Decorating help! Don't want everything to be off white and gray.

[Frwinkley]

New build. Open kitchen, living room, dining room. Lots of furniture to be purchased!!

Cabinetry will be off white and flooring will be a light gray luxury vinyl planking. I'd love to hear some color suggestions for dining area and living room. We'll need dining room furniture, as well as living room sofa/loveseat, tables.

For dining room furniture, I was thinking of something "not off white" because it would be too hard to match. Should we go with a light wood? I'm not too crazy about black and I'm not sure of any other options.

Not sure what to do in the living room either. Again, don't want everything to be white and gray. Something in the sage green family? Not crazy about blue.

Any and all help would be appreciated!

 

[AgentMama]

Maybe consider adding color in your accent pieces instead of the large pieces. I think it's easier to change room themes and avoid looking dated when you leave the larger stuff neutral, sorry, I know that's not what you asked.

We tend to add color with things like rugs, pillows, furniture accents. A light colored wood table sounds lovely.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Again, don't want everything to be white and gray. Something in the sage green family? Not crazy about blue.

I'll echo the thought of staying neutral with the big furniture and use pillows, rugs, and paintings/curtains for color.

I'm not a fan of green, but sage green and gold/brown with a touch of yellow works.

https://www.thespruce.com/colors-that-go-with-sage-green-5235611

 

[cvjw]

I would not install grey vinyl flooring. Grey floors seem to be on the way out. I would pick a timeless hardwood floor.

Also second PP about getting your color from accent pieces that can be changed out as they age. I would not want to be stuck with a green or blue sofa and loveseat. I would pick a nice taupe color for my living room furniture. Add color in a rug.

 

[Travel60]

Off white and gray can be either "cool" or "warm" depending on the undertones. If warm, you want to use warm colors (more yellowish tones). If cool, you want to use cool tones. For example, green can be warm (olive) or cool (sage, wintergreen). Red can be orangy (warm) or cherry red (cool).

You don't say how formal your dining room will be. If formal, how about a walnut or cherry stain? If less formal maybe a painted wood - cranberry, green, depending on the warm/cool thing. For example, my breakfast set has painted table legs, painted chair backs and legs and natural wood tabletop and chair seats.

Maybe go to a paint store and pick up some paint strips in colors you think you like - get the ones that have 4-5+ colors on a strip. Hang them against samples of your cabinets and flooring. Pick the one you like best and try to make your major colors in all three rooms come from the colors on that strip. Maybe the lighter color on the walls, medium color on painted or fabric furniture and darkest as accent - pillows, lamps.

Some paint stores also have pamphlets with ideas for color schemes - usually three colors that coordinate well. Something might catch your eye there.

 

[ronandannette]

New build. Open kitchen, living room, dining room. Lots of furniture to be purchased!!

Cabinetry will be off white and flooring will be a light gray luxury vinyl planking. I'd love to hear some color suggestions for dining area and living room. We'll need dining room furniture, as well as living room sofa/loveseat, tables.

For dining room furniture, I was thinking of something "not off white" because it would be too hard to match. Should we go with a light wood? I'm not too crazy about black and I'm not sure of any other options.

Not sure what to do in the living room either. Again, don't want everything to be white and gray. Something in the sage green family? Not crazy about blue.

Any and all help would be appreciated!

We've almost finished a complete cosmetic reno on our new home. White cabinets and finish carpentry, grey quartz counters, grey floors (carpet and LVP) pale green-grey main wall colour with a couple of sage feature walls and grey ledgestone on the fireplace face. Most of the furniture is grey with a few darker wood pieces mixed in; draperies and decor accents are green and all the metal finishes are brushed nickel. Not exactly the cutting edge of current trends but it looks extremely good. We love it.

 

[unrequited23]

Tones that you can find in nature that are a little warmer/richer than old school neutrals are big right now. Stone, slate, sandstone, moss, mushroom, sea glass, sage, etc. I would focus on layering textures for your soft goods/upholstered pieces. I shy away from very dark wood pieces because they show dust and dog hair. But then again I've taken a baggie of dog fur from the vacuum canister to use as a shade comparison when choosing couch fabric.

 

[Frwinkley]

Tones that you can find in nature that are a little warmer/richer than old school neutrals are big right now. Stone, slate, sandstone, moss, mushroom, sea glass, sage, etc. I would focus on layering textures for your soft goods/upholstered pieces. I shy away from very dark wood pieces because they show dust and dog hair. But then again I've taken a baggie of dog fur from the vacuum canister to use as a shade comparison when choosing couch fabric.

We have dark furniture and dark cabinets in our current home. No dogs, cats, or kids and I can't stand the dust!

 

[Frwinkley]

Off white and gray can be either "cool" or "warm" depending on the undertones. If warm, you want to use warm colors (more yellowish tones). If cool, you want to use cool tones. For example, green can be warm (olive) or cool (sage, wintergreen). Red can be orangy (warm) or cherry red (cool).

You don't say how formal your dining room will be. If formal, how about a walnut or cherry stain? If less formal maybe a painted wood - cranberry, green, depending on the warm/cool thing. For example, my breakfast set has painted table legs, painted chair backs and legs and natural wood tabletop and chair seats.

Maybe go to a paint store and pick up some paint strips in colors you think you like - get the ones that have 4-5+ colors on a strip. Hang them against samples of your cabinets and flooring. Pick the one you like best and try to make your major colors in all three rooms come from the colors on that strip. Maybe the lighter color on the walls, medium color on painted or fabric furniture and darkest as accent - pillows, lamps.

Some paint stores also have pamphlets with ideas for color schemes - usually three colors that coordinate well. Something might catch your eye there.

OP here: the whole house will be very casual. No formal living room or dining room. Our current home has dark furniture and dark cabinetry and I'm over it. I want something light and airy.

I like the idea of going to a paint store for color ideas! I wouldn't have thought of that.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Enjoy your time decorating, it can be a lot of fun!

 

[Frwinkley]

I would not install grey vinyl flooring. Grey floors seem to be on the way out. I would pick a timeless hardwood floor.

Also second PP about getting your color from accent pieces that can be changed out as they age. I would not want to be stuck with a green or blue sofa and loveseat. I would pick a nice taupe color for my living room furniture. Add color in a rug.

I have timeless hardwood flooring now. I want something different, easy to maintain and more modern. My personal preference.

 

[White Cat]

A touch of red.

 

[tcufrog]

While I'm not a professional designer, I get lots of compliments on my home and have been asked multiple times to help with decorating other people's spaces. Do you have photos of the space you can post at different times of day? I need to see the light that comes into the space.

 

[Frwinkley]

While I'm not a professional designer, I get lots of compliments on my home and have been asked multiple times to help with decorating other people's spaces. Do you have photos of the space you can post at different times of day? I need to see the light that comes into the space.

I’m afraid all I have is pictures from the model home. Thanks for offering to help.

 

[Frwinkley]

I’m afraid all I have is pictures from the model home. Thanks for offering to help.

 

[Frwinkley]

These are from the model home as well. Floor will be a bit lighter. I’m not a fan of the dark furniture. They also have dark furniture in the dining room.

Counter tops are quartz, with a tiny bit of grayish/blue throughout. Cabinets are a cream or off white color.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I would hire a professional for advice.

 

[barkley]

you may want to hold off on furniture choices until you see the flooring and cabinets all installed-it can look very different when in the rooms vs. a sample in a showroom. it can also look very different due to the way individual rooms are lighted naturally and with whatever light fixtures you have. you may also find that the vinyl may be a slight shade off from the samples you've seen (this is why it's a good investment to order an extra box over what you need in case of the need to replace an individual plank down the line-you want them all to be from the same run to ensure color matching). you may find that an individual room gets such great natural light that it causes what you anticipated to be a light and airy is overly bright in which case you may opt for a nice area rug that you might want to pull from the color(s) on for furniture choices.

 

[Living42Day]

No advice, but congrats on the home purchase!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I prefer light, bright, & sparse. I despise a cluttered looking room. My colors are similar to yours, except I have more beige & tan where you have grey. We went with off white, leather furniture in the living room. The only other furniture we have in there is a light oak curio cabinet that my uncle made my Mom many years ago. That is against the wall leading to the master bedroom. If it wasn't a family heirloom, I would only have the couch, loveseat & recliner in the living room. I agree with those who suggest adding color with accent pieces.