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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

How awful is this colour?

428 replies

RachyB86 · 06/10/2023 10:32

We have just spent a small fortune having the majority of our home decorated for the first time ever, it’s still ongoing. It has been a huge upheaval and I am fed up of living around the decorator, it is actually making me quite depressed as we are now 4 weeks in…however - I hate this colour paint!! I adore the emerald and gold wallpaper, but the colour is just so drab. Should I book a repaint?! If so - what colour?! (In case it’s not clear, I am not good with this stuff, I thought this would look nice but clearly I got it wrong 😩) everyone is telling me to live with it because I am finding the whole decorating process so stressful they think I’m crazy to voluntarily go through it again, partner included even though he doesn’t like the colour either.

YABU - it’s not that bad, just live with it

YANBU - yes it’s awful, change it (please give a suggested colour too!)

Wallpaper: Boutique Marquise Emerald Geometric
Paint: Dulux Natural Wicker

How awful is this colour?
How awful is this colour?
How awful is this colour?
OP posts:
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54
cherrypeachparfait · 07/10/2023 11:18

I think it’s that they don’t actually go together. With that wallpaper you need a cool neutral not a warm one. I’m really sorry for you as this must feel quite a blow. Neutrals are hard to get right

Goldie2021 · 07/10/2023 11:19

Soft rose pink with the Emerald wallpaper

ittakes2 · 07/10/2023 11:21

You don’t like it because yellow based colours are warm colours and blue bases colours (including black) are cool colours - so you have warm coloured walls, cool coloured floors and wall paper that is a mix of cool and warm.
Try looking at colours which are from the same place ie creams, yellows, greens etc are all warm colours, blacks, most blues, whites, etc are all cool colours.

INTERNETEXPL0RER · 07/10/2023 11:23

laclochette · 07/10/2023 09:46

There are lots of elements here that need to be considered as a piece whether you keep the wall colour or not. I say this because unless you consider all the elements together it's basically pot luck as to whether you land on a colour that actually works. A colour that works is a) one you like but b) one that works in harmony with what else is in the space - and that can hugely affect (a)!

For example you have a yellow-toned wall paint but brilliant white ceiling, woodwork and floor tiles, plus brilliant white bulbs from what I can see, plus cool grey carpet tiles. Brilliant white and cool grey are blue-based, so when you have that alongside a warm-based colour like your walls, it simultaneously makes the white look chilly and harsh, and the warmer colour look drab - hence the "landlord magnolia" effect.

I can't say exactly what colour you should go for but I would urge you to think holistically about the space so that whether you decide to keep the other elements and change the walls, or vice versa, you find something that works as a piece.

Most colour wheels/books from major paint brands are organised by colour family, so if for example you decided you didn't want to change the ceiling/woodwork etc, you could find a neutral from a cool-based family to replace your current one. Given your wallpaper is emerald green, the cooler-toned neutral route might be the best option, as yellow and green aren't usually happy bedfellows.

This.

I agree that you have a clash with your grey doors, white floor tiles and yellowish walls.

You MAY also have an issue with your yellow beige walls and your pink beige carpet ( I’m not sure from the photos as it’s artificial light ). Yellow beige and pink beige are ALWAYS horrible together.

My DD bought a new build flat with magnolia walls and pink beige carpet and everyone said “ oh these carpets are hideous, you will need to change them you couldn’t possibly live with them “.

But they were brand new and it would have been crazy expensive to rip them out. Once she worked that the problem was simply the clash between the two colours, she repainted all the walls in various warm neutral colours, similar to the cashmere/mushroom colours that people up thread have been recommending for you. It was a small flat , easy to paint herself, just the cost of the paint and a weekend doing it.

Then all her friends said “ Your place is totally transformed now you’ve changed the carpet “!

In our last house , we changed the internal doors ( which were builders grade nasty cheap white ones ) for oak veneer ones , with glazed panels on the kitchen and living room . This wasn’t cheap - about £200 a door for everything ( door/ hardware/ fitting by a joiner) . But we saved by oiling the doors and painting the walls and woodwork ourselves and it totally transformed the hall and stairs.

One very cheap change which my DD did in her flat was replacing the light fittings which had a single bulb for multi bulb fittings. Then she changed the light bulbs to warm white in the living area / bedroom / hall and kept the bright / cool white in the kitchen and bedroom.

That made a HUGE difference for the money spent.

Anyway back to you @RachyB86 . I can see why people are recommending a pink beige wall colour for you instead of yellow beige. But I’m concerned that might clash with the yellow beige in the wallpaper, so is a bit of a dilemma.

So @RachyB86 I would either put the wallpaper on all the walls ( I see you’ve tried to get some more). Or I’d paint the other walls in the background colour of the wallpaper.

Take the wallpaper with you to the store, get it matched, buy a sample pot, paint two coats on a one meter pice of lining paper and look at in all lights ( day / night ) and all parts of the room before deciding.

Now about the shade of green - I know posters here are referring to it as emerald, as that’s the name on the website. But it does seem to be a sage green colour online and nothing like emerald. Is that right?

The other thing than confuses me is that the wallpaper on some of your photos of the stairs looks more like the navy blue colour way of that same paper. Can I just double check that you have the same colour of paper in both parts of the hall AND that the colour is really a dull green grey colour and not actually emerald green ?

It wouldn’t be expensive get a new bit of carpet / doormat fitted at the front door that doesn’t clash with the rest of you hall decor ie not charcoal grey. Matting also comes in dark brown , which might work better.

I do sympathise with your decorating dilemma. Halls are hard to do well as there’s no furniture to distract the eye, often harsh overhead lighting and little daylight. I can see why you’ve gone for a bold wallpaper to give some interest and make a statement.

Mammajay · 07/10/2023 11:25

You will be ona hiding to nothing if you keep changing the colours. It looks good. If you want, get a picture with bright colours on the wall. All colours look different in different lights. There are a multitude of colours..even in white paint. We started using timeless because it is neutral but your wall looks fine.

Poppins2016 · 07/10/2023 11:29

If I were you, I'd try to colour match the lines of the geometric shapes. As far as I can tell (tricky with screens!), the gold is a sort of champagne/silvery gold, rather than a truer yellow gold... I'd pick a much cooler tone.

KnittedCardi · 07/10/2023 11:31

Has your decorator used Dulux natural whicker or a mix to try to match it? It looks too yellow. Our natural whicker is definitely beige/brown.

DH can do our big lounge in a couple of days, it shouldn't really be a huge upheaval to repaint.

DigbyTheDigger · 07/10/2023 11:34

How are you feeling about things this morning, OP? It's really disappointing to spend money and then be unhappy with the result, hope you have a way forward.

TheGoogleMum · 07/10/2023 11:35

I think it's OK, an inoffensive colour. Not exciting I grant you but fine. I don't have a good eye for thslese things though and it looks like most people disagree so I'm probably wrong!

Milsie892 · 07/10/2023 11:36

RachyB86 · 06/10/2023 10:32

We have just spent a small fortune having the majority of our home decorated for the first time ever, it’s still ongoing. It has been a huge upheaval and I am fed up of living around the decorator, it is actually making me quite depressed as we are now 4 weeks in…however - I hate this colour paint!! I adore the emerald and gold wallpaper, but the colour is just so drab. Should I book a repaint?! If so - what colour?! (In case it’s not clear, I am not good with this stuff, I thought this would look nice but clearly I got it wrong 😩) everyone is telling me to live with it because I am finding the whole decorating process so stressful they think I’m crazy to voluntarily go through it again, partner included even though he doesn’t like the colour either.

YABU - it’s not that bad, just live with it

YANBU - yes it’s awful, change it (please give a suggested colour too!)

Wallpaper: Boutique Marquise Emerald Geometric
Paint: Dulux Natural Wicker

I would go for an ivory or pale cream, much lighter and not so yellow. You’re probably hating living with the decorating because you don’t like the colour! YANBU

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 07/10/2023 11:37

Try a mini pot of Dulux Timeless. Spread it over an A4 sheet of paper and see how it goes.

Guesswho88 · 07/10/2023 11:42

Me and my mum have arguments about her love of bland colours so I totally get it. However it doesn't look that bad and if it's a small area it might be nice to have this area a bit more neutral and then make up for it by having more colourful rooms elsewhere.

tiredmama23 · 07/10/2023 11:43

I'd have gone for one of these colours with that wallpaper ....

How awful is this colour?
NChannnnge · 07/10/2023 11:45

I would go super dramatic and get paint matched to the wallpaper. Then get a chandelier from Pooky

Inthethickofit123 · 07/10/2023 11:48

You could try Farrow and Ball Ammonite. It’s one of those magic neutrals that seems to go with many other shades. Good luck. I find paint colours so difficult.

Takeabreather23 · 07/10/2023 11:48

RachyB86 · 06/10/2023 16:59

Yes totally which is something I hadn’t even considered (like I said, I’m not good at this!) so I’m incredibly grateful to the lovely people on here who have helped point these things out. I feel like I can now verbalise why I dislike it, which makes me feel far more comfortable in booking a repaint 😍

Look for buttermilk from Dulux. That’s a nice “yellow”

Ginmonkeyagain · 07/10/2023 11:53

We have that in our spare room. It is a pale yellow but quite warm. We have it teamed with pale wood, bright blue accents (blind and interior of storage cubes), brighter yellows (fold up desk and yellow accents on the rug pattern) and a pale brown/oatmeal carpet

Secondwindplease · 07/10/2023 11:55

Change it. You need a neutral that is less yellow and creamy and more earthy and brown toned instead. Something like a mushroom or taupe.

I would also take the paint down onto the skirting and up onto the ceiling. The whole place will look bigger if you stop highlighting the edges.

Someoneonlyyouknow · 07/10/2023 11:58

I'm not good at colours either and can't carry them in my head (fortunately DH is great). I would say that decorating is stressful because it's not just the room being worked on which is affected . If you hate this paint now you're not likely to grow into it (at least I wouldn't) so extend the disruption and get what you want. Regarding buying more paper, if you could get enough of one batch to do a whole ŵall might it be alright to meet in a corner? (Perhaps your decorator could advise)

justasking111 · 07/10/2023 12:27

Love the wallpaper. Our hall was so dark we put down white flooring, opaque and clear glass doors. The palest white with a hint of bluey grey.

@RachyB86 I've made your mistake after spending a fortune on curtain fabric in the lounge picked out the peach tone for the walls and aqua for accents. The walls looked newly plastered 🙈. Yep repainted it within a few months.

It's the yellow that's the problem. It's fighting with the paper, flooring.

WhatapityWapiti · 07/10/2023 12:31

Secondwindplease · 07/10/2023 11:55

Change it. You need a neutral that is less yellow and creamy and more earthy and brown toned instead. Something like a mushroom or taupe.

I would also take the paint down onto the skirting and up onto the ceiling. The whole place will look bigger if you stop highlighting the edges.

Yes, definitely agree with taking the colour on to the ceiling. I would suggest a pale rather than a beige/mushroom though.

Door frames and skirtings too would be even better , and then ideally you’d also do the radiator as well… but it can be tough to be brave enough to do those, so just ceiling is a compromise.

WhatapityWapiti · 07/10/2023 12:32

Is this just the hall? What colours do you have in your sitting room?

Smineusername · 07/10/2023 12:32

Paint the walls the colour of the sofa in your pic

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