Dark spaces and color on the wall - please educate me.

10 years ago

My house is dark due to being surrounded by large oaks trees. I deal with that by having windows / blinds / curains open during the day and many lamps switched on in the evening. And it works well. However there is one place in the house where even during the day there is not enough natural light and this corner is just dark and gloomy. I don't want to have a lamp on there in the middle of the day so I was thinking about painting this place some good color.

Now, as far as I educate myself on this, there are two schools -one say paint the dark spaces light, the other say paint it darker because anything light will look grey anyway.
I have no idea who is right but my space is painted light beige and it looks dark and blah.

It is a corner by the kitchen with a sofa to read and have coffee with friends and I could paint it any color (except for taupe as I really dislike it).

How does it work?

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eelyram7

10 years ago

I think in this instance you will want to stick with a lighter paint. You want it to reflect as much light as possible, so go with at least a semi-gloss finish, or you might even consider a metallic finish paint (which are available in many colors, not just metal hues). If you are open to it, this area would be a perfect spot for a wallpaper, something not too busy, with a bold geometric pattern with good contrast. Choose one that is mostly white or light metallic with thinner dark lines. The contrast between light and dark in the wallpaper will trick the eye into thinking the space is lighter than it is (see black and white example). The light areas of the wallpaper will look lighter in comparison to the darker lines. You could also go with a more subtle one that uses varying degrees of shine for contrast (see circles example).

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Comments (15)

karemore55
10 years ago
My approach would be to use happy colors that mimic some aspect of nature so that you have that connection, rather than the gloomy shadows, affecting you psychologically. I. Fact, if you really hate the taupe - and I can see why because taupe has a lot of grey in it - I would carry these colors throughout the house. And don't forget good old white. Ben Moore Simply White is a versatile pure white that is clean, yet warm. You could alternate white with color in different rooms. Some of my favourites: Palladian Blue, Hawthorne Yellow and Pear Green - all Ben Moore.
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HERE Design and Architecture
10 years ago
Making a space feel bright is a complicated business because we are complex animals. My general experience is that nothing can really take the place of real daylight. This can sometimes be brought about using solar tubes if you don't have access to illuminated windows but they have to be installed in such a way that they do not create a bright spot, which can be blinding.

If it really is not possible to get natural light, you may be able to approximate it using good quality daylight lamps, installed in such a way as to bounce the light so it is indirect.

With regard to colors, my experience is that a light colored surface when contrasted with a dark colored surface will feel relatively bright. This works best if both areas have matte finishes. With regard to warmth, I try to make sure that there is yellow in the colors used.
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regina5697
10 years ago
Without a photo I can't envision the space, but would a mirror help by reflecting a window from the opposite side of the room?
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LB Interiors
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Light color paint. Mirror wherever possible on almost an entire wall that is opposite a window.
mrsfrida
Original Author
10 years ago
That's the corner I was telling you about.
mrsfrida
Original Author
10 years ago
What colors would you suggest to light it up? p.s. I will eventually patch the sofa :)
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Sonoma Decorative Arts
10 years ago
I'm going to second Karemore - don't think light or dark, think happy. Or fresh. Or cozy. Or however you want to feel in that space. Because no magic color will create light where there is none, but color can definitely give the space some character. The wallpaper idea is charming. Perhaps a light colored area rug would help to reflect a little more of the light you do have? Good luck.
karemore55
10 years ago
Love eelyram's idea of reflective wallpaper! A trellis pattern and a few other related accessories and you could create a garden like oasis in that spot!
karemore55
10 years ago
Mrsfrida, Actually, it makes sense to pick a palette for your whole main floor and repaint everything in harmonious colors (and perhaps wallpaper that middle room). Probably just painting that one room in isolation and leaving everything else taupe is still not going to be very uplifting.
karemore55
10 years ago
Here's one of many ways you could go - use a soft warm white like Mascarpone (pic two), or maybe Cloud White for most of your space. Do an intense but lively green like Stem Green (pic one) in that middle area. Then tie it all together with hits of black in all rooms, and bring the brighter greens into other rooms here and there through accessories.

I have Stem Green in my laundry which is windowless. It also has white cabinets to tone it down, so you would need to bring in some black and white to balance the intensity of a color such as this. For example, you could lay a rug that picks up on the colors. The idea is to create a complete,color,scheme for the main floor of your room and not think about this one room in isolation. Hope this helps!
mrsfrida thanked karemore55
User
10 years ago
OH MY, I just wan to say that I love Karemore55 suggestions above;)
mrsfrida
Original Author
10 years ago
Great ideas karemore, thank you. I WILL change this space and post the results, I promise.
karemore55
10 years ago
Mrsfrieda, Well hang on, before you go - I actually kept thinking about your situation on my way to an appt. this morning lol! Don't worry I didn't get into any accidents, thanks for asking! Anyway, you could just paint the whole main floor a warm white and bring in happy prints and colors with the accessories. It seems to me that the cute grey sofa you have in that middle room is a little lonely and looking for some,colorful companions. So here's one more rug and a pillow - just hoping to get you thinking about cheering up your dark spaces using more than wall color!
mrsfrida thanked karemore55
dclostboy
10 years ago
Need to look to some reflective surfaces. Can you put in a solar tube or skylight?