Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Corner View: White, or What To Do Over the Fireplace?

This week's theme is white. I like the idea of white. I like our white kitchen cabinets. But I don't really like white walls. I've tried. I just always feel like I'm in a hospital, or a creepy insane asylum. I feel like I should go to colored-walls-anonymous because here in Germany most homes have all white walls. Hi, my name is Juliette and I paint my walls. Yes, I do. Except when their surface doesn't permit paint, like below:


Here you see the horrid fireplace wall. We didn't paint it blue like the rest of the room. Well, the wall opposite the fireplace isn't painted either. It's just white, but it has tons of windows on it and we wanted the room to look balanced somehow. I drew red boxes all over the picture of our big, white wall in an effort to get a feel for what I might could do. Perhaps a large rectangle mirror, lots of framed pictures, we don't know what. The fact that the wall is actually two different depths doesn't help.

It's turned into a dumping ground in the living room. Yuck. Everything on the mantel can go. The wood box is our TV garage and should get painted and get decorative knobs. The random tools should get cleaned out of the niche by the fireplace and filled with chopped wood for the winter. You get the picture.

Something needs to happen to this white wall ASAP because although we like the whole fireplace idea, it's a bit of an eyesore just now.

Ideas?

To see more white - usually pretty, non-angst-ridden things, click on over to Spain Daily.

13 comments :

Spotted Sparrow said...

Hi, my name is Julia and I also paint my walls. Must be an expat thing. ;-P

I like what you have in mind - groupings of stuff on the main wall and one large object over the fireplace.

Dana said...

i, too, paint my walls. i HATE white walls. they make me feel so uncomfortable. problem is, my husband doesn't mind the white walls. he's afraid of color, in fact.

Anyway... why can't you paint the wall?

Juliette said...

Dana - the wall is this hard, crevice-ridden surface, not the typical tapete/wallpaper surface you find in German homes. It would be a total pain to paint, and an even bigger pain to paint white when we move out one day.

and yes. my husband prefers white walls too - so this white-blue wall thing in our LR is actually a blessing/compromise in disguise! =)

;) said...

Not easy to transform something you don't really like... May be... a lot of pictures and mirrors can help to forget the wall...

I don't think it's horrid ;)

You show us white is not - sometimes - an universal perfect color !!!

likeschocolate said...

Wouldn't it be fun to paint the little wood cabinet the same color as the wall. That would be fun! I think white has a place, but not for walls.

jane said...

oh no... i love white walls... in spain everyone paints their walls with different colors... i´ve seen a lot of salmon lately... maybe that´s why. besos! p.s. i have a giant mirror over my fireplace and my walls have lots of pictures hanging with a mix of frames. if that helps... besos!

Allison said...

My name is Allison, and I would like to join the expat, "I paint my walls too" club. Most Germans first comment when they visit us for the first time is... "oh, you have lots of color"... hmmmm, I just can't help myself.

One thing you could do for wall decoration is to use fabric. (yeah, I am a little partial) It would be a really simple and inexpensive way to add color. Maybe pick three to five coordinating fabrics and stretch them on a simple frames. It would add pops of color and you could add extra interest by using different frame sizes. I just saw some canvases this week at Lidl... and best of all, it is a no-sew project.

Bonnie said...

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with that wall ....

la ninja said...

I love white walls and, it's going to sound nuts but I love those red squares. I initially thought they were part of the wall and found them dead clever (conceptual art sort of thing). Just empty painted "frames" ;)

jane, really? coloured walls in spain? must be a new thing.

Katie @ makingthishome.com said...

Julia said it right. We must all be secret members of the colored wall club. Interesting fireplace. I can picture you hanging little stockings on it. But as for a solution? Hmm. So far, I think your ideas have far exceeded anything I could think of, so sorry Juliette. I have no idea.
Katie

Cherry B said...

I like the fabric idea. I was also thinking some sort of bulletin board (but not the cork kind-- that's not particularly attractive for a living room) where you could pin up your favorite photos, notes, ideas. A border throughout the middle of that wall that allows things to hang above and below it? Good luck!

districtdispatch.blogspot.com

Jeannette said...

Ohoh...I´m one of those people that have and love white walls. Well..I´m a bit of a loony so that is maybe why I like it. ;)
But in my offense..I would love to paint our bedroom blue. But since we rent the place that´s not an option.
I would turn the mirror and I like the idea of pictures hanging next to it.
Have a great sunday, Jeannette

Anonymous said...

I really like the boxes you've drawn on the picture. I think I'd paint empty frames a bold color (love your red) and fill the walls. Maybe an occasional mirror in the frames . . . or even all mirrors . . . or go with the fabric idea and use it in your painted frames. Have fun!

Related Posts with Thumbnails