Rethinking The Gray And White Striped Walls In Our Bedroom Suite Foyer
Y’all, I am now in full-on bedroom suite mode. I had my fun during the month of January with getting my projects done on the exterior of my workshop while I allowed myself time to think through the various issues that were hindering me from starting on this huge bedroom suite project, but now that I’ve worked out all of those roadblocks, I’m ready to get started.
I spent yesterday getting the areas cleaned up and ready for flooring installation. I hope to start on that tomorrow. Woohoo!!! My plan is to get all of the flooring installed throughout the whole bedroom suite, then rent the big sander and edge sander and get it all the flooring sanded. Then I’ll stain and seal the flooring throughout all at once rather than doing one room/area at a time. After the flooring has been stained and sealed, I’ll need to give it a few days to cure before I can start working on the closet/laundry room, so I’ll need to find other projects to occupy my time for a few days (maybe two weeks, but I’ll just have to wait and see). When the flooring is good and dry/cured, I’ll cover the entire flooring and get started on the closet.
I decided to do the closet first because not having a closet is causing the biggest headache in my daily life right now. And Matt’s perfectly happy as long as he has a bed, a recliner, and a TV. He’s in no hurry to get moved into a bedroom, but I’m incredibly anxious to have a closet and a laundry room.
I’ve been without a dryer for about a month-and-a-half right now because the contractor unhooked the dryer so that he could reroute that electrical wire (dryers need a non-standard electrical wire and outlet) to the closet area, and he did that just before Christmas. And since I’m without a closet, all of my clothes are all hanging in the sunroom…
My shoes are lined up in my studio, which causes a problem with me opening and closing the drawers and cabinets…
And all of my handbags are piled on the studio countertop…
My jewelry is still in our bathroom…
So not only have I not been able to dry a load of clothes in a month-and-a-half, but you can just imagine the process of getting ready to go somewhere. 😀 I start at one end of the house to take a shower and do my hair and makeup, then I trek to the sunroom to select an outfit. Next I go to the opposite end of the house to select shoes and a handbag, then it’s back to the other end of the house to the bathroom to select jewelry. I can get most of my steps in for the day just getting ready to leave the house! 😀 So there’s no question in my mind that it makes sense to do the closet and laundry area first. Just getting all of that consolidated into one room will make a huge difference and make life so much easier. And being able to dry a load of laundry again will feel like I’ve won the lottery.
Anyway, that was a rabbit trail. That’s not even what I wanted to discuss today. What’s really been on my mind is the foyer in our bedroom suite. (And yes, I’ve landed on the term “foyer” for this area, at least for now. I’m testing it out. 😀 )
As a reminder, here’s how our bedroom suite is laid out. The bedroom suite foyer is off of the music room and will be separated from that room with French doors. When you walk into the bedroom suite, the closet/laundry area are on the right with the bedroom straight ahead. And then the bathroom is off of the bedroom.
It’s been a while since I’ve shown the bathroom, so here’s a reminder what our bathroom look like. Most of the color is on the mural wall behind the bathtub.
But all of the walls in the main area of the bathroom are this light blue-green in a troweled Venetian plaster finish.
In the bedroom, the headboard will be a fun bird print fabric with teal, green, and orange, and the area rug is mostly orange.
The walls will be teal grasscloth above white wainscoting, and the draperies will be dark teal velvet. I’ll add splashes of green, orange, and teal throughout the soft furnishings and accessories.
And then for the closet, I’ll be using this wallpaper in one section…
And all of the cabinets will be painted a light coral color that leans more towards orange instead of pink. I’ll choose something that coordinates with this area for the paint color…
So I decided to put all of those things together on the floor plan to see what they looked like. I don’t need everything to match, but I do want everything to coordinate. I love how all of this looks…
But then I got to the foyer and heard the sound of screeching breaks in my head. These gray and white stripes just aren’t cutting it for me.
Of course, the foyer doesn’t look like this anymore. The doorways have been removed, which means that all of the areas are way more open to each other than they were in the past when this was a hallway. And with that in mind, I think the stripes are even more out of place.
I also have to consider that just outside of the bedroom suite on the entryway wall just inside the front door to our house, I plan to use the mural that I bought several months ago from Anthropologie. That mural looks like this…
And while it won’t be directly next to the French doors leading to the bedroom suite, the two area are very close. When the bedroom doors are open (which they will be most of the time), the two areas are very visible together.
So with all of the patterns and colors going on in all of these areas, that leaves me thinking that the foyer to our bedroom suite needs to be one solid color. And of course, my mind always goes directly to dark teal.
I could do something bold and paint it something brighter and more colorful (y’all know me well enough to know that solid white is out of the question), but I don’t want anything that will demand too much attention and compete with what I’ve got going on in the music room just outside the bedroom suite.
And I also don’t want the foyer drawing attention away from the main areas of the bedroom suite. This foyer is not the star of the show. So that leads me back to the dark teal, which is pretty much a neutral color in our house.
Dark teal will make the area look dark. That’s for sure. But is that a bad thing? Or is it moody and warm, and perfect for a bedroom suite? I can’t decide. I may try it out and see how it works. Also, I still have that homeless sun tunnel skylight that is just hanging loose in our attic, so I can always put it back in the foyer ceiling to give this area lots of natural light during the day.
But what I do know for sure is that the gray and white stripes won’t make the cut now that I’ve put everything together to see how they all work with each other. The gray and white striped walls take me back to my childhood Sesame Street days and that song that goes, “One of these things is not like the other. One of these things doesn’t belong.” The stripes just don’t belong.
UPDATE: I should have mentioned that the foyer wall color won’t be right up against the bedroom grasscloth or the closet cabinet color. Those areas will be separated with white floor-to-ceiling wainscoting. That white floor-to-ceiling wainscoting will go in the short “hallway” that connects the foyer to the bedroom, and then I’ll be mimicking that same look in the closet entry that will be created once the cabinets are built on either side of the doorway to the walk-in closet.
So there will be a very definite visual separation between the foyer and the other two areas of the bedroom suite. That will allow me to treat the foyer as its own separate area as far as wall color goes.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I absolutely love the mural! I think a dark, moody wall color would be lovely in your bedroom suite foyer but wonder how the teal would work with the grass cloth that will be on the upper walls in the bedroom. If I remember correctly, there will be no cased opening into the bedroom. Would the foyer walls be directly up against the grass cloth? If so, I think another color with more contrast to the grass cloth may be a better choice. There are so many lovely colors in the mural and I’d also want to consider the colors in the fabric you selected for your headboard and drapes.
I should have mentioned that. They won’t be right up next to each other. The bedroom has that short “hallway” between the foyer and the bedroom, and that area will be all white wainscoting from floor to ceiling. I’ll mimic that in the entry to the closet as well. So there will be plenty of visual separation between the foyer and the other areas.
Yes, I agree with you on the grey stripes. I like the idea of a dark color; it’s not an area where you need a lot of light, although the solar tube will brighten the space.
I like the dark teal. Yes it’s moody and warm and ties in-grounds- all the different bold wallpaper you have got going on.
I am so excited for you to start this portion of your house. The foyer should introduce what to come in the other rooms.
For me darker colors add a rich warmth, think English country. I personally love it.
I know you will figure out what is best for your home.
The moody foyer sounds nice — it reminds me of a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright home in Chicago area where we went through a smaller hallway (lower ceiling, no windows) into a larger room (windows, high ceiling) and the effect was magical. For you, I imagine a small, moody foyer opening up to your colorful, spacious bedroom (as well as your closet), so the contrast makes each space “more.”
New beginnings! The dark teal goes very well with the rest of the suite AND with the music room. And if you don’t like it in real life – it’s only paint!
Oh you and I had the same thought immediately for the foyer, a dark teal will be stunning and play so nicely with your whole space! I love how it is coming together. ❤️
Will the teal be floor to ceiling? Or will you have some wainscoting to break up the dark teal from the dark floors? I think it will be beautiful! Will you consider an interesting ceiling treatment? Originally you had planned to wallpaper the closet ceiling, but you are going in a different direction there. Is that something you will be considering for this foyer area? Would that still make it too busy or conflict with the adjoining spaces?
I’ll do floor to ceiling. I would love to find a ceiling to do something special, but I don’t think this is the place. Since it has the HVAC intake vent, a light, the attic access panel, and probably a sun tunnel skylight, it’s not really a ceiling I’d like to draw attention to.
I love the color of the bookcases in the music room. Is that dark teal? Try antechamber on for size. Foyer reminds me of coming in from outside.
Yep, those are dark teal. It’s the same color that’s already on the guest bathroom doors, too.
Dark teal sounds like it’ll be beautiful!! Was this the room that had that sunshaft built into it? That could help with the darkness, though there’s nothing wrong with a dark and cozy entryway to the bedroom zone 🙂
It used to be in here, and I can put it back.
Definitely love the idea of redirecting the homeless solar tube back into this area. Natural light is always great, even if you’re going for a cozy moody vibe. They’re not mutually exclusive. Go for the deep teal! If you hate it, repaint it. It’s not a big deal for you. 🙂
Would you consider adding the floor to ceiling wainscoting to the foyer? It could be a color instead of white, while leaving the white area leading into the bedroom. I’d use the teal you have throughout the house as a neutral there.
I probably wouldn’t because there are so many doorways in that area. There’s not a single solid, uninterrupted wall in there.
I vote for the dark teal. You have hits of it elsewhere in the house and I fully expect it will make an appearance in other new rooms.
I agree, stripes have to go. I would not do dark any color. I wouldn’t put in a sunlight just to lighten up a space that I could just paint light. And chance a leak.
I’d sleep on that idea a bit more. Once you have the closet and laundry area finished, then you can decide on the foyer color.
Everything else seems to go together. Definitely use that pretty wallpaper you have for the entry way. Why not wallpaper the foyer?
There are way too many openings off of the foyer for wallpaper to have any impact, in my opinion. I think it would be a waste of time and effort. To me, a solid color makes more sense in that area with all of the doorways. If there was at least one solid wall with no interruptions, I might consider wallpaper.
I’m in love with the light teal (blue) in your bathroom and how it looks with the white wainscoting. If I were doing it for myself, that would be what I’d chose. I do not believe that the dark teal is too dark for the area though. I love dark and cozy.
I love your dilemma. Coordination between all of the spaces will be paramount, but I love the fact that the “Foyer” can now be its own star and be the one that sets the mood for the rest of the coming attractions. I love that mural; I think it will help with this process of what colors go where. I’d be in that attic so fast, well, mostly because I know how hot it gets in Texas, and have that solar light tube put back in. I love natural daylight anywhere I can get it. I am so excited about this space and cannot wait to see what you come up with. As a side note, I thought I had a lot of shoes, nope, I bow and scrape to the queen of shoes, but I do have beat on handbags, since I have size 11 feet, shoes are a little harder to find, but handbags, my husband swears they are having babies in the closet. Have fun with swatches, and remember to breathe, you’ve got this.
Cheers to you and Matt!
I’ve actually only recently (just a few months ago) discovered my love of handbags after carrying the same black Coach crossbody about 95% of the time for the last few years. I got so many in the last few months that I had to put myself on a spending hiatus. 😀 At least until I have a proper place to store them. So I might catch up with you once I have my closet! 😀
I agree with others on the moody teal being a great option. Also remember that the color will be broken up with decorative elements, so it won’t be as overwhelming, I think. The sun tube would help, too.
I think that the dark teal would work beautifully. We live in a small 3 bedroom ranch style home. When I told my hubby, that I intended to paint our bedroom dark teal, he panicked. We only have two windows in the room, and it can be dark at times, but the color worked out amazingly. It makes the walls recede. I have lots of gold, brass accents and they really pop against the dark background. I even painted a wall mounted, three shelf piece, the same color as the wall, then added gold leaf on the inside. I absolutely love it. Plus it will give the eyes a resting area, with all of the other glorious prints and textures.
I’m with you on the dark teal. Or do the same grass cloth that you already have for the bedroom. I think a blue/teal range will connect well with the totality of your whole home.
Hi Kristi: At first when I read this, I thought a lighter version of teal used throughout the house, with more of a white base added to it, might be a solution. My concern was that this area might be too dark – as it is a relatively small area and it is next to the music room that has a more neutral tone to it; however, when I read the comments, my mind shifted a bit. I definitely like the idea of the darker teal, fully assuming that it doesn’t compete with your teal grass cloth in the bedroom. And one of the reasons that I think it is a good idea is that the darker color makes it look like it is a more personal space. If you have a new guest in your home and they mistakenly open the french doors looking for the bathroom, this is a subtle clue that is a personal area for the family, not for uninvited guests. I still wonder about the area being a little dark though but I am glad to see that you plan on using the tube light to offset this. Just a thought or a question in my mind, if the one tube light does not add enough light after the dark teal walls, can you add another tube light opening (only to the interior – using a singular tube light opening on the roof)? I don’t know if that would diffuse the amount of light coming into the existing tube opening in the foyer ceiling or if it would simply add more light. Also don’t have any idea of the differential cost – so really just an inquisitive idea. All of your projects are so well thought out, in advance, and I have no doubt that the choices that you make will look and function great! I look forward to seeing more of your journey. Well-organized and designed closets are such a special space for women – even if they don’t realize it yet. 🙂 It starts the day out in such a positive way!
I think doing a second tube off of the one from the roof would double the light in the foyer, but the problem I’ll run into is having the ceiling space for it. This small area already has the intake vent for the HVAC and a ceiling light. I still have to add the attic access panel and one solar tube. I think once all of those things are added, I’ll be out of ceiling space. 😀
Yay for dark teal.
Thanks for sharing your thought processes on deciding what to do in your home. On the use of a dark color for the foyer … Could you use the same dark teal that’s on the music room shelves? Since you can see them at the same time from some angles, it might tie in nicely.
I could, and that would actually work perfectly since it’s also the same color that I used on the hallway bathroom doors. And since that bathroom entrance has to stay there for now, it might help to make those doors disappear having them the same color as the walls.
Use the dark teal that is on the bookcases in the music room, that would look awesome. I tend to lean towards darker colors anyway, our master is painted SW Stillwater, and I absolutely love it! My thoughts are if you use the same color as the bookcases, it will connect the two rooms, without making them seem connected.
I just looked up that color to see what it was. It’s GORGEOUS!!
I like the idea of the darker teal but there is already so much teal in your house, I’m just not sure how it will coordinate with the other teals nearby especially the bookshelves in the music area. Since we only have photographs of everything, it looks so disparate but it may not be. I think you need to bring together samples of the kitchen and bookshelf paints, the bathroom plaster, the teal grasscloth, the closet wallpaper, and the Anthropologie mural and find a teal that works with all of them. Then paint the bedroom anteroom/foyer and the bookshelves the same teal. Overall though, love the design scheme.
I was cleaning my closet today and had to send you a note. I’m amazed at the amount of dust that collects in handbags! Granted I don’t rotate through them too much. I tend to be a one purse a season girl. Consider building your shelving so you could add glass doors later if the dusting gets to be too much for you.
I really appreciate your transparency as you take us along on your remodeling journeys. I often have trouble making decisions and sometimes have a lot of half finished projects due to decision paralysis. Seeing you go back and forth on decisions encourages me!
Someone else warned me of this, also. I’ll be building them in a way that I can add doors later, if necessary. For now, I like the idea of easy access without doors, but if I notice that dust is a problem, I love the idea of glass-front doors!
As an option, Amazon sells clear acrylic display cases with magnetic lids.
I’m also team dark teal. I think it’ll be beautiful, whether you use the light tube or not! I love darker moody rooms.
My vote would be to paint your foyer walls the same dark teal as the bookcases in your music room. It’s such a beautiful colour and it will connect all the rooms and your new mural.
I agree and use the tube light if during the hot seasons in TX it doesn’t bring in too much heat.
Kristi, I have been thinking about the “foyer” as your dressing room with corner full length mirrors, hooks to hold the outfit for the day and possibly a chair or bench once the bathroom door is removed.
Why not pick up the yellow color from the center of the huge flower in the picture on the music room wall? I think it would be harmonious with what you’re trying to achieve in the bedroom foyer without being dark like the teal would be. Pnk would be screaming for attention, but I think that dusky yellow would be brightening and workable.
Could I just ask why not put all your shoes out of the way of your cabinets/drawers on the lower tiers of your rolling work tables? Easily accessible and yet off the floor and out of the way . . .
Yellow isn’t a color that I tend to gravitate towards. Although, the walls in our condo living room were a light buttery yellow, and they were very pretty. I guess I could come full circle and bring that color back! It was a Behr color called Rich Cream. https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/340A-2
I didn’t even think about put the shoes on the shelves under the tables. 😀 I was in such a hurry that I just lined them up on the floor and didn’t give it much thought.
You have such great taste! Don’t beat yourself up about the gray stripes. That was all the rage a few years ago. I love your bathroom!