Karen GV's Profile

I cast about for ideas for painting the living spaces on the first floor of my house. It doesn't get much natural light, and I had tried to "go with it" by painting it with dark colors. Too depressing.

I upgraded the lighting (I think everything was either dome lighting, or lighting with "antiqued" yellowed glass shades). I went with ceiling fixtures/chandeliers that point downward, with frosted white instead of antiqued glass shades. Played with a couple of different light bulbs. Added floor lamps and lots of mirrors.

For paint color, I'd heard dark was the way to go (nope), light was the way to go (maybe?) -- but what made the most sense to me was when I read that medium is the way to go in rooms with little light. I chose Martha Stewart's cement gray (color matched in Behr premium plus ultra)-- even though I live in a very cloudy city. I love it -- my curtains and some of my chairs are white, and my bookshelves are dark (espresso?) -- I add in pops of color in accessories and painted an accent wall in one room a nice yellow and another accent wall in another room, white. (I wish I'd gone a little more mustardy on the yellow).

By the way -- the Behr covered even the chocolate brown paint in one coat, no primer.