Orange on the floor! Orange on the cabinets! Orange everywhere because it’s an open floor plan! What color palette should be in your home when you are surrounded by orange?
This is a big concern for many of my clients and it’s a little disappointing when I walk into a home and see the dreaded orange floor because I know when I walk into the kitchen, it will be on the cabinets as well. Cringe.
As I step further into the home, there they are! Orange cabinets. I knew it. See them in the back? Can you also see how there is a river of orange from the kitchen cabinets right down to the floor? Can you also see the very white walls? Color to the rescue but what colors can fix this? I can tell you right now that all that is red-orange and anything even remotely close to is out!
Let’s look at the basic color wheel for just a moment. See the orange? See what’s opposite of the orange? You just got a quick lesson in complementary color choices. Those are the colors that need to be in this home – tweaked of course.
See how the homeowner has a red rug in the living room? See the reddish pillows? Chair? And even the furniture they have also has orange in it. It’s death by orange in this house!!
Well luckily for my Fort Mill, Tega Cay, SC client these are pictures from the home the day they closed on it. I came in yesterday and chose colors that will fix this right up! Here’s the new color palette. Also keep in mind that monitor representation is off . These colors are a lot cleaner looking which helps! Isn’t this beautiful?
Decorating by Donna • Intuitive Color Expert 
As with most of your posts, I would like to see an example of your recommendations implemented.
Hi Donna. I’m not quite sure what you mean. I have pictures of the orange floors that I’m referring to in the post and the colors that would make them look less awful. How can I answer your comment?
I meant no harm, but before and after photos are among my favorites and it would be so helpful to see the effects of your choices after they were implemented. So many buyers are faced with wood floors, liking the material, but not considering the color. I would love to see the completed room with your suggested colors. That’s all.
You and me both but I rarely get any after photos. It takes a long time for a client to paint and get their house back in order and ready for pictures. This particular client is a distance away so I probably won’t see any after shots. I try though!
Pingback: Meritage Homes in Weddington Encompasses A Great location and The Latest Trends | Decorating by Donna • Charlotte's Color Specialist
Pingback: What Happens When Home Stagers Choose the Wrong Color? | Decorating by Donna • Charlotte's Color Specialist
Pingback: If I Were To Invent A Line of Paint Colors • Part I of Donna’s Paint Colors | Decorating by Donna • Charlotte's Color Specialist
Pingback: My Favorite Benjamin Moore Colors For Summer | Decorating by Donna • Color Expert
Pingback: Mahogany Wood: Paint It or Not? | Decorating by Donna • Color Expert
agree…. the paint colors posted do not appear to be “clean” nor are they compliments. They look earthy tuscan…. comp of orange is blue…. i expected to see blue/green ( green comp of red, blue comp of orange).
Hi Barbara, here is a quote from the post “Also keep in mind that monitor representation is off.” Guess you missed that which is a BIG part of choosing colors on the computer. Many homes can’t have a strong blue in the home without it looking juvenile so I chose green/blues which has a more blended look for the colors that I showed here. However yes, blue is the complementary of orange as shown in my graphic. Thank you for your colors sense 🙂
Can you share the names of the colors chosen. They are beautiful.
Thank you so much Christine! As stated on my blog, all of my color palettes are available for purchase in any paint brand you like. I highly recommend Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore or Valspar for this palette. Feel free to contact me at DecoratingbyDonna@mac.com.
Pingback: Do grey sofas, look better on orange hardwood floors? | Decorating by Donna • Intuitive Color Expert
Without seeing the nice new colors actually implemented in after photos, makes this useless.
Well how about you paint and see for yourself? I have already seen these colors in many of my client’s homes and can tell you they really help the orange hue feel like it belongs. It’s amazing what the right colors can do. My job is not to show AFTER pictures but to design and suggest colors for the home. What you do afterward is all up to you 🙂