Lightening the mood

Chocolate brown is only good on walls in small doses.  No one told this to the previous owners, who decided it was good for a dining room.  It was definitely very dramatic, especially with the big light fixture, but it didn't strike the mood that I wanted for our space.  I picked out the color combination I wanted a while ago, but due to its relative disuse it didn't make the cut when it came to pre-move in projects.  A good friend of mine offered to help us to paint a room as a housewarming gift (awesome idea!!), and we chose this one.  I appreciate her perfectionism, because this room has a lot of trim.  When you look closely, you notice lots of red and brown on the sashes, sills, and chair rail.  This is very frustrating, since it meant that not only were the previous owners sloppy, but the ones before them as well.  I think this room also has wallpaper under the layers of paint, which means that a full overhaul may be in the cards someday.  But for now, it looks smashing!