Dining room colors

[SarahFair]

Im really struggling with paint colors.
Im used to todays standard wall heights, my new ceilings are 12ft high with crown molding, picture rail, chair rail and base boards.

Ive visited the only 2 Sherwin Williams stores close by for a consultant and one had a family tragedy and won't be returning for a foreseeable future, the other is backlogged for months.

Im going to do my living room a sage green. It flows into the dining room via 2 glass french doors and the dining room flows into the kitchen via a large opening (used to be a swinging door there).

We are going to do the kitchen with white cabinets, either white or black counter tops with white or gray subway tile backslash.


The dining room is currently thick wood paneling painted yellow.
The SO days the paneling stays (he doesn't want to bother removing ...yet, lol).
I want gray. I put a test Gray on the walls ( Sherwin-Williams gray matters) and he says its too dark -.-
Maybe hes right, I dont want to be too depressing, but id still like a statement to be made.

So, Im thinking maybe going darker below the chair railing and above the picture railing and sticking with a lighter gray in the middle?
Or would that look odd?
Maybe just darker only above or only below?
Or should I just find 1 gray to rule the room?

[SarahFair]

[Lily left the valley]

If you do really darker below chair, and you keep that dark wooden furniture in there, anything that stays close to the wall won't stand out well visually, judging from the taped samples I'm seeing. You'll lose the beautiful silhouette of the legs at the very least.

If you do a high contrast dark on the top third, that can work and will definitely make a statement. You might even scumble or sponge it gently (meaning barely any contrast between colors) to give it a simple textured wall paper type visual depth, making it seem all the more intended ornamental.

[SarahFair]

Very good point on the darker lower!

[eclecticcottage]

I would go with a medium to light blue gray. Darker on the bottom if that is your preference, or even white depending on the tone of the top color. I was considering adding chair rail and doing something similar to this in my dining room:

[SarahFair]

That's very pretty!

[phil]

I know I shouldn't say this, I should know better but I really like the Yellow ! I took one glance and thought wow I like the colors, then thought gee why so many light switches.., maybe I'm a bit slow today lol It just feels nice and bright, to me.

[eclecticcottage]

Lol I had to go look for the light switches. then I understood...

[Lily left the valley]

Now I had to go count switches. While doing so, I was thinking...

It might be that one controls an outlet, or possibly if they were a later addition, I've seen some older homes where they only put one box with switches for two rooms, especially when the other room it lit, you'd have to pass by the switch as you were entering it.

But no, no...I get it now too.

[Gothichome]

Sarah I would suggest a more traditional dark colour arrangement.

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Or

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Doesn't have to be wallpaper but the general concept of darker more masculine formality is the traditional pattern for dinning rooms. There are several great period books out there about this very subject.
Principles of decorative design by Christopher Dresser and even good old Charles Eastlake has views with the same theme.