Red dining room a hot item

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2002 (8458 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Debbie: I really like the ambiance of the red Spanish dining room I saw on your show. We have a living/dining room combination in our house, and would like to keep the living room somewhat bright. How can we have both effects in one big space?

–Ebony W., e-mail

Dear Ebony: The red Spanish dining room was one of my favourite makeovers. It’s a room that looks dramatic in daylight and sinfully romantic at night. The reason for this was the paint effect on the walls. A look of crushed velvet was achieved by first applying a red base coat and then a layer of a deeper red glaze was rollered over the top. Before this coloured glaze dried, lengths of craft paper were pressed onto the surface and immediately removed. This left subtle creases on the wall in tone on tone red.

In answer to your question, I would apply just the base coat on the living room walls and the velvet effect in the dining room. A dark thin stripe can separate the two. If the red is too dark for your living area, try the same technique but in lighter colours.

Dear Debbie: Right now my room is the stereotypical little girl’s room. I’m 14 and I want to make it more grown up. I’d like to get rid of my bunk beds and make my room a practical, usable and more comfortable living space. The only problem is the room is small. Can you recommend some inexpensive painting techniques I could use? Thanks for your time.

–Julianne P., e-mail

Dear Julianne: You sound very grown up already. I agree you should lose the bunk beds. Although they are designed as a space saver, they actually make a room look smaller. You need to be clever about the type of bed, desk and storage items you pick and get rid of everything that you don’t use. A funky way to make a room look big is to decorate with horizontal stripes, huge ones. They make a room look large because the eye tends to follow the stripes, visually opening up the space. Better in tone on tone, choose a colour that you love, but not too dark. Shades of yellow, aqua or even different whites can be fabulous. All you will need is low tack tape, a chalk line, paint and patience. The stripes should be equal widths, approximately 20″ wide.

Dear Debbie: When working with yellow walls and bright red accents throughout the room how do you choose the shade of yellow for the walls? Should it be warm or cool? I am trying to achieve a fresh, modern look with cream and black furniture, silver metal and red accent pieces. Thank you for your help.

–Chris R., e-mail

Dear Chris: Since red is a strong colour, I would recommend going for lighter shades of yellow. Citrus yellows are cooler as they have green in them, whereas ochers are more golden and warmer. At the moment, the cooler shades of yellow are more contemporary. Think acid or lemon — amazing with splashes of bright red.

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