Wall color for small dining room? Completely stuck

[diningroomdecorating]

I could really use some advice on how to decorate the dining room. It's small and narrow, about 2.5 x 4.45 m. The room faces south and has a bay window so it's fairly bright when it's sunny, but that's not very often.

Originally I wanted to do Hague Blue (or another dark blue) on one of the long walls, as I wanted the room to have a cozy feeling to it. I thought it would be especially nice in the winter. Now I'm thinking that it's going to be too dark and make the room look even narrower and more crowded with a table.

I was considering something like F&B Borrowed Light, but don't know if that's too baby blue.

Not stuck on Farrow and Ball btw, just like looking at their paint card!

Any suggestions on a color to make it cozy without making it feel like the walls are coming in on us? The trim is white and the floor is a medium/light brown laminate.

[LadyMonicaBaddingham]

Dulux Rum Caramel is a lovely cosy soft brown shade. I think blue is too cold for a dining room where you'll want to linger, iyswim

[diningroomdecorating]

Definitely know what you mean, LadyMonica. I was trying to avoid creams and browns in the hope of more colour, but it might be something to consider.

[JoJoSM2]

I think blue could work as could a lot of other colours. However, all walls need to be painted and if you don't want the room to seem too small, make sure there aren't any strong contrasts, e.g. if you do go with dark blue, use dark furniture too. It's the contrast or feature walls that can make things seem more awkward or small if not used cleverly.

[Ketzele]

I agree with JoJo - the trick is to use your dark colour everywhere, poss even ceiling as well. Hague Blue is beautiful, and could then be brightened with big mirrors, gold-framed pictures etc. It will be dark, but isn't that a good thing in a dining room?

[Justmuddlingalong]

Brinjal by F&B is a lovely deep plum colour.

[GoAndAskDaddy]

F&B India Yellow? Looks good with white paintwork.

[diningroomdecorating]

Interesting, JoJo and Ketzele! I initially wanted to do the whole room in Hague Blue but then several people said it would be too dark, so I thought I'd keep it to one wall, get light furniture, etc. But that's when I started to feel like it would look too dark and make the room feel small. Maybe I was right with my initial thinking? I wanted a gold mirror, too!

Justmuddling I love that one too, but I think I'd get sick of a "purple" room faster. Not sure why, as I like purples in general.

Go the current room is a bit like a muted version of India Yellow. It's lovely but the color scheme in here reminds me of a room I had with my ex-husband so I thought it's time for a change! My MIL commented on this yellow being dark, so it will be interesting to see what she thinks when I'm done with the room!

Okay next question: I was starting to give up on Hague Blue in the dining room and had been thinking of doing it on a wall in the living room. Any suggestions for a color scheme in there? We have a light cool grey sofa and I'm trying to go for a more modern look this time around. Might do a gallery wall across from the sofa, around the tv. I thought doing a dark color on the wall with the tv would help it blend in more, but it's not totally necessary.

Would it be helpful to post photos of the rooms?

[Yellowfairy]

I was planning on doing Hague blue on 1 wall in the living room and then 3 walls in a lighter colour. We ended up having a Farrow and Ball colour consultant come round and she advised on doing all 4 walls the same colour. We opted for Inchyra Blue and love it. I say go for it and good luck

[diningroomdecorating]

Oh no, I just looked at Inchyra Blue, yellowfairy and it’s beautiful! Now I am questioning all my Hague Blue decisions.

[Yellowfairy]

They are both really lovely colours. Our kitchen cupboards are a very similar coliurto Hague blue so we deciddd to mix it up a little and have Inchyra in the lounge. In fact we painted the whole house in F&B and every colour is stunning.

[Ketzele]

Inchrya Blue is absolutely stunning; one of my favourite F&B colours. I think it looks beautiful with dropcloth, grey, shaded white or mustard. If you want to play it a bit safer, I've never tried Oval Room Blue but always thought it looks nice.

Hague Blue would look nice with a really pale grey or blue (blackened, skylight?) but I would be tempted to put it with something a bit more yellow or green, like dropcloth or hardwick white.

Go on, be brave! It will always haunt you if you don't.

[Yellowfairy]

We have oval room blue in our bedroom, it’s a beautiful colour.

[diningroomdecorating]

I think Ketzele is right, I'd regret it if we didn't try it. I might just get a sample of Inchyra Blue to see if we like it more. I don't know what I'll do with all these leftover samples. Oval Room Blue looks nice but I think I prefer either really dark or really pale.

I'd love to do the whole house in F&B, yellowfairy. But even if there wasn't an added expense, I'm concerned about the durability. Have you found that yours marks easily? I was thinking we'd do the modern emulsion just to play it safe. We don't have children but things still get knocked about sometimes and I don't want to live in a house where we are constantly stressed about walls marking.

Thanks to everyone, it's been a big help! I don't have many friends here yet so I value any second opinions.

[Hamonrye]

We just did our small dining room in this greeny grey and it looks fab. Not too dark but cosy:

www.crownpaints.co.uk/products/period-collection/matt/velvet-evening/393

[Ketzele]

There's always a use for samples! I often just mix mine up and use them to upcycle something small - a wooden crate for storage, for example, or a stool.