I've been back and forth with the idea of repainting. I reallly don't want to paint - its boring and messy work that I'm not particularily skilled at - so why am I torturing myself? The color on the walls is not offensive and serves to make it nice and bright and airy. But I've been tinkering with this idea of going in a whole new direction and painting the walls a rich dark blue - almost black but not quite. Am I completely crazy?
1. Lonny via Decor Pad 2. Unknown source via Houzz
3. LA Times via Hooked on Houses 4. Phoebe Howard via Zesty Nest
In a different space, I would have just gone for it but there are some elements in here giving me pause. First, there isn't any lovely chuny molding or architectural detail to break up the blue. The room isn't overly large. It faces north so it doesn't bright sunshine. In other words, those are a lot of strikes against.
So who wants to talk me out of it? or into a better alternative?
The blue looks so "cocoony". The good thing is that all your furniture is already white/light so you would have the contrast there without repainting the furniture. My son's room was this deep navy and I loved it!
ReplyDeleteWill a new color on the walls make you want to replace the bedding or window treatments. Sometimes painting makes me re-think everything in the room & it turns into a costly make-over.
ReplyDeleteIf not, I say go for it. Since the room is already dark, embrace it. Go Navy!
You're def not crazy. One of my favorite "rooms" in our house is the tiny half bath, which is Ben Moore's "Van Deusen Blue". It's a great blue that's one up on the paint chip from the darkest of dark blues. Navy will definitely create a different vibe in your bedroom, for sure. Since the rest of your place is so light and bright, a dark bedroom could offer a nice respite.
ReplyDeleteI want to talk you into it! We painted our media room Hague Blue (Farrow and Ball) and have loved it ever since. I want to paint every room this color. It's got a little green, a little gray and a lot of navy - it's stunning. Stunning!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU! I want to do my little studio apartment in Hague Blue and everyone thinks I'm crazy!! My studio gets VERY little light, so I definitely want to work with the lack of light and consider it a positive versus a negative in creating a moody, cocooning space -- much like I'm sure it works in your media room. I keep getting nudged to do charcoal gray walls (which I also love - like F&B's Down Pipe) but I figure I have the rest of my life -- and subsequent larger apartments/homes to have a 50 Shades of Grey affair -- and I really want to go for it with Hague Blue in my small space, with kitchen, main room, adjacent dressing area and bathroom all done in the color! I secretly suspect that all the naysayers are just too afraid to use the color themselves...they want Pottery Barn when I want Miles Redd!!
DeleteDo you still love the Hague Blue today????
Thanks,
Chris
Navy walls & white trim equals chic drama, but if you feel it's too much why not trim out so panels on the wall behind the bed & paint those?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the navy!! What if you put up a chair rail & left it white below? Or what about navy & white stripes? :) Or if you decide against the navy, maybe a huge navy rug?
ReplyDeleteTwo words. Accent wall. I love the idea of being daring with navy!
ReplyDeletewe did our small laundry room navy with one wall in muslin fabric..Lots of white shelves and white and metallic finishes..I actually love it!
ReplyDeletei say do it!! i love navy paint, its such a striking color! xoxo jillian:: don't miss my fishs eddy dish giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI love the navy walls too, hear what you're saying though about that room. What if you left the walls lighter and did a dramatic navy and white comforter, something custom made? Dark walls just don't seem to flow with shore style, which I guess is typically lighter, calmer and quieter. I do love that octopus wall. I have a dream to make my top landing of my stairs look like that.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way about a room I'm redecorating. I think about it all of the time and it consumes me until it's done. Then I'm bored again and find another new project to tackle.
Or, you could get deep navy bedding and go THAT direction...
ReplyDeleteYou aren't crazy! I loooove that inky blue! It would look gorgeous with all of the crisp white furniture. Not to mention that it's the color of the ocean. Me likey.
ReplyDeleteI painted my walls the color of the Hooked on Houses wall color when I was in high school. I was IN LOVE with navy....and then after having a room surrounded by navy, I'm scared to let it back into my house=). But I do think it's such a great contrasting accent color. It's slowly making it's way back into my decor!
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures you posted but don't think that style works in your house on the shore, at least what we've seen of it. How about focusing instead on replacing your comforter and maybe also doing new lamps and throw pillows? A turquoise and white comforter would look great with the smart fish and you could build from there to add the other accents. How about something like this: http://www.westelm.com/products/organic-ironwork-duvet-shams-b675/?pkey=cduvet-covers
ReplyDeleteIve been crazy about Navy lately too!!
ReplyDeleteI say go for it. It's just paint and you can always hire someone to paint for very, very little money. It will be moody and dramatic and you will love it.
ReplyDeleteI love the navy blue paint idea. The white trim work you have will help to define your walls plus, I assume you'll keep the ceiling white? This would help to keep that dark color from feeling like it's closing in around you. Navy is a good choice for a bedroom since that's your sanctuary--definitely a cosy shade of blue.
ReplyDeleteI love it! My dining room/reading room is close to navy, but I have big windows and big white bookshelves to counter it.
ReplyDeletePlus, my bedroom isRalph Lauren brown (I swear it's beautiful), and it just feels so relaxing. It's my oasis.
Love these photos, by the way!
Yes, absoultely go navy!!! What if you expanded the molding at the top? This is an old trick, but you could add a quarter inch strip of wood about 3 or 4 inches down from the molding that is there and then paint the inbetween space white. You could also use the same wood to frame out behind the behind the bed (three large picture frames if you will). I hope you go through with it! Blue says ocean/beach to me no matter what the shade!
ReplyDeleteGo with the blue! I've been totally sold on it since I saw this amazing room (i blogged about it here: http://119northhome.blogspot.com/2011/06/bohemian-chic.html) I painted my bedroom Wrought Iron by Martha...its pretty gorgeous- even without a lot of sunshine I love the idea of a stormy, thoughtful blue room. :)
ReplyDeleteI recently found your blog through YHL and I love the pics you posted, but for the shore house I would only do that inky blue if you could balance it with some other white architectural details like the room with the octopus art and keep the bedding and curtains light and airy. You have a great blog and I am so jealous of all the traveling you are able to do!
ReplyDeleteMy very small bedroom (13x16) is all black, including the ceiling. I love it -- it's far more relaxing than you'd think. We only have one window that faces west, so we don't get a lot of natural light either, but that's okay. I think the dark color helps promote sensory release for better sleep, but that's me.
ReplyDeleteAnd you can always add architectural details if you want. :)
You're so brave! I dont' think I could do it! I would want to do it, like you, only I'd be chicken so I'd probably get my navy fix by throwing up dark navy curtains to replace the old ones...and then do lots of blue accents with the bedding.
ReplyDeleteBut if you're feeling gutsy, do it!!
I painted the wall behind my bed a deep navy and I love it -- it makes everthing else in the room pop!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Navy, maybe you would install some moulding or something to give it architectural interest?
ReplyDeletei painted our guest room dark blue a few years ago and i still love it. i've actually taken a few naps in our guest room because i find it to be really cozy. so i say go for it! i tried to balance the darker wall color with lighter bedding, curtains, and art. here's a recent picture: http://five2eight.blogspot.com/2010/07/guest-room-photo-wall.html
ReplyDeleteI really like the hand drawn, slightly wavy, chair rail I saw in Design Star a few weeks ago. (Episode 4, picture 51 http://www.hgtv.com/design-star/design-star-6-photo-highlights-from-episode-4/pictures/index.html ) It is beachy, but not too literal. You could do something similar with navy on top, more like a night time beach color story.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea. If it's a north facing room, you'll definitely need to add a lot of white to counterbalance it. Don't know if you'd want to go with a chair rail. wainscot or a simple board and battan. That may end up being way more work than you want to do. That pic from zesty nest though does inspire. The dresser you have in the wood finish would look gorgeous in a darker stain with navy and white in the room. Start with an accent wall and some new bedding. See how it feels and go from there.
ReplyDeleteI want to change out the bedding anyway so that's no great loss. Other than that I think what I have now would work better with the navy but who knows?
ReplyDeleteboard + batten on the bottom part of the wall + navy on the top! less to paint but it will still feel beachy with the addition of the wood on the lower half.
ReplyDeleteWhat about big chunky blue stripes? They would give you a nautical nod..
ReplyDeleteAnd you have to name the fish Gil, of course! ;)
you could stencil the wall behind the bed with the "Mermaid" fish scale-y stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/products_search.php?search_category_id=0&search_string=mermaid&search=Search
Do it in navy! The deeper the better :)
Add white bedding/accents/coral/etc. It would be quite the wow factor IMHO
Go for it! Worst case, you paint it back to what it is now.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Im worried it might look too 'boys room' if you know what I mean. Im hoping going really dark (almost black) will help but then Im back to wondering if I might hate it. Who knew I was so indecisive? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the color recommendation. I never quite bought into the idea that dark colors make a room feel smaller but I am worried I might feel a little drab surrounded in black. But if it can work in a small bathroom, why not a bedroom?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation. That color sounds pretty amazing. I'll definitely check it out. Any photos to share?
ReplyDeleteNot a huge fan of the accent wall in general (did it in my last house 10 years ago and it got kind of old for me.) but it might make sense in this case. At the very least I can see how one wall feels before going whole hog.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too worried about it looking beachy as that isn't that important to me but I don't want it to feel totally disconnected so good point. I have some navy in the kitchen so I feel like it might tie in but its just a tiny bit.
ReplyDeleteLove that bedding - too bad it doesn't come in a comforter (I've sworn off duvets!)
ReplyDeleteThat link didn't work - can you repost?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! Hope you'll be back :)
ReplyDeleteOh I'd love to see that - can you share some photos? I see a lot of dark rooms in magazines but its rare to see it in "real" peoples homes.
ReplyDeleteI say go for it, paint the room navy. It will add a bit of drama to the room.You can always add some architectural details for interest. BTW love the goldfish.
ReplyDeleteOoof. I am totally a blue-paint kinda girl, but I'm leaning toward don't do it!
ReplyDeleteIf it's not a sunny room you might regret it. It may just be too dark. Anyhow,
Those are my two cents for what it's worth. ;)
Sure! It's kind of a work in progress -- in that we still have to install our trim and decorate to be completely honest, but I'll see what I can find for you. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's a really great room that fits... http://pinterest.com/pin/121202315/
ReplyDeleteWhat if you installed some DIY wainscoting on the bottom to lighten it up?
I don't know if anyone said this yet, but if you paint it blue, you definitely need to nickname it "the fishbowl". :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a bold move to make so maybe that's why I'm on the fence about it. The best navy blue room I saw was on Emily A. Clark's blog in her former living room. It had beauty and drama.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your choice.
Oh...I say go for it. Perhaps just on one wall with white walls everywhere else. Lots of white accessories....here' a post I recently did on black walls. http://www.leprojetdemaison.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love rich dark colours but do agree that painting is the worst...not nearly enough instant gratification for me but I still say go for it.
These are great inspiration photos, and we love the idea of such a dark, rich room. In our home, we love an all-white guest bedroom. It's very clean and calming and allows you to mix in a lot of great accent pieces. Can't wait to see photos of your finished room.
ReplyDeletexo E + J
You can do it! I too wanted to update our bedroom and ended up using Behr's Starless Night. I LOVE how relaxing and warm and inviting it feels. A great way to end the day. Funny...that top left photo was my inspiration as well! A perfect mix of traditional and modern. I can share a photo, but I don't have a blog. How might I do that?
ReplyDeleteHere's the flickr set of what we've done so far. Where the white space is behind the bed will become wallpapered with a black and silver toile paper. The crown and casings will be high-gloss black. Like I said, it's not near finished, but it is all one dark color and I still love it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/so_tabulous/sets/72157622830401055/
I'm so in love with my navy blue dining room, it's not even funny. And, true, it has lots of bright white molding, beadboard and chair rail to break it up... but the room doesn't get a ton of sunlight on that side of the house. And I NEVER feel like it's too doom and gloomy. In fact, I love it a little bit more every time I see it! It was such a risk for me but I am so glad I took it!! If you're thinking about it, go for it!
ReplyDeleteiI have been considering painting our bedroom a dark blue color. I think I could only paint one wall though, because the room is on the smallish side. It is also a northfacing room and we generally keep the shade down but since it's our bedroom I don't think that should matter. No one else is really going to see it!
ReplyDeleteI think you should go for it! I have dark grey bedroom walls and love the feel
ReplyDeleteYou are NOT CRAZY my dear! I just painted my office a BLACK and LOVE IT! The deep blue will make it cozier and richer looking. It will look fabulous! Trust me on this one :) Keep us updated on what you choose!!
ReplyDeleteI love navy, but it's going to kill the airy beachy vibe. If IIIIII were you and couldn't get the thought out of my head, I'd try painting just the far window wall and leave the rest alone. That way you'd get the contrast and not be overwhelmed....it would be like looking at the ocean (kinda?).
ReplyDelete