Help with paint colors in open concept area

last month

last modified: last month

Hello, I’m looking for advice on paint colors for my open-concept living room, dining room, and the areas connecting to the kitchen.
The living room is currently a dark green (Beautitone Reclaimed Green), this extends along the long window wall into the dining room. I love how it complements the wood plank ceiling and oak trim, even though its a bit dark in artificial light. The kitchen and surrounding areas are a sunny golden yellow (Beautitone Egyptian Gold). I don’t mind the yellow, and it has to stay in the kitchen for now because I can’t redo the backsplash at the moment.
The problem is that the space feels disjointed, especially in the dining room where the green and yellow meet. I originally planned to replace the yellow everywhere except the kitchen with a lighter, sagey green for a more cohesive flow but now I'm not sure if that's the right idea. We primered the dining room wall and tested several nice shades, but none seemed to work with the existing green — they were either too grey, too dark, etc.
I then hired an interior decorator for a color consult and was recommended 3 beige/tan samples (Benjamin Moore - Hush, Manchester Tan, Grant Beige), but I feel these just emphasize the orange/brown tones of the wood, which isn’t the direction I want to go in. I also tried a brown/greige used elsewhere in our house, that didn't work either.
I’m stuck on what the best next step is:
• Keep the current green and search for a better light complementary green/greige? Or maybe an off-white?
• Choose a different, softer green that could be used throughout the entire space?
• Keep one darker accent wall and go lighter everywhere else?
I actually like the wood and want to work with it, especially since replacing flooring, cabinets, or furniture isn’t in my budget right now.
Any ideas and suggestions welcome. Thank you in advance.

Featured Answer

Kendrah

last month

Find the right green to paint the entire space - including the kitchen. It is a tall order to find a green that is going to look good in all the light in all these different areas with your floor, kitchen cabinets, AND that yellow wall. You just cannot ignore the yellow and green wall combo because you see one next to the other in so many different vantage points. In an open concept, your kitchen is not a separate room, nor are the colors in it.

I don't see why a yellow backsplash necessitates yellow walls. Where does your wall color meet the backsplash? Isn't it sandwiched between the cabinets? You can also opt for painting the tile backsplash a more neutral color.

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Comments (8)

Robyn M
Original Author
last month
Robyn M
Original Author
last month
Ignore the white primer, we had to fix the wall after replacing the window.
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cat_ky
last month
last modified: last month
I dislike all the colors in the one picture that has a row of colors on the wall. I do like the first picture with the yellow wall. I would leave, or repaint that the same color. It looks good together. In the future, rather than paint splotches all over a wall, use poster paper and paint your color on a poster paper and then you are able to move it around to all sorts of lighting, and get a better idea. Its never a good idea to paint samples right on the wall, because, they will look entirely different, once you paint an entire wall.
wdccruise
last month
last modified: last month
I'd paint the popcorn ceiling white first.
la_la Girl
last month
I like the earthy green, not too dark, it looks nice with the wood tones. But i would select the rug first if it was me, then choose paint

(can you remove the ceiling texture during this project? we did this as a DIY, easy to do although messy)
Robyn M
Original Author
last month
@cat_ky thanks that's a good tip with the poster paper

@wdccruise @la_la Girl thank you I was thinking about removing the popcorn ceiling too
Zande Willson
last month
You can keep things feeling connected if you pick one soft neutral that bridges the green and the yellow instead of fighting either one. A warm greige with a slight green undertone usually settles both sides of the room because it picks up the wood and the reclaimed green without turning muddy. Something in the range of BM Pale Oak or SW Accessible Beige does that well.

If you want the green to stay the star, lighten everything else and let the kitchen yellow live as an accent. It reads more intentional once the dining room stops competing with it. You get a calmer flow without repainting the kitchen or changing finishes.
Robyn M thanked Zande Willson