Evangeline, MLI style

The winey-purples intimidate me a bit. Maybe it's just that I'm tired of so much red?

Jangchub wrote: You HAVE GOT to get rid of white walls!

That's not much of a problem for me. The artists who lived here loved Christmas so EVERY wall is some shade of red and green. Our bathroom has black cherry stained wood paneling with lime green walls and hand painted copper stars. It looks as weird as it sounds. I have learned to hate red and green....

Funny, I have great memories of canning with my grandmother, despite the heat, fraying nerves and the rest of it. We would talk and talk. For a woman that never finished high school, she just knew so much of the world, good and bad.

Cheryl

"Chris Howard" wrote

Funny what other people think is "just lovely". I never cared much for blue, and now can't bear it in my house because my ex-MIL painted every single room in her home some variation of blue and beige. Enough to make you fall out of your chair in boredom. Dawne

Me, too....painted the bathroom a deep purple, around DMC551, IIRC. It's gorgeous. Shower curtain is maroon/deep gold/purple stripes in that tafetta-like fabric that changes colors as the light hits it - very rich. Which makes it sort of the "throne room!" LOL!

sue

Oh but how could you hate true claret red? I would love a beautiful claret red persian rug if children weren't abused into making them.

I think they *are* a bit more challenging to work with than the bluer purples. But, that doesn't mean you can't. I think it helps if you've got an idea of a color palette for your whole house. You don't have to be slavish to it, but if you've got some overall plan it's easier to make sure everything hangs together nicely. You can get a nice palette from a piece of art (stitching? ;-) ) or you can even look up historical palettes from the era associated with the styles you like. You can find books with those sorts of things in the library, and they can give you a good idea of a half dozen or dozen colors that all seem to work together well, and you can start from there.

Best wishes, Ericka

And I LOVE white walls. They make a perfect backdrop for the needlework and objets d'art that hang all over my walls. My bedroom and master bath are medium and darkish shades of blue and that limits what I can put up.

I even have needlework in my guest bathroom.

Lucille

I've talked to my eye doctor a couple of times about these and he said most people don't like them. Well, I've had what are essentially monovision contacts (one eye for distance and the other for close-up) for over a year now and my brain has never been able to compensate like others' have. I'm going to talk to him again and see if I can try a pair of bifocal contacts. They can't be worse than what I've been putting up with. Are yours soft or hard, Sheena? I currently wear hard/gas perm lenses.

Joan

Thanks for the suggestions Ericka :) I actually have a friend who is an interior designer, but I hesitate to ask her help (I wouldn't ask my friend who is a doctor for prescriptions).

Heh, well waking up in a communist red bedroom is a good way to make you start hating red. I do kinda like the darker more purpley reds though.

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Soft Joan. I had to wear them about a week before I was totally comfortable, but I was warned about that. She said 'most' of her patients love them, but she has the odd one who doesn't.

My mother wore hard lenses for years and had one bifocal lens and one regular one. She loved them and swore by them and I assume that I will go that road when the time comes.

Elizabeth

Not me, I have to have color. Not even my ceilings are white. They are a lighter color of the walls so it is seamless. I have mostly earth tones in my home. The living room I used Paint Magic which is a double roller with foam cut outs and two tones of paint are used to make a mottled look, or how do they call it, old world? All of my wood looks more glowing and beautiful when the walls aren't white. But, I've seen magnificent homes with all white walls. It's a matter of comfort. So, I suppose I shouldn't have told Chris she MUST get rid of the white.

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At Shad Bay I had all white walls everywhere. As Lucille says, it is the perfect foil for pictures, photos and needlework.

The condo had just been painted when I purchased it so I went with the colours she chose. I always hated blue but my bedroom is wedgewood blue and I have grown to like it. The rest is varying, and I mean varying even within the same room, shades of pale yellow. Another colour I had never used myself except years ago in a north facing bedroom, but I actually quite like it now too.

I shall keep egg plant in mind for when my bedroom needs repainting though, it could look great with the white carpet.

I would worry a little about eggplant being very dark. Here in this mostly hot climate I keep the shade closed nearly all the time to keep the sun out and I think it would be dreary. I think I would love to see it as a bedspread and curtains, or valances and as an accent color.

I've got to go back to my knitting. I have three more lines on the never-ending blankie and if I can get that done tonight I will do the last sleeve for the sweater tomorrow, put it together and make the hat and I'll be FINISHED. Hooray!!! Don't you even try to talk me into making mittens and booties.

Lucille

Actually, if you look at most art museums, the walls are not white (some are, but not most). They are, however, generally very neutral. But even if you want stronger colors on your walls, most artwork will still work as long as you're careful with the framing. I do have one piece of art that it's very problematic to find a home for, though. The colors in it are just

Best wishes, Ericka

I think it can be a bit of a misconception that a dark color will be dreary in a room. It can actually be very expansive. You can put a very deep color on the walls with a nice white trim and often the walls will really recede. If your walls are in decent shape and you do a really good job of prep work, it looks *especially* nice in a glossier finish (with several coats, of course). It's a lot of work, but the room will practically glow. I'm not saying that everyone should do such a thing, or that everyone will like it. But I do think that people are often more afraid of dark colors making a room appear too small or dreary than they need to be. My parents' dining room is a deep chocolate brown. At night, when there's no natural light at all, the room is absolutely delightful, especially with candlelight.

Best wishes, Ericka

NonoNooooooo. If you want a perfect foil for needlework, put black walls with your white carpet. Stunning! Designer decorating tip.