SFGate

hr01 well u have the right idea, paint it quick before i get sick. lol , get some swatches at your local home de***

abbshel Are you keeping the carpet? If so, what color is it and what color is the tile flooring?

Lori Young the carpet is a beige and I would like to change the flooring but the first thing is the walls. lol the tile in the kitchen is the same color it will eventually go too

Bonnie How about a gray to go with the rug... either lighter or darker. What color is your dining room furniture and do you plan on doing window treatments--- if so what color or style?

Bonnie This is pretty too and would probably go with your rug...

Bonnie Sorry ... i thought your carpet was gray. Just saw the post about beige carpet.

Lori Young I will be buying new furniture right now its white. I really like the gray but not sure what color to do the kitchen in if I use gray. and the living room needs repainted too. I will paint or redo the trim white and get rid of the awful paneling that is throughout the house. I am open to any ideas though.

inkwitch Boy, do you have your work cut out for you! You bought a house new to you, but it's obviously in need of a lot of TLC -- and stripping! I'd start with removing absolutely everything you don't need or like, including that carpet. You need a clean slate.

To keep yourself sane and make it bearable (after you're removed the wallpaper -- use fabric softener. Dissolves the glue. You'll get the hang of it.), spackle the walls and paint it with white primer. You'll probably have to do that no matter what you decide.

Then stare at it in all kinds of light. If this is yours, you can do what you like, but with costs these days, you want to do it once, and do it right. The point is, without knowing what style you prefer (modern, cottage, mid-century, rustic, etc.), it's hard to make suggestions. What colors do you love? You mention yellow; does it go with what you plan to own?

Kitchen: As long as you don't have cats (they love to climb), you might remove all hte upper cabinet doors, paint the insides white or a color you'll decorate with down the road, and change the hardware on the lower cabinets. THere's nothing wrong with dark wood; if it's good wood and well-made, it's manageable. You can strip the lower cabinets in the spring if you plan to paint them or refinish. Remove curtains, get a bamboo shade, and if at all possible, remove the scalloped trim. Very dated. Knobs are good for cabinet doors; the finish over time (paint or varnish) gets scarred with handles. At least the floor isn't something obnoxious like pea green and yellow!

Since these are nightime photos, it's hard to tell how much light you get and what it does to the space. Yellow would go well in the kitchen, although I'm thinking a soft aqua and cream semi-gloss for the lower paneling (unless you plan to remove it) and trim. (If that were craftsman doorframes, I'd hesitate to paint, but it's just cheap wood and should all be replaced with at least 1x4 framing.) Well, it's late, and that's all I can think of to get you started. That's about a month's worth of work.

Darzy I propose antique white walls and white trim/paneling.

abbshel I wonder if the wall above the inset window can be raised? It looks awfully low and boxed in.
I think yellow would be pretty in your kitchen and maybe a soft gray in your dining. You could do a yellow, gray, and cream decorating theme.

Diana Bier Interiors, LLC I'd paint it white temporarily. Having that color present while you try to select something else will be very distracting. Decide on your furniture first, then I'd pull up the wall to wall carpeting, especially if there are hardwood floors underneath. Refinish the floors, get an area rug and pull a color out of it for the walls.

As far as the adjoining rooms, you need to have a master plan for all three rooms with a color palette that coordinates the three rooms. Without a plan you're just picking colors out of thin air and you're sure to be disappointed once you start making purchases for upholstery, carpeting and window treatments.

Lori Young that isn't wallpaper she really took the time to stencil all that on in the living room. I really don't know my style I like parts of allot of them. the dark wood in the kitchen seems to make it so dark the dining room gets allot of light but the kitchen needs light badly. I really like the idea of reds, oranges and yellows and grays, maybe even a brown or black. Just no white. its too plain. The red seems like it would make the kitchen darker so I thought yellow there and paint the cabinets to help brighten it. I have a whole house like this so I have to start with paint then move onto the bigger more costly projects one at a time. I hate the scallop too. that window is horribly low but it would be an expensive project to raise it. I'll have to live with it for now. Shades are a must. I like the yellow and gray idea. I wonder if a burnt orangish color go with it in the living room. you should see the rest of this house its going to be allot of work.

Bonnie I agree the window proportions are a problem. If you can't remove the box around the window, I would mount curtains on the outside of the box on the flat wall--Place a valance above the box and panels under it on either side to give the illusion that the window is higher.

apple_pie_order You might try a search on houzz photos for "orange beige fabric" or whatever colors you are thinking of:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/products/orange-beige-fabric
Then pick out a fabric for a valance or shade or curtains and use one of the colors as your wall color. Sometimes there are good colorful floor length panel curtains on overstock.com. Ikea's curtains tend to be a bit on the thin side, but they could be lined with a heavier fabric to give them more body, if you can sew. Target has good prices for some of their panels, too. Or try Calico Corners:
http://www.calicocorners.com/category/designer+fabrics+for+the+home/shop+fabrics+by+color/yellow.do?leftnav=1

You'll need to prime the walls in any event. I suggest you start with the dining room. Complete one room at a time for a sense of accomplishment.

Also, you can brighten up the dark countertops in the kitchen by installing puck-type undercabinet lights. Cheap and effective. The dark cabinets look like they are in good shape, so you can turn your attention to picking out new lighting fixtures.