Ask the Expert 
Colourful Cornices
QUESTION: I have a long narrow living room space that opens into the hall, dining area, and kitchen. These areas are all white and cream colour (ex. walls and ceilings). The living room furniture are mission style with dark Merlot coloured wood. The carpet is a light tan. I don't have drapes on the windows but they have colorful window corners. Still the room feels a bit cold because the walls are bare. But I don't know to put on the walls because the paintings (their colors) I've tried to hang, end up clashing with the cornices.
-- Barbra E. from Toledo, OH
ANSWER:
If the cornices have the only prominent colour in the room, your eye will automatically be drawn up to them. Consider painting the cornices a lighter colour (the tan of the carpet for instance) to minimize it’s visual impact. If you don’t want to do that, consider large scale art that has the same colour as the cornices in it to bring the visual weight down the wall.
About the Designer
Michelle Lavoie’s twenty-five plus years in hospitality at private clubs and luxury hotels lead her to founding Calgary-based, A Man’s Home, in 2007. Given her lifelong love of architecture and aesthetics, shifting her career focus was a natural leap. Since most of her career was spent working for and with men, she developed an affinity for addressing their needs (hence the company name). Her goal is to create spaces that reflect the personalities of their dwellers; homes both inspiration and refuge. She works with a broad range of budgets and design styles that are as enticing as they are cost effective. Michelle hails from ethnically diverse Ottawa, has lived in four provinces and has called Alberta home for the last 8 years. Food, travel and all aspects of design continue to inspire her.
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