This home is in the Cureton Subdivision of Waxhaw. In this particular style home you have these big beautiful archways that transition the foyer into the living room. The question is, when archways share a space between two rooms, what color should you paint it? Should you just pick a room color to the right or left and bring it onto the arch as well or should it have its own color?
Of course the answer depends on the archway. The arch shown in this particular home is very wide so it’s obvious that you’d paint it a neutral color. Here I chose a creamy off white that complimented the colors in both rooms. I also gave it a different sheen which now makes it an accent feature.
You can’t really notice it that well from the foyer/dining room area but you can see how unusual it would look if the arch wasn’t a neural color. This green would have butted up against the blue that’s in the living room and would just look horrible. Making the arch an off white gives this space a nice natural area as you transition into another room.
What about these transition areas? The same goes for all these transition areas. I’ve been doing this at just about every color consultation and my clients are loving the idea.
The picture shown below has not been painted yet so this is the BEFORE shot. I have chosen a blue for the living room and a cream for the front door area but the area that’s in “no mans land” will be painted an off white. See where the arrow is pointed? That is the transition area of the home that always hold the big question mark as to what color goes there.
So, to answer the question “What color should I paint the arches in my home?” I most certainly would keep them a neutral and that can be any color from light gray, white, cream, beige, light blue so it really depends on the color scheme of your home.
HOWEVER – I would not paint these transition area’s white unless the color palette called for it. If the home has a really light color palette and white trim and crown molding perhaps but this is an area you don’t want to stand out, but to blend into the background.
Need help choosing your arch color? I’ll be here 🙂
Decorating by Donna • Intuitive Color Expert 
Hi Donna,
Your blog is really helpful.
I’m painting my house now, and I’m not sure what color I need to paint the arch.
The other room has light gray, and the other room has beige color.
I’m thinking to paint it stripes between those color, do you think it’s a good idea?
or should I just go with white?
Thanks, Haryanti.
Stripes? On the arches? Hmmm, not sure of that. I usually like to paint the arches a soft white and a different sheen from the rest of the home so it stands out as an accent feature. Does that help?
I have arched doorways on opposite sides of the living room, leading into a hallway and the front entry. There’s no trim. I’ve painted the inside of each arch a deep red matching the bump out in the wall behind the fireplace. What do you think of this idea?
That’s an interesting place to put an accent color. Does it tie in with the rest of the room? If I’m using a bold accent color such as red – and I have a deep burgundy in my home – I make sure that color is echoed elsewhere in the room so it makes sense. It may look odd just to have it in your arches and not have it somewhere else such as an area rug, art, pillow or drapery. A+ to your for thinking about that 😉
Thanks for the advice. I’ve painted the accent area over the fireplace the same color. There are also two panels next to the french doors that could have an accent color, but I’m not sure I like the color there.
Try it Vim, if you don’t like it, just repaint it. I don’t think that is a big project right? A galloon of paint and some time – have fun with it 🙂