Nature-Inspired Lake Cottage Paint Plan

I recently completed a whole-house paint plan for a client who had just purchased a lake condo. She wanted the color scheme of her house to reflect its lake/wilderness surroundings. She also wanted to find colors that flowed well together since her condo had a open floor concept with high ceilings.

The following is what I came up with for her new space.

I selected a mostly neutral color palette, inspired by nature, intended to give the condo a restful, lake resort appeal.

Since the walls in the main living area (family room, kitchen, loft, etc.) were so tall, I chose a slightly darker tan (Sherwin Williams’ Universal Khaki) to give the rooms a more warm and intimate feeling. Another tip for making the rooms feel more intimate was to paint the high ceilings either the same color as the walls or just a few shades lighter (Sherwin Williams’ Wool Skein). White ceilings in tall rooms can often make the room feel like an auditorium.

The rug I placed in the plan (top left) was an example of how color could be added in to the main living areas to tie in some of the colors from the rest of the house. The rug is from Overstock.com and is called “Hand Tufted Coliseum Beige Wool Rug”.

Since there wasn't much natural light in the entry/hallway, I wanted to keep the colors light while also giving it some interest. Light colored, wide tone-on-tone stripes (Sherwin Williams' Wool Skein + Benjamin Moore's Simply White) down the length of the hallway would take what is a normally insignificant space and give it character.

The client wanted to use some of her existing art prints in the 2 guest rooms, which is what inspired the color choices for these two rooms. For the first room, she wanted to hang a grouping of dragon fly/flower prints.

To compliment these prints, I suggested she paint the room Sherwin Williams’ Comfort Gray, which is a light, airy bluish gray. I actually used this color in my house and love it, but it was just a smidge too dark for me so I had the paint guy reduce the color by 35% to lighten it up (you can read about that HERE). I suggested she try a sample of this on her walls first. 

I also suggested that she remove the prints from their existing frames and replace them with white frames with wide white mats to give them more presence and an updated look.

For the smaller guest bedroom, the client wanted to hang two bear prints.

I chose Sherwin Williams Quiver Tan to compliment these prints, which I would also put in new frames with oversized white mats to give them more presence. 

Most people tend to think that you should paint small spaces light colors, when in actuality paint small spaces dark camouflages the fact that they are small. I think this darker color would give the room a cozy, den-like appeal. Just be sure to use light accessories (like white curtains, white lamp shades and bedding…see example below).

Source: Decor Pad

For the master bedroom, I chose Benjamin Moore’s Dune Grass. Green is one of those colors that can be tricky to find just the right shade, so this is another one that I suggest testing on your walls first! 

To keep the nature-inspired look throughout the house, I thought some fern prints would complement the green well. The prints I used in the plan drawing are from art.com. The following is a picture from Country Curtains that illustrates how light green walls paired with fern prints would look.

Finally, I suggested the family room be neutralized and lightened up (it was dark red) by painting it Benjamin Moore's Camouflage Gray.

Adding in a large grouping of sepia toned photography (the ones pictured in the concept drawing are from art.com) in matching white frames to the family room would help unify this space with the rest on the home's lake/nature feel. 

The client was so pleased with her paint plan that she also hired me to redesign her family room, which I will be sharing with you soon!

* Please note that paint colors often appear very different on a computer screen than they do on your walls. Since lighting varies from home to home, it’s very difficult to select colors without actually seeing in person how they will look on the walls. I would highly recommend getting a small sample of each color and testing it out on your walls before purchasing and painting any rooms. 

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