I Need Help Picking Dining Room Colors

Cool Color Group

• Cool colors work best with black furniture or furniture that does not have warm tones, such as light maple. Cool colors can be used to create a modern and crisp feeling. Blues, some greens, gray and white are cool tones. To give the room some punch, paint three walls one color and paint the fourth another color. This creates a feature wall.

Warm Color Group

• Warm colors work well with neutrals and with furniture that has strong tones of brown. Ivory is a good choice if the room is small. Other colors in this group include butter yellow, beige, tan and brown. Warm colors are ideal for design themes such as rustic, beach, Asian or elegant. Warm colors mix well with the neutral color palette and give you many options for accents.

Wainscoting

• Wainscoting is a technique commonly used in dining rooms that gives you more color options. You can even create faux wainscoting by painting the upper portion of the walls a dark color and the bottom portion a light color. For example, the top half could be a brilliant red, a warm ocher or chocolate brown, while the bottom half could be white or ivory. This gives elegance to the space and increases visual interest.

Other Considerations

• If you are decorating a dining room in an older home, such as a Victorian or a Federalist home, consider wallpaper. Many of these homes were originally wallpapered. Choose elegant wallpaper in your desired color group. If the room is small, use wallpaper on just one wall, and paint the other walls.