Wall Stripes in the Dining Room

by Yelena Kublitski
(project in EHT, NJ)

The builder's white color didn't do justice to this beautiful formal dining room, so Colleen decided to add some drama to it.

Taking a clue from the decorative pillows and other accent pieces in the adjoining living room, we decided to use a deep red color. We sampled a few variations and finally stopped on this "Jalapeno red" shade (Colleen and her husband are both big fans of Mexican cuisine, so I think the name of the color played some part in their decision!).

But there was one concern though - this dining room didn't get much of sunlight, and even though it was used mostly in the evening when the lights were on, we still didn't want the room to look too dark and gloomy in the daytime. So we had to find a way to "lighten up" this deep red color.

Colleen liked stripes, so one idea was to use a lighter shade of the same color for the stripe pattern. But when we looked at it on a sample board, everyone agreed that the pattern seemed a little too loud. You see, the red made already quite a statement, so no extra drama was needed.

So instead we decided to use the same color for wall striping, but in a different finish - one flat and one satin. The satin finish reflected light and thus appeared lighter, giving us the effect we were looking for.

That subtle pattern was exactly what was needed to liven up the room and make it look more interesting in an understated kind of way (if you can say that about red). Mission accomplished!

Do you agree?


P.S. Please ignore the mess in the room ;)


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Guide to Painting Stripes on Walls