San Francisco Bay Area - Need help for vaulted ceilings, paint all around and decor ideas

by pberistain

Need help for vaulted ceilings, paint all around and decor ideas

My two eldest children have finally moved out on their own so I am going to redo the entire main living area. It's been neglected for quite a while so its a big job (see the hole in ceiling and blanket on wall covering hole from water damage). My ceilings are vaulted and I have an open layout from the entrance thru living, dining and kitchen. I want a bright, contemporary look, with lots of whites & neutrals, and navy blue accents around. However, I don't want to paint the walls white because they are too high and there is no border or trim at the top & I won't be able to fill them with lots of art & I hate the white ceiling (popcorn is coming off). How can I create a nice flow through the house using different paint shades on walls and ceilings that would also define the different rooms, work with the terracotta color floor tile and also work with my white/navy decor idea. I plan to change kitchen cabs for white ones and my dining set is going away and I plan to buy a kitchen island that would serve as a high kitchen table.

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decoenthusiaste White, navy and terracotta work well together. You might want to adjust the white from pure to creamy, and the terracotta to orange, burnt orange or bittersweet, even yellow. You might want to use pic #3 as a guide for installing crown at the level of that recessed area to divide your walls from ceiling and paint the navy below, creamy white above.

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4 months ago · Like ·

pberistain Wow, what a great idea. Thanks so much.

4 months ago · Like

Tracy Taylor If you aren't 100% set on the navy you can use aqua and orange for a lighter look.

4 months ago · Like

Julia Wakely Interiors Cladding the ceiling in white board and batten would look beautiful. Restoration Hardware has a great bar height island and their navy Madeline barstools are on sale at the moment. To define your spaces, area rugs in the dining and living areas are a must. Shades of Light and Garnet Hill have great navy/ivory dhurrie rugs.

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher I would recommend you add yellow to the mix. For contemporary flair paint a solid vaulted wall up to the ceiling with a blue a shade lighter and brighter than navy. Yellow for the rest of the walls and linen for the ceiling. White trim. To break up the yellow add trim in a rectangle large enough to hold a large painting or mirror, paint the trim white and inside the rectangle the blue or other accent colour before you add the painting. If you want to go really contemporary paint the horizontal bulkhead area by kitchen accent colour, burnt orange as suggested above. You do have the height to paint the ceiling darker but the repairs would have to be perfect or they will show. Think contemporary Spanish vibe.

4 months ago · Like ·

pberistain Excellent. Thank you. I'll check those places out. Can you explain what cladding and batten is? I'm not very savvy in this area.

4 months ago · Like

pberistain Tracy.....I love the orange and blue!

4 months ago · Like ·

Julia Wakely Interiors http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8_VgzBw9Dy0/Sq49B-PsQII/AAAAAAAAEPA/8o_0si-KM84/s400/board+and+batten.jpg

This link will show you an example of what board and batten looks like. Strips of wood to add character all painted white.

4 months ago · Like

pberistain Brenda...I like the idea of painting one wall & it's vaulted ceiling the same lighter blue. If I went linen for the rest of the ceilings, yellow for the walls and navy for the bulkhead above the kitchen, what color would you suggest painting the kitchen walls (currently dark red) and the backdoor foyer behind it (currently bright green).

4 months ago · Like

pberistain Thank you for the link Julia. If I can't afford that all over the ceiling, is there anything I could I put in the crease where the two vaulted ceilings meet.? The crease is evidently crooked.

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher I would do a Mediterranean orange on the kitchen wall and the yellow again in the foyer. Think Spanish tile colours. If the orange is to much for you then use the yellow again but border it in a wide band of blue or vice versa and do yellow in the foyer. I would go to a tile store a get a tile with those colours try them in your space under different lighting and use it to match your paint. Try living with these colours first. If you have clothes in these colours pair them together and leave it out to look at for a few days to see if you still like. I would recommend a fake beam for the ceiling joint. They are made light weight and go up fairly easy for a handy DIY or contractor. Not sure if they can be scribed (trimmed) to fit or if you would have to have gaps filled in. Ask at a lumber yard. I think a faux rustic wooden beam wild be fantastic! Stay away from board and batten for your space, although I love it; it is not contemporary.

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher Also there are greens in most Spanish tile. Accents? Don't you hate auto correct? Lol

4 months ago · Like

pberistain LOL. You have so much good advice, I am so thankful. I've been looking at Houzz living rooms for months now and just couldn't seem to apply anything to my project. So back to the vaulted wall and ceiling where I'll put light blue on both, what do you suggest for the window treatment? I'm thinking the curtains should go all the way up to the top. Do you agree? Any ideas for style, fabric, color? Now that I see them in a photo, that gap above my curtains is hideous, not to mention the rod is crooked! I really love the blue/orange curtains in the photos that Tracy shared but I don't know if the orange would work laying on my terracota color floors.

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher Definitely take them all the way up! I like Tracy's curtains too! You might also consider an itec print or a stylized bird or floral print, light blue or linen background with your colours in the print. Check out www.terrysfabrics.co.uk for inspiration. The orange would just have to be in the same tonal range as the tile, like cinnamon, burnt orange, but that might not be the orange you want on the walls which is why I suggest a light blue background print. If you go orange you can also band it with the yellow to give it dimension from the tile. I love your colour sense, sooo sick of beige and white everywhere!

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher Found the fabric I was thinking of it is called Wolf Sunstone by RM COCO. It is $45 per yard, pricy but good inspiration if you want pattern. You can find it at www.insidedabric.com. Sort by drapery then filter by colour, orange blue yellow and click on print floral and modern filters.

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher That's insidefabric sorry!

4 months ago · Like

Tracy Taylor Hmmm well if you are concerned about the orange directly against the terracotta you can always do a few things. Introduce a pattern instead of the solid orange there are tons or orange toiles, florals, geometrics, even stripes or you could do a nice orange inset border or a fun ball fringe on a cream curtain. You can bounce the fabric around the room in throw pillows.

4 months ago · Like

pberistain Just wanted to thank all of you for your input. . . . so helpful to have suggestions and exciting ideas, but overwhelming!! Needed a few days to sort thru all the options but if its OK I'd like to pick your brains again when I narrow down my plan. BTW, how did you all come to have such a knack for design and colors? Self taught or school? It's so nice to have this discussion board--I can't even tell you!!

4 months ago · Like

pberistain Julia, I checked out the bar stools, and I love them. Definitely going into my plan. Thanks!

4 months ago · Like

Brenda Fisher Design and colour sense comes mostly from practice and studying landscape and fabric design. Principles of design remain the same regardless of the medium. Glad your having fun with it. Tracy I love the new curtain pics, very fresh feeling!

4 months ago · Like

pberistain I don't know. . . I've had lots of experience and almost every decorating project I do ends up being a mistake! Ha!--such is my life! After reviewing options and narrowing down my preferences a bit, I'm in decision hell. I'm confusing which will be accent colors, wall colors, cabinet colors, ----yellow, orange, navy, white, lights, darks, .......I think your suggestion to get tiles or materials with the various colors and live with them a while, is a good one...

4 months ago · Like