Ask A Designer: painting An Open-Concept kitchen area

Q. The wall between my kitchen area as well as living space does not reach the ceiling. If I paint the spaces different colours, where do I stop? The dining space is available to the kitchen, so must they be the exact same colour? I’d likewise like a new dining set as well as will replace the fish tanks with a buffet.

— M.P., by means of email (To submit your own question, see our Ask A Designer™ page.)

A. My policy for painting an open-concept area is simple: paint everything the exact same colour as well as you can’t go wrong! There’s a great deal going on with angled walls as well as ceiling heights, so it’s finest to unify the space. even though I bet you’re worn out of your white walls, I believe they’re light as well as bright. You must stay on the light side, however if you do want a change, go a bit warmer with Horseradish (C15-1) or cooler with Whispering Wind (D16-1) (both shown) from Olympic Paints.

I discover the ideal mix of materials always adds rate of interest to a space. In the dining room, begin with a solid wood dining table, like the G5601X pedestal table (shown) from Geovin Furniture. Its rich, warm wood will ground the area as well as be a great upgrade from the dark eco-friendly pedestal table you have now.

Using a set of woven chairs, as in our motivation shot, will keep the look from feeling as well formal. Ikea’s Majby chair (shown) is made of rattan, so it has fantastic structure — as well as an economical $90 cost tag! I’d like to see the chair with seat pillows made of business C’s Poplar in Robin’s Egg or Imperial Paisley in sun (both shown) to bring pattern to the dining area as well as cheer up the table as well as chairs.

Now, on to lighting: I’d suggest a chandelier with a basic profile. The six-light iron chandelier (shown) from Ethan Allen is traditional as well as unfussy as well as will add a much-needed punctuation of black in the light space.

Replace your kitchen area barstools with a pair of factory-inspired ones, like the Flint barstools (shown) from CB2. The light metal will complement your new table as well as chandelier as well as your existing cabinets.

Together, these new pieces will add refinement to your kitchen area as well as will have staying power for many years to come.

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1. Six-light chandelier, Ethan Allen. 2. Flint barstool, CB2. 3. Majby chair, Ikea. 4. G5601X table, Geovin Furniture. 5. Fabric, from left: Imperial Paisley in Sun, Poplar in Robin’s Egg, business C. 6. Paint, from top: Horseradish (C15-1), Whispering Wind (D16-1), Olympic.