painting a doorway between two rooms w/different colors
 

Hello,

Can't be the first one to run into this.

Remodeling kitchen etc. and am about to paint walls, doorway trim.

Kitchen wall color doesn't quite match that of the rooms that the doorways
enter into. Kitchen wall color isn't domineering like a canary yellow or
anything, it's sort of a creamy off white, but it still doesn't quite match
that of the adjoining rooms.

So how to paint the jambs and stop? Just choose one or the other and be
happy with it? Try and somehow find a blend that works well with colors on
both sides?

I suppose one could ask why I didn't use the same color as the adjoining
rooms for the kitchen but a kitchen is a pretty different place than a
family or dining room and it seems to me that it's not insane to have a
different color for it. I seem to recall that bright yellow kitchens used
to be in vogue and you certainly wouldn't want that color in the rest of
your house.

anyway thanks for comments
ml

On Sun, 5 Jun 2005 16:55:54 GMT, wrote:

Hello,

Can't be the first one to run into this.

Remodeling kitchen etc. and am about to paint walls, doorway trim.

Kitchen wall color doesn't quite match that of the rooms that the doorways
enter into. Kitchen wall color isn't domineering like a canary yellow or
anything, it's sort of a creamy off white, but it still doesn't quite match
that of the adjoining rooms.

So how to paint the jambs and stop? Just choose one or the other and be
happy with it? Try and somehow find a blend that works well with colors on
both sides?

I suppose one could ask why I didn't use the same color as the adjoining
rooms for the kitchen but a kitchen is a pretty different place than a
family or dining room and it seems to me that it's not insane to have a
different color for it. I seem to recall that bright yellow kitchens used
to be in vogue and you certainly wouldn't want that color in the rest of
your house.

It depends on how different the colors are and their intensities. If
they are close, it doesn't matter, pick one or the other. For example
my kitchen is a soft yellow and the dining room is a warm off-white
that has a yellow-ish hue in daylight. So I left the doorway (no door
or molding, but a wide/deep opening) the dining room color which is a
neutral. But it's not different enough to make a difference.

The other side of the dining room opens to the living room which is,
ahem, soft salmony pink (The furniture is brown as is the molding, so
it's not really girly :). Although different, the colors are of the
same low intensity. Again, I left the doorway jamb the dining room
color because it's more neutral.

If the doorways have molding, the answer is simple. Use a color that
goes with (or contrasts nicely with) both. Eg. I have upstairs one
bedroom is green, another is gold, the bathroom is pink/gray with
floral accents. The moldings in the room and outside of the rooms are
all white, which sets off the colors and gives unity in the hall.
And, all of the rooms are of the same color intensity (value?) so it's
not like there is a primary next to a pastel next to a jewel tone.
All different colors, yet it works together, and pleasantly.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

ml,

I've encountered this at many locations in our home.
We've always tried to paint the transition area with
the lighter or more neutral of the 2 colors. This is
one of those details of home decor that the homeowner
notices a lot more than his guests do.

Besides painted walls, this also becomes a factor with
crown molding, floor molding and chair rails if different
colored stain or paint is being used from one room
to the next. Somewhat obviously, the trim in the
transition area seems to look best if it matches the
trim of the room whose color is being used in the
transition area.

Gideon

If you're willing to be a little creative, you can do what I did in my
mother's house. The kitchen is lavender and the living room is a butter
yellow. The doorway is arched and I painted it the yellow of the living
room. Then I created a harlequin stencil and stenciled lavender harlequins
on the yellow in the doorway. She loves it and everyone who comes into the
house thinks it's great.

wrote in message
news:x9Goe.4347$Er.2597@fed1read02...
Hello,

Can't be the first one to run into this.

Remodeling kitchen etc. and am about to paint walls, doorway trim.

Kitchen wall color doesn't quite match that of the rooms that the doorways
enter into. Kitchen wall color isn't domineering like a canary yellow or
anything, it's sort of a creamy off white, but it still doesn't quite
match
that of the adjoining rooms.

So how to paint the jambs and stop? Just choose one or the other and be
happy with it? Try and somehow find a blend that works well with colors
on
both sides?

I suppose one could ask why I didn't use the same color as the adjoining
rooms for the kitchen but a kitchen is a pretty different place than a
family or dining room and it seems to me that it's not insane to have a
different color for it. I seem to recall that bright yellow kitchens used
to be in vogue and you certainly wouldn't want that color in the rest of
your house.

anyway thanks for comments
ml

There are color coordinator applications you can use that will
compliment both colors. As a general recommendation, halls are good
when they are neutral colors, a place where "cleansing of color"
occurs between rooms. The bottom line is that there are no "rules" to
color, especially when there are no plans to sell the house soon.

In this case I'd say the face of the jamb goes the non-kitchen color.
Usually the doorway jambs go the color of the main part of the house.
Someone mentioned a good rule of thumb -- go with the more neutral [or
lighter] color on the jambs.

It's personal choice, of course.... for a dining or some other room
that's set off by doorways, some people like to have the color of the
set-off room "leak" out into the main part of the house. This is the
opposite of what I would call the normal way.

You could try to visualize -- stand in each room, away from the door
way, and imagine seeing the other room's color "leaking" out.

In this case I'd say the face of the jamb goes the non-kitchen color.
Usually the doorway jambs go the color of the main part of the house.
Someone mentioned a good rule of thumb -- go with the more neutral [or
lighter] color on the jambs.

It's personal choice, of course.... for a dining or some other room
that's set off by doorways, some people like to have the color of the
set-off room "leak" out into the main part of the house. This is the
opposite of what I would call the normal way.

You could try to visualize -- stand in each room, away from the door
way, and imagine seeing the other room's color "leaking" out.


Right, you can either try to hide the transition, or decorate it.
The simplest solution is to add trim, in a color contrasting
to both rooms. Failing that, paint a border, or interleave
the two in a complex line of division.

Had this problem, my wife came up with the solution.....
we painted the doorway surface (perpendicular to the
walls in question) ..... white! It basically
becomes invisible. Not fancy, but simple, worked great.

J.


wrote:
Hello,

Can't be the first one to run into this.

Remodeling kitchen etc. and am about to paint walls, doorway trim.

Kitchen wall color doesn't quite match that of the rooms that the doorways
enter into. Kitchen wall color isn't domineering like a canary yellow or
anything, it's sort of a creamy off white, but it still doesn't quite match
that of the adjoining rooms.

So how to paint the jambs and stop? Just choose one or the other and be
happy with it? Try and somehow find a blend that works well with colors on
both sides?

I suppose one could ask why I didn't use the same color as the adjoining
rooms for the kitchen but a kitchen is a pretty different place than a
family or dining room and it seems to me that it's not insane to have a
different color for it. I seem to recall that bright yellow kitchens used
to be in vogue and you certainly wouldn't want that color in the rest of
your house.

anyway thanks for comments
ml