This question just in…. (remember you can ask me anything if you are a newsletter subscriber) from Joanne:

Hi Ms. Conrad,

I am currently doing the inside of my house.  My style is primitive
country. I am currently putting wainscoting up.  

I need some ideas for colour. The colours I am attracted to are
barn red, blue and mustard yellow.  I love these colour.
My problem is what colour to paint the wainscoting.  

I am really attracted to red, but my daughter thinks I should paint it
the mustard colour.  I have an open style house so I need the colour
to flow from room to room. I have been trying to get ideas off the net
on Rate My Space, but there isn't too much when you look for wainscoting
ideas.  I do have a fireplace also. 

Our house is a four-split level so I need the wainscoting to flow.
I am not crazy about white wainscoting as I prefer more warm tones.

Thank you so much,

Joanne

Here is my quick answer:

Hi...

Here is my quick - without "seeing" your house response.  

I've used hunter green - cobalt blue - and barn red in my home. 

The only color I have "never" gotten tired of or found great ways
to decorate with is "Barn Red". 

Think about this... if someone were to walk into your home for the
first time - what color would you want to be the predominate color?

The "One" color that they would see "some of" in every room? 

I have red in every room. Some is on the walls. - some rooms it's just
the furniture and some rooms it's just the accent accessories. It all
flows. 

I found that "RED" is the easiest of the country colors to decorate
with. 

And yellow?  Ewww. 

  

Debra

I’ve just started watching the new season of “Blog Cabin” and I remembered I have this great log cabin to show you:

Brenda has the cutest log cabin! I am so jealous – and her hubby built it!

They painted the kitchen cabinets red and Brenda loves the color. She sent pictures so we could all drool:

She has a question about color for some of the rest of the cabin:

Hi Debra,

A couple of weeks ago I asked you if I should paint, stain or leave natural the stairs that my husband built in our small cabin. I told you my kitchen cabinets were painted red, and you said if I loved the red, go for it.

I still haven’t’ done anything yet, for fear I won’t like anything I do.You also said you would like to see a picture, so here is a picture. What do you think? Still paint it red?

Thanks

Brenda – Cute cute cute! I love your little cabin!

I really like the red on the kitchen cabinets. From the pictures it looks like painting the stairs red would balance things. It’s a bit heavy on the red cabinet side and the stair railing gets lost because it’s all the same wood.

The beam across the middle of the room looks interesting… but I can’t really tell if it’s hanging down at ceiling height. It might be interesting to stain a dark – dark color.

Debra

Thanks for your response………The ceiling is (don’t know technical term) an “A” pitch roof and the beams are the same height as the floor in the loft area.

Are you talking about staining the stairs a dark color or staining the beams? (Which has giving me another idea)

Actually, as far as the stairs go, what I have been dwelling about is staining the steps just a regular medium shade, paint the balusters red and paint the top railing black.

Hey Brenda

I was thinking of staining the beams a dark color which would set them apart from all the matchy wood.

The idea you have for the stairs sounds cool – but… it might be busy.

I might stick with the same dark stain as the beams for the hand rail and the stair steps… and then pop on the red for for the balusters.

BTW… the dark I’m thinking of is really really dark… like mahogany.

To balance this darkness you will end up having to use something dark in the room. Like a dark coffee table or???

_______

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brenda? Any ideas? Leave them below in the reply section!

Technorati Tags: blog cabin, log cabin decoration, red kitchen cabinets

After you narrow down your paint color choices… the next step is to get some paint pot samples.

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Update

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We had a few questions about paint samples and paint pots… “What are they”?

Color Samples allow you to test a color before you commit to the time and expense of painting an entire room.

I found paint samples available for all the paint brands and colors I wanted to try. Much cheaper than buying quarts of each color!

********

Use the paint samples to create a small selection of Large Paint Chips!

I picked up an inexpensive piece of foam core board at the local crafts store and cut it up into about 2 ft. squares.

The reason I use foam core is that it doesn’t warp (much) after the wet paint has been applied.

These paint chip samples were originally created to help us choose exterior paint colors… but I kept them to help me choose some interior colors.

This week I have to choose a new color for the master bedroom.

The color we have now is a green called coffee. (That Martha Stewart had some interesting color names a few years ago).

I’m actually going to be using this green in the guest bedroom… but am not happy with it in the master bedroom any longer.

It does look great with the wood work… but it doesn’t look great with the new carpet. The old carpet had a yellow/gold cast which was a great contrast with the wall color.

Not only have I added a new color of carpet… but I’ve thrown in a new color to the entire room scheme. Plum!

So… the new color is a rust or terra-cotta color (the far right paint sample).

The pictures are just to give you some ideas… you will see the actual room when it’s done! :0)

Bedding Colors

Pine Furniture

Plum Colored Sofa

See What Paint Colors To Use With Plum

Technorati Tags: green walls, large paint chips, master bedroom colors, paint samples