Home Decorating - Paint Dining Room

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

Do you know anything about what's the best color for a dining room? I'd like to paint it a dark color like deep red or blue, or maybe even use wallpaper. My husband thinks it should be a light color and prefers neutrals like off-white or beige. Thanks.

Signed,

Undecided

Dear Undecided,

Paint colors are a personal choice, and one that, hopefully, you and your husband will come to agree upon. To help decide what color to paint any room, first look at the rug or carpet color. Try to coordinate the wall color to the carpet or rug color scheme. This is especially important if you want to paint a wall color dark, and the rug has many colors such as in a Persian or Chinese rug. You'd want a wall color that has one of the colors of the rug. However, if you were painting the wall a light color, then a neutral color would be fine even if that color were not in the rug.

Also, since you are painting a dining room, what colors are in the fabric of your chairs? Do you want to coordinate those colors with the rest of the room? Other items to consider are other furniture in the room, how will your table look when set with a tablecloth and place settings, and how will the window coverings look with the new paint color? Have fun.