Dark Walls Put Your Furniture In the Light

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into a room and see walls that are painted in a dark color... whether it's blue, brown, deep red, purple or even black... that your furniture just seems to pop? That is what I like about dark paint. It makes your zebra floor rug, your glass end table and your pictures on the wall stand out. Here are some of my favorite pictures of dark rooms...

old and new

I love antiques mixed with contemporary fabrics, paint colors and art. It's interesting. It says "I appreciate the past but I'm a forward-thinking king of gal". Just study these pictures for instance. They come from a 2008 edition of Elle Decor. See the contemporary geographic art placed above the gilded gold chair? Or the mod white leather chair sitting opposite of the french antique desk? It's a balanced mix of old and new, in a neutral color palette, that makes these rooms look so good.

Orange Paint? Are you kidding me?

My House Beautiful magazine came in the mail this past week. What caught my eye and, admittedly, surprised me a bit, was the designer's recommending the color orange for paint. I am a neutral-colored-wall-type person. (The craziest I've gotten is hot pink in my daughter's bedroom.)

Orange never crossed my mind until a few years ago when my New Jersey cousin showed me her kitchen which was painted in "pumpkin". Hmm. Never thought of that.

As I glanced through the pictures and I read what the designers were saying, I've got to admit... I'm even thinking about painting a soft hue of orange in our foyer! Here's what one designer said about the color:

"I wanted a warm, dusty apricot for the walls. Orange can be romantic and sexy. It makes you feel like you've just come in from the beach and your skin is glowing. It looks almost like a sunset in there. And at night, with the sconces and the lantern lit, it's even more dreamy." -STEPHEN SHUBEL

On page 24 of this month's House Beautiful, Charle Pavarini used a deep, rich orange on a wall to "frame" a painting. (He did this because the picture seemed small and lost on the big bare white wall.) He used Venetian plaster in an eye-poppin persimmon color and created a large solid graphic square of this tinted plaster and centered his picture in the middle. It transformed the room!

Just the other day I was in my favorite home store, William Sonoma Home, and I saw cashmere throws, pillows, and dinnerware all in this beautiful tangarine color. Nice!