Expert: Jennifer Taylor Wojcik - 4/27/2009

Question
Hi Jenny,

I'm 25 and just bought my first home. I need some help in making decisions. The house is 1700 sq ft. you enter through an entry way and walk into a large open living area. As you turn left there is a nice large kitchen. The person before me painted the entry way a dark red with some black blotches. The hall way to the right and one wall in the living room are are a medium orange, another wall in the living room is a medium yellow. Part of me wants to keep this strangely painted house but I'm not sure if it goes well...I'm just staring out so I don't have all this nice furniture to coordinate anything with. As in, my kitchen table is light colored wood, but I'm slowly chaning to mohagony colors. I have a dark brown leather sofa but medium wood colored coffee tables. The only mohagony piece I have right now is an entry way table. My other thought is to repaint it all and go traditional off white with white trim throughout the house. I love the clean look of the white but it seems so out dated now a days. Why aren't people painted white anymore?? Also, I think my whole house is weird because NOTHING matches :-( but I dont have $20,000 to go buy all this nice furniture to match. Any ideas?

Answer
Hi Allison,

Thanks for writing and congratulations on the purchase of your first home.  

It sounds as though the color choices that were made prior to your purchase were specific to "their" tastes, and my recommendation is that you create your own space with your own preferences.  If you like off-white with white trim, then paint it using those colors.  Paint is an inexpensive way to transform any space.  Trends are for darker, richer wall colors with white trim, but no one says you have to follow the trends.  

As for "matching" furniture, not to worry.  As long as things "coordinate" they do not need to match, and as you can, add pieces that you truly love.  In the meantime you can pull your chocolate brown sofa color into the kitchen by using chocolate brown place mats.  

Regards,
Jenny