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carole this would be my idea of a country home office,but what colors would you like??

kinz9999 All your ideas sound great, would definitely put tile in front of door and carpet the rest. I would also paint a warm color on the walls, grays are very popular right now and looks like it would match your furniture. I would try to get a vintage desk for your office area and rustic bench for your entryway in keeping with the farmhouse feel.

carole since this is also your living room,i would make the office and wardrobe something with doors on,otherwise the room will always look untidy,and that would drive me MAD!!so maybe sliding doors but in the barnstyle doors...i would use all of the right side of the room as you walk in for this and the rest for the living/tv area...cant find any good pictures to show you,sorry,hope this explains it a bit!!

shan76 We do have a couch and chair in here now as we felt like it was bare and needed something, however we do have a living room and I am debating on moving the treadmill and weights into this room (to get them out of the living room) not sure I want that to be the first thing people see when they walk in...but Anyone have any thoughts on colors for walls or floor? I am thinking about a slate looking ceramic tile. really need help with the color palette...If I were to do gray on the walls, what would you do for the carpet and what would you use for an accent color on the built in?

jjdesignkloos Is this your front entrance? If so, could this be your living room; and the present living room your office, weight, play, etc. room?
Here's a couple suggestions for gray painted panelling and accents.
ps. I love the colors and designs in Carole's photos above.

carole jjdesignkloos,i like you choices!!really like the "bleu room" ,but shan76,you have confused me now,help me out...is this the livingroom or do you want this to be your livingroom???where is the other room you talk about,behind the kitchen/if it is then why not make that the office/work out room and this front room entrance and living???

Barnhart Gallery Good thoughts above, especially the ultimate purpose of the room, as now is the time to consider making any changes.

Assuming this stays the office, I'm wondering what you have in mind for a budget. While I hope you can arrange an assortment of vintage pieces, perhaps a desk along one wall and a long narrow dining table along the other with file under, you could also use stock countertop along the two walls supported on the ends of the L with your touches on unfinished file cab's and along the run of it using the white metal mail box supports from Home Depot that just about disappear under a long span of countertop.

If budget allows, the first things I'd want to do aesthetically would be to apply factory white beadboard to your ceiling. I hesitate somewhat as it would butt up against the paneling you'll be painting over, which is a different style. Yet farmhouses are by nature a bit quirky, using what the family had at the time, so I think that if you follow a mellow color path, it could look eclectic, charming, and textural. Real wood would be best, but more costly and labor intensive -- and darker.

The other high ticket item that may be worth the investment would be radiant heat flooring rather than wall to wall (except for the landing at the door) carpeting. I'd rather see all one floor, something you'd actually see on a farm -- antiqued wood or even stained concrete with stately area rugs.

Scroll through some pages here for inspiration:
http://www.houzz.com/painted-paneling-farm-office

Genevieve I would go with a country look like an Ivory nothing too dark it looks like you need light in the home think French country ,I will try to find a photo to show you what i meann ,you have nice pieces of furniture
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/paint-color/preciousivory

http://www.google.com/search?q=french+country+living+rooms&rlz=1C1CHMD_enCA371CA371&aq=f&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=SDwyUZ6gAsidyQHV0YCgAQ&biw=1517&bih=725&sei=SzwyUezvDNCFyQGs4oGgAw#imgrc=fRB9a_9S5mwYRM%3A%3Bzuftl3M35pm33M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fst.houzz.com%252Fsimgs%252Fd031c81a0d815482_15-9823%252Fmediterranean-living-room.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.houzz.com%252Fprojects%252F11719%252FFrench-Country-Complete-Renovation%3B550%3B440

Carolina Photo To Go LLC If I were you, I would check to see if there is already dry wall under the paneling and remove it. It is easy top patch up holes. In a lot of older homes, people put up paneling over existing drywall. I would leave the walls an antique white and use photography or paintings for pops of color. That should be easy to find with your blue sofa. Consider looking on Etsy.com and just type in what you are interested in in their search engine. You can find throw cushions, paintings, photography and other wall decor on that site. Each person has their own shop (a lot of them in the US) and you can contact the owners easily.

If you do paint the paneling, prep it first with a primer like Kilz. Have fun with your new look!

Kelly I am not sure of your budget, but if you could do it financially, get heated floors and put tile in the whole room. If the room is cold this will pay for itself very quickly. You will never have to worry about stains on the carpet either. It just makes the most sense if this is your main entrance. There are so many lovely options out there. A larger tile at least 14" or a rectangular 12" x 24" done in a subway pattern. These have a lovely wood look to them without the worries. Just a thought. What colors are you drawn to? I like the idea of a white wall- there are so many wonderful shades of white- this will set the backdrop for everything else.

Kelly For a desk....you said you are looking for an L shape.....this can look too office like for a home especially an entry. I like the idea of a desk with hutch look. Inside this hutch it store everything. Lots of storage and when cleaned up feels cozy. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Home-Styles-Cottage-Oak-Arts-and-Crafts-Compact-Desk-and-Hutch/6551368/product.html?SID=tfc_-_7_2_130302_88f289347d1f4a96fb7664e51890060a:0000&TRACK=affcjfeed&PID=1609763&AID=10654383&CID=207442&fp=F

Valvorie Dunn I like kklinton's idea about the heated floor. Slate look or her first picture. What way do your window exposures face?

Valvorie Dunn Depending on how much light you get, BM Edgecomb Gray might be nice. Then keep your furniture light as in a distressed, creamy off white. If the room is dark do just the opposite. Light creamy walls & distressed warm gray furniture. Light oak furniture will date the room. Then use your accessories to pull in color whether you like bold or monochromatic color. Have fun & keep us updated, please.

carole that what i was thinking,Kklinton!!but if it needs to be a desk then how about this,not the right chair for a desk,but live the bleu,think it would be a great color for this room mixed with the grey floor and the hutch Kklinton put in... !!!shan67 can you tell us a bit more about the house??

shan76 thanks everyone for your input. The small window by the door faces the east, the large window behind the couch is about 80 in wide and faces the south. I know it's probably not the ideal place for an office, but for us it is what needs to be right now. We own and operate a dairy farm and I do all the books for the business so I need a large space as well as storage for the files. Not sure what else to tell about the house. We have tried to slowly room by room update the look without getting into spending a fortune and with kids with allergies, it's not in their best interest to gut all the lathe and plaster or the paneling. right now we are looking at a moisture resistant floating (goes in like laminate) floor and think we have decided to go ahead and use that on the whole thing. It's the color I can't choose:) I like the look of a pumpkin color with a cream trim for the walls, however the dining rm. which you can see through the "windows" are a burgundy on top and cream wall paper bottom (this rm. will hopefully be next on the do-over jobs list, BUT it is all lath and plaster and will be a big project) the living room is off the dining room and is a chocolate brown bottom with a tan top and has a chocolate wall behind a fireplace. I would say other than the dining room we are pretty much earth tone colors throughout tans, sage greens,etc.. If I were to use the pumpkin spice color (like valspar orange canyon wv31015 or valspar cider W34014A how would I arrange the walls? All one color? just one accent wall (the one behind the couch with the big window?) and the built in bench and cupboards.....Should they be the pumpkin color as an accent and the rest of the walls tan? I know that I over think the color, but I always feel like if I am going to spend all the is money on floor, paint, a built in erc....I want to LOVE it when it's done and I am a very visual person. I need to see it to know I will like it.

jjdesignkloos Hi shan76--as I usually hear from the designers here: choose your flooring first. First the type--which you've done--then the colour. And that was your original question, wasn't it? We often get carried away and look at steps 5-10, instead of solving steps 1-5 first.

What colour choices do you have for your moisture-resistant-floating-flooring?
Usually I hear 2 kinds of flooring in a house is basic; for example, either laminate + tile; hardwood + carpet.
What kinds and colours of flooring do you have in the house?
Once we know that, we can better decide on the colour scheme for the rest of the room.

imho.

aslemonds I'm not so sure I would paint the paneling. But if that's the only option, think about a distressed look. That will also keep that "farmhouse" look.

Michael and Heather Allen Home Depot sells little samples of paint, you can get a few and try them.

Is the paneling glued on? If not, you could take it down and cut it in half, and use it like wainscotting. For the paneling, is there a way to make it appear white washed?

What about brick (look) tiles in front of the door? It would have a country style.

Michael and Heather Allen This is real paneling that we whitewashed. It has a rustic feel but really brightened our living room.

Then we have wainscotting, again, it's "real" wood, but imagine it painted white.

Pam Sonnier
. Sample desk area to build in around window.

JAMEITE Hand-painted Silk Wallpaper Co., LTD Original taste is good

Kelly http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/explore-colors/painter/index.html?screen=painterScreen Use this link, upload your photos and paint...it takes patience though. Usually you paint the wall you want to draw attention to. So if there is a big window on the wall what will you do for curtains? I really prefer to paint all one color. But you have to live with it and love it. Get a sample paint and paint the two colors you like and live with them for a few days- look at them at different times of the day. I checked out your colors and I like the Cider the best it seems a bit more neutral. As stated above, choose your flooring first- paint is the easy part.

carole it makes sense now that you want this room to be office and livingarea!!is there another place where you could put the coats and shoes before you enter this room?would a roomdivider do??will that give you enough room to work??

ozlover You mention an L shape desk but is that a window or a open shelf between rooms? Looks like a window, but can't tell for sure in the picture. Are you going to put the desk there & block that? Not sure that would look too good. If you're doing a slate tile (grayish in color?) why not consider a slate blue or colonial blue for your walls with a carpet that has a mix of color in it? Light pink is also very pretty for the walls that would match with the gray color as well. It's a warm inviting color & calming too, if your working in the office. Add pics with gray & pink matting around the them. Not sure about the slate color but for a farm look ( I guess) what about a taupe for the walls? Just throwing out some ideas, not sure what colors you like but I read from a designer that you should rip pics out of magazines that appeal to you 10 to 12, then look at each one carefully & see if there is something common in all of them. Once you figure out what it is you can work from there. Maybe you tend to pick pics that have the same or similar colors, light walls with dark furniture & floors or just he opposite. She did go on to say that if you only decorate with a color because it is the latest trend, chances are you're not going to like the finished product. So maybe try that out, just saying. Best of luck with your choices.

myrnamargaret A color I haven't seen mentioned is a soft golden tan. I am staying in a vacation rental that has walls in True Value brand Gourmet Honey. I don't know if that color is still available. It has a warm, country feel, more soft gold during the day, a golden tan in the evening. I see the sofa is blue and tan, and blue and gold are in keeping with country style, if not overdone. Touches of green would be good. Also to mention, since this is a home with lots of activity going on, just have to say that laminate flooring is great. Looks good, almost indestructible, easy to care for. It can be found to match nearly any wood floors already in place, or close enough that the difference isn't noticeable.

Teresa Weber_Freeman I painted a small wall a pumpkin carrot color that I LOVED, only to find that when sitting in my more calm living area I could not keep from looking at that bright wall. Be careful about using pumpkin in a small, dark space... (I ended up repainting that wall a palm green color.)