Paint Color Opinions.

I hated the color brown and green for walls, till my DIL painted some rooms in her new home different shades of brown and green. One room is a dark brown, one a mocha another another even a different shade of brown, a entry is brown & white sponge on that is beautiful. A bed room is a dark green a dinning is same green with wite sponge on. You would never belief the greens are the same color, looks totally different. He home is beautiful, very rich looking. She has lots of windows and white woodwork. I ended up painting my front room light brown with entry a shade darker. We love it. I have dark woodwork and only one window in the front room, so was afraid to use the dark browns. Mine brown has a hint of rose in it. Do it I see a lot of homes around here with the browns now.

Hi Molly
GO FOR IT! I love the brown idea. I wouldn't hesitate a bit if you have 2 windows in the room. That will look great!

I love chocolate brown rooms! I think they're warm and mellow. http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/choc...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/champagnechic/2243162061/in/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/champagnechic/2243953556/in/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/champagnechic/2243961456/in/...

Go for it.

I'd like to make a suggestion...how about going for a caramel color and doing blocks of color throughout the room? Now here's the catch...do something creative with those blocks...maybe make one a chalkboard surface or a write on wipe off board. You can also get magnetic paint and make a border or whatever you want where she could hang her pictures on the wall wherever you painted with the magnetic paint. I've seen this done with 1 foot borders and I have a BFF who did giant flowers for her daughters room that the middle of the flower was magnetic. Skies the limit... I think with a little tape and some complimentary colors (beige, burgandy, black, or even light blue) you could turn a bland room into something chic, interesting, and stunning.

Molly I am an interior decorator, first of all let me tell you that choosing to use color in a room is a great way to give it life. I want you to think logically about color and feelings. Some people feel very relaxed and calmed by a particular color, blue for example. however if you do not like the color blue it will not make you feel relaxed, it may actuall cause you to feel irritated. Please do not get caught up in the feelings of color. Color has an affect, yes, but that affect is more individual oriented that it is populas oriented. The generalities are not meant to be taken for rules. I had a client, she hated the color green, although green is supposed to be color of serenity. For her it was not, and added to her discomfort while in a room.

If you have a lot of light coming into that room and you feel a brown room will be something enjoyable for your family then go for it. Allow the natural light from the windows to balance it out. Choose light colors to accent the room, giving it a very airy feeling. You may even apply a large mirror for the same effect.

When all is said and done that room is a part of your home. Your daughter is a part of your family and she will pick up on the feelings of the family in general. Use accents to create a nice airy feeling, go for the brown! She will do just fine.

Having studied color therapy, it is true that colors have an affect on thoughts, emotions, physiology, etc. Although these are generally consistant to all people, different people do have different needs for specific affects. In other words, a mentally stimulating color may be good for someone who is depressed while it might be aggrivating to someone who is hyper. Browns to yellows are generally good for classrooms and libraries. It would be fine for a playroom as well, as a playroom really is a child's learning room. Most children's toys are bright and colorful and should provide enough stimulation on their own.

With oranges, browns, and terracotta, you have a lot of options. There is nothing wrong with browns, but how dark are you planning to go? The darker the brown, the more overwhelming it will be. Browns, like beige, can lean toward yellows or toward reds and oranges. Some even have ashen tones. The quality I always look for on walls is warmth. A wall color where children play or guests sleep needs to be warm, comforting, and inviting. If you look for a brown that leans toward terracotta, it should be naturally more warm than the ashen browns.

Before you settle on brown for the walls, consider other ways to use brown in the room. Depending on the print of the sofa, terracotta might play well off sage and teal, which are great wall colors that could lend a mediteranian affect. Greens are comforting and healing. If too much dark brown appears overwhelming, consider brown drapes, rugs, and pillows to accent the sofa. And you need to consider the floors as well. It isn't enough to set one color next to a sofa. Try to visualize the whole room and the different ways to balance the colors.

Another thing people often fail to consider is that all the walls in a room do not necessarily have to be painted the same color. You can really have fun with paint. I love two tone rooms with the chair rail (like a baseboard trim about 3 to 4 feet up on the wall) as well. It usually looks better to use the darker color below the chair rail and the lighter color above. We did our living room this way. Tack a string at the center line where the chair rail will be nailed down and paint first. That way you don't have to be too careful about the trim line. Then, nail on the chair rail after the paint dries. The added benefit is that the marks and handprints that occur in a playroom often happen below the chair rail. So, if you need to repaint due to playroom mishaps, you might only need to paint the lower portion. But, this way you can have the shade of brown that accents the sofa and a lighter color for mood as well.

Hope these creative options help to make your decision easier and more satisfying.

I spoke to a Interior Designers at one of the Architectural firms I work with. You can definitely paint it brown and then accent the rooms with light colored drapes to lighten the mood, or a floral bedspread with pinks and brown tones in it, or use accent colors like pink or blue that make the brown more soothing. Brown is a neutral color so it should be pretty soothing already.

Hope this helps!

I think brown sounds very nice! As long as the shade is a good one and maybe you can do the trim in bright white to give you a bright contrast and lighten it up?
THe only think I would not recommend is painting the ceiling brown...but rather stick to a bright white (unless you have VERY high ceilings). We had a townhome at one point, when we first moved in, that had dark walls (gray), but the same color ceiling, and it felt like it was closing in on us whenever we went in there. Just by redoing the celing and trim white (until we could repaint the rest of the room) it opened up immensely.
You'll have to post pictures somehow once you do it!

Good Morning Molly, Our neighbor painted their living room a beautiful brown color. Makes is look rich and classy. I love it. I sent hubby with a picture to match for our living room in a mauve. Well it looked like Pepto bis mo PINK. Nope he didn't take the picture he took a coaster. UGH
Yup it's on the walls, it had to grow on me ALOT!!
If you are concerned about it maybe being to dark do a contrast (?) wall in a lighter shade. It will give the room a lengthening look also.

God Bless and Happy Home Decorating.
K. Nana of 5

Guess what....this is your room, your home. Do what makes you happy & stop worrying about other peoples preconceived ideas! Go For It!!!

When choosing colors for your home, choose what makes YOU & YOUR FAMILY happy. I am personally a color freak...so my living room is a "leathered raspberry/cranberry", the adjacent kitchen is soft pink & sage green, the front hall is light terracotta & connects to the side hall which is a terracotta-washed warm yellow! Our bedroom is gold-glazed dusky peach, our older son has metallic-flake navy blue, & our guest room is a wonderfully warm dijon mustard.

& now for the kicker: our younger son begged for brown!! He chose Valspar Mocha Syrup & it rocks....it is the best color I've ever worked with & I would love to put it in one of our living spaces!!! He collects team pennants, & the colors just POP on the brown. It is a very warm & calming room....& even with just one little window, it never feels "dungeon-like". The brown is paired with lime & sage green, combined with black for the bedding. The furniture is a mix of light & dark wood tones & black, with white trim on the window & closet. All of his friends love the room, & all of our doubting family have made peace with the color... including my husband! Brown is awesome!

Not crazy at all--color *does* affect mood. If you've ever tried to sleep in a red room, or relaxed in a pale blue room, you'll know exactly what I mean! LOL

Whether the particular color is a good choice really depends on the shade and tone. Even light browns can feel "cold" if the tone is too gray or blue. Stay away from "cool" and very dark browns to avoid that dungeon-like feeling.

Look for something with a slight yellow/gold, orange, or reddish/pink tone for warmth (and if it goes well with a terracotta couch, it's probably a warm tone). A warm medium brown like mocha is a good choice, and likely won't bring your daughter (or guests) down. :-)

You can also use more than one shade of brown, and/or use a warm, cream color to help lighten the mood of the room, as well.

HTH!
--A.

The trailor we rent has DARK BROWN wood paneling walls throughout the whole place. I don't know if it effects my toddlers, but it is depressing to me! I don't suggest dark brown. I can't wait til we get a home and paint some colorful walls, I am so sick of this dark depressing brown atmosphere surrounding me.

Hi Molly, I would throw some blue or yellow accents in there to lighten it up. I find them to be very cheerfull and soothing at the same time. Also, if you are like me you'll get sick of the colors and have to repaint ia a couple of years anyways, so just play with the colors.
M.

Paint it the color you want, but maybe add an Accent wall that is a different color? that seems to be a new trend in decorating and I have seen it done with stunning results!
Lots of luck, I live in a rented duplex so I am cursed with all white walls ( so I think any color is preferably to white!)
= )
B.

I painted our bedroom a fairly dark shade of brown and love it! It's not a huge room, but it is the master so it's bigger than our other bedrooms, but I didn't feel like it made the room feel any smaller. It feels much warmer now than it used to. Good Luck!

Hi Molly,
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this but if you do it and hate it just repaint. I have repainted many of my rooms when I get bored or just decide I don't like the color anymore. It's not permanent. Good Luck!

I think it depends on the shade of brown. When we moved into our house, my sons' bedroom/playroom was like a sandy-brown color. They like it, so we kept it. We hung all kinds of decorations that they enjoy on the wall - including their own artwork. Our family room downstairs, where my sons spend much of their time is white on top and brown real-wood paneling on the bottom. We also hung a lot of their artwork down there. They enjoy them both. I guess it just kind of depends on how happy the mood is in the room, if that makes sense.

K.

Two suggestions: First, you obviously have your heart set on brown. So, you could do one wall brown (as an accent wall) and leave the rest of the walls white or go with a lighter color. Painting the entire room brown will really "shrink" the size of the room. I seriously think you're putting way too much into how it will affect your daughter. Yes, colors do have certain effects on people but it is so slight and subtle that you'd never notice.
Secondly, you could pain the bottom 1/3 of the entire room brown and then choose a more playful, fun (yet coordinating with your couch) color for the top.
Try getting a double roller and painting the walls in a marble pattern (extremely simple and really sharp looking) with a brown and maybe a tan or something lighter.
Good luck and have fun! Don't worry so much about your little one. She'll be fine!

Have you considered a yellow? I've heard that yellow is the new brown when painting houses to sell, so maybe it would be neutral enough for your husband and sunny enough for your daughter. It sounds like the couch might go with it too.

There are some very light yellows that might add what you want. I recently saw a light lemon peel or something like that at Sherwin Wms.

If you really want to paint it brown I would go with a lighter brown,maybe a Tan. What color is the couch?

Why not paint it whatever then get some of those big vinyl character's that can be put up on the wall then taken down when you have adult guests. This way your daughter still has her friends on the wall when it's a play room and the color won't be such an issue!

You could do your brown on the lower walls, and then at chair-rail height, switch to a nice cream color. You could then bring the terra-cotta color of the couch in with a border along the color divide, either wallpaper or paint. That way, the room stays brighter for playing, yet is still grown-up enough for guests. Have fun! :D

You're right, it would look excellent with brown (my mom is an artist so the whole family has good color sense LOL) i wouldn't go with a dark brown, maybe like a light mocha or toffee instead so that it will make the room look bigger as well as being more uplifting. I do agree that color does effect mood as well as personality which is why my room is so random & bright colors everywhere (think the Austin Powers movies) I'm a big retro gal. Maybe even throw some fun & wacky/whimsical pieces of artwork like framed prints on the wall to brighten it up even more & I did see one suggestion about decorative throw pillows on the futon & if you wanna get wacky & change the color of the futon use some fitted sheets (full size) that have some interesting designs so you can easily remove them if you have company, also it will help protect the investment of your furniture (Im suggesting on the assumption that you got a futon not an actual sleeper sofa as those are painful to sleep on however, a pullout is a different story those are uber comfy) Let us know how it turns out!

Try painting one wall the color you like (as an accent wall). Live with it for a couple of weeks. If you still like it finish painting the room.

I've also seen where they paint huge block of colors on the walls. Maybe this would work for you.