The bland, white wall with experimental red paint.
This is the wall that introduced Jennifer to the joy of moldings.
Every time she came or went she passed this vast expanse of white wall.
I told her I’d paint it whatever color she wanted, and if she didn’t like how it turned out, I’d just paint it again, and again and again until she’s absolutely in love with the foyer wall.
Her idea was to paint it a bold red, and my idea was to install a picture rail molding so she could easily rearrange her artwork when the mood struck her.
Do you like how it turned out?
Jennifer likes to rearrange her flowers and artwork. The picture rail molding makes the latter easy.
It’s auspicious feng shui to have the exterior of your front door painted red. But since our HOA does not allow for such extravagance, we did the next best thing and painted the entry wall red.
Red walls in your entry are good feng shui.
Above The money spent on a few quarts of paint to test your colors is well worth it. On the far wall you can see the straw yellow color that looked antique white on the paint chip (see the color we choose further down the page).
DIY Read more about how to install this two-piece picture rail molding on our PICTURE RAIL-107 page.
Now pictures can be rearranged at Jennifer’s whim.
Paint Colors
- The red we chose is called Bolero (Rawr!), from Sherwin Williams, SW7600. The finish is flat.
- The trim paint is from Behr, and is called French Roast in a satin finish.
Below The picture rail molding I installed is a classic profile and can be found in Traditional, Victorian and Craftsman style historic homes. I added a second piece of molding to make the whole treatment larger.
Look at the felt-like flat paint finish on this wall. Shiny walls are for kitchens, playrooms and industrial spaces.
Below The color we chose for that back living room wall is, not surprisingly, Antique White, from Sherwin Williams. On a whim I painted the door trim the dark, French Roast color. The door looked pathetic white, so Jennifer found this nice orange-ish red color.
The red-ish front door with dark-colored trim.
Our plans for this wall don’t stop here.
Our open floor plan foyer/living room is going to get a rather bold molding upgrade after we’re finished with our Kitchen Molding Makeover.
We’ll be posting the entire step by step installation sequence with material and paint prices for you. Subscribe to our molding blog if you want to stay up to date or our progress.
the colors draw the eye to the art work perfectly…this has a very zen effect…or just an amazingly balanced feeling…just right, both walls, molding, and door color are fabulous.
Thanks Christina! Jennifer’s the master at choosing colors around this house, so the credit has to go to her.
Ken,
I’ve utilized the same red color in our foyer, before I found your site :), in order to display black and white photography. My wife thought I was crazy but your wall has validated, at least in my mind, that this was a good choice.
I have a question however; the red foyer wall meets a provincial yellow wall on an outside corner of a hallway. The result on a plain corner appears sloppy and is screaming for some vertical molding treatment as a transition. Any ideas?
Please keep up the excellent posts and tips!
Cheers,
Dale
Two foyers painted Bolero red, who would have thought?
You can divide the transition between two rooms, like your yellow/Bolero problem, with a pilaster. You can install a pilaster on both faces of the outside corner, or, if you don’t have room for two, you can wrap a single one around the outside corner.
However, it would look awkward if the only architectural detail in your home is a single pilaster. So if a total molding makeover is not in your plans, then you’re faced with the unfortunate choices of either living with the corner or continuing the Bolero over the yellow. Either way it’s a challenge.
Let us know what you eventually decide,Dale. Good luck!