Paint colors for attic playroom- HELP!

[marieangela]

Don't know how to edit the title, but the painting is done and I posted pictures later in this thread.

We picked out a couple of colors for our attic playroom. We liked the blue color and the boys liked the green color. We decided that we could use both. My mil is now saying that they are too dark and will close up the room or somesuch. Why do I let my mil make me doubt things so much? I could really use some opinions. These are the colors.
http://www.valsparatlowes.com/explor...e-a-color.html

Darn, that doesn't work. They are 4006-10A High Seas and 6005-10B Jaunty Green.

And here are some pictures of my attic.
window area http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...c/IMG_1123.jpg
left of window http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1229052211
right of window http://s412.photobucket.com/albums/p...h_IMG_1124.jpg
opposite of window http://s412.photobucket.com/albums/p...h_IMG_1125.jpg

Don't mind the junk that's still up there! I am working on clearing it out. I should have taken more pictures, but don't feel like doing it now. We were thinking of doing the window area in the green color and the main walls in the blue and maybe the wall with the door (opposite the window) in green, as well. What do you think? And would we paint the ceiling blue or white. It's really not that wide of a ceiling. Or should we come up with a new color scheme? What would you do? We were hoping for bright and fun. The painter is coming tomorrow to give an estimate and I'd like to set up a time for him to come and paint asap, which means I have to make up my mind and buy the paint.

[jrabbit]

I don't think the colors are too dark (at least not on my screen), but I don't think they coordinate too well. The blue looks really sky-ocean-y to me, and the green really olive/camo. Keep in mind that the colors will look darker once they're on the walls - so I tend to choose one color lighter than the one I like. So far, I haven't been disappointed.

I also tend to not like multiple colors in a room. Looks too amateur usually, but I hope you don't take that the wrong way. If it were me, I'd probably stick with one color all over, and maybe a stripe in a complimentary color instead, if you're dead-set on 2 colors. But you can also use curtains, etc to get other colors. Your painter will also charge more for 2 colors.

Do paint all the surfaces, though - I like the look of ceilings that are painted to match the walls. If it's a high enough ceiling (and it looks it), then you don't need to lighten the color for the ceiling. It is a very different effect to have the whole room one color - I don't have good pictures right now, but that's the way our house is painted, and with 9'6 ceilings, it gives a calming aura to the home. Everyone can feel it, but they don't know why - unless we're talking about house-painting, then they notice that the ceiling is the same as the walls!

--janis

[bremen]

what about something like lazure painting? paint the walls white matte paint, and then with watercolours, do something like these
http://www.lazurebylogsdon.com/residential_gallery.htm
i think it would be gorgeous on an attic playroom

[Peppermint Leaf]

hi there
my dh and I fix up homes and sell them (yes we are flippers) .. and we did a home about a year ago with a room identical to this.

I strongly advise you to paint the whole room one color including the ceiling ..... the walls tend to come in on you - when the room is this shape - if you paint more than one color .

I would go with a light color and then have lots of fun with the accessories. Go with those fun primary colors you have chosen as throw pillows or posters etc instead.

have fun:

[doubledutch]

wow. when i read the op, i couldn't believe anyone would think those colors were dark - and then i was totally surprised by the other posts. op, i'm a big fan of multicolored rooms. in our old house, ds1 had a little 8x11 room with slanty ceilings (a dormer). we painted the walls and ceiling a really vibrant yellow, trim around the window and doors sky blue, the wood on the window itself and the doors orange (like, candy corn orange) and the baseboards a true blue (similar to painter's tape, or kind of crayon blue?). everyone thought we were completely insane. IT.WAS.AWESOME. and when it was done, everyone loved it. this was a nursery for an unknown gender baby - the other details were a wood floor with a multi-stipe rug (ikea strib if you want to see) and natural wood furniture. it seriously kicked a**.

new house - the finished attic is the kids' room. we haven't painted up there yet because we need to wait until the weather is warm enough to have the windows open, but we are planning to paint the vertical walls (which are about 4.5 feet high) all different colors. we'll keep the slanted walls and ceiling white, with white trim. their furniture is white as well. the room is very similar to your play room.

i think you will have no problem combining these two colors. i would suggest doing the low side walls, slanted walls and ceiling in one color, and the two end walls (window/door walls) in the other color. i think that would look great. i love the colors together.

but . . . the main floor of my house is three shades of blue, two shades of yellow, and purple, so what do i know?

[marieangela]

Thank you for the opinions. I definitely do like the blue color better than the green, but wanted to use the green, too, since the boys like it. I can't seem to find quite the right shade of green to go with that blue. One thing I am sure about now, is painting the ceiling the same color as the walls. My dh thought it had to be white, but it is high and not very wide due to the angles and I think it will look good with color. I am going to talk to the painter today and see what he thinks. We're thinking of a miscellaneous neutral cream/beige color for the stairs and the closet/extra space before you come into the playroom.

[slsurface]

I agree with Peppermint Leaf. And like doubledutch, I don't think that the color's you had picked out are too dark. I think they would be great in that space. But if you are worried, then you could go one shade lighter to be on the safe side.

Please show us pictures when you're done!

[marieangela]

So, what if I were to do green trim (around window and floor) with the blue walls? The painter was just here and he said it would be good to do the walls and ceiling all the same since their are so many angles and not very distinct lines.

[limette]

I say too dark. They may not look dark now but they will be when you paint that room.

I have three dark rooms. One is my living room, one is my finished basement and the last is my bedroom.

The living room room works great. It's pretty neutral during the day and nice and cozy at night but the basement and my tiny master bedroom just turned out really gloomy even with sunny windows. I really regret not picking a nice light airy colour for them and I imagine it would be the same issue for an attic space. The bedroom is being repainted in the spring.

If I were you, I'd paint it a neutral colour and accessorize with the two colours you chose. Maybe even doing a couple of colour blocks on the walls if you wanted.

Ceilings do not have to be white. You paint it all the same colour or a lighter shade of your wall colour. My living room ceiling looks like chocolate milk, it's a light brown in contrast to our dark chocolate walls.

In the end it's completely up to your taste and style but I vote to lighten it up!

[kirstenb]

I feel like they may be too dark as well looking at your pictures. It looks like there are a lot of angles and low ceilings. I would probably paint the walls and ceiling a lighter blue shade (maybe Blue Mist) and then use the bright colors as accents in the room.

[marieangela]

Okay. How about 5001-10a (water fountain) and 6005-10a (greenscape).

http://www.valsparatlowes.com/painter.html

They are both categorized under "bright". At this point I can't tell if that blue would be lighter or not.

Or...5002-9C (summer splash) and 6006-10a (afternoon delight)

[limette]

Though brighter they still seem dark.

I like green mist and blue whisper. They might qualify as pastels but you could up the maturity with wood trim and darker accessories.

Spring lawn is a bit lighter than afternoon delight with grand hotel mackinac blue trim? might be light enough.

whatever you do, grab some swatches and tape them to your wall for awhile to see how they look under different lights.

now i want to paint!

[doubledutch]

trust your gut. it's just paint.

[marieangela]

When I was in my prenatal yoga class this past Sunday doing the little meditation/relaxation at the end, the instructor asked us to send a calming color to the baby. I sent her the blue that I had originally picked for the playroom. And in doing so, finally made up my mind. I'm using that blue (high seas) for the walls and a new green (greenscape) for the trim. We will figure out some creative lighting ideas if it looks too dark.

[doubledutch]

sweet! that sounds beautiful. i came back to this thread just now because i realized that my 'trust your gut' comment could come off as dismissive, like it's no big deal, and i really didn't mean it that way. i meant it as in . . . well, what you're doing! i do miss prenatal yoga!

[marieangela]

The attic painting was done last week. We switched the blue (to billow, I think) and stuck with the greenscape trim. The carpet is being replaced today. I will take some pictures when it's done and post them. I'm so excited to finally get this playroom together! Of course, I still have to figure out how to set it up. I want to get some ikea trofast shelves, but between the painting, the carpet and ds1's birthday, I don't think we can afford them just yet. Anyway, I'll get a nice picture without much in the room and then I'll be sure to ask for some advice on setting everything up!

[doubledutch]

can't wait to see!

[marieangela]

Okay. Here are a couple of pictures that show the new colors.

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/IMG_1284.jpg

http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/IMG_1286.jpg

[kirstenb]

I like how it turned out!

[SkylarJulesmom]

Those colors came out great! I was imagining bubbles on the wall (Over the window) like a fish bowl!