what color to paint the walls?

[the OTHER Mom to 5 aka Tee]

my son leaves for the Air Force in a few weeks...my older daughter moved back home ( and into her old bedroom which had become my sewing room when she went away to college)...  younger daughter is away at college....

Ive decided to move the girls room upstairs into my son's room. and reclaim (once again and hopefully finally) my sewing space....
its currently a salmon color....  Im supposing I need something more neutral as it wont affect how I view the colors of various fabrics..

Suggestions?

[KayoticSewing]

I'd say paint it In a color that makes you happy!

[laantigua]

I have read that blue color increases creativity. What about a light indigo?

[Gorgeous Things]

I would go with whatever color you like, and get an Ott Light or two for when you need to have color correctness. My sister gave me a floor Ott Light that I put next to my sewing machine. Now I wouldn't be without one. It's great for illuminating not only colors, but black on black stitching.

Have fun, whatever you choose!
Ann

[KathrynT]

I second Ann's comment about the daylight lights.  They are fantastic.  I started by choosing pretty curtain fabric and painted the walls and cupboards to match the (yellow) background.  Having everything unified in colour reduced the visual clutter.  You didn't ask about storage, but I used very cheap kitchen cupboards and shelves from one of those unfinished wood outlets.

[Elaine G.]

I also agree with the lighting suggestions - you cannot have too much light available, especially as your eyes age. I never used to have any difficulty seeing minute details and dark fabrics - but now ....  . When we built our house 5 years ago I knew I needed a paint colour in the sewing room that would not absorb color, but reflect it in order for me to see what I was doing, especially at night. I was going to choose a white to accomplish this, but the lady at our local paint store said that yellow is more reflective than white - and it doesn't have to be an intense yellow. I took her advice and have a barely yellow wall colour and it works very well, and is quite neutral.
I would never have known this if she had not mentioned it.

[SuziQz]

I chose stark white for the walls, but the ceiling is sky blue.  It's always a  sunny day in my sewing room.   

[adamc]

DW likes  a dark sage green.. She just painted her sewing/craft room that color.
( I think that white was better for light distribution, BUT it is her room)

The pictures I took of the work-in-progress does not accurately show the color.

[Laurie H]

Adam, like a couple of others have said, paint color also has to make the person using the room happy.  I'm with your wife.  I love sage green.  I have different shades of it in my laundry room and both bathrooms.  I really love it and if that's what makes her happy and she can sew better because of that color, it's exactly the right color for her room.

If I could, I would probably paint all the rooms in my house some shade of green or gray.  The problem is finding the right shades.  Sage green is the only shade that looks right on walls to me, a nice neutral shade, but I can't seem to find the right gray.  I cannot describe it, I'd have to find it by looking at it, but I think it would be great for a sewing room.  Not anyone else's sewing room, but my own.  It would be the perfect backdrop for other colors. 

[adamc]

Color Correction..

I'll call it Split Pea Soup color   

it will sound MORE expensive that way

[EchoLin]

how about pink and yellow color, i think these two color can make people happy , besiedes , they are more bright than other colors. or maybe, you can use some wall paper to decorate your wall.

[spookietoo]

I'm hoping to re-do my office/ sewing room this spring and even though I know that a pale yellow or pale pink can be more condusive to color selection - I agree with Ann - use a color that you like and get a lamp for color correctness. As an interior designer, I have always felt that choosing colors by what makes you happy is more important than what is in vogue. I'm probably going to go with a medium golden beige myself as I prefer wall colors that I find calming.

[AnnieDN]

I purposely chose neutral colors in my space because I didn't want them to clash with any project I was working on. I also wanted to be sure the walls were not going to alter the colors of the items I was working on...I wanted them to be as true as possible.

[RuthieK]

I'm with Annie, I have increasingly tried to reduce colour and pattern in the sewing room so that the colour of the fabric takes centre stage.
I had pink and green floral curtains at one point and had to take them down and replace with ivory as it was so jarring sewing certain colours in that room.
I tend to go for ivory, cream, white, light wood etc

[Ann]

I agree with Annie and Ruthie. My room has both yellow and brown in the white paint (called Oat Flour and very light) and there are times I wonder if it doesn't distort some of the colours I work with. I would paint it white but that is very cold feeling to me. True to colour but cold.

Ann

[su-sew]

when I moved into my current home, knowing that the spare bedroom would be a home office and sewing room, I purposely painted it in a neutral white colour.

[spookietoo]

I just stumbled across a web site I found a few months ago and forgot to bookmark. HOUZZ.com. For anyone that hasn't seen it...its like having never ending issues of all of the home decorating magazines combined! Just search"sewing room" and there are thousands of photos demonstrating all kinds of wall colors and storage ideas. Coolest site!

[Bunny]

I had a salmon pink sewing room and really liked it but I was just ready for a change. I've gone to a medium taupe color and really really like it. I find it soothing, more so than the salmon, and I like it's neutrality. While I never felt that salmon pink made working with any fabrics or colors more difficult, going to the neutral taupe just makes the room seem calmer and more unified, if that makes sense.

Bottom line make it whatever color you would like because if it is what you really like it will make you happy.

[Pina]

I just stumbled across a web site I found a few months ago and forgot to bookmark. HOUZZ.com. For anyone that hasn't seen it...its like having never ending issues of all of the home decorating magazines combined! Just search"sewing room" and there are thousands of photos demonstrating all kinds of wall colors and storage ideas. Coolest site!

Tina,thanks for the neat link ! 

Here are pages with very cheerful sewing rooms. 

[Spring!]

Oh, yes, Houzz is a major eye-candy site (and a potential black hole in terms of time)!

Just the first page is envy-inducing for me.

According to color theorists, cooler (greens, blues, purples) colors and neutrals are more calm-inducing, while warmer colors (yellows, oranges, reds and their variants such as Bunny's salmon) are stimulating. If you want to have lively dinner conversations, paint the room a cherry red. If you want to relax, go for greens and blues.

Personally, for an sewing room, I'd go with a neutral such as taupe, which Bunny chose. It won't clash with any color of fabric and you can add color with accessories.

[flutter-by]

I vote for a light neutral - I'm partial to shades of beige/cream/grey with just enough color for it to clearly be not white, if that makes any sense. That said, my room (which was painted 6+ years ago) is a light blue, originally called 'bird bath blue.' I moved a framed poster the other day, and realized just how much the walls had faded...had to put the poster back up because the wall had faded several shades around it!

[WendyW]

Mine is pink, because I live in a houseful of males, and it's the only room where they can't complain if it's too "girly"!