't be changed?

Can you share some insights on your favorite colors? Please provide some examples of colors that you love - pick out some samples of art, clothing, bedding, shower curtains or wall paper, photos from the internet or from a wall calendar . . . This will help us truly understand the colors that make your heart sing.

This is an example of a color scheme I helped my niece develop when she purchased a new home. The four colors on the first floor define the overall color scheme of her home. She loves blues and has a lot of blue in her art and decor. This palette shows off her blue art and decor beautifully.

Her flooring was a deeper stain than yours

She loves blue and would be bringing her blue sofa and living room area rug from her last home

This is so so helpful thank you! I’m a first time homeowner so this is all new to me!

When I sold real estate nothing brought me more joy than working with first time home buyers. I feel the same way when helping people with picking colors. I love helping people the first time they go through the process, I love sharing tools that will serve them throughout their lives. Please let me know if you want additional help or want to talk through the process or answer questions. Either post here or leave me an PM with a phone number.

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