I am in a dilemna. I fell in love with a shaker green sleigh bed and wardrobe and bought them over 15 years ago for my circa 1918 house. My problem is finding the proper color palette to go with the paint and more importantly my bedding. The color is so bold that I have never been able to find a print or anything save white bedding to work with it.

Can someone help with advice. The furniture is good quality and painting over it is not an option.

Thanks

Hello Mary-Sue!

A color wheel might help. B
y displaying the complementry colors, etc you will get a feel for what you like (and hate).

Here is a helpful link:
http://www.colormatters.com/colortheory.html

Liberate from nature. If there is a plant that has a Shaker Green tone... what are it's blooms?

You should never be trapped in the land of white/cream/ecru unless you want to be.

Good luck

Thanks Deb in NH for the suggestion. I have a three inch thick professional color sampler from Benjamin Moore paints which I have held up to and against the color of the furniture - I know the paint color will have to be fairly neutral. It is just that I was hoping that someone else had actually had this problem - two massive pieces of furniture in a hue of green which no bedding seems to pick-up on. Paint is one thing, curtains, sheets etc what to do?

I would recommend using the chart you have to find colors that will work. You said you house is 1918 and the furniture is obviously of that style so I would recommend looking at the historical colors. There are some really great colors that you can hold up next to your bed to find bedding and paint choices. You don't have to use neutral colors, you just must decide how much color you want. I also HIGHLY recommend paint samples! I have all my customers put samples up and check the color throughout the day. Color changes with lighting alot.

Good luck and I'm sure it will look wonderful!

Well, there are two schools of thought here. You can go very neutral with your paint selections or you can go bolder, even if only on one wall. A bolder paint color may help to keep the furniture from overpowering the rest of the room. That and bolder fabric choices will give you more balance. A richly colored area rug will help. Idea is to give the eye more than 1 richly colored item to look at. Golds, burgandy, barn reds and copper colors come to my mind first.

Thanks MikeyT for the advice. I am fairly new to this website and appreciate the input. But looking at the room, it's shape and size (older homes were not big on being big) your suggestion may just overpower - definately worth a review. Wish there was a way to attach a photo - I know this would help readers to understand not just my, but others design problems. Thanks again.

Think cozy.....Old houses are tough; we're working with one ourselves.

Hello Mary-Sue,

Try a free photo site. They limit you to a number of photos but listing a link can help us see what you are talking about.

I made a test site to verify that it is free and will list some pictures.


http://ddellaselva.photosite.com

Thanks Deb

Although I am technically challenged I am sure a lot of people would love to explain their dilemna with "a picture that worth a thousand words". You have just provided a great service and I hope that HGTV moderators take note and suggest this as well. At this minute three other rooms worth of "stuff" are piled into my bedroom while the drywall is being resurfaced, then painted, then the floors are being sanded (old fir) - so stay tuned. If I can figure out how to shoot this I will share it.

Pictures would be great. Do think about the gold colors. I live in a house built in 1930 so it is very small. My bedroom is Stuart Gold with an accent wall in a dark blue (down pour). Because alot of older homes have high ceilings you can actually get away with some bold colors. My bedroom furniture is a big 4poster in cherry wood. The gold color warms the room up nicely. My window treatments are simple off white but my bedding is burgandy, gold, dark blue and dark green. It brings it all together with that old fashioned style. I really recommend putting up some sample colors to help you choose. And remember its just paint. If you hate it you can paint it. One of my clients went with a very bold red and a very light color. It wasn't what they wanted so I repainted it for them. No biggie. Experiment a bit and some fun!

g8rgirl99

Thanks for the post. You are right, the room is not very large and is L- shaped to boot. The bed takes up most of the space off of the one wall.

Your timing is interesting. I had mentioned in an earlier post that my bedroom is full of "stuff" from three other rooms which are having the drywall resurfaced and sanded. What a mess. They were late (who hasn't had this experience with tradesmen these days) and today I cleaned up as they are mostly done. Drywall dust is a pain.

Having those rooms primed then will paint my kitchen, living room, bathroom and foyer. I have a claw foot tub that I am sending out for refinishing when the flooring guy is ready to sand and finish. It may be a short while before I get to my bedroom but will post as soon as I am ready. Thank-you for maintaining interest.