Thank you, Diana. That's in the long term plans, as well as to close in the great room. The echo in the house is tremendous. We've since hung artwork and tapestries for the short term, but closing it in is still a few years away. Thank you for sharing your vision so I know I'm not going to regret it later on.

Why a blue ceiling, what shade of blue, and where does it stop? It will have to also be in your upstairs hallway and in the living room with the two story windows.

You might have an issue with that particular shaped chandelier. The way your foyer window is positioned, people outside the house are supposed to be able to see the chandelier through the window.

You have selected a long chandelier but you have a short window when compared to those posted above.

So this long chandelier will have to be placed up towards the ceiling and not descend lower than what you have currently.

This shape might have been a matter match. Not sure.

You mentioned having the floors redone also. Have your floor people also sand your stair treads, and stain them, when they stain the floors, so it will all match.

The chandelier is beautiful.

So if you're planning long term to eliminate the 2-story foyer, you might not want to spend too much money on the chandelier, unless you have somewhere else to put it. It looks very glamorous and high quality.

Cat_ky,

Thank you for pointing out about the treads. The stairs will be done as well to match the floors, but that is the 2026 project, so I will love with the 1990s gold oak until then. (I'll try not to look down, lol) I wasn't planning on the entry project just yet, but found this great light fixture used, at a deal I simply couldn't walk away from. And since the old one will be down I figured now is the time to paint the ceiling and walls.

Beverly, Thank you for your thoughts, input, and photo examples. I figured it would be close to the ceiling. The angle of the photo with the current light creates a bit of an illusion because it's too high currently and looks slightly awkward from both inside and out, when one drives up the driveway (very steep driveway) DH feel in love with the chandelier, and I told him is figure out a way to make it work.

Kendrah,

Thank you for the questions. I didn't ask my original question correctly. I am looking for a paint combination for the walls and ceiling, preferring a blue ceiling. I've always lived with colored ceilings and love them. With these being so high i thought maybe a blue this time maybe with taupe walls? I became color fatigued, and decided to ask everyone what their opinion and views were. I'm open to all ideas. Eventually the whole house will be painted. The current paint is the original from 1997.

Hi Diana,

Thank you again for chiming in. DH found the chandelier used, feel in love with it, and I was able to get it for a song. The big construction projects are way off on the horizon, but for the next 5 years or so, I'll enjoy a pretty, glittery, over the top chandelier. It is a really beautiful light, she's getting a good cleaning and polishing, and will be loved.

This part of my project isn't too expensive, the lamp was really a fantastic deal and beyond that (at this stage) it's paint and installation. Fortunately there is a hoist, so that makes it so much less expensive and easier to hang.

Thank you for all the comments, I am so grateful for this community. Anyone have any thoughts on paint colors? And, if the blue ceiling just seems to over the top, I'm open to another color or leaving it white. Thank you again, I appreciate your time.

Consider going to your favored paint store to work on putting a color pallet together so there's harmony of color among your various spaces. I would likely keep the grand foyer simple and calm (no blue ceiling), to let the chandelier be the star. The charm of a colored ceiling might be considered in the adjacent spaces. May not be a big deal but I think the colored ceiling idea works best when there's crown moulding to separate from the wall easily and cleanly.

Unless there's a paint color that you've been dying to try, it's difficult to select a color out of context, all by itself. I see that you have a brown/beige sofa--is that the palette in the rest of the house? What color is the dining room? Are you planning on a rug in the foyer or in the living room? Usually that can set the palette for the house.

Are there colors you love and are drawn to? For example, I love reds/blues/greens, and have them all through my house in varying degrees. My base color for trim is Linen White, which many Houzzers would not like, since it's got a lot of yellow in it. It's great for historic traditional homes, but not for a more modern aesthetic. You may like neutrals, or pinks, or orange.

Sometimes a pillow or a curtain fabric can set your palette. Do you have or want to try either of them? You say you want a blue ceiling--I love a blue ceiling and have one in my sun porch. Maybe you want an all-blue foyer. Just another thought--you don't need a contrasting color in the recessed panels below the chair rail. Either paint the entire space below the rail the same as the walls, or if you want contrast, paint the entire space below the rails one color and the walls a different one.

Before you commit to a color in a 2-story foyer, think about what you want in the adjoining rooms. The public rooms downstairs should have a similar palette, so you need to do some planning before you start painting. OR you could paint the entire foyer white and leave the color for another day.

When doing the floors and stairs they should be the same color and I agree that window drives the placement of the chandelier . I for sure would not be painting at this time since renovations are planned for the short time . IMO arenovation of a whole house is best when planned well in advance of purchasing anything major and the light is great but now drives the bus so maybe not a bargain. When you say refresh what exactly are you planning, just paint or new style etc?Closing in spaces and redoing the entry are big changes not small and my advice is stop now and get a plan inplace before adding anything else.

I cannot think about color in isolation for a room that is visually connected to the dining room, living room, and hallways. They are a whole. I have nothing against a different colored ceiling if it makes sense with everything else, but we don't know enough about that everything else yet.

It sounds like you have many big projects down the line. Are you saying this chandelier is just a temporary fixture and that in maybe five years you will switch it out for something else or will it be part of a grand scheme? I'm just trying to get a sense of what is coming and going and how that will impact your paint colors.

I too am not a fan of a different color in those recessed panels.

Hi, everyone! Thank you for all the help! We haven't lived here very long and the photos are from the listing. This is the first project simply because DH fell in love with a piece, so this is where it will start. I want to enjoy the house for the next 5-7 years until I can afford the time, money and headaches for major renovations of closing in spaces.

I agree the recessed panels are hideous, along with the flesh orange peach paint, (which photographs much, much better than it looks.) I'm hoping for suggestions to either paint the panels white like the trim (i almost always use BM Chantilly Lace, so that's what is figure I would do here) or the same color the wall will be. I've done both the past in other properties, and love it both ways.

DH and I hunt for pieces, so the paint chosen for this space will dictate the rest of the common areas, and cohesive pallet for the rest of the house. This house is a fresh start for us together and an opportunity to hunt for me treasures for this home.

This house has a lot of light, set at 60°ENE.

The furniture in the adjoining rooms is a very light, soft butter cream color, and when reupholstered (or replaced) we'll go with a light neutral to go with the paint. I have side table and a console table in the living room that are dark stained rosewood i picked up in India years ago. Those are the only 2 pieces of furniture I'm married to. I do have a large painting that would fit in the foyer. I'll post a photo of it in later today.

Jackowdkib, thank you for your suggestions. Eventually (probably next spring) I will put up crown in both the entry and the living room.

Thank you again too everyone. I'm so grateful.

I could hang one of these in the entry and the other in the living room. These are my 2 largest pieces of art. I don't know if that helps.

Love that seascape!

Thanks, Diana, DH found it at a gallery in Maine. We found the Venice canvas several years ago in Italy, and although it's a bit cliche, we do still enjoy it.

How big are they? They could be statement pieces!

Hi, Diana, thank you for all your interest. The Venice painting is 36x48, the seascape is approx 30x40. I thought maybe the Venice one would be ok in the foyer, since the ceiling is almost 20'. I've become so paint blind, everything looks too beige, too gray, too washed out, too dark. I had no idea if have such difficulty picking out a couple paint colors. Usually, I walk in and "just know" what color we'd love, but this house has me spoilt for choice, I guess.

Thank you for your insight.

Before you start one room, you should plan your whole home color palette and that can be a daunting task. Paint should be one of the last colors selected, as the choices are endless, where other colors may be limited.

Start with the colors that must stay. You already stated that the floors will be refinished, but are you replacing cabinetry, countertops, furnishings, non wood flooring in the kitchen, bathrooms or laundry or will you need to coordinate your color palette with these colors in mind?

My second step is always to find the colors that bring you joy. They may not ever be used on the walls, but they are the colors that you are drawn to when you choose art and decor.

The neutral color family that you choose should be the perfect backdrop for the the colors that you love.

My two sisters and I have very different color preferences. I love purples, reds and teals, so the neutral that works best is going to be a taupe. Susie loves muted greens, orange reds and golds, greige (gray beige with a green undertone) works best for her. Lisa loves pastel blues and corals and creamy whites. Sticking to the creamy whites was the right choice for her home.

Knowing what colors have to stay and what colors you love it is easier to pick a neutral color family that works with everything.

Once you know what neutral color family you want to work with and which colors are going to be used as accents you can start picking colors.

Which rooms would you like to be your neutral, which would you like to have more color? Usually people use a neutral in the main public areas of the home, and use more color in bedrooms, bathrooms, offices . . . Some like a single neutral throughout the home. That is a personal preference that only you can decide. Build out a plan that flows from one room to the next. When you walk into your entry you said you wanted a blue ceiling. Not right or wrong, but you will want to bring some of that same blue into the living room. Blue in the art, area rug and sofa pillows. What secondary color will you want in that room? Moving to the dining room you may just want some blue flowers on the table and a touch of blue in the area rug and more greens or yellow or orange - whatever your secondary accent color was in your living room. The kitchen, being so far from the entry may only have that secondary accent from the living room and no blue at all. Again - no right or wrong answer, but you need to decide the flow of color through your home, keeping the colors from one room represented in the next but in different concentrations.

Before picking the paint color you will want to determine what color you will stain the floor. It should coordinate with the neutral color family you have selected as your core neutral. After flooring I move on to selecting cabinets, countertops, tile - all things that are relatively permanent and have limited color choices. Large furniture purchases are area rug selection comes next.

Once you have all of those things selected and we have a plan for how color is going to flow through your home we can pick the specific paint color that works with all the choices you made based on the neutral color family you chose in step 3.

I say this all the time, just because a color is considered "neutral" doesn't mean that it will necessarily go with everything. All neutrals are derivatives of a hue, either tinted, shaded or toned. When that hue comes to the fore, it can clash with other materials/colors in the space. So select neutrals carefully.

Kylie M has a good post showing how to coordinate wood tones and what the undertones that different woods have.

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/how-to-mix-match-and-coordinate-wood-stains-undertones/

I do love using color on ceilings when it makes sense in the overall design. I wouldn't use blue on the ceiling unless it fit within my overall color scheme, but it can be a stunning way to add color.

Wall color in one room matches ceiling in the next room

Done in this one as well

In this one the wall color in one room is pulled in through the chairs in the next room and a deeper gold used on the ceiling with the yellow chairs

I revised my original comments and added visuals, to hopefully help a bit better.

Beautiful chandelier.

If you don't want to feel rushed into a new color palette, you could just get the chandelier installed and have the brown panels painted the same as the existing wall color.

Hi everyone, thank you for all the help, advice, insights and suggestions. I am so grateful for this community. I didn't exist so much support, and am thrilled you all took the time to share your thoughts and ideas.

The chandelier goes in today and I'm sure taking in all of the great advice from all of you I'll be able to confidently put together a really nice entry that isn't boring. This is the first step in the house. As Goethe said, "all beginnings are delightful, the threshold is the place to pause."

Thank you all so much. I am truly touched at the time you all took to help me.

love that chandelier! Super jealous your DH wanted it - my DH would not :)

Please post a photo after the chandelier gets installed.

Boy, I'd save money -- those floors look gorgeous, and natural wood is a look for the centuries, not for the 90s! ("golden oak" is a reference to a 1970s-80s cabinet finish.) So much money you could use for other parts of your vision...

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