Reviving Old Furniture with Wall Color
May 13, 2008 § 16 Comments
Do you have a sofa from the 80s that looked great back then but kind of looks sad at the moment? Of course, you can slipcover it, but how about punching up the color behind it. We took a living room with blah beige striped wallpaper and pastel patterned upholstery (in good condition) and brought it to life with a soft blue-green paint color (Benjamin Moore’s stratton blue HC-142) and some new pillows. What a difference. All of a sudden the sofas looked intentional and the room came alive.
The trick here is to pick a wall color that is rich but subdued. You need a greyed down shade for this effect to work. Otherwise, a bright wall color might just make your furniture look even older. But a nice tasteful splash of wall color will give your furniture a few more years of life. And in this age of recycling, re-purposing, and reusing old stuff, it’s all about making what you have work.
Before you drag your old furniture off to the consignment store, try painting your room.
Your Home & Color Coach 
totally agree about reusing and revamping anything possible in your home, i have infact nearly finished writing a book about the best way to go about this! It is vital to take a look around your own enviromoent and just by cleverely picking new colours and using your current large peices of furniture it is possible to transform a room!
marla
http://www.shappsandcoutts.com
Hi Marla,
What a fabulous site you have! I am going to go back and spend more time looking at all your fabulous finds. Thanks for visiting.
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Just found your website and I love it!
We are adding a Master Bath (300 sq ft). It has a roof ridge skylight, a bay window and lots of light from a french door and two other windows. We are putting in carrara marble 12×12 on the floor, carrara slabs in the shower- which has clear glass on two sides. The double vanity is wenge colored- the tub and closet wall are white. There are a few different metals- platinuum matte, chrome, brushed nickel, stainless in the bath as well. I would love help with the paint color. I am going to have some accessories in a beach glass blue- but want it to be fairly serene in there. (I call it my Sanitarium!) The paint I am considering is BM horizon with BM Ocean air in the Master bedroom with white trim. Is that going to give me the feel that I want or is it better to go with a color that has a teeny hint of blue in it?
Thanks
I have a red brick rancher with white trim and white solid door. My husband and I want to replace the door with a more updated one. We want to keep the rancher’s architectural design so I’m thinking instead of a solid door, go with a half lite glass window decorative door. However, I’m not sure about the color of the door. I was thinking maroon, a cherry stained wood, or white again. We have black shutters that I’m thinking about replacing with white ones, too. We have a light grey roof as well. Can you help me with colors for our rancher to update it a bit and give it some “punch”. thx.
Hi Jill,
It sounds like you’re tired of the traditional ranch with black shutters, gray roof, and white trim. How about trying the cherry stained wood door (as long as it goes with your brick). It won’t stand out like a black door will (my own personal favorite for brick homes), but it will be warm, and the white trim will show it off nicely. Instead of black shutters (since you’ve had them already), how about a nice dark olive green? The color contrasts nicely with the brick and is set off well by the white trim. I would not go with white shutters — too predictable for you. Go ahead and try something new!
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Abby,
A very sophisticated color combination for the bathroom and bedroom. I think you’ll really like how you’ve moved some of the beach glass color into the bedroom.
Nice!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Rosicrucian says : I absolutely agree with this !
Hi Rosicrucian,
Thanks for visiting my site!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara–
I had sent you an e-mail with come pics attached. Can you help with colors? Thank you
I would like to know if wallpaper and wall border is out? I work at a wallpaper store not selling much. Thank you Marcea Coalburn
Hi Marcea,
Personally, I don’t use a lot of wallpaper because I find paint so much easier to change once you’re tired of the color. And with faux finishes that resemble paper, you get the best of both worlds. BUT, having said that, I have noticed the use of large patterned papers and retro-style papers in powder rooms and guest bedrooms, in particular. Borders, not so much.
I would market to high-end designers who are more likely to use wallpaper in their clients’ homes. Homeowners themselves are not as inclined to go through the wallpaper process.
Hang in there! Trends go in cycles anyway, and wallpaper may be all the rage by next year. Who knows…
Thanks for visiting my site!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Arlene,
I’m not sure if I emailed you or not, but I did not receive your photos. Can you send again?? Thanks.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We currently have a house with white walls (with med-light oak trim around doors, windows and baseboards). Our biggest stumbling block is a fair amount of green liberally spread around our main floor – green tile around the fireplace in the sunroom and matching green vinyl on the floors of the front and back entrance, downstairs hallways, downstairs bathroom, kitchen and informal eating area. We were hoping to put some color on the walls for a few years before we redecorate. The shade of green is very similar to (maybe slightly lighter and a little more gray – but really it is pretty close) the green seen on this webpage:
http://www.nautilusimports.com/building/mtiles1.htm
We also have wood floors (med oak color – in study and living/dining room) and off-white berber carpet (sunroom, stairs, and upstairs hallways and rooms – incidentally there is another fireplace in the master bedroom with the green tile again). I was hoping for some complimentary wall color suggestions that would warm the interior up a little (we like the oak trim) while maintaining an airy-spacious feel (we have two skylights in the sun room and one over the stairs) but not clash with the green. I am not sure that this is even possible! Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much!
Susan
Wow! How lovely that looks now! You really have a great eye.
Hi Susan (13)
You might try a pale yellow (like Ben Moore’s lemon chiffon or milkyway) which will warm up the walls and give your rooms a candlelight glow without being too yellow. There will still be some contrast with the oak trim.
For some of the other rooms that have the dark green in them already, you might try a very soft green tint (like swiss coffee) that again will contrast with your oak trim and blend with the dark green.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi suzannezick (#14),
Thank you and thanks for visiting my site!
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach