D&R suggestions needed/wanted

Kellybeth124

This is the floor plan of the apartment we're moving in to in July.

We'll probably be here for at least 3 years while I finish school so we're really thinking about painting a few accent walls. We were thinking of doing the short wall in the dining room and the master bedroom wall opposite of the bedroom door (the window is really only a half window and we're planning on putting the bed under it). Would you choose those walls or would you choose different ones?

What about colors? We went to Home Depot last night and we really liked a cranberry color (Behr UL100-4) for the dining room and a taupe-y gray color for the bedroom (Behr UL260-5).  Any other color suggestions?

mamie329

That place looks awesome! Two full baths? 

TBH, I'm not the biggest fan of accent walls. Are you not thinking about doing all the walls because you'd have to paint back when you move out?

Also, are you a cool or warm person? My favorite paint colors are soft aquas, greiges, grays, golden yellows, and avocado greens.  

Leigha12

When you say short wall in the DR, do you mean the tiny piece of wall abutting the kitchen, the back wall, or the left wall abutting the second bedroom closet?

hopscotch.

I'm with Mames...also not a huge fan of accent walls.  I've seen them used here and there tastefully, but I think it really depends on the place.  I can't find any one wall in the floorplan you posted that I think would be perfect for an accent wall.

Like Mames suggested, what if you just painted an entire room or two?  Maybe just the Master BR or just the living room/dining room area?

Leigha12

See, I do like accent walls. I usually prefer them to be the furniture anchor walls, like the wall a bed or couch is up against.  In the master, I would do that on the far right wall (but that's also because I don't like beds under/ partially blocking windows).

Kellybeth124

Leigha - the dining room wall perpendicular to the wall with the bedroom door.

I guess the thought of painting all of the walls didn't really occur to us simply because of having to repaint everything. And I'm not sure about the cranberry color (which we really like) being done on more than one wall. I think it would be too much for the size of the space. Blergh...I am D&R impaired. 

Leigha12

A DR room probably wouldn't work because that wall is facing the living area. Your color would have to complement both your DR and LR furniture/decor. The wall abutting the bedroom would work IF there was a total separation from the continuation into the LR, but I doubt that's how it's set up. A doorway all the way to the ceiling would be an oddity.

mamie329

Kellybeth124:

Leigha - the dining room wall perpendicular to the wall with the bedroom door.

I guess the thought of painting all of the walls didn't really occur to us simply because of having to repaint everything. And I'm not sure about the cranberry color (which we really like) being done on more than one wall. I think it would be too much for the size of the space. Blergh...I am D&R impaired. 

Then, yes, accent walls make more sense due to paintback factor (::insert long bitter story about property manager not refunding our deposit because we didn't paint back six walls::)  

Like leigha said, accents walls make more sense as an anchor (behind the bed, the TV wall, etc).  

I'm also D&R impaired. I can easily spot things I like, but can't make it happen in my own house.  

Kellybeth124

If we decided to paint the larger LR/DR wall - what color would you do? Our couch is a light tan microsuede, and we have this espresso colored TV stand.

This is a pic of a dining room table exactly like ours:

 

Everything we have is pretty neutral, I feel like we need some color.

mamie329

If all your stuff is neutral, you can do anything. Do you have any rugs or pillows you're going to use? Think about those. Any art you have where you can pull a color out of? 

This may help too:

http://sites.google.com/site/thepaintbio/ 

Kellybeth124

Yeah, we don't have anything. The old college posters are still up in this apartment and I don't plan on taking them to the new place. So it's really a blank canvas. Thanks for the link to the bio, I'll definitely check it out.

hawkilady

I think in the bedroom you could do the accent wall but I dont think i would do it in the dining room.  Also cranberry sounds like red which is an absolute PITA to paint and paint over.  I have 2 accent walls in my house, the first is because I let DH convince me to paint our den red, I hated it, made the room seem so small but he loved the red, so I painted 3 walls beige and left one red.  It looks fine now but I would never do it again. 

The 2nd is in our loft.  Its a bedroom but the LR walls have cathedral ceilings and so its all open.  So all but the back wall are the same color as our LR since the walls are shared.  I needed something with some more color and as more of an anchor to break up the space, so we did a darker accent wall, its sort of an olivey-brown color.  It matches the bedding well and there are skylights so its plenty bright up there still. 

Are there any colors you can paint that you wouldnt have to paint over?  In my college apartment, we got the colors approved by the landlord and she let us paint the living room a still neutral beige color that was much warmer than the stark white.  We also painted the kitchen a super pale yellow.  Because she approved them beforehand we didnt have to paint over it when we moved out. 

Kellybeth124

It's a medium-sized apartment complex and they repaint between tenants so the rule is, if they can cover it with their standard paint, we don't have to repaint it. Obviously that wouldn't work with the cranberry, but DH is really set on it. What's with men and red walls?